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Limited range has been one of the biggest factors keeping EVs out of my hands. I regularly have to drive a ~400 mile route. Usually a few times a month. In my

Limited range has been one of the biggest factors keeping EVs out of my hands. I regularly have to drive a ~400 mile route. Usually a few times a month. In my 9 year old compact SUV, I am able to do that trip with ~1/4 of a tank left, even when it's packed full. I generally do it without stops. I look forward to the day that EVs can get similar ranges to ICE vehicles. (And more so, truly self-driving cars, so I can do something better during that time! Unfortunately it's a route without any real public transportation and I often have a load.)

bryanlarsen 3y ago
Very few people can drive 400 miles without stopping to go to the bathroom. A 10 minute bathroom break can add enough charge to let a 300 mile EV go 400 miles.
- upon_drumhead 3y ago
  I don't understand your figures. Are you saying that it takes 10 minutes to fill up 1/3rd of a battery charge?
  - resolutebat 3y ago
    Yes, a 350 kWH fast charger can add enough juice for over 350 km (~220 miles) in 10 minutes. https://tritiumcharging.com/product/pk-350/ https://tritiumcharging.com/product/pk-350/
- jandrewrogers 3y ago
  400 miles is only 5-6 hours (or less) of driving. I’ve done these long-haul routes many, many times with quite a varied set of passengers and there was almost never a bathroom break required. People use the bathroom when we stop for fuel.
gleenn 3y ago
I was only a little concerned buying a Tesla Model Y with "300" mile range. I travel between Los Angel And San Diego frequently and there are a good number of charging stations to be sure. But even though the car tells you to keep between 20% and 80% charge, almost cutting the effective mileage in half, the extra stops just aren't that bad. What's true of lithium ion batteries is that the emptier the battery, the significantly faster the charging rate. So I can skip the stop on my route, but usually I just pull over when the percentage gets pretty low for maybe 20 to 30 minutes, and if I start pretty low, I'll easily get 30-40 percent charge increase. It's really not that painful, and at least in California, they put the charging locations near restaurants and coffee shops and malls so I can take a little break on those long trips. Sure, a car with 1000+ mile range sounds great. But driving a car that heavy with batteries sounds unnecessary and nearly all people are making far shorter trips to e.g. the grocery store 10 miles away and the little dinky trickle charger I use at home is more than adequate, I almost never have to do what ICE cars do on a regular basis, stopping at all the dirty gas stations, my car is usually more than charged over night.
- LeafItAlone 3y ago
  When I first started doing it frequently, an extra 20-30 minutes wouldn’t have bothered me much. After doing it so many times so often, it’s become tedious and now I just want to get it done quickly and I am intentional about my fluid intake for the day to avoid stops. My next vehicle might be a plug-in hybrid, something like the RAV4 Prime. Unless I can cut out the long trips or these long range EVs actually come out.
jillesvangurp 3y ago
You are aware that a single 20-30 minute stop for charging, stretching your legs, etc. with most modestly priced EVs would easily get you there, right? You get a car with e.g. 300 mile range. You top it up midway from 20% to 60-70% in something like half an hour and you arrive with plenty of range left to do whatever. Plug it in at night and drive back the next day. No big deal. The future is now. You are paying a very steep price for not taking that break. And not just financially. From a road safety point of view; you should consider taking that break in any case. It's the decent thing to do for other people on the road. Stretch your legs, have a coffee, eat some stuff. Anyone driving that kind of distance non stop is going to be tired, unfocused, and generally not a safe driver. Also, it's not great for your body. There are many good reasons to take a break on such a long journey.
- WirelessGigabit 3y ago
  I go on a road trip with my better half. Load car in the evening before. Walk up, make coffee, and leave. Find out last gas station we can make it to. Stop, I start to fill up. Better half goes to use the restroom. She comes back, cleans the dead bugs of off the windshield while I go use the restroom. I come back, she's behind the wheel ready to go. Total time: ~7 minutes. That's 350 miles of range we just put in. Can your EV do that?
Corrado 3y ago
You know, current BEVs might not be the right solution for you right now, and that's OK. I love my Model X and wouldn't trade it for the world, however I realize that not everyone in the world has the same set of requirements that I do. I really do feel that eventually, most of the world will see ICE vehicles for the terrible solution they are, and switch to something better. Just because we've used a technology for a long time doesn't mean its the best we can do.

