InsideEVs Podcast episodes
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Good evening Dom,
I saw the below article from the Wall Street Journal today and I thought it might be a nice podcast discussion topic. The author references a few of Tom’s videos.
“I Rented an Electric Car for a Four-Day Road Trip. I Spent More Time Charging It Than I Did Sleeping.
Our writer drove from New Orleans to Chicago and back to test the feasibility of taking a road trip in an EV. She wouldn’t soon do it again.”
Sent from my iPhone using Inside EVs
teslarati97
Well-Known Member
This is really disturbing if the 697V Hyundai/KIA battery pack isn't enough to deal with range anxiety. ARBP estimates about 4 hours worth of DC fast charging for both routes and much less than the 18 hours the writer needed. Rather than heading up through EA stations lined along the I-65, the writer takes the I-59 route in Slidell, LA (32 mi) for 24kW DCFC, and another 171 mi to another 24kW dealership in Meridian, MS. The good news is that the EA experience was flawless.
You can't fix stupid...I guess that's why they're called Writer, must be not good at reading
teslarati97
Well-Known Member
I just hope someone can redo the New Orleans to Chicago roundtrip in an EV with smaller max range to validate user error. The 4-day roundtrip stats are:
- 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
I just plotted two PlugShare routes from New Orleans to Chicago and it was doomed from the start:
- Open CCS-1 network is too thin.
- Requires dealer, fast DC chargers
- +900 miles per day ... days too long.
- About 700-750 miles per day is realistic
Domenick
Well-Known Member
I haven't read the piece -- I don't have a subscription -- but I've heard lots about it. It's an interesting case that highlights how getting consumers a relatively small amount of information could improve outcomes of a trip like this.
I feel like this sort of route-planning info should be included in a vehicle's navigation system, like it is in a Tesla. The Kia EV6 does show chargers, but doesn't make suggestions as to which they should take.
I went to A Better Route Planner (ABRP) and added the car type and route and this is what it spit out. The writer of this article really should have taken a few minutes to Google electric vehicle route planning and saved themselves many hours of time. But maybe (haven't read it) part the idea was to see how intuitive a trip might be for someone with zero research and a loaner car.
teslarati97
Well-Known Member
You don't need a subscription for archived material.
ericy
Well-Known Member
It sounds like what happened was that she rented from Turo, and the owner just told renters to use plugshare. No further info was provided. So it sounds like she set out and tried to plan a route manually by stringing together orange pins.
The EV6 could have been a huge help if the builtin navi had been able to properly plan a route for her.
Domenick
Well-Known Member
Just saw a tweet (https://twitter.com/rachelbwolfe/status/1533529505071042560) of the author's saying that they actually did consult A Better Route Planner, but wanted to stop in a couple different cities and apparently didn't check the route on ABRP with those added stops, or just decided to ignore it and waste a lot of time doing it the hard way.
teslarati97
Well-Known Member
From the WSJ article (two excerpts):
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.
-----------------
“Should we just drive straight through to New Orleans?” I finally ask desperately, even as I realize I’ve failed to map out the last 400 miles of our route.
To scout our options, Mack calls a McDonald’s in Winona, Miss., that is home to one of the few fast chargers along our route back to New Orleans. PlugShare tells us the last user has reported the charger broken. An employee who picks up reasonably responds that given the rain, she’ll pass on checking to see if an error message is flashing across the charger’s screen.
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.
-----------------
“Should we just drive straight through to New Orleans?” I finally ask desperately, even as I realize I’ve failed to map out the last 400 miles of our route.
To scout our options, Mack calls a McDonald’s in Winona, Miss., that is home to one of the few fast chargers along our route back to New Orleans. PlugShare tells us the last user has reported the charger broken. An employee who picks up reasonably responds that given the rain, she’ll pass on checking to see if an error message is flashing across the charger’s screen.
There is no mention of ABRP in the article.
There are thousands of L2 chargers but it sounds like she does not understand fast DC charging. Regardless, EVs are an applied IQ test.
Bob Wilson
Bob Wilson
Yes, you need to think. It's very different than driving an ICE which requires a minimum amount of thought.
Puppethead
Well-Known Member
Domenick
Well-Known Member
Domenick
Well-Known Member
hashtagchris
New Member
I enjoyed the "R1T vs F-150" discussion in Episode 115 around the 15 minute mark. I know InsideEVs has some comparison YouTube videos, but I'd enjoy a recurring "X vs Y: Which one would you choose?" segment on the podcast. Some ideas:
* Tesla Model 3 vs Polestar 2
* Tesla Model 3 vs BMW i4
* Hyundai Ioniq 5 vs Volkswagen ID.4
* Tesla Model 3 vs Polestar 2
* Tesla Model 3 vs BMW i4
* Hyundai Ioniq 5 vs Volkswagen ID.4
Domenick
Well-Known Member
Thanks for watching. We have had a few discussions like this -- Tesla Model 3 vs BMW i4, for example -- but maybe a more structured approach might be interesting.
Domenick
Well-Known Member
electriceddy
Moderator
Re: Episode 117....Congratulations Tom, best part of the podcast when your face lit up like sunshine, awesome timing.
Honorable mention goes to Domenick at the beginning..."Happy Canada Day"
Honorable mention goes to Domenick at the beginning..."Happy Canada Day"
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