I Rented An Electric Car For A Four-Day Road Trip. I Spent More Time Charging It Than I Did Sleeping.

vigourtimes ^ | June 4, 2022 | Colin Mcatee

[American Number 181269513]

I thought it would be fun.

That’s what I told my friend Mack when I asked her to drive with me from New Orleans to Chicago and back in an electric car.

I’d made long road trips before, surviving popped tires, blown headlights and shredded wheel-well liners in my 2008 Volkswagen Jetta. I figured driving the brand-new Kia EV6 I’d rented would be a piece of cake.

If, that is, the public-charging infrastructure cooperated. We wouldn’t be the first to test it. Sales of pure and hybrid plug-ins doubled in the U.S. last year to 656,866—over 4% of the total market, according to database EV-volumes. More than half of car buyers say they want their next car to be an EV, according to recent Ernst & Young Global Ltd. data.

By the Numbers

Our reporter’s four-day, three-night EV road trip included many charging stops, little sleep—and less junk food than you might expect

• Miles driven: 2,013

• Number of charges: 14

• Total charging cost: $175

• Hours spent waiting to charge:18

• Hours of sleep:16

• Calories of junk food consumed (estimated): 1,465

• Giant chicken statues passed: 1

Oh—and we aimed to make the 2,000-mile trip in just under four days so Mack could make her Thursday-afternoon shift as a restaurant server.

Less money, more time

Given our battery range of up to 310 miles, I plotted a meticulous route, splitting our days into four chunks of roughly 7½-hours each. We’d need to charge once or twice each day and plug in near our hotel overnight.

The PlugShare app—a user-generated map of public chargers—showed thousands of charging options between New Orleans and Chicago. But most were classified as Level 2, requiring around 8 hours for a full charge.

[discostu]

So he did his test drive with the thing electric cars are worst at, and oddly enough found out it sucks for that. That’s like test driving an RV in downtown San Fransisco and being “shocked” it doesn’t fit. I’m no fan of electric cars, but this was dumb.

[V V Camp Enari 67-68]

What a hassle. In a regular car, you’d just hop in and go. Could do it in one day each way stopping for an hour for lunch.
———————————
Exactly!

[Chickensoup]

There will not be a used market. More like computers. Use and pitch

[Leaning Right]

I feel your pain. Next time go with my solution. Just take a big ol’ generator with you. Keep it running and connected to your EV as you drive along.

Going green is sometimes a challenge. But if it makes Al Gore happy, it’s worth the effort.

[JD_UTDallas]

The UK and America are two countries separated by a common language.

In my case the Commonwealth. I have lived in the UK, South Africa, Jamaica, and Canada at times. In addition to all over the world as a petroleum geologist/geochemist

[EVO X]

Of the effect on car resale or trade in value if the next owner knows YOU drove the car for five years - and in three years he’ll have to shell out $12,000 for a new car battery.

I am not a big fan of EV's since I live in a winter wonderland, but it is unlikely you would need to shell out $12K for a battery after 5 years unless you are a high milage driver operating during extreme conditions

[JD_UTDallas]

Ditto, that KIA is a dog. I never spent more than 15 min at a supercharger long enough to take a leak, grab a few pints and stretch the old legs. With now being able to reserve a spot at a supercharger you know that when you get there that spot will be open it’s not even a thought of range anxiety. When my S60 dies or gas goes above $8 I am going to lease a Model S LR with ludicrous mode enabled. Mau even go plaid! Ha like space balls movie gold. ...he’s gone to plaid...

[cableguymn]

All to save 10 bucks over gas (not including rental fees)

[Fresh Wind]

These are enormous levels of ampere flow.

Correct. If the grid is feeding a given charging station to a level that will allow a single vehicle to be fully charged in the same time that a gas tank can be filled, what will happen when 2, 4, 8, or more similar vehicles are demanding the same level of current flow at the same charging station?

At some point, a limit will be reached. The capacity of the system, end-to-end, will be exceeded, and the charge rate will have to be throttled to avoid massive failure.

To avoid this, a massive country-wide upgrade of the generation and distribution system will be needed. Will it happen? When will it happen? What will it cost?

[BipolarBob]

Google is your friend, nephew. It means your fortunate and the origin had to do with nepotism when Conservative Prime Minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury appointed his nephew Arthur Balfour as Chief Secretary for Ireland in 1887. But don’t expect any appointments from me.

[cableguymn]

*estimates

My vw has half a million
We have a Ford diesel getting ready to turn a million

Get back to me when it’s proven.

[Signalman]

No One is Telling You the Truth About Electric Cars, So I Have To:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0flRWnQIQmA

[Vaduz]

50% of EV’s are still on the road the rest made it home.

[American Number 181269513]

I feel your pain. Next time go with my solution. Just take a big ol’ generator with you. Keep it running and connected to your EV as you drive along. Going green is sometimes a challenge. But if it makes Al Gore happy, it’s worth the effort.

Haha!

I see your generator and raise you one windmill.

Tata Nexon EV spotted with a windmill on roof

[entropy12]

EV’s are just fine and dandy for daily short commute to work in a city. Taking EV’s on the road is akin to road trip in central Africa. Lots of luck.

[McGavin999]

Electric cars are the future but the future is not now. They are perfect for city drivers and some for long distance. It’s not the cars that are the problem, it’s the generation f enough electricity to charge them when they become the majority. Unless we start building nuclear plants and start investing on the grid they can’t work. We can barely keep the lights on as it is.

We also need to seriously figure out battery disposal, mining minerals for batteries, and replacement cost.

[entropy12]

Did you read about I-95 was blocked for traffic in Virginia for 12 hours during a cold night in winter, and the EV drivers were seen walking on highway begging Truck drivers to give them shelter?

I never owned a EV, but it looks like they are not very good at providing heat for many hours when stranded on some highway. If my ICE car runs out of gas, all I need is to procure a gallon of gas in a can, and I am on my way to the nearest gas station. How expensive it is to charge a stranded EV on highway? I guess it must be towed to the nearest super-charging facility?

[wardaddy]

You drink by the pints while you drive and then engage in ageism on this forum

Don’t hit my family please with your Tesla better than Ferrari roadster

And I have nothing against getting high on whatever however much

But not behind the wheel of your electric super car

Yes I know their fast

Ferraris while sexy are very finicky compared to a nice Porsche which is about as fast and you can drive it from Preston road to Santa Monica worry free

And while you’re wondering my penis is handy enough to have fathered five great kids 15-33

Aged 64

Raised in Dallas as a lad till five in a garage apt at a turtle creek pinkish stucco manse
Kind old lady
My mom would take me down to walk around the creek and I’d always wonder where are the damn turtles

big D was our city....I grew up 405 miles due east

Many kin in Texas including former Cowboy cheerleader

Man it’s five times the size now

I’m a risk taker ...not preaching...just prudence

[The Sons of Liberty]

Did you every drive through “Nowhere” Alabama to New Orleans, and if you did, where were the “Supercharging” stations? I’ve never seen any.

[JoJo354]

And I am waiting for the day someone will pay me big bucks for my 1997 Ford Expedition! LOL