When electric cars first ever appeared on the world stage, they were largely overlooked, and were seen as interesting novelties with a certain degree of potential for the future, but which simply didn’t offer the kind of performance or practical utility required for everyday use – much less for high end car enthusiasts.

In recent times, more and more new drivers who are qualifying courtesy of services such as Ignition Driving School are emerging onto an automotive landscape that seems to have an increasingly prominent place for electric vehicles.

Between Elon Musk and Tesla, and the various electric and hybrid models being produced by all major car manufacturers, anyone looking for a new car today – especially anyone with a a substantial amount of disposable income to dedicate to car shopping – might be wondering whether it’s a good idea to go electric.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when you’re asking yourself whether you should buy an electric car or not.

The infrastructure is consistently improving

One of the major potential drawbacks of electric cars is the simple fact that there is nowhere near the kind of infrastructure in place to support them as there is for combustion engine vehicles.

Virtually anywhere on Earth, you’ll be able to drive across most countries in a petrol or diesel vehicle, and to find regular service stations along the way to top up your fuel when you’re running low.

For electric cars, however, there may be virtually no charging points available at petrol stations or rest stops – and in the case of some countries, there may literally be none.

While this has certainly been a major concern up to this point, more and more countries are developing an increasingly advanced infrastructure to support the use of electric cars.

Across parts of the USA, and parts of Europe, for example, there are more and more electric car charging points available – and it seems increasingly likely that they will continue to be far more widespread as time goes on.

If you’re going to get an electric car, you’ll certainly need to plan your trips out carefully, and you should definitely have an awareness of where the charging points are along longer routes, or if there even are any.

But, importantly, the infrastructural framework is being created, so it looks like life is only going to get easier for electric car users going forward.

Electric cars are getting consistently faster, with better battery life

Electric cars were once known for being slow, and for simply not having the “juice” that petrol and diesel vehicles had.

Not only does this present a variety of practical concerns and issues, it also takes a lot of the fun out of the driving experience for anyone who loves soaring down a stretch of empty road.

Today, however, things have completely changed. For example, the Tesla Model S P100D with Ludicrous mode achieves speeds of 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds, Making it the third fastest accelerating production car ever produced.

At the same time, one of the other major concerns that has prevented many car enthusiasts from getting on board the electric bandwagon, has been the relatively poor battery life of electric cars.

This, though, has been radically improved in recent times, with the longest range Tesla offering approximately 405 miles of range per full charge.

While not every electric car produced by every company will have equivalent metrics to Teslas, Teslas are a good benchmark for the state of the electric car industry as a whole, due to their leading role within that industry.

Sure, you probably won’t want to take your electric car on a road trip across the continental United States, or Europe, but it’s increasingly the case that you will be able to take your electric car out for long drives at high speeds, and even weekend getaways, without worrying much about charge.

Electric cars often have cutting edge “smart” features

Electric cars are, in and of themselves, “smart” vehicles that seem perfectly suited to the digital age that we live in – so it would be almost ridiculous for an electric car to not have certain modern luxury features built-in.

If you’re interested in cutting edge “smart” features, ranging from things like soft driving mode, to smart sensors and cameras and support for the latest video and music streaming services, electric cars are unlikely to let you down.

Some people enjoy the clean minimalist and mechanical feel and aesthetic of older cars, and that’s great. But for an entirely different market – or even for the same individuals when they’re in a different mood – there are some real perks associated with having a vehicle that can do everything short of filing your tax returns for you.

Electric cars are likely to be the future, due to government targets around the world

Although, today, electric cars are still seen as a somewhat niche and luxury item, all the evidence seems to suggest that they are the future of the automotive industry going forward.

A major part of the reason for this is that many major world governments have committed to targets for phasing out combustion engine vehicles, and for achieving carbon neutrality within the relatively near future.

With new combustion engine vehicles due to cease production, every major car manufacturer is turning their gaze towards electric.

Societies, governments, individuals, and corporations around the world have a vested interest in supporting and developing electric car technology, and by getting in on the electric car industry today, you are joining the trend that will carry automation forward.

Counterpoint: Electric cars don’t have the same “analog” feel, and you can’t be your own mechanic in the same way

It’s only fair to include one of the main counterpoints to getting an electric car: they simply don’t have the same analog feel as traditional cars do, and they will be much less susceptible to being worked on by DIY mechanics in their home garages.

Sad to say, but the romantic image of roaring down the motorway, shifting gears in a classic muscle car, and spending your weekends fixing up your car in the comfort of your own garage, is likely to become a thing of the past if the electric car industry has its way.

For some people, this will be enough reason to avoid electric and to resist the increasing digitisation of everyday life.

For other people, though, it will be a worthwhile trade-off.