Should I buy my teenage daughter an EV to learn to drive in?
My 16 year-old daughter is dead set on getting an EV as a first car. She'll start learning to drive in October when she turns 17, and I have some big reservations about her learning in and driving an electric car. Firstly, I'm concerned insurance will be astronomically expensive. Secondly, I'm worried about her not being able to drive a manual car. Thirdly, I'm worried that she'll end up charging in unsafe places. We had a deal that my wife and I would buy her a nearly-new car if she got a Saturday job to pay for the insurance and fuel. She's entirely held up her end of the bargain there.
She'll be sharing it with her mother and will pass it on to her younger brother in a couple of years' time (he's also keen on an EV). She says her mates are getting EVs and she wants to be environmentally friendly. Can you advise me if my reservations are warranted or I'm just being an old fuddy duddy? David, Nottingham. Daily Mail and This is Money electric cars expert Freda Lewis-Stempel replies: David, welcome to the joys of independent teenagers. 10 years ago I was getting my first car, and although I wasn't getting an EV, the family 'debates' around what ended up being my 1.6-litre Peugeot 207 are still etched on my memory today.
I completely understand that you want your daughter to have the safest, most sensible, best value for money first car. And you're asking the same questions as many parents because so many young people now want to own an EV: almost half of learners want lessons in an EV . So to make sure you're armed with all the facts, I've asked some of the leading experts in each area to give you their best insight and advice. The rest I'm afraid is down to trusting your daughter – as you've said she's done everything asked of her, and just because you wouldn't chose an EV doesn't mean it's the wrong choice for her. Also the 'my friends all have one' is always hard argument to resist... Good luck with that one!
How insurance costs for an EV learner compare
Alicia Hempsted, car insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket says: 'Generally, insurance premiums for electric vehicles (EVs) are higher than petrol and diesel cars because EVs tend to be more expensive to buy upfront and repair, batteries are costly components, and repairs often need specialist knowledge and parts. 'As a result, insurers will factor in the greater cost and complexity of claims when calculating premiums. 'Between 01 January 2025 and 29 July 2025, the average price of an annual premium bought through MoneySuperMarket by under-25s was £1,771 for an electric vehicle and £1,467 for petrol.
'However, there has been an increase in the availability of more affordable EVs that are suited to learner and newly passed drivers. Models like the Renault Zoe, Vauxhall Corsa-e or Nissan Leaf often come with lower insurance group ratings. 'As more people buy EVs and insurers build more detailed risk profiles, the cost gap between EV and petrol car insurance will continue to fall. The average annual car insurance cost for electric vehicles has fallen by more than £100 since 2023 according to MoneySuperMarket data.' Freda Lewis-Stempel adds: So, while you're not wrong David that insurance will indeed be higher for an EV, it's not 'astronomically' higher as you feared.
In fact insuring a used EV (which is the case for your daughter) tends to be cheaper than insuring a brand-new one, mainly due to depreciation. Ms Hempstead also said that adding an experienced driver like a parent (in this case your wife) to the policy can reduce the premium as it's seen as lower risk by insurers. But she warns that while it's fine if the parent occasionally uses the car, the main driver must be accurately listed on the policy or it will be viewed as 'fronting' which is illegal. If the main driver is your daughter then make sure she's named as such. She also points out that newer EVs often have the latest safety technology including automatic emergency braking, lane assist and crash avoidance systems which 'can help reduce the likelihood of accidents and may be rewarded with slightly lower premiums'. These safety devices can also lower your amount of 'dad worrying' too.
Is it a bad idea to learn in an EV rather than a manual?
A major concern is that passing your test in an EV is likely to mean not being able to drive a manual car. It's true that your daughter won't master manual car skills including clutch control, stalling or hill starts because EVs don't have a manual transmission or clutch pedal, but Geraint Lewis, Head of Training at Red Driver Training said there are 'benefits' to EVs too. He comments: 'The quiet operation of an EV allows students to better focus on instructions and the road environment. Many EVs feature regenerative braking, which slows the car when you lift off the accelerator.
