Getting an EV means embracing technology in a whole new way. Suddenly your car is much smarter than your old gas guzzler and the benefits of making use of the right tech are clear.

If you want to know where to charge your car, manage its charging at home, there’s an app for that.

Here are the apps you need to think about downloading to make the most out of your EV experience.

MyGreenCar

If you’re looking to get your first electric car or to switch to a new brand or model, MyGreenCar is a great tool that helps you to make the right decision based on the environmental impact and financial benefits of each EV out there.

You can put in your driving needs and habits (like annual fuel costs, ownership costs, carbon emissions, fuel consumption, EV range, etc) and which cars you’re interested in and it’ll give you all the information you need, right at your fingertips.

PlugShare

Especially useful for when you’re taking your EV on a road trip, PlugShare is a global map of public charging points, so wherever you are, you should be able to find the nearest suitable place to charge up your car.

You can search by area, network and type of connection, which helps you find free charging points and you can even map out your route based on the availability of chargers, which is especially helpful on a long drive. Don’t leave home without it, basically.

ZapMap

Another excellent option for finding the right charging point at the right time, ZapMap also lets you map out your route factoring in where you can charge your car, It also allows users to review charging points so you can find out more about the location, including essential information like what the food and coffee is like there and how convenient and quick the charging point is.

A Better Routeplanner

Both of the above apps have functionality to help you work out where the charging points are on your journey, but neither does it quite as well as this specialised routeplanner app. ABRP lets you set your departure time and state of charge, and then will show you an estimate for the cost of your journey and how long each charging stop will take.

Tesla

If you have a Tesla, this is an essential addition to your smartphone as it’ll help you find your nearest Tesla charging point for superfast charging.

It’s also the pacesetter for what an EV app should be able to do as it lets you unlock your car, start it, open the sunroof, turn on the air con and almost everything else.

The only thing you can’t do (yet) is sit in the back seat and use your phone to actually drive the car, but Elon Musk is probably working on that right now.

Does your phone have all of the latest EV apps?