Ellis Hyde

Welcome one and all, I’m Ellis the news reporter on Auto Express, and the brand’s former online reviews editor. But I’m proud to say I cut my teeth reporting and reviewing all things EV as the content editor on our sister site, DrivingElectric. I joined the team while completing my master’s degree in automotive journalism at Coventry University and since then I’ve driven just about every electric car and hybrid I could get my hands on. 

In 2022 I won the Newspress Rising Star Award for my work on DrivingElectric, which included reporting on electrified cars of shapes and sizes, from two-seat city runabouts to million pound classic car conversions. Before I joined DrivingElectric, I found the complexity of the technology or infrastructure around EVs could be overwhelming at times. That’s why I’ve always tried to make topics like charging speeds and energy consumption easy to understand, especially for first time buyers taking their first steps into the world of electrified motoring.

Ellis Hyde’s expertise and interests

• News gathering
• Electric cars
• EV charging networks
• Reviewing cars
• Photography

Ellis' electric car Q&A

What’s the best thing about electric cars?

“The easy answer is probably how relaxing most electric cars are to drive, but what I really love is how certain brands are able to push the boundaries of how they design and build cars because of EV technology. Whether you’re talking about household names like Hyundai and Kia, or new kids on the block such as Lucid or Rivian, their cars demonstrate what is possible in the electric age when you start with a clean sheet of paper and don’t hold back.”

What was your first electric car experience?

“I had just convinced my dad to get an electric car, but before he test drove any we went along for a passenger ride in his friend’s Tesla Model 3 Performance. Now I thought I knew what to expect when we hit the road, but when he put his foot to the floor, we were propelled into another postcode before I could comprehend what just happened. The instant power delivery of an electric car is incredibly addictive, and still baffles me every time I experience it.”

What one piece of advice would you give to electric car buyers?

“Think long and hard about how you’re going to keep your car charged. For some that’ll be easy if you can get a charging point installed at your home or work, and ideally you should get that sorted before your new EV arrives. But if you’re mostly planning on using public charging stations, then you need to find out how many chargers are near you, which networks operate them and potentially how busy they can get at peak times, like after you’ve finished work. Zap-Map and Bonnet are two great apps to help you find nearby chargers, and I recommend every EV owner should have both on their phones.”

Ellis on social media and e-mail

• e-mail: ellis_hyde@autovia.co.uk
• Twitter: @EllisDrives
• Instagram: @ellis.drives
• LinkedIn: Ellis Hyde