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Thank you So much hearsay from people who never really used an EV. Yes, there are drawbacks. But except for extreme long range trips EVs are perfectly usable

by mglz 3y ago

*Thank you* So much hearsay from people who never really used an EV. Yes, there are drawbacks. But except for extreme long range trips EVs are perfectly usable while being more energy efficient and less prone to breaking down.

jwr 3y ago
> except for extreme long range trips I'm writing this comment having just driven about 2000km-long trip with an EV :-) In cold climate (-5C). It's not my first long trip, either. My key observations (some were surprising to me): 1. You should expect to travel slower, as you will need to make breaks for charging, and the EV world presents an overly-rosy view of ranges. In a long trip, you use the battery from 10% to around 85%, so only 70-75% of your full "range" is usable. In my case rough estimates are a stop every 2h or 250km. 2. It's not a big deal. Especially if you can find a place to charge where you will also eat or drink. 3. I feel significantly better after a trip with those additional stops, than after a trip with uninterrupted several hours of driving.
- ttymck 3y ago
  > In my case rough estimates are a stop every 2h or 250km... It's not a big deal. Especially if you can find a place to charge where you will also eat or drink. As a huge proponent of EVs, I have to imagine a major chunk of the population would disagree with you. Most people (in the US, at least) aren't leisurely taking road trips. They are in a hurry, trying not to eat up all 3 weeks of PTO with the annual family road trip. Aside from the inconvenience, finding something to do every 2 hours with a family of 4, like eating or drinking, is liable to become prohibitively expensive, or incredibly boring.
  - bdcravens 3y ago
    When I drove from Houston to San Diego, most of our stops were in the 20 minute range. That said, I have one of faster charging EVs, and we don't have kids.
  - supertrope 3y ago
    While extra time for EV charging is annoying, when using a gasoline car you still have to stop every two hours to pee, stretch your legs, and swap drivers. Sitting in an enclosed space for hours on end increases the risk of blood clots. So the actual increase in stopped time is e.g. 30 min to L3 charge to 80% minus the 15 min for a restroom/gasoline/coffee break multiplied by number of stops. So an hour lost per day.
    - logifail 3y ago
      > when using a gasoline car you still have to stop every two hours to pee, stretch your legs, and swap drivers Source? My longest ICE-powered trip recently was a ~500 mile trip across Europe with precisely one 15 minute break to pee and buy coffee. A total of ~8 hours on the road, and I was driving alone. On the plus side it was a very nice rented Audi.
      - natch 3y ago
        My longest BEV trip in one day was 896 miles (1442 km), with about half a dozen short breaks, driving alone. 396 miles longer than your trip in your ICE car. Not sure what your data point is supposed to be proving.
    - sokoloff 3y ago
      Our family experience is that we stop about every 4 hours, usually limited by the size of the fuel tank. Because I have an EV and a gas car (gas car for road trips), I timed several of our fuel stops on a recent trip. Most were 11-14 minutes, measured from driving onto to off of the gas station property. I tend to do most of the driving, and 11 hours a day is around what I feel comfortable doing. That happens to be the door to door wall-clock time for our trip to my in-laws (766 miles). I'd pay a fair amount to avoid adding another 60-90 minutes to that trip.
  - jemmyw 3y ago
    I've done a few long road trips and 2 hours is about the max my kids would go anyway between breaks. Not that I've done it in an EV.
- bdcravens 3y ago
  I drove from Houston to San Diego and back in my EV6. It wasn't bad, but in the interests of disclosure, I'll point out some of the caveats (some of which may not apply for those using the Tesla network) 1. Our trip was on major interstates (I10 and I8) 2. Not every charging station had full speed 3. Charging stations weren't so close that I could reliably skip one 4. Range goes way down on open freeways (wind resistance, lack of regen) 5. Charging stations aren't always on the freeway like gas stations, so you may find yourself going into towns and off of the freeway, increasing drive time 6. Charge times weren't bad, but I have one of the fastest charging cars, so literally, YMMV Overall, in a gas car it would have been a 2 day trip; in my EV, it was more like 2 2/3 days (adjusted our intinerary in SD, else we would have had additional hotel costs). That said, I drove just to prove haters wrong; I'd fly the next time. However, if I had to do a long trip, I'd probably consider renting something else.
  - chrismcb 3y ago
    Seems to me like you proved the haters correct. That is a significant cost on time and money, to recharge. To me this is the biggest downside to an EV. Not too mention, of I rub it off juice, the car pretty much has to be towed. Will this problems improve? Sure, but until then...
    - natch 3y ago
      It was an EV6 though, not a Tesla. So it had a disadvantage to start with.
    - bdcravens 3y ago
      Not entirely. I proved the "good luck when you can't find a charger and have to tow your car" haters wrong. We've moved from the realm of impossible into possible, but we're just not in the convenient territory yet. (akin to the lifecycle of depending on mobile Internet)
natch 3y ago
EVs are fantastic for long road trips. Unless you buy your EV from a legacy automaker in which case there is no good charging network.
- dzhiurgis 3y ago
  Let’s not forget crappy drivers assist I’m on bus right now to pick up my ICE vehicle from repair shop. Will need to drive back home for 45 mines MYSELF!
  - natch 3y ago
    The best repair is no repair!

*Thank you* So much hearsay from people who never really used an EV. Yes, there are drawbacks. But except for extreme long range trips EVs are perfectly usable

by mglz 3y ago

jwr 3y ago

> except for extreme long range trips I'm writing this comment having just driven about 2000km-long trip with an EV :-) In cold climate (-5C). It's not my first long trip, either. My key observations (some were surprising to me): 1. You should expect to travel slower, as you will need to make breaks for charging, and the EV world presents an overly-rosy view of ranges. In a long trip, you use the battery from 10% to around 85%, so only 70-75% of your full "range" is usable. In my case rough estimates are a stop every 2h or 250km. 2. It's not a big deal. Especially if you can find a place to charge where you will also eat or drink. 3. I feel significantly better after a trip with those additional stops, than after a trip with uninterrupted several hours of driving.

ttymck 3y ago
> In my case rough estimates are a stop every 2h or 250km... It's not a big deal. Especially if you can find a place to charge where you will also eat or drink. As a huge proponent of EVs, I have to imagine a major chunk of the population would disagree with you. Most people (in the US, at least) aren't leisurely taking road trips. They are in a hurry, trying not to eat up all 3 weeks of PTO with the annual family road trip. Aside from the inconvenience, finding something to do every 2 hours with a family of 4, like eating or drinking, is liable to become prohibitively expensive, or incredibly boring.
- bdcravens 3y ago
  When I drove from Houston to San Diego, most of our stops were in the 20 minute range. That said, I have one of faster charging EVs, and we don't have kids.
- supertrope 3y ago
  While extra time for EV charging is annoying, when using a gasoline car you still have to stop every two hours to pee, stretch your legs, and swap drivers. Sitting in an enclosed space for hours on end increases the risk of blood clots. So the actual increase in stopped time is e.g. 30 min to L3 charge to 80% minus the 15 min for a restroom/gasoline/coffee break multiplied by number of stops. So an hour lost per day.
  - logifail 3y ago
    > when using a gasoline car you still have to stop every two hours to pee, stretch your legs, and swap drivers Source? My longest ICE-powered trip recently was a ~500 mile trip across Europe with precisely one 15 minute break to pee and buy coffee. A total of ~8 hours on the road, and I was driving alone. On the plus side it was a very nice rented Audi.
    - natch 3y ago
      My longest BEV trip in one day was 896 miles (1442 km), with about half a dozen short breaks, driving alone. 396 miles longer than your trip in your ICE car. Not sure what your data point is supposed to be proving.
  - sokoloff 3y ago
    Our family experience is that we stop about every 4 hours, usually limited by the size of the fuel tank. Because I have an EV and a gas car (gas car for road trips), I timed several of our fuel stops on a recent trip. Most were 11-14 minutes, measured from driving onto to off of the gas station property. I tend to do most of the driving, and 11 hours a day is around what I feel comfortable doing. That happens to be the door to door wall-clock time for our trip to my in-laws (766 miles). I'd pay a fair amount to avoid adding another 60-90 minutes to that trip.
- jemmyw 3y ago
  I've done a few long road trips and 2 hours is about the max my kids would go anyway between breaks. Not that I've done it in an EV.
bdcravens 3y ago
I drove from Houston to San Diego and back in my EV6. It wasn't bad, but in the interests of disclosure, I'll point out some of the caveats (some of which may not apply for those using the Tesla network) 1. Our trip was on major interstates (I10 and I8) 2. Not every charging station had full speed 3. Charging stations weren't so close that I could reliably skip one 4. Range goes way down on open freeways (wind resistance, lack of regen) 5. Charging stations aren't always on the freeway like gas stations, so you may find yourself going into towns and off of the freeway, increasing drive time 6. Charge times weren't bad, but I have one of the fastest charging cars, so literally, YMMV Overall, in a gas car it would have been a 2 day trip; in my EV, it was more like 2 2/3 days (adjusted our intinerary in SD, else we would have had additional hotel costs). That said, I drove just to prove haters wrong; I'd fly the next time. However, if I had to do a long trip, I'd probably consider renting something else.
- chrismcb 3y ago
  Seems to me like you proved the haters correct. That is a significant cost on time and money, to recharge. To me this is the biggest downside to an EV. Not too mention, of I rub it off juice, the car pretty much has to be towed. Will this problems improve? Sure, but until then...
  - natch 3y ago
    It was an EV6 though, not a Tesla. So it had a disadvantage to start with.
  - bdcravens 3y ago
    Not entirely. I proved the "good luck when you can't find a charger and have to tow your car" haters wrong. We've moved from the realm of impossible into possible, but we're just not in the convenient territory yet. (akin to the lifecycle of depending on mobile Internet)

natch 3y ago

EVs are fantastic for long road trips. Unless you buy your EV from a legacy automaker in which case there is no good charging network.

dzhiurgis 3y ago
Let’s not forget crappy drivers assist I’m on bus right now to pick up my ICE vehicle from repair shop. Will need to drive back home for 45 mines MYSELF!
- natch 3y ago
  The best repair is no repair!