4 ms·

When I'm on the highway, I tank my car up and it'll be roughly 200 miles at halfway and 300 at 1/4. Granted, I've never driven my car to vapors on the highway b

When I'm on the highway, I tank my car up and it'll be roughly 200 miles at halfway and 300 at 1/4. Granted, I've never driven my car to vapors on the highway but it seems logical that a tank of gas will get me around 400 miles. It's a 14 gallon tank so that translates to around 30mpg highway. I don't think it's unrealistic to ask for an equivalent efficiency in an electric car.

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
sliverstorm 15y ago
What makes you think that's a realistic expectation?
georgieporgie 15y ago
30mpg highway is really good and does not reflect the average experience of a consumer. That said, I think you're (sadly) right, but not for the reason you're stating. Because electric cars can't be recharged in five minutes, consumers will suddenly think they have to go even further on a charge. They will completely ignore the fact that they commute 15 miles each way, every day, and the fact that they already have that minivan they use for long trips anyway. That said, your argument doesn't really apply to this car. "The EPA official all-electric range is 35 miles (56 km), and the total range is 379 miles (610 km)." (Wikipedia) That qualifies as, "closer to 400 miles per charge."
- masklinn 15y ago
  > 30mpg highway is really good Depends on the car you drive. 30mpg is really good for a gaz-guzzler, but mid-range sedans can easily be driven into the 40s.
  - georgieporgie 15y ago
    mid-range sedans can easily be driven into the 40s. Really? Here are some numbers from Kiplinger's "best midsize sedan" list from 2009: * Sonata 32mpg highway. * Mazda 6 30mpg highway. * Chevy Malibu 33mpg highway. * Nissan Altima 31mpg highway. http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/car/archive/2008/car1207.html http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/car/archive/2008/car1207.ht... Cars.com mentions the best in each class for 2011, and it's the Nissan Versa and Sentra, each at 34mpg for the "Midsize Cars" class. Looking at FuelEconomy.gov, listed by class ("family sedan"), the only midsize sedans I can find that break 40mpg are the Passat diesel (43mpg) and the Hyundai Elantra (40mpg), the next highest is 31mpg.
    - waterlesscloud 15y ago
      I have no idea what the official rating is, but my 1998 Buick Lesabre gets about 31 highway on a consistent basis, and it's not even vaguely designed for efficiency. Of course, city, which is where I live, is closer to 19 or 20.
    - awad 15y ago
      My 2011 Sonata is rated at 35 highway but I can and do get 40+ easily on long drives. The instant mileage gauge is definitely useful in terms of trying to get the highest 'score' fuel efficiency wise.
    - khafra 15y ago
      Daimyoyo was talking about actual mileage, not EPA mileage. Simply by holding 60mph or below, you can easily get 10-20% above the EPA highway rating; 15-30% if there's a lot of traffic around you going the same speed.
      - masklinn 15y ago
        > Simply by holding 60mph or below It varies from car to car really, depending on engine details, transmission gear ratios, transmission type and aerodynamics. With my previous car the best mileage was achieved around 110km/h (68mph). At this speed, it was in the high 40s.
      - georgieporgie 15y ago
        It's funny you should say that, since I don't think I've ever known anyone to actually hit their EPA numbers. Then again, the EPA number calculations were recently revised. That said, I don't consider driving <= 60mph to be 'easy'.
        khafra 15y ago
        There's a good reason I said "simply" instead of "easily." I'm personally planning some mild aerodynamic modifications to decrease the 75mph cruising penalty. But I was referring to the current EPA numbers; the pre-2007 EPA ratings are harder to exceed by such large percentages.
- adrianN 15y ago
  What? 30mpg is around 7.8l/100km! All three cars I've driven so far consumed around 5 l/100km (gas) or around 4.5l/100km (diesel). All of them could seat four people and had enough room in the trunk to fit a week of groceries for four people.
  - georgieporgie 15y ago
    That doesn't mean that American consumers expect 30 mpg from a family sedan on American highways.
mmatants 15y ago
For the main usage of the car that EVs are supposed to replace - commuting - the comfortable range can be far less than a tank of gas. Maybe a quarter. For long-haul trips, it is of course a much bigger issue - in part because putting charge stations in the sticks (vs charging at home for regular commute) is so much tougher.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

sliverstorm 15y ago

What makes you think that's a realistic expectation?

