Electric Car Driving Lessons in Sevenoaks, Kent

Yes, in some circumstances.

Once I’m confident that you’re sufficiently familiar with driving — and, in particular, that you can safely and reliably stop the vehicle — I may be happy to conduct lessons in your own car.

Your car must, of course, be properly insured for driving lessons, roadworthy and legally compliant.

Until then, lessons will take place in my dual-controlled tuition car, allowing you to learn in a safe and controlled environment.

Yes. I’m a fully qualified DVSA Approved Driving Instructor (ADI).

This means I’ve completed the DVSA’s qualification process and am officially registered to provide professional driving instruction.

As an ADI, I’m also subject to the DVSA’s ongoing standards and professional requirements, including periodic standards checks to ensure the quality of my instruction remains at the level expected of an approved driving instructor.

So when you learn with me, you’re being taught by a fully qualified and approved instructor — not a trainee instructor still working towards their qualification.

For learning and driving-licence purposes, yes. An electric car has no clutch pedal or conventional manual gearbox and is treated as an automatic.

There are some differences in the way an EV feels to drive – particularly regenerative braking and the immediate response from the accelerator – but the basic controls are very similar to an automatic car.

For learning and driving-licence purposes, yes. An electric car has no clutch pedal or conventional manual gearbox and is treated as an automatic.

There are some differences in the way an EV feels to drive – particularly regenerative braking and the immediate response from the accelerator – but the basic controls are very similar to an automatic car.

Yes. If you pass your driving test in an electric car, you’ll receive an automatic-only licence. You’ll be able to drive electric, hybrid and conventional automatic cars, but you won’t be entitled to drive a manual car.

If you later decide that you want to drive manuals, you can upgrade your licence by passing a practical driving test in a manual car.

Regenerative braking means an electric car can slow down more noticeably when you lift your foot from the accelerator.

I actually find this extremely useful when teaching. Initially, I use regenerative braking as a training aid because it helps you understand exactly what you’re doing with your right foot. Press the accelerator and you immediately feel the car respond; ease off and you immediately feel the car begin to slow.

It can also encourage you to look further ahead and come off the accelerator earlier rather than rushing towards a junction or roundabout and braking at the last moment.

It shouldn’t – provided you’re taught properly.

My Renault 5 E-Tech can also be driven in a more conventional mode that behaves much more like a traditional automatic car. Once you’ve developed good right-foot control, I can therefore teach you how the car behaves with less regenerative braking.

The objective isn’t to make you brilliant at driving one particular electric car. It’s to give you driving skills that you can transfer to other electric, hybrid and conventional automatic cars.

Many of the driver-assistance systems fitted to modern cars can be used during a driving test, including reversing cameras and parking sensors.

These can be excellent learning aids. A reversing camera, for example, can help you understand exactly where the back of the car is going during a manoeuvre.

However, technology should support your observation, not replace it. You still need to look around the vehicle, understand what’s happening around you and demonstrate effective observation and control.

There isn’t one answer that’s right for everybody.

Learning in an EV removes much of the mechanical complexity of driving. There’s no clutch, no gear changing and no stalling, which means you can devote more attention to actually reading the road and making good decisions.

The trade-off is that passing in an EV gives you an automatic-only licence. If you expect to drive automatic or electric cars anyway, that may not matter to you. If you want the widest possible choice of cars – particularly inexpensive first cars – a manual licence still offers greater flexibility.

Ultimately, I don’t think the question is simply “Which one is easier?” It’s “Which type of car am I likely to want to drive after I pass?”