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> No comprehensive supercharger network. Agreed. I've been driving a Leaf since 2015 (two different generations by now) and the main reason that makes road tri

> No comprehensive supercharger network. Agreed. I've been driving a Leaf since 2015 (two different generations by now) and the main reason that makes road trips unpalatable is NOT range. Not at all. Charging more often? Sure, whatever. Unless it's a business trip or a trip across the country it's fine. I've discovered some stuff I'd probably would never have otherwise, by routing via chargers in small towns. No, the problem is how sparse some quickchargers are, and the fact that many don't even work - and the best you can do is check comments to see if people have complained about them recently. Some of them (specially Nissan owned!) are located in places that _close at night_. That's not acceptable, we can find 24/7 gas stations almost everywhere. However, that only accounts for 0.1% of my trips. I've optimized for the most common use-case (city driving) and don't regret that one bit. > If you've ever driven a Tesla on a highway you know you'll not get the full 230 at highspeeds. Yeap. Same way you won't get good mileage on any car if you do that. Thankfully liquid fuels have a ridiculous amount of energy, so we can afford to waste 70% as heat plus drag and the only real consequence is the wallet (and filling up more often). US highway speeds are crazy and it is indeed shocking when you see it the first time. It would also be quite shocking on ICE cars too, but they don't have accurate fuel gages, let alone accurate range estimates. At least most don't. > I wish them all the best with this amazing migration to electric vehicles. Me too!

raspasov 5y ago
>>> US highway speeds are crazy Crazy as in high or low? I-5 between San Francisco and LA is about ~70mph limit. That's ~113km/h. A lot of highways in Europe are often at 130km/h sometimes going up to 140km/h limit. P.S. And if you think those limits are even remotely observed, try a road trip in Italy or Bulgaria :P
- vinay427 5y ago
  I'm not sure they were drawing a specific comparison between the US and some other country, and there's quite a bit more diversity among European countries. There are at least many in which speed limits are stringently enforced using speed cameras or other more "ruthless" methods, accompanied with even heftier penalties than in most of the US. Meanwhile, I don't know if there are any states in which minor speeding is systematically enforced.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- frosted-flakes 5y ago
  The legal limit might be 70mph, but when traffic is not heavy it typically flows much faster than that in my experience. I used to make a regular commute along I95 through Delaware, and even though the speed limit was 55 (later upped to 65), it wasn't uncommon to be going 75-80 alongside other cars. Not everyone went that fast, but most people seemed to. Note that the speed of traffic hardly changed when the limit was increased.
tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago
The advisory speed limit on the Autobahn in Germany is 130 km/h = 80 mph. If you drive 55 mph (90 km/h) on an unrestricted or 130 km/h section during your driving test, you will fail.
rige 5y ago
Agreed with most of your points, just curious about: > Same way you won't get good mileage on any car if you do that What do you mean by that? Aren't ICE cars often more efficient at highway speeds? My car usually averages 45ish MPG on the highway and more like 30 in the city.. the sweet spot seems to be around 60-70 mph. Some US highways get up to 80 or 90, but that still (at least for the cars I've owned) ends up more efficient MPG-wise than city driving.
- OldHand2018 5y ago
  The sweet spot for your car is actually more like 45-50 mph, but you are not really going to find long stretches of road with those speeds. Try driving US highway 1 from Key Largo to Key West. It’s about 100 miles with a 45mph speed limit, at sea level. Set your cruise control at 45 on an evening with light traffic. It will be the best fuel economy you’ve ever seen in your car, by a wide margin.
- CRConrad 5y ago
  > Aren't ICE cars often more efficient at highway speeds? No. They're more efficient at constant speeds, because the ICE can only be really optimised for a very narrow RPM band, but that need not necessarily translate into higher speeds. Just choose a lower gear, and watch your fuel consumption drop significantly below what it would be at higher speed in a higher gear. The main reason for this is that air resistance, which costs energy (=fuel) to overcome, rises not linearly with rising speed, but in proportion to the square thereof.
dragonwriter 5y ago
> Same way you won't get good mileage on any car if you do that Er, no, traditional gas cars fuel economy is optimal in freeway driving, despite the fact that more delivered energy is required than at slower speeds. Hybrids and electric cars, which can be closer to peak delivery efficiency over a broader range of speeds, have peak economy at lower speeds.
- CRConrad 5y ago
  > Er, no, traditional gas cars fuel economy is optimal in freeway driving, despite the fact that more delivered energy is required than at slower speeds. Depends on how you define "freeway driving": If you mean constant speed, then yes; if you mean high speed, then no. > Hybrids and electric cars, which can be closer to peak delivery efficiency over a broader range of speeds, have peak economy at lower speeds. So do ICE cars. Energy (=fuel) consumption rises with the square of speed, because aerodynamic resistance does. That's just a law of nature, irrespective of engine technology.
- maxerickson 5y ago
  The tool at https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp shows 50 mph as the cheaper speed even for 2021 vehicles. Not sure it's doing much more than inputting the single number fuel economy into an equation though.

