this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2023
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Range anxiety and charging times.
We take 1-2 8+ hour car trips per year. I’ve done the calculations and an EV would add approximately 2 hours to the total drive time. We tend to stop 2 or 3 times max, and with an EV we’d have to stop more frequently (which I hate) and for longer (which I really hate). When we stop it is to fill up gas, quick bathroom break and we are back in the road in 5-10 min.
I’m planning on buying an EV but it’ll only be for commuting. We will still need an ICE for long road trips.
Yeah, long trips could be annoying, but I went to Cornwall and back in my 200 mile range EV with max 50kW charging and it was fine. Stop for a coffee/breakfast, maybe a little longer than ideal, stop for lunch, stop again at Jamaica Inn and have a good look round, then I think one other stop as the charging network down that way wasn't great (it is improving). If you have faster charging, even without more range those non-lunch stops will be very short. With an eight hour journey you ought to be stopping more than two or three times anyway (probably four minimum)
We travel very differently! When I’m on a 6-8 or more hour journey in the car, my goal is to get to the destination as quickly as possible.
The yearly trip we take consists of a 4 hour drive to stop 1, a 2-3 hour drive to stop 2, and a 2 hour drive to finish the trip. We make stops as quickly as possible, and have snacks and drinks in the car so we don’t need to stop unless for gas or a meal, that we eat in the car while traveling.
I totally understand the desire to travel differently, take your time on stops, eat a nice meal etc…. But we are driving through the desert. There is literally nothing other than a gas station at many stops. We aren’t going to have a nice family meal or stop for coffee at a Arby’s.
Tbh in my old ICE I would have done the same as you - stopped as little as necessary. EV driving lends itself to a different mindset, and I stop much more often (even if it's a quick ten minute top-up at some stops). It's more relaxing but until you need to think different and plan ahead, you don't realise it will change your habits (I certainly didn't). Of course, traveling through the desert likely has it's own complications and probably insufficient charging points, which might be a bigger consideration.
If you only do it a couple of times a year, then why not hire an ICE for those journeys?
Some manufacturers used to provide this as an incentive when you bought an EV.
Because renting a car will cost more than one month's car payment? And it's miserable?