What range are you looking for? How far to do you travel and how often ?
EV general discussion
- Thread starter Ricochet J
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I don't travel very often. Which is the biggest issue.
But when I do it can be 100 miles+ each way. We're talking camping, beaches, hills. So if there isn't (and there often isn't) any power where I'm going it's going to become a pain to think about it.
Just to my parents is 230 miles one way.
I'd be paying a huge premium for more inconvenience. I accept this is an unusual case. But I don't see me having an electric car in 5 years. Possibly not 10.
I'd want 500 miles of range and/or extreme rapid charging and a proper charging network.
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Demo one for a weekend next time you go to see the parents or rent one for a week. Dealers will oblige on 2 day loans if you explain you have concerns re range. do a bit of journey planning and pick a route with rapids on it. Anxiety goes away quickly. I had it and used to do 600miles a week in mine. I was range relaxed and smug at the petrol savings within a week.
Must have been something wrong with it then.
500 miles (assuming real world) range is just unnecessary. The car is parked the vast majority of the time even when you are away from home on a trip.
The rapid charging network isn’t far off these days, there has been some massive progress in the last year, particularly at MSAs. Where it lacks is at ‘destinations’ and other medium to long parking places.
Charging it when it’s parked is the optimal time to charge it. Charging at friends and families houses where they have that facility will just become normal. I’d have no issues with a friend or family member using my charger if they had travelled 100+ miles to see me assuming they didn’t take the proverbial.
I often granny charge at one of my relatives which is an 3.5-4 hour drive in traffic. They’ve gone out of their way to enable it and had an outside socket put in for me. It is reciprocated as I do a lot of maintenance when I’m up there but it’s a sign of things to come.
The rapid charging network isn’t far off these days, there has been some massive progress in the last year, particularly at MSAs. Where it lacks is at ‘destinations’ and other medium to long parking places.
Charging it when it’s parked is the optimal time to charge it. Charging at friends and families houses where they have that facility will just become normal. I’d have no issues with a friend or family member using my charger if they had travelled 100+ miles to see me assuming they didn’t take the proverbial.
I often granny charge at one of my relatives which is an 3.5-4 hour drive in traffic. They’ve gone out of their way to enable it and had an outside socket put in for me. It is reciprocated as I do a lot of maintenance when I’m up there but it’s a sign of things to come.
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Associate
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My 2.0 Insignia had a 70 litre tank and the most I ever saw was 915 miles out of it, but 800 was the usual top figure if I went right down to the dregs of the tank. As much as range anxiety would be a thing, I think it would just need a change in thinking and you'd get used to it as unless there's a sudden huge leap forward in battery tech there isn't going to be a serious increase in range capabilities. 200-250 miles would be a shock to start with, but I think I'd get used to it.
This is true. Went to a friend's house a week ago, usually would have to do a quick pit stop at a rapid to get home but they just installed a charger at their place so didn't have to stop this time
As this gets more common the need for extreme range will be more and more of an edge use case
Remember when iphones first came out and you had to charge it every day and people were ridiculing it when dumb phones had days of battery life
But now everyone just charges when sleeping, no bother at all
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It's not - but one day, it might be.
People want either lots of range or the knowledge that charging will never be an issue. If you knew with 100% certainty that any destination would have easily available charging then almost nobody would ever need or want 500 miles of range. Anywhere you'd get to in a day and would subsequently travel back from a different day would have charging. But we're not there yet, so until we are, some people will want the range to return home without needing to charge.
Even places like airport parking don't have easily available charging yet - a family cannot drive to the airport and easily leave the car plugged in so they have the charge to drive home without needing to charge up when they've just got back and it's 11pm at night. So it's hardly surprising people still want to the range to drive to their destination and return again on a single charge.
The only real exception to this is Tesla drivers - there is pretty much nowhere in the UK you can drive to and from without being able to expect easily available and convenient Tesla superchargers at a useful stopping point.
