Earlier this year, we held a packed EV information session at Yarra Glen Hall. Since then, several people who attended have taken the plunge and bought their first electric vehicle.
Ian, from Yarra Glen, is one of them. A retired engineer, he took a very methodical approach to choosing his new car, a BYD seal – and he’s kindly shared what he learned along the way.
If you’re thinking about making the switch, his experience might help. Here is Ian’s story…
I recently bought an EV and I’m loving it!
A big thank you to Healesville CoRE for putting on the EV seminar earlier this year (2026). Hearing about reduced energy and maintenance costs convinced me it was time to make the transition. I’m now the proud owner of a BYD Seal.
I’m very aware of the need to shift to renewables to help combat climate change but being a retired engineer I needed to investigate all the features I didn’t understand.
And then I took a structured approach to selecting an EV.
Here’s my approach:
- decide how much you’re prepared to spend,
- list all the features you want in an EV, rank them as Must Have or Desirable,
- use an EV comparison website (like the RACV) to narrow down the field,
- refer to vehicle specifications to decide which EV best meets your features list and price.
I learned a lot about EVs in the process of listing all of the available features, and using the RACV website, I narrowed it down from over 1,000 to just a dozen vehicles. Comparing the specifications, I then further narrowed the field to two vehicles.
Key features I enjoy in my new BYD Seal:
- A huge drop in energy costs. Charging the EV costs about ¼ of what I used to pay for petrol.
- Regenerative braking feeds energy back into the battery whenever I apply the brakes or travel downhill.
- Rapid acceleration at any speed.
- Adaptive cruise control automatically adjusts the EV speed to match a slower vehicle in front and keeps a safe distance from it.
- All round camera vision when reversing.
- Voice commands “Hey BYD, set temperature to 23.”
- The heated steering wheel. I thought this was a totally unnecessary feature for the Australian environment, but when I tried it out on a cold morning, I loved it!
- The BYD app allows me to remotely control when the car starts and stops charging. I can also turn on the car air conditioning in advance before I get in.
I love technology and new EVs are loaded with it. There’s a whole array of buttons on the steering wheel, the central console and the driver’s door. It was all a bit daunting to begin with, but with the help of the manual and checking what all the features do, I’ve figured out most of the controls. Love my new EV!