'This helps learners understand braking dynamics and can reduce reliance on the brake pedal. Some models even let you adjust how strong the regenerative braking feels. 'Driving instructors teach students how to respond to the EV just as they would with any car, so learners quickly adapt to the different feel.' Geraint added that while EVs deliver instant torque and smooth acceleration 'many EVs include settings that reduce throttle sensitivity, making it easier for beginners to control the car while they're learning.'
Which are the best EV models for learners?
We asked our friends at Auto Trader to recommend some great learner EVs, so you can feel confident you're buying your daughter the right set of wheels. Erin Baker, of Auto Trader, said: 'For learners, affordable models like the VW e-Up! and Mini Hatch, or the T03 from new brand player Leapmotor are all excellent options. 'The electric versions of learner favourites like the Vauxhall Corsa are also great choices for new drivers on a budget. 'The Hyundai Ioniq is another great choice for value, with it being praised for its spacious practicality and smooth ride, which is also ideal for new drivers. What's more, the car is very sustainable due to their battery life being incredibly long. A full charge can be achieved in around 35 minutes, and even a quick 7 minute top-up can add 30 miles of range.'
EV charging – is it cheap?
You've mentioned that you're getting a home EV charger, so before we get into how safe public charging is, let's address home charging. EV home charger provider Ohme looked into the home charging cost savings to be made for us. Ohme charging specialist Nat Barnes says: 'Charging at home will always be the cheapest place to charge your car – especially if you are on a smart home energy tariff such as Intelligent Octopus Go and have a compatible charger such as those from Ohme. That gives you electricity at just 7p/kWh compared to the standard rate of 25.73p/kWh.
'That's the difference of a full charge for a Vauxhall Corsa Electric [a popular learner EV] costing £3.57 or £13.13 for its 266 mile range and 51kWh battery. By comparison an equivalent petrol car over 266 miles would cost more than £40 at 40mpg average fuel economy.' Freda Lewis-Stempel adds: Costs aside, from a safety point of view if your daughter is mainly charging from home then that is of course as safe as it gets. For when she does occasionally charge on the go it's unlikely that this will be late at night or at remote locations. But as a young woman charging myself, I will say that there's been a huge step to ensure safe EV charging all times of the day in recent years.
The new InstaVolt Superhub at Winchester that I visited recently is a great example. It has 'comprehensive security features', which include 24/7 CCTV site surveillance on high-performance 8MP cameras. There is on-site security when the on-site coffee facilities are closed, lighting illuminating all walkways, charging bays, and parking areas, as well as intelligent monitoring advanced recognition cameras, ANPR-enabled cameras that instantly detect and notify InstaVolt of any blacklisted vehicles, and remote monitoring of the entire site managed by InstaVolt's head office. I appreciate that sounds like a list for Mission Impossible's Ethan Hunt, but it really goes to show how advanced EV charging safety is becoming – far better than most petrol stations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
5 minutes ago
- The Independent
UK aid cuts will cause untold damage, wildlife charities warn – as they fear for future of key programmes
UK conservation charities key to protecting wildlife around the world have warned that the government's slashing of the international aid budget will have a dramatic impact – severely damaging a lifeline for fragile ecosystems as costs and cut and leaving many organisations fearing for the future. With the UK cutting its overall foreign aid budget from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of Gross National Income (GNI), data shows support for nature and conservation is set to receive a particularly stark hit worth hundreds of millions of pounds. While the government has said it is committed to protecting nature and battling the climate crisis, The Independent has uncovered evidence that cuts are already having a devastating blow on conservation programmes. One organisation is the African People and Wildlife (APW) charity, which carries out conservation work in Tanzania. The charity has two projects running this year that were 'generously funded' by UK aid, according to Laly Lichtenfeld, co-founder of APW. The first of these projects supports conservation activities on Lake Natron, which is a critical ecosystem home to vast flamingo breeding grounds, where APW carries out activities