georgieporgie 15y ago

30mpg highway is really good and does not reflect the average experience of a consumer. That said, I think you're (sadly) right, but not for the reason you're stating. Because electric cars can't be recharged in five minutes, consumers will suddenly think they have to go even further on a charge. They will completely ignore the fact that they commute 15 miles each way, every day, and the fact that they already have that minivan they use for long trips anyway. That said, your argument doesn't really apply to this car. "The EPA official all-electric range is 35 miles (56 km), and the total range is 379 miles (610 km)." (Wikipedia) That qualifies as, "closer to 400 miles per charge."

masklinn 15y ago
> 30mpg highway is really good Depends on the car you drive. 30mpg is really good for a gaz-guzzler, but mid-range sedans can easily be driven into the 40s.
- georgieporgie 15y ago
  mid-range sedans can easily be driven into the 40s. Really? Here are some numbers from Kiplinger's "best midsize sedan" list from 2009: * Sonata 32mpg highway. * Mazda 6 30mpg highway. * Chevy Malibu 33mpg highway. * Nissan Altima 31mpg highway. http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/car/archive/2008/car1207.html http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/car/archive/2008/car1207.ht... Cars.com mentions the best in each class for 2011, and it's the Nissan Versa and Sentra, each at 34mpg for the "Midsize Cars" class. Looking at FuelEconomy.gov, listed by class ("family sedan"), the only midsize sedans I can find that break 40mpg are the Passat diesel (43mpg) and the Hyundai Elantra (40mpg), the next highest is 31mpg.
  - waterlesscloud 15y ago
    I have no idea what the official rating is, but my 1998 Buick Lesabre gets about 31 highway on a consistent basis, and it's not even vaguely designed for efficiency. Of course, city, which is where I live, is closer to 19 or 20.
  - awad 15y ago
    My 2011 Sonata is rated at 35 highway but I can and do get 40+ easily on long drives. The instant mileage gauge is definitely useful in terms of trying to get the highest 'score' fuel efficiency wise.
  - khafra 15y ago
    Daimyoyo was talking about actual mileage, not EPA mileage. Simply by holding 60mph or below, you can easily get 10-20% above the EPA highway rating; 15-30% if there's a lot of traffic around you going the same speed.
    - masklinn 15y ago
      > Simply by holding 60mph or below It varies from car to car really, depending on engine details, transmission gear ratios, transmission type and aerodynamics. With my previous car the best mileage was achieved around 110km/h (68mph). At this speed, it was in the high 40s.
    - georgieporgie 15y ago
      It's funny you should say that, since I don't think I've ever known anyone to actually hit their EPA numbers. Then again, the EPA number calculations were recently revised. That said, I don't consider driving <= 60mph to be 'easy'.
      - khafra 15y ago
        There's a good reason I said "simply" instead of "easily." I'm personally planning some mild aerodynamic modifications to decrease the 75mph cruising penalty. But I was referring to the current EPA numbers; the pre-2007 EPA ratings are harder to exceed by such large percentages.
adrianN 15y ago
What? 30mpg is around 7.8l/100km! All three cars I've driven so far consumed around 5 l/100km (gas) or around 4.5l/100km (diesel). All of them could seat four people and had enough room in the trunk to fit a week of groceries for four people.
- georgieporgie 15y ago
  That doesn't mean that American consumers expect 30 mpg from a family sedan on American highways.

mmatants 15y ago

For the main usage of the car that EVs are supposed to replace - commuting - the comfortable range can be far less than a tank of gas. Maybe a quarter. For long-haul trips, it is of course a much bigger issue - in part because putting charge stations in the sticks (vs charging at home for regular commute) is so much tougher.