Have you driven electric before? Yes? That’s great. No need to read any further (unless you want to of course). But if you’re thinking “ummm, no, I’m not quite sure how, and I don’t think I can”, please stay with us for a few minutes. In no time, you’ll have figured out how it works and can drive off smoothly with a smile on your face.
First, choose an ID in the WeShare app and reserve it. Go there, open the car with the app, sit down. But where’s the ignition? There isn’t any. There’s no key either. Instead, push the brake pedal to start the engine. There's also a manual start button to the right of the steering wheel, but you don't really need that.
The gearshift is also on the right behind the steering wheel (not in the driver’s console). Flip the switch back and forwards to change gear. All of our cars are automatic. You can start with gears D or B. B is ‘recuperation mode’ – the car recovers energy when braking and so the range increases. Don't be worried though: in gear B, it feels like the car brakes by itself when you let go of the accelerator. That's how it’s supposed to be.
And now where is the handbrake? It releases automatically when you shift into gear to start driving. You don't have to do anything.
You’ll find a small panel to control the lights to the left of the steering wheel. Choose the ‘Auto’ setting, and the ID will do the whole lighting thing by itself and adjust its lighting to the brightness outside. Very convenient.
If you want to listen to your own music while driving (which, of course you do), you can connect your phone to the connector in the driver’s console with a USB-C cable. Or you can use Bluetooth – select the radio/media icon on the infotainment system display and follow the instructions.
Air conditioning is also important. First, check whether it’s already switched on. No? Then turn it on with the button under the display. You’ll find different options in the menu, from ‘Smart Climate’ to ‘Classic Climate’. Just choose what suits you best.
And if all this sounds good in theory but hard to imagine, watch our video. We explain everything you need to know in less than three minutes:
(It’s in German, but you can at least see where everything is.)
Now everything’s how you like it, it’s time to put the foot down. This is the best thing about electric driving. If this is your first time in an ID, we’d recommend gently tapping the accelerator pedal first. Why? Because unlike a combustion engine, our electric missile gets you up to speed super fast. It may feel a bit like a rollercoaster in your stomach, but it becomes addictive after the first ride. Just drive off, nothing can happen – except maybe that you’ll never want to stop.
Get away quickly when the light goes green, overtake comfortably on the freeway: you’ll notice that our ID will get you through traffic very smoothly. In fact, a petrol or diesel engine will probably seem a bit sluggish after an electric drive. Even so, we’d still say to be careful with the accelerator pedal. Not just because of the nimble acceleration, which isn’t good to show off too much in a 30 kmph zone, but also because constant full throttle mode will eat up your range.
The word ‘range’ may invite a variety of unwanted what-if scenarios into your brain before you even set off. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, hours of forced breaks at charging stations, panic attacks while looking (again) at the battery indicator. Not so nice. But not so surprising either. After all, we have plenty of practice at petrol stations: pull over, fill up, buy Werther’s Originals, done. On the other hand, not so many drivers are familiar with charging stations. Isn't it complicated, time consuming and a giant pain in the Auto? In a word: nope.
First things first: you don't even need to charge our cars if you don't want to. We will do that for you. Just make sure you choose a car with enough range for your planned journey and you're good to go.
But if you’re going on a longer trip, or just want to try out charging, we have a handy little video for you here (and some FAQs):
(In German again, sorry, we need to work on this.)
We should also tell you that you get €8 free credit when you leave your car plugged in to a charging station. Also, the bad news, if you leave the car with under 20 km range, you’ll have to pay a €50 fee for the extra work we’ll have to do to charge it for the next person.
Once you've taken your first electric trip, you might think about taking an ID out of the town on a long weekend or holiday. We’d be happy to have you! You can now keep our cars for up to 10 days. During this time you’ll definitely have to know how to charge the car. Find everything you need to know about range and charging on the go in our ‘Long Trip Guide’. Surprise: just like the petrol station routine, you’ll quickly develop a charging routine. It really isn't hard, we promise.
Yes, electric cars are good for the planet and for cities and all, but they’re also fun! Compared to petrol/diesel trips, electric journeys are a little bit different – better, we think. You literally float along quietly and smoothly but at the same time it feels more dynamic.
In the WeShare team, we’re all electric devotees. Because it feels kind of like slowing down while you speed up. Because it’s simple, and because we know that just because we want to drive somewhere, we’re not releasing exhaust fumes into the environment.
So, will we see you in ID soon? We’d like that.
100% electric car sharing
in Berlin und Hamburg
