Electric cars

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Ihis article seems to be saying about the same, that a range of 200 miles (actually less) is enough for most folk

My bladder anxiety kicks in at 110-140 miles. I want a vehicle that can do 150 miles at 80% charge traveling at 70mph. I say 80% charge because once one gets above that, the charge rate starts slowing down.

A break is a good idea every couple of hours anyway as driving, done properly, is tiring.

NBLondon wrote: »

Hang on Martyn - that's surely about rest breaks on a long run rather than fuel stops... When you can guarantee that you will a) always find a free charger and b) can get a decent charge in the 15 minutes you need to stretch legs and visit the loos and possibly change drivers then it's a valid point. Otherwise it's still about the limit of what you might need to do in a day of "there and back" or "visit 4 customers".

Not sure what you mean.

Basically the Youtube advice from EV'ers seems to contradict the claims form non EV'ers that the cars will only be suitable when they can do 500+ miles on a single charge and recharge in a couple of mins.

The on-line chats, you-tube vids, the answers I got on here from EV'ers, and the results of that survey/article, all seem to say the same thing about the range of EV's needed to meet the majority of drivers needs, and that seems to be somewhere around 150-200 miles.

Bigger batts sound great (I certainly fell for that misunderstanding), but why pay so much more, for something you hardly ever use, and could be resolved, instead, by an additional charging rest.

Personally, my gut said 250-300 miles (last year), but the helpful comments on here about real life usage and re-charging, have 'shown me the light'. They have also made it clear that the extreme range needs, oft touted by a minority claiming to represent a majority, are BS, just the usual negative nonsense spouted about all new ideas and technology.

Herzlos wrote: »

They are synonymous here - no-one cares about fuel stops in an ICE car because they don't take long anyway. If you're stopping for a rest within 150 miles, being able to charge whilst you rest gives you the charge time for free.

How much time.... Wanting to stop every 150 miles is one thing. But that doesn't make a charging stop every 150 miles equally feasible. I can stop, have a pee, stretch legs maybe buy a coffee to go and be on the road again in 15 minutes. Add a refuel and it's 20 or 22 minutes. To match that with an EV under current circumstances, I need to be sure of finding a charger ready to use and be able to charge from 5% to 100% in that 22 minutes. The infrastructure isn't there yet. And it will probably be there in the motorway services first. If I'm going east-west cross-country, I might be stopping in a little market town. I might be willing to wait longer because it's a nicer place than Watford Gap - but I've got to hunt down the one charger in town and if it's busy because a local has plugged in and gone to the pub for an hour....

If you're visiting multiple customers/whatever, then you can (in theory) charge whilst doing the visit, thus the charging time is free.

That only works if here is a free charger near enough to where you are going. On regular trips you may be able to work it out in advance but not everybody has control. Which brings us back to the key point... Not everybody can charge at home. The publicly available charging network isn't yet as convenient as fossil fuel and requires more route planning. The Guardian tried it last month. It will get there - the fact that some of you here can make it work shows that - and there's probably a tipping point at which enough people feel confident about not running out of charge that they will seriously look at an EV option and suddenly the demand on the charging infrastructure will ramp up and it might well see-saw a bit. Yeah, 200 miles on one charge probably will meet the needs of a lot of people (especially for local short runs) and it might only be a once a week charge. But not so great for many in the commercial world.

I regularly make a trip of 175 miles to a place with no mains power. Half the time I am towing a ton trailer. I don't stop at all on the way there. I may stop to refuel on the way back but it takes five, possibly ten minutes max. I don't currently buy coffee anywhere, nor do I want to.

I am considering an electic car for commuting but, in the not so distant future, I think I'm going to have to resign myself to wasting a couple of hours or so waiting for an electric 4x4 to charge on my longer trips.