This is a big deal. I know a ton of people who want to go electric but worry about not having enough juice on the occasional road trip.
Whether that’s a valid reason for not going electric, that’s debatable. But it’s an important part of their decision-making process, so it needs to be addressed.
When an EV is generally 2x the price of a ICE vehicle at the same level I’d say it’s valid. The cheaper EVs have all been discontinued or had safety issues. And even then the battery life was nothing near an ICE vehicle and very costly to replace.
I would say it’s a very valid concern. Especially if the alternative is having 2 cars and more maintenance.
Even teslas will plan your trip but then stops are for a long time to charge. Not the 3-5 minutes to refuel.
Its true for road trips but the vast majority of EV owners charge while parked at work or at home, meaning they spend far less time charging their car than it would take to keep fuel in a gas car. Just plug it in and walk away. You leave every morning with a full tank. It makes the 20 minute charges necessary on longer road trips well more than worth the tradeoff. Its way healthier to get out of the car and stretch your legs every 2-3 hours anyway.
Yeah, but for everyday driving you’re charging all the time that you can. If you aren’t supercharging (not good for the battery, also not everywhere), it takes like 8-40 hours to charge up depending on voltage. Even 8 hours isn’t short enough to not think about it. Forget to plug-in and you could have a headache when you realize you don’t have the juice for your trip.
Also charging at work is a pain because there are limited spots usually and you gotta fight for it.
For me I prefer PHEV until more kinks are worked out.
To each their own but I disagree with that. 8 hours is whats needed to get from 0-100%, and the vast majority of the time you’re only going to need to charge from 20-80% at most. If you use your car so much and never need sleep to the point that your car can never be found sitting for long enough to charge, then… wow. You would have to be driving about 20 hours per day, every day and putting over 400,000 miles per year on your car for that to not make sense. I don’t know about you but I know thats not the case for 99.999% of people.
Most people drive 100 miles per-day at the most, and even that is quite a lot from their normal usage. Adding 100 miles of charge to an average EV takes about 4-5 hours at level 2, like while parked in a garage. You can further cut this down by plugging in at your destination as well. As long as you’re a human who occasionally needs sleep I don’t see any issue.
I understand for most people that there is ample time to charge in a day. But, you’re always doing it. It’s another thing to maintain and think about all the time. Most people fill their gas tank once every week or two and that’s that. Charging becomes an everyday thing.
I own a tesla, and stopping every couple hours to charge really isn’t a big deal. Going from 20%-80% usually only takes 15 minutes, which is enough time to use the bathroom and maybe grab a snack. Most superchargers are in decent locations, so there’s always something to do for that time. Even when there isn’t, I just watch Netflix or something
I haven’t purchased an EV because they’re more expensive than an equivalent ICE vehicle. My current vehicle cost me $2,500 USD. My hope is that the used EV market continues to expand while economies of scale push prices down.
Depending on how much you drive and how expensive your local energy bill is, the economics can work out better than you think.
I usually charge at home, and my equivilant cost per gallon (assuming 25mpg) is about $0.50/gallon.
If I drive 1000 miles per month, that’s about $140/month I’m saving. If gas prices increase to $6/gallon, which I’m sure they will eventually, that’s $220/month.
It doesn’t justify a new Tesla, but used ones are getting cheaper finally.
Lol I will not purchase a Tesla out of principle. I get your point though. It feels like we have some ways to go before the used EV market is actually competitive, but I am hopeful for the future.
I don’t blame you. I bought mine before I really knew how far off the deep end Elon was, and while I like the car, I doubt my next one will be a Tesla again
$140 a month is well below the reported average EV loan payment. And to make up a $10k price difference you’d need no payment, no repairs, and about 70 months to just break even.
Arguing for EVs based on economics isn’t the best argument to make. They are more enjoyable, they pollute less if they’re used for 10 years, mining and recycling lithium is vastly superior to drilling, refining, and burning petroleum, charging at home over night is a massive benefit. But the economics aren’t there yet.
I wasn’t saying it is, but it can make a difference.
If you’re in the price point anyway, I think an EV is a no brainer. Why get a $50k BMW over a $50k EV? If you’re shopping for a $15k or less car, then yeah, it’s not easy to justify.
But used Model 3’s are going for $30k now, and you can get a $4k tax credit on top of that. Saving an additional $140/mo makes it competitive with a lot of mid priced cars.
Because a $50k BMW is going to be much better equipped than a $50k EV. That comparison isn’t a good one to make, because a $50k EV right now would be equipment equivalent for a $30-40k ICE vehicle.
Again the economics aren’t there. A $30k used Model 3 with its creaking suspension and beaten interior would need to compete against a $26k new hybrid like the Prius LE. That prius is brand new, massively cheaper to repair and maintain, and will easily last you 10-12 years. Making that $140 a month an upside down prospect, given the fuel efficiency of the Prius.
Sooo what, another 20k for California and everyone else splits the rest? Sorry, but it’s so difficult to get excited for this when I see these plans push more to California, but on the east coast I have a single fast charger within 30 miles (proof. No filters on PlugShare except limiting it to CCS. Since I don’t own a Tesla NACS is hidden. https://imgur.com/a/TUbTMh0)
They’ll cram them in every corner of every city, but the people who are worried about range are the ones outside of the city, not on major highways or anything. Btw, one of those doesn’t count since it’s a dealership and is for Nissan owners only.
Edit: Not sure why this keeps posting to your comment specifically. I’m replying to the main post, but it’s only posting as a reply to you. Weird
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