bryanlarsen 3y ago

Very few people can drive 400 miles without stopping to go to the bathroom. A 10 minute bathroom break can add enough charge to let a 300 mile EV go 400 miles.

upon_drumhead 3y ago
I don't understand your figures. Are you saying that it takes 10 minutes to fill up 1/3rd of a battery charge?
- resolutebat 3y ago
  Yes, a 350 kWH fast charger can add enough juice for over 350 km (~220 miles) in 10 minutes. https://tritiumcharging.com/product/pk-350/ https://tritiumcharging.com/product/pk-350/
jandrewrogers 3y ago
400 miles is only 5-6 hours (or less) of driving. I’ve done these long-haul routes many, many times with quite a varied set of passengers and there was almost never a bathroom break required. People use the bathroom when we stop for fuel.

gleenn 3y ago

I was only a little concerned buying a Tesla Model Y with "300" mile range. I travel between Los Angel And San Diego frequently and there are a good number of charging stations to be sure. But even though the car tells you to keep between 20% and 80% charge, almost cutting the effective mileage in half, the extra stops just aren't that bad. What's true of lithium ion batteries is that the emptier the battery, the significantly faster the charging rate. So I can skip the stop on my route, but usually I just pull over when the percentage gets pretty low for maybe 20 to 30 minutes, and if I start pretty low, I'll easily get 30-40 percent charge increase. It's really not that painful, and at least in California, they put the charging locations near restaurants and coffee shops and malls so I can take a little break on those long trips. Sure, a car with 1000+ mile range sounds great. But driving a car that heavy with batteries sounds unnecessary and nearly all people are making far shorter trips to e.g. the grocery store 10 miles away and the little dinky trickle charger I use at home is more than adequate, I almost never have to do what ICE cars do on a regular basis, stopping at all the dirty gas stations, my car is usually more than charged over night.

LeafItAlone 3y ago
When I first started doing it frequently, an extra 20-30 minutes wouldn’t have bothered me much. After doing it so many times so often, it’s become tedious and now I just want to get it done quickly and I am intentional about my fluid intake for the day to avoid stops. My next vehicle might be a plug-in hybrid, something like the RAV4 Prime. Unless I can cut out the long trips or these long range EVs actually come out.

jillesvangurp 3y ago

You are aware that a single 20-30 minute stop for charging, stretching your legs, etc. with most modestly priced EVs would easily get you there, right? You get a car with e.g. 300 mile range. You top it up midway from 20% to 60-70% in something like half an hour and you arrive with plenty of range left to do whatever. Plug it in at night and drive back the next day. No big deal. The future is now. You are paying a very steep price for not taking that break. And not just financially. From a road safety point of view; you should consider taking that break in any case. It's the decent thing to do for other people on the road. Stretch your legs, have a coffee, eat some stuff. Anyone driving that kind of distance non stop is going to be tired, unfocused, and generally not a safe driver. Also, it's not great for your body. There are many good reasons to take a break on such a long journey.

WirelessGigabit 3y ago
I go on a road trip with my better half. Load car in the evening before. Walk up, make coffee, and leave. Find out last gas station we can make it to. Stop, I start to fill up. Better half goes to use the restroom. She comes back, cleans the dead bugs of off the windshield while I go use the restroom. I come back, she's behind the wheel ready to go. Total time: ~7 minutes. That's 350 miles of range we just put in. Can your EV do that?

Corrado 3y ago

You know, current BEVs might not be the right solution for you right now, and that's OK. I love my Model X and wouldn't trade it for the world, however I realize that not everyone in the world has the same set of requirements that I do. I really do feel that eventually, most of the world will see ICE vehicles for the terrible solution they are, and switch to something better. Just because we've used a technology for a long time doesn't mean its the best we can do.