raspasov 5y ago

>>> US highway speeds are crazy Crazy as in high or low? I-5 between San Francisco and LA is about ~70mph limit. That's ~113km/h. A lot of highways in Europe are often at 130km/h sometimes going up to 140km/h limit. P.S. And if you think those limits are even remotely observed, try a road trip in Italy or Bulgaria :P

vinay427 5y ago
I'm not sure they were drawing a specific comparison between the US and some other country, and there's quite a bit more diversity among European countries. There are at least many in which speed limits are stringently enforced using speed cameras or other more "ruthless" methods, accompanied with even heftier penalties than in most of the US. Meanwhile, I don't know if there are any states in which minor speeding is systematically enforced.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
frosted-flakes 5y ago
The legal limit might be 70mph, but when traffic is not heavy it typically flows much faster than that in my experience. I used to make a regular commute along I95 through Delaware, and even though the speed limit was 55 (later upped to 65), it wasn't uncommon to be going 75-80 alongside other cars. Not everyone went that fast, but most people seemed to. Note that the speed of traffic hardly changed when the limit was increased.

tgsovlerkhgsel 5y ago

The advisory speed limit on the Autobahn in Germany is 130 km/h = 80 mph. If you drive 55 mph (90 km/h) on an unrestricted or 130 km/h section during your driving test, you will fail.

rige 5y ago

Agreed with most of your points, just curious about: > Same way you won't get good mileage on any car if you do that What do you mean by that? Aren't ICE cars often more efficient at highway speeds? My car usually averages 45ish MPG on the highway and more like 30 in the city.. the sweet spot seems to be around 60-70 mph. Some US highways get up to 80 or 90, but that still (at least for the cars I've owned) ends up more efficient MPG-wise than city driving.

OldHand2018 5y ago
The sweet spot for your car is actually more like 45-50 mph, but you are not really going to find long stretches of road with those speeds. Try driving US highway 1 from Key Largo to Key West. It’s about 100 miles with a 45mph speed limit, at sea level. Set your cruise control at 45 on an evening with light traffic. It will be the best fuel economy you’ve ever seen in your car, by a wide margin.
CRConrad 5y ago
> Aren't ICE cars often more efficient at highway speeds? No. They're more efficient at constant speeds, because the ICE can only be really optimised for a very narrow RPM band, but that need not necessarily translate into higher speeds. Just choose a lower gear, and watch your fuel consumption drop significantly below what it would be at higher speed in a higher gear. The main reason for this is that air resistance, which costs energy (=fuel) to overcome, rises not linearly with rising speed, but in proportion to the square thereof.

dragonwriter 5y ago

> Same way you won't get good mileage on any car if you do that Er, no, traditional gas cars fuel economy is optimal in freeway driving, despite the fact that more delivered energy is required than at slower speeds. Hybrids and electric cars, which can be closer to peak delivery efficiency over a broader range of speeds, have peak economy at lower speeds.

CRConrad 5y ago
> Er, no, traditional gas cars fuel economy is optimal in freeway driving, despite the fact that more delivered energy is required than at slower speeds. Depends on how you define "freeway driving": If you mean constant speed, then yes; if you mean high speed, then no. > Hybrids and electric cars, which can be closer to peak delivery efficiency over a broader range of speeds, have peak economy at lower speeds. So do ICE cars. Energy (=fuel) consumption rises with the square of speed, because aerodynamic resistance does. That's just a law of nature, irrespective of engine technology.
maxerickson 5y ago
The tool at https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp shows 50 mph as the cheaper speed even for 2021 vehicles. Not sure it's doing much more than inputting the single number fuel economy into an equation though.