Great analogy! Imagine if the next iPhone you need to only change once a week, but you had to spend 5 minutes at a local Apple store every week and pay extra for the leccy!Remember when iphones first came out and you had to charge it every day and people were ridiculing it when dumb phones had days of battery life
Before anyone points out it isn't extra, I have a 500+ bhp car, I pay 2p per mile when charging from home and around 12p per mile at Tesla superchargers (even less in France). I don't charge at those insane Shell prices (almost like they have an agenda) and you don't get 60mpg 500bhp cars.
Driving to the middle of France next week, minimum stops is two (three shorter stops is faster) and one of them will be whilst waiting for the Eurotunnel. 99.9% of the time I charge at home for zero hassle.
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Soldato
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500 miles of range is just silly. no one drives 500 miles in one go - not even lorry drivers.
you probably manage 100-150 miles at a push without stopping on UK roads. thats 3hours-4hours of driving... so technically you only need a car with that range which is what most EVs can do these days with newer ones able to charge up that range in about 30min which is a brisk lunch/rest break.
larger battery will provide more cover in the winter months and also give you comfort at arrival but otherwise really a 250mile range is what you need for that sort of trip.
Petrol cars wont get you 500 mile range on a single tank but diesels you can - however you will need some proper management to get that range in a diesel tbh...and you will be on fumes at the end of that trip
you probably manage 100-150 miles at a push without stopping on UK roads. thats 3hours-4hours of driving... so technically you only need a car with that range which is what most EVs can do these days with newer ones able to charge up that range in about 30min which is a brisk lunch/rest break.
larger battery will provide more cover in the winter months and also give you comfort at arrival but otherwise really a 250mile range is what you need for that sort of trip.
Petrol cars wont get you 500 mile range on a single tank but diesels you can - however you will need some proper management to get that range in a diesel tbh...and you will be on fumes at the end of that trip
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Soldato
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I am a huge EV fanboy but that isn't really true
hell my 350z managed over 450 miles on a tank (almost 500 but not quite). my fiat coupe no problem at all. (both petrol performance cars)
our old nissan QQ diesel did 600 miles on a tank (60l give or take) and our pug 308 diesel over 700 miles (slightly bigger tank)
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You're right, they don't. But many will drive 200 miles to somewhere they can't easily charge and then wish to return from there.
Loads of them will. I don't think many diesels won't, and most petrol cars with a tank large than about 55 litres can do it. Remember, they are more efficient on long drives.
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Then they need to charge on the way and on the way back - it's simply a case of accepting you need to plan a bit more and not assume you can charge anywhere you want.
Plenty of people do, I used to be one of them, though to be fair doubt I could do it these days too old, need more wee stops theses days
but 1800 miles one-way in one go with only re fuel and boats stops and then back again a few times a year, plus some very long commutes because I worked in one part of country and family in the other, plenty of reps still do this too. (OK, so not one go as I'd need a massive tank but the smallest of pit stops.)Yes they will, its all dependant on where/how you drive and how big the tank is, never quite cracked it in my Punto but it only required 1 more mpg @ 48mpg over a tank and I was there, probably could do it as I often did more mpgs than that but my trips never really fell in a window I was prepared to play petrol station chicken to find out as tank is small, my Volvo though, 500 is easy, but its a 71 litre tank which is cheating.
Dunno where you are getting your info from but it needs recalibrated for modern cars.
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Indeed, I just got 45 mpg on a run in my 230i which would get me 500 miles in a tank, more if intentionally driving to get the most out of it.
I got 40-42 mpg in my old 320d . From the lost some of the newer 3 series do 50+mpg but still some in the 40s
What I'm saying is it's just not worth it.
When you do few long trips you're just spending loads of cash for no real benefit.
Can't often charge an electric car at Airbnbs, very rural campt sites often don't electric hook ups.
Range aside, for people who don't use thier cars much electric just hasn't been around long enough to get a cheap second hand one. Even ICE second hand cars are ridiculous.
When you do few long trips you're just spending loads of cash for no real benefit.
Can't often charge an electric car at Airbnbs, very rural campt sites often don't electric hook ups.
Range aside, for people who don't use thier cars much electric just hasn't been around long enough to get a cheap second hand one. Even ICE second hand cars are ridiculous.