After 10 cars with internal combustion engines, I switched to a used VW ID.4. For a full 12 months I logged every charged kilowatt-hour, every euro spent, and every kilometre driven through all four seasons. Here you’ll find a real, honest, Lithuanian experience — no bias and no sponsor influence.
When I started considering the switch to electric, I found two extreme camps online:
I couldn’t find the golden middle anywhere — a calm, objective analysis from a real user who doesn’t own a house with a solar plant and simply uses the car for everyday needs.
So I decided to run the experiment myself. I bought a used VW ID.4 and for 12 months logged absolutely every charged kilowatt-hour, every kilometre driven and every euro spent. This blog is my personal, numbers-driven diary — no sponsored content, no filters, no embellishments. Just the raw experience, which I hope will help you make your own decision more easily.
Each part covers a separate topic with real measurements and honest conclusions.
From 10 internal combustion engine experiences to my first used EV. Reasons, myths that caused hesitation and an open look at the decision to switch to the VW ID.4.
Welcome back! In the first part of “EV Openly,” I told you how, after 19 years behind the wheel and ten different cars, the last of which was the powerful VW Arteon, a used VW ID.4 ended up in my backyard. Today, I’ll answer the two main questions I’m asked most often: why did I choose this particular model and why did I decide to go electric in the first place?
Welcome back! In the previous part of "EV Openly", I listed the numbers that made me sell my VW Arteon. Today, as promised, we will open completely open statistics. No speculation or theories from advertising leaflets. Let's look at pure facts and my personal expenses over 9 months.
Welcome back! As I promised in the previous part, today we are diving into pure practice. Let's talk about what it really means to have an electric car from a technical point of view, how much current repairs cost, how the car behaves when fully loaded with a company of adults and whether it is true that its "brain" can completely freeze in winter.
Hello everyone, back to the fifth part! If someone asked me what the biggest plus of switching to an electric car is, the answer would be very simple. It's not the dead silence in the cabin and not even the instant acceleration when overtaking on the highway. The greatest, everyday pleasure is to forget about gas stations forever...
Summer season consumption, the full 12-month expense summary, a comparison across all four seasons, and an honest verdict: was switching to electric really worth it?
Bonus partAnswers to readers’ discussions, a transparent breakdown of used VW ID.4 costs, and a numbers-based comparison of EVs and ICE cars.
Bonus partA bonus part born from your questions. I answer the most frequently asked questions and dispel the remaining myths about running an electric car.
I don’t write sponsored articles, don’t take money from manufacturers, and don’t show ads. Every test is done with my own money and on my own time. If this blog has been useful to you, you can voluntarily support it — every contribution helps me keep measuring and writing honestly.
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I update this blog roughly every two weeks. Leave your email and I’ll personally send you a short note as soon as I publish something new. No spam, ever — just real numbers and an honest experience!
I’m an ordinary driver, not an engineer or an influencer. A year ago I switched to a used electric car and decided to log everything with numbers so it’s easier for others to decide.
Got a question about the VW ID.4, charging, or a specific part of the project? Write to me — I’ll gladly try to answer, and who knows, it might become a new blog entry!
labas@evatvirai.lt