such as grassland restoration and sustainable grazing support in order to help people live in balance with the landscape and to adapt to the changing climate. The second project is about providing practical tools for people to manage human-wildlife conflict, particularly in relation to elephants and large carnivores. Funding for the Lake Natron project came to a close at the end of June 2025, while the second project is due to run out later this year. Both were funded by the UK government-backed £10.6 million Darwin Initiative, which has supported some 52 projects globally. However, it is not currently open for new funding rounds due to uncertainty around funding. Being left with a gap in funding that might not be replenished, says Lichtenfeld, is highly damaging for APW's work. 'When aid cuts like we are experiencing happen, you're not just dismantling a given project. You're dismantling an entire ecosystem of support for both wildlife and a huge number of African communities,' says Lichtenfeld. Grants that the charity now expects to come in this year are 'probably about 50 per cent less than last year', Lichtenfeld continues, and the charity is planning to make some major cuts to activities on the ground. 'We're doing everything we can to keep the bare bones of projects going, to keep relationships alive and show the communities they have not been forgotten,' she adds. 'World-class science' Matthew Gould, CEO of major conservation group the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), tells The Independent that expected cuts to wildlife and conservation will be highly damaging for both the natural world, and the humans that depend upon it. 'Given that over half of global GDP depends on healthy ecosystems, cutting UK aid for nature would be a false economy,' he says. 'The return on investment in nature is high, but the cost of not investing is higher.' ZSL projects that that have received UK government funding include The Rhino Impact Investment Project, led to the creation the landmark ' Rhino Bond ', which is a $150m investment product that enables wealthy investors to directly invest to boost numbers of critically endangered rhinos, while also providing significant local employment in conservation. Another ZSL project is the development of SPOTT, which tracks the environmental pledges of companies producing items which can drive deforestation. Now, more than 50 per cent of palm oil products traded globally now SPOTT-assessed. Gould was among a number of twelve UK conservation leaders – also including the CEOs of WWF, Greenpeace, and Conservation International – who recently wrote to the UK government suggesting that cuts to conservation would be 'a massive own goal'. 'Investment in nature is a strategic, cost-effective pillar of Britain's global development agenda… UK nature programmes deliver extraordinary returns on modest investment,' they wrote in the letter, which has been shared exclusively with The Independent. Bird charity the RSPB is another organisation concerned about the impact of UK aid cuts. The charity uses money from the UK aid budget to support its conservation activities in British Overseas Territories like St Helena and South Georgia, which contain some of the world's rarest seabirds, as well as several penguin colonies. "The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) UK aid budget has been a lifeline for some of the world's most fragile ecosystems, helping to halt extinctions and breathe new life into habitats,' says Katie-jo Luxton, RSPB executive director of global conservation. UK aid funding allows charities like the RSPB to 'blend world-class science with deep local knowledge', says Luxton, ensuring that the UK plays a key role in both protecting wildlife and supporting communities. 'With funding cuts looming and transparency scarce, we're deeply concerned that conservation efforts could be sidelined,' Luxton adds. 'If the UK is serious about its global leadership on climate and nature, sustained investment in nature and climate must remain front and centre." When Keir Starmer announced the UK aid cuts, he suggested that Sudan, Ukraine, Gaza, global health, and nature and climate would be the key areas that the UK would continue to support. And though it did not reveal an any details on conservation or nature specifically, July's FCDO annual report showed that the department is set to increase climate and nature spending from £414m in 2024/5 to £658m in 2025/6. But information received by Ian Mitchell at the Centre for Global Development via Freedom of Information (FOI) request reveals a more complicated story. The FOI shows that between 2021 and 2024, some 35 per cent of funding for nature-focused aid programmes was distributed by two other government departments: the Department for