Range - how much is "enough"?

Discussion in 'General' started by Grayson, Oct 11, 2017.

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  1. Pushmi-Pullyu

    Pushmi-Pullyu Well-Known Member

    Yes, I should have been more specific. I should have said "a lot of compelling, truly competitive models of PEVs to choose from..." In general, compliance cars are neither.

    It's notable that many auto makers appear to be aiming at 2020 to start selling what hopefully will be compelling PEVs which hopefully will be made in significantly larger numbers. So, I hope to see some serious acceleration in growth of PEV sales starting late that year.
     
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  3. Feed The Trees

    Feed The Trees Active Member

    This 32-50k is not too uncommon for cars that class, and the Tesla did start with +$10k to many of the buyers so net to them is 22-40k. Look around for E and S class or 5 and 7 and see how they far.
     
  4. 47of74

    47of74 New Member

    The range on my Bolt - currently about 200 miles - is more than enough for my needs most days, but I do like or need to go on longer trips every so often. I hope the range continues to increase and the price continues to decrease to the point where it's truly competitive with ICE vehicles.
     
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  5. rgmichel

    rgmichel Active Member

    I am not sure we can find a cheaper ICE car because it has only a half-size gas tank for less range, but we are now facing different price levels for cars with different sizes of batteries. However, do we really want to buy a car that right up-front is handicapped by a small battery? I would always buy an all-electric with the biggest battery possible, and the Chevy Bolt has set the price point. I would never go back to a leaf or something like it. These all-electric cars are such a pleasure to drive that I want them to do everything that an ICE car can do but, of course, with all the advantages of an all-electric - high acceleration, quiet, low maintenance and running costs, etc. When we see Bolt EV gen 2, its going to have a battery with more capacity, and the price of gen 1 will plummet. Meanwhile, I am having fun with the best car I ever owned or drove - my gen 1.
     
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  6. rgmichel

    rgmichel Active Member

    Charging with present DC fast charging network has given me 450 miles a day very comfortably in my Bolt EV, and as time goes on, chargers will become more closely spaced and 600 miles a day will likely be possible. The present charging times are long enough that beyond that, say 900 miles, is not feasible in a day's driving. With the heater going this Fall, my Bolt EV has been giving me about 190 miles range, and in the summer with A/C used in the afternoons, I achieve 220 to 250 miles of range depending on terrain, speeds, etc. Heat is more expensive in range than A/C in my experience.
     
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  8. Mike Kerns

    Mike Kerns New Member

    The wife pushed and pushed to get an All-Electric this year so she bought a 2017 Mercedes 250e. Great car/mini van/SUV I don't know what to call it, but she loves it. I hate it because when we want to drive 75+ miles we have to take another car. For a 2017 car model one would think that Mercedes would have a longer range for their only All-Electric..
     
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  9. Right?! I'm not sure why Mercedes didn't make more of an effort with the 250e. I expect its Mercedes-Benz EQ, coming in 2019 with a 70 kWh battery (so, maybe 230-ish miles of range) will make up for a lot of previous disappointments EV-wise.
     
  10. rgmichel

    rgmichel Active Member

    Yes, my first electric was the Chevy Bolt eV, but even that has its limitations. I estimate that the ideal range for a car is what you would typically drive long distance. For me that is 450 miles. I can do that with my Bolt EV, with 2 or 3 charging stops, but it is in the category of "it would be nice" to have a longer range than 238 m, so less charging stops. If we think about what is feasible, I think a range of 320 miles would be great, and practical with the presently developing battery technologies. This would be a ~80 mile improvement over the present Bolt EV range, and represents one charging stop less.
     
  11. F U Bigoil

    F U Bigoil New Member

    I currently drive a Ford Focus Electric, and my ONLY complaint about the car is the range, quoted at 75 miles. However, the "your mileage may vary" part can really kick in. Turn on the heater, windshield wipers, lights, etc, drive to keep up with 70+ MPH traffic, go through some mountain passes and the range winds up at about half the quoted range. If the range were at least 150 miles this would make the range manageable.
     
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  13. rgmichel

    rgmichel Active Member

    I would be disappointed about with a range of 150 miles. I guess I am too happy with 238 miles, primarily for long distance. For around town, 150 miles would work fine, because my average journey is about 50 miles.
     

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