TOP Gear icon James May has hit back at fans who accused him of being ‘bias’ against electric cars.
The Grand Tour star offered his opinion on EVs, having owned six himself, on an episode of The Intercooler podcast.
Overall, the motoring legend said he was “conflicted” about electric cars.
But, disgruntled listeners rushed to blast the ex-Top Gear host on X/Twitter.
While some fans praised James for his “balanced view” during the debate, one penned: “Still biased against EV.”
To which James replied: “Where’s by bias?”
The poster commented: “Somewhere between your brain and right foot.”
Another fuming listener wrote: “I gave up on May and his two side kicks years ago! When they come on TV I turn over.”
“The majority of the Top Gear audience expects no less from the Three ‘Wise’ Berks unfortunately,” commented someone else.
However, there was plenty of support for the TV personality.
“James is clearly not anti-EV. He’s been an owner longer than most. He raises valid points. Key is not to dismiss them, but to tack any shortcomings, e.g infrastructure.”
It follows points raised by James such as lack of charging points and how long vehicles take to top up.
He claimed drivers find themselves “navigating between high-speed chargers and hoping there aren’t too many people on them.”
James said there needed to be “millions” more charging points to accommodate the ban on new petrol and diesel car sales coming into force in 2035.
The latest figures from Zapmap show that there were 57,290 chargers in the UK in February 2024.
Research found around 20% of these were in the “rapid or ultra-rapid” category, and make up around 60% of the network’s capacity.
The motoring expert added: “You cannot get around the problem of even a quick charge taking 15 or 20 minutes.
“I’m actually boring enough to have timed this.
“I do stop in my [Porsche] 911, which has a famously large petrol tank, and fill it up…and it can just be three minutes.
“I am a bad ambassador for the electric car really… [but] I think we’ve known since the beginning of the 20th Century that electric motors are the most sensible way to power a car.”
He suggested that what is usually termed “range anxiety” is actually “recharging anxiety”.
The Grand Tour Star added it would be acceptable for an EV to have a range of just 150 miles – if it recharged more rapidly.
But, he said electric cars now “have to have a massive battery” in order to provide decent range with enough time between charges.
‘A lot to like’
However, James did praise his Tesla Model 3 he currently owns for its “silence” and said “there’s a lot to like” about BEVs.
The £39,000 all-electric sedan is the brand’s best-selling model worldwide and boasts an impressive top speed of 125mph and a claimed range of 318 miles.
“I’ve had six now and two of them were hydrogen-fuel-celled Toyotas before the whole hydrogen infrastructure thing fell apart,” he told The Intercooler podcast.
“They’re essentially electric cars driven by an electric motor but BEVs, there’s a lot to like about them.”
Despite dubbing himself a “bad ambassador” for EVs James did say he was “pretty pro” them.
The Sun online reached out to James May for comment.