Environment, Food and Forestry (DEFRA) – at £173m – as well as from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), which provided £304m. The FOI also contains spending forecasts for the amount of aid that different government departments are set to spend, revealing that between the financial years of 2025/26 and 2026/7 - which is the financial year that UK aid spend is set to hit 0.3 per cent - DEFRA's foreign aid is set to be cut by 45.2 per cent, down to £247m, while DESNZ's aid is set to fall by 58.1 per cent to £115m. The cuts projected for these two departments are much steeper than the cuts FCDO is to carry out over the same period - and given that a much larger share of those two departments' aid is spent on nature than is the case for FCDO, it implies a particularly dramatic funding hit for nature and conservation, according to Mitchell. 'These falls to DESNEZ and DEFRA's aid budget are steeper than the circa 30 per cent cut to the FCDO over the same period,' says Mitchell. 'This is a relative de-prioritisation of those departments' international spend and will mean reduced efforts on international biodiversity and conservation.' A government spokesperson told The Independent: "This government remains committed to providing International Climate Finance now and in the future and to playing our part, alongside other developed countries and finance providers, to deliver our international commitments.' The spokesperson added that the UK still intends to deliver its ambition of delivering £11.6bn in climate finance for developing countries between April 2021 and March 2026, which was first made by Boris Johnson at COP26 in August in 2021. 'A difficult few years' Anouska Perram, the interim coordinator at a conservation charity called the Forest Peoples Programme (FPP), which receives UK aid funding for a forestry project across both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo. Specifically, FPP works to try and reverse environmental degradation in remote forest areas, by encouraging sustainable forest management traditions among indigenous communities, and also by lobbying for policy reforms to support their territorial rights. 'We are not, strictly speaking, a conservation organisation - we are a human rights organisation. But supporting community-led conservation helps achieve both human rights and conservation objectives,' she says. FPP has been working with some communities in the Congo for more than 30 years – but Perram is now very worried about the future. 'The FCDO-supported project is due to expire next year, and we are aware that the funding outlook for us and other organisations looks very bad going forward,' she says. 'With both the UK and other bilateral organisations, it's very clear that support for nature and climate is likely to decrease in the future.' For now, all conservation organisations such as APW and FPP can do is reduce costs where they can, apply for new funding, and hope for the best. 'I think it's definitely going to be a difficult few years. There's no question about it,' says Lichtenfeld. 'We have a tremendously dedicated team, and we will do all we can to keep the work moving.'
Daily Mail
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Tyson Fury is called out for radio silence with his hometown club on the brink of extinction - after previously saying he wanted to buy them to 'throw millions at them and keep them going up'
Tyson Fury has been criticised for fans for his silence surrounding Morecambe Football Club, who are on the brink of extinction. The Lancashire club's future is in serious doubt after they were hit with a number of sanctions for failing to meet financial obligations for the upcoming campaign, with their first three matches of the National League season postponed. The league said in a statement this week: 'It was decided further sanctions must be imposed, with the club's membership to be suspended with immediate effect. 'The committee will meet again on Wednesday, August 20 to determine if outstanding items have been satisfied, and to decide the club's ability to retain membership in the competition.' Jason Whittingham - the person also responsible for the crash of Worcester Warriors - is in charge of the club but no solution is near. Whenever the sale to EFL-approved group London-based investment firm Panjab Warriors seems about to conclude, Whittingham gives some reason or other why the deal can't be done. That has led to fans calling in Fury to save the club from absolute extinction - but the boxer has so far been radio silent on the matter. 'Anyone else think it's an absolute disgrace that Tyson Fury uses Morecambe's stadium to keep fit, says Morecambe is the best place on earth but yet won't save the local football club from going bust?' one disgruntled fan posted on social media. 