Today, Sara is joined by her husband, Jeff.

Gas prices just hit a national average of $4.57 per gallon. Yikes! When I hear people talking about the price of gas, I jokingly say, “What is this thing you call gas?” 

I don’t remember the last time I stopped at a gas station. My husband and I drive electric vehicles (EVs). I drive a Tesla Model 3 (with a sticker that says: This vehicle does not endorse Elon Musk) and my husband drives a Rivian R1T. We’ve been driving EVs for three years. We still own a gas SUV but find ourselves with fewer and fewer reasons to drive it. 

We love our EVs but the motivation to purchase them and what we find most compelling about driving them differs. 

What we love about our EVs

Sara: Taking care of God’s Creation matters deeply to me. It is the most important reason I choose to drive an EV. EVs have a smaller carbon footprint than gas vehicles. This is true even when you take the environmental cost of electricity and battery production into account. Around the same time we purchased our EVs, we installed solar panels and a Powerwall on our house. The solar panels produce more electricity than we need to power our home and charge our two EVs almost every day of the year. The Powerwall stores energy to use after the sun goes down. I can even set my car to charge only to a certain percentage unless it is charging on solar. We drive on solar energy!

Jeff: I love our EVs for the driving experience. You really should experience the acceleration/Instant torque at least once in your life. They are rocket ships. The performance/handling, due to a lower center of gravity, is unbelievable!  And all of it with virtually no noise.  The enhanced or full self-driving takes the stress away from longer commutes.  

Sara: Our EVs are quiet vehicles. I can have a conversation with others in the car without having to shout over engine or tire noise. I can listen to my audiobook without having to crank it to the loudest setting. 

Jeff: The technology in an EV is incredible and is regularly updated via free upgrades/downloads sent directly to the vehicle, similar to updates on your cell phone. This provides for a safer, more fun, and enhanced driving experience. For example, every year Rivian sends a Halloween update and Tesla sends a Christmas present that you can choose to modify/enhance your internal display and/or external sounds. Occasionally these companies will partner with other companies to enhance the technology tied to media events (ie. – big blockbuster movie releases) to modify/enhance your internal display and/or external sounds.

Sara: Initial investment (which was significant) aside, we are saving money. Jeff commutes 100 miles a day. When he was driving a gas vehicle, we spent a lot each week to fill his tank. Now, the only time we pay for driving is when we take a trip long enough to require charging somewhere other than home. When we do charge on one of these trips, it is much less expensive than filling a tank with gas. For example, driving from Orange City to Kansas City in my Tesla to visit our kids costs less than $20. 

Jeff: The environmental impact is important to me. I feel good that our vehicles do not burn fossil fuels or contribute to air pollution.

Sara: I know the “word on the street” is that charging EVs takes more time than filling a tank with gas and that’s not wrong. When we drive from Orange City to Kansas City to visit our kids we spend about 30 minutes charging. More if the weather is very cold. However, neither of us stop regularly at gas stations to fill our tanks anymore. Because of his commute, Jeff stopped twice a week to fill up. I drive less but filled my tank twice a month. That also takes time. Now we drive into our garage and plug in. I’m guessing that the time we save not filling our tanks because of daily driving more than makes up for the extra time we spend charging on longer trips. Plus, we’re getting old and stopping for bathroom breaks on those longer trips is increasingly welcome!

Jeff: The ability to charge in our garage at home is so convenient. My work commute is about 100 miles round trip. When I get home, I plug in and am fully charged by morning, regardless of season. No more stopping at gas stations twice a week. Charging at home means lower operating and maintenance costs. The savings for our family are significant. I don’t pay for gas and maintenance only consists of having to replace windshield wipers, windshield wiper fluid, and tires. Plus, with the solar panels we installed on our home a few years ago, we pay virtually nothing to drive daily. A bonus is that our vehicles can serve as back-up power if we happen to have a situation where we need it.

A few additional comments

The United States is behind when it comes to EVs, but sales are climbing in spite of the Trump administration’s attempts to stunt the EV charging network. “Globally, one in four new cars sold in 2025 was electric. In Norway, almost all new cars sold (97% of them) were electric. In China, over half (53%) were.” CEOs of the major US car manufacturers are deeply concerned about China’s clear advantage on EV technology. China is reported to make an EV with a 1300 mile range at a cost of under $15,000!  

We’ve had people ask what we would do if we ran out of charge. I respond by asking what they would do if they ran out of gas. The answer to both questions is we don’t. Our vehicles tell us where we will need to charge and for how long to ensure we complete our trips. The charging network is getting better. Charge while you drive technology is already being tested in Michigan.

We have been accused of stressing an already strained electrical grid. When we bought our EVs, we got rid of a hot tub. Before installing solar panels, we were able to compare our electric bill. Charging both EVs was about equivalent to running our hot tub. And our solar panels make this accusation baseless. 

Our range is affected by weather. If we are heading into a strong wind or it is very cold, we lose range. Gas mileage is also affected by wind and temperature. 

EVs aren’t for everyone. . . yet. We wonder, however, if that day is coming.