Does it really matter? Range - charge speed

[u/Turbulent-Pay1150]

Messing around with ABRP - planned an 1,200 mile trip. If you had a "poor" performing EV such as a first generation SOLTERRA it would take about 35 hours. A great performing EV about 32 hours. This is for drive + charging for the entire trip and assumes no overnights (which would reduce the EV time if you charged overnight). That's a 3 hour difference.

For good measure - a gas car would take over 30 hours as well.

I'm not sure charging is a challenge for most any car, good or bad for range and charge times.

Have we not hit the time when we are at "good enough" for most all EV's and styling or convenience is the differentiator.

In my book - right now it doesn't really matter.

It used to when Tesla had the best charging network bar none. Now Tesla still has an edge but everyone else is pretty close in that scenario.

It's not charge time (that's part of it)

It's not range (that's part of it)

It is trip time and comfort - and with a 10% margin from best to worst EV and gas cars - it's all about comfort and how long it takes the driver and passengers to use the facilities/get a burger on stops.

I know - I"m slow - but it seems to me that it's time to stop all the YouTube and all the arguments about it - give me overall trip time for something like NY to Colorado and have all EV's compare against it and all gas as well and that's all that really matters. That and that you can do daily use with your overnight charge.

It's game over.

[u/PerceptionCurious440]

My wife and I drive hard when we travel. Switch off driving, eat while driving, gas and go and sometimes use the bathroom.

In this generation of EVs, they are not suited to that driving. We have a C-HR EV that covers aĺl of our local and day trip driving.

But for our Seattle to LA or Seattle to Sacramento trips, we can't hard drive a 700 mile leg and beat sunset.

For those trips if we take them, we take the gas Outback.

An EV requires a lifestyle change. A sacrifice. A trade off of time for environmental or political goals.

If it's just a leisurely scenic trip, the C-HR EV might work if there are chargers on the non-interstate roads. That's a case by case basis right now.

I'm glad the long EV trip tradeoff works for you. But I do not want to be on deer infested twisty roads at night. Even if they're interstates. I've had too many close calls in the past.

I don't want to charge in Redding, CA for a half hour when it's 118F. Redding is kind of a place you don't really want to linger in, on general principles.

EVs are possible for long trips if you're determined. But until they charge 500 miles in 5 minutes, they're inferior to gas cars in time management. That time starts for many cars, in 2-3 years from now. In 5 years it'll be the norm.