Frankly…I don’t care for Musk either…and have no interest in an EV at this point. But…generally speaking one should buy cars (and other things) as well as make decisions based on the smartest decision…and not based on a personal viewpoint. Sometimes one must IMO just hold your nose and make the least bad decision when none of the choices re that great.
We might buy a hybrid but not a full EV…we travel and stopping every couple hundred miles for recharging would seriously affect that.
Maybe yes, maybe no. I’ve seen several videos about road-tripping in EVs. If you plan your route appropriately (there are apps for that), you can arrange to eat your meals near reasonably-priced charging stations. Plug in, go have lunch, and be charged when you’re done.
But yes, we’re not yet at the point where you can just wing it and expect to find conveniently-located charging stations without advance planning.
There are plenty of better alternatives to Tesla. The Kia Niro EV got some kind of car of the year award (I don’t recall the details), and its EV6 has a range of about 350 miles. You don’t have to charge every couple 100 miles. And they get better every year. Plenty of fast chargers on most Interstates and other major roads (rural areas not so much) that can get you going in about 15 minutes. China has developed a system that can charge an EV in 5 minutes. Charging depends on the fast charger and what the car can take. And, as I said, it is getting better every year. There are a lot of myths about EVs. I own one and would never get another ICE vehicle or even a plug-in hybrid. Personally, I am tired of breathing in ICE vehicle exhaust. I have had mine for 3 years, and the total cost of service and maintenance was $80 for those three years. No oil changes. And it would have been less if I had known how to replace a cabin filter, which I understand is very easy to do.
I’ve seen those as well…but it won’t work for our style of travel. We drive instead of fly (because flying is so hard now)unless we have to be there today or there is ocean between here and there. We drive 500-600 miles per day and stop for gas and McDonalds then head down the road. That would be 1 or 2 charge periods and they’re whay, at lest n hour each? No go for us. As I said we would consider a hybrid for the range. But pure EV…nah…and we would have e to get a charger for home in the garage. And trying to plan a route around charging stations that might be full when we get there…yeah, nah. Others with different styles vary of course…but we re far too anal and would have range anxiety which makes the whole vacation/FunStuff trip too stressful. I drive and my bride becomes the Radio Reder as it used to be known back in the day. Occasionally music or podcast but mostly Kindle on the iPad.
It depends on the car and where you stop. If your car and the charging station supports high-power DC charging (up to 400v for passenger cars and up to 800v for some trucks), you may be able to fully charge (or at least charge to 80%) in 30-45 minutes. Which is probably going to be the amount of time you’re stopped at McDonalds (unless you eat and run really fast without taking any breaks).
I actually agree with you here, and I doubt I’ll be getting an EV any time soon, for precisely the same reasons, but I have seen enough videos from others to know that it is possible and might even be practical.
This video is one of the most impressive ones I’ve seen, and I wouldn’t have thought it possible (but it also showed some of the really annoying problems with such a trip):
Yes, you need the key fob if you’re going to use valet parking. That said, I can’t remember the last time (if ever) I used valet parking, and I’d only do so if there was no alternative, so I doubt I’d ever run into the issue.
My experience with the Ioniq 5 is that high speeds significantly lower mileage estimates. I don’t do much freeway driving (70+ mph) but when I do I don’t come close to the estimates. And, yes, lack of a rear wiper on the 2024 is a major inconvenience since I live on a dusty road.
Too many if’s there…we generally get gas, go through the drive through to get burgers and head down the road. Most places the freeway traffic density is low enough that eating a burger with one hand isn’t distracting…in cities or heavier traffic we eat quickly in the parking lot. We take. 5 minute break for potty breaks or if we re tired and need one but generally we re on the move.
And we’ve probably strayed far enough from the topic that we should quit before Adam does it.
Same here - normal range is claimed to be 480km but driving on motorway at 110km/h (70mph) drops the range to 350km (30% reduction). The penalty of travelling faster in any vehicle. So more care is needed planning trips and stops for recharging.
But even though Australia is well behind Europe and China with charging infrastructure I don’t have “range anxiety” on long trips. Of course the current shortage of, and high price of, diesel in Australia means EVs have an advantage over the many diesel pickups on our roads.
Lower Servicing costs of EVs are mentioned above. One saving is brake wear because the energy from decelerating usually goes into the battery instead friction heating of the brakes. While descending long hills I have sometimes gained a couple of kilometres in range.
I have been tracking the development of EVs here: