Meet our Drivers: Matthew Hopkins at Spirit Energy

Matthew Hopkins, Laboratory Supervisor at Spirit Energy, took delivery of his Kia Niro in December 2022 and has been enjoying the low running costs of his Tusker car ever since.

Matthew chose his Kia Niro because it was affordable and offered low running costs, as well as having a good range which made it possible to get to his family’s home in Cheltenham from his home in Cumbria without charging. Matthew also likes the environmental benefits, but it’s clear that cost was a major factor in his decision.

He comments,

“I was initially interested because I’d read about the savings that are available and it definitely looked like the cheapest way to drive a new car.”

Matthew also liked the flexibility it offered, as he hadn’t driven an electric car before. Being that the agreement was only for three years, he felt that if it wasn’t something he enjoyed, it wasn’t a lifetime commitment and so could just hand the car back. He explains,

“I really liked the idea of going electric, especially because of the NI and tax savings I am able to make, but wasn’t sure I wanted to buy a car and make that kind of commitment. The car scheme made it really simple – I get to try out driving an EV but it’s not for ever. As it happens, I love driving an EV so I don’t need to think about changing back to petrol.”

It’s been a good decision for Matthew. He’s recently been on a 1500-mile round trip to France in his Niro, where he experienced low-cost motoring, with no issues at all – despite being slightly nervous at the thought of the journeys involved and the inevitable charging required. He says,

“It was a surprisingly normal drive – I had colleagues joking with me that it would be a nightmare to charge en route and to be
honest, I was worried it might be but there weren’t any issues at all. We drove from Cumbria to Dover, frery to Dunkirk and then down to the East side of Paris. We drove around and saw the sites during the day, and then came back to Cumbria via Bruges in Belgium. The holiday cottage had an external socket so we slow charged there overnight on a couple of occasions and used the network when we needed to. I did some research before we went and got a couple of RFID cards. We only had to use them in Bruges as we didn’t really use the network in France but I’m glad we had them as a backup. Overall it was simple, just like charging in the UK”.

Matthew is definitely an EV convert and will choose an EV again for his next car, he comments,

“It’s been a positive experience and has definitely saved me money. I’d absolutely choose another EV for my next car. I don’t use the network a lot as I charge at home and at work, so its very convenient for me.”

Tusker have made driving an EV simple and affordable for Matthew, and he’d recommend the process to his friends, saying

“I didn’t really know what to expect but it’s been simple so far. The car came earlier than I had expected but the team at Tusker kept me informed of the changes so I’d 100% recommend it.”

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