'Such a shame.' Another added: 'Tyson Fury watching Morecambe Football Club go bust while training at his gym from the ground daily is genuinely mental. Save your local club.' A third posted: 'Come on @Tyson_Fury, you big dosser! Time to put your money where your mouth is and save Morecambe Football club. Be the champ the Shrimps need!' Fury lives in a multi-million pound mansion in the area with wife Paris and their seven children. He had previously expressed his interest in buying the club to launch them up the football pyramid, but nothing materialised. The 36-year-old told talkSPORT three years ago: 'I'm thinking about buying Morecambe Football Club, they're in League One at the moment 'So I was thinking I invest X amount of millions in them. Basically throw it at them and keep them going up. 'I've been offered to buy Morecambe Football Club. I own all the training facilities anyway and the training gym. So who knows? You might be looking at a football club owner.' Football fans have flooded to social media to call for Fury to save the Lancashire-based club Owner Jason Whittingham (left) is leading the decline of Morecambe as time continues to run out to save them The Tyson Fury Foundation is also located in the north east corner of the club's Mazuma Mobile Stadium, and the ground also contains a gym that is indeed owned by the heavyweight. Though he claims to be retired, Fury is thought to be nearing a return to the ring and has a reported net worth of £130million. It would take a fraction of that to save the club. Simon Johnson, who conducted the interview with Fury in 2022, has called for the boxer to step in. He said on his show: 'I spoke to Tyson about it two years ago and he was interested. 'He wanted to do something like that. He was asking about the ideas of running a football club. Given the fact Tyson Fury doesn't even pay his debts to Piers Morgan when he gets a million quid, I don't think he's going to put his hands in his pocket and buy a football club. 'Let's call him out. Let's say, Tyson Fury, the most prominent resident of Morecombe, has lots to say and is always talking about how he can help different people. Here's an opportunity, Tyson. Put your hand in your pocket.
Telegraph
6 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Manchester United make £73.9m Benjamin Sesko bid to hijack Newcastle deal
Manchester United have finally made their move for Benjamin Sesko with a bid of up to €85m (£73.9m) and believe the striker wants to join them. The offer comes less than 24 hours after Newcastle United made an improved bid of at least €80million for the RB Leipzig forward plus up to €10million (£8.7m) in add-ons. It is understood that United are proposing a guaranteed €75million (£65.2million) plus €10m (£8.7m) in add-ons. Although Newcastle's overall fee is higher remains to be seen how realisable the extra payments are from either club. Both bids are now being 'evaluated' by the Bundesliga club although, ultimately, given they are in the same range, the decision will rest with Sesko and his representatives. It is understood the Slovenian international is yet to formally inform Leipzig or either of the Premier League clubs as to what his choice is. However it is hoped that a decision will be made on Tuesday. Both United and Newcastle are under the impression that they have emerged as the 22-year-old's first-choice and it may be decided by who offers him the best financial package and salary. United were expected to counter Newcastle's second offer with their original bid flatly rejected by Leipzig. Neither offer has been accepted by are understood to be around the figure that Leipzig want. Newcastle's first bid was an initial €75m with add-ons as they seek to add to their strikeforce and remain adamant that they are not signing a replacement for Alexander Isak. They rejected an offer of £110m from Liverpool last week insisting their valuation for Isak was a non-negotiable £150m. Liverpool said that given Newcastle's stance they would not make a second bid but it remains to be seen whether that changes if another striker is signed by Eddie Howe. United opted to prioritise a move for Sesko, who was of interest to Arsenal before they opted for Viktor Gyokeres, over Ollie Watkins but there has been concern over getting into a bidding war with Newcastle. They have been determined to ascertain that the player was keen to join them before making their move. On Sunday, Omar Berrada, the United chief executive, said the club's director of football Jason Wilcox and his recruitment team were working 'around the clock' to make further additions to the squad. United wanted to sign Liam Delap at the start of the summer but the striker turned them down in order to join Chelsea from Ipswich for £30m.
