Why was that unsettling to you? Why would that give you range anxiety? I’m perfectly comfortable with that.
Does the Leaf have a minimum range estimation as well as the average estimation? On the Bolt there’s a max estimation, an average estimation, and a minimum estimation. I always want to be more than the minimum estimation but I would feel very comfortable with a 25 mile excess. I start getting nervous when it’s close to the same or definitely when the minimum is less than the miles I have to go even if the average says I’ll make it.
(For ICE and hybrid drivers this is just like how low are you willing to let your gas gauge go before you fill up again. Some people are don’t let it get below half a tank people and some people are there’s always a couple of gallons left after the light comes on people. Except with the EVs you’ve got numbers to look at.)
It’s not our car. I don’t know how accurate the range estimation is. And I am one of those who never let their tank (when I had an ice car) get below 1/4 tank. I never like riding in on fumes. That’s why it is unsettling to me.
Well, maybe it’s the ability to actually refuel in the next 25 / 50 / 75 / etc miles that one has to travel too. Are there fueling opportunities? How many? How reliable? Not blocked / broken / incompatible. I would speculate that currently those with ICE vehicles have many more options and opportunities to assuage their anxiety. Whether they do or not is up to them. In many cases there are ICE fueling stations every couple blocks / miles / towns. I can understand the anxiety an EV driver might find themselves in if they don’t plan accordingly.
Except gas stations are on every other corner in town or every other exit off the freeway and take 5 minutes to fill a tank - EV chargers not quite as accessible and much longer to charge, even in California - at least that’s the way it appears to this non-EV driver.
Except in this case they are charging at home. Charger availability is a non issue, there is zero chance they’ll run out of charge, and the car will be fully charged by morning without any time wasted at a gas/charging station.
This is just a comfort/familiarity issue with a different car. I doubt the car’s regular driver would feel much discomfort in the same situation, because they’ve probably done it often.
But I can see how going from a Tesla interface/range > 250m to a Leaf (range of 150 or 215) might cause some concern. Still, I think that concern would disappear after a few drives like this.
Correct. The leaf has a range of only about 135 miles or so. My Tesla has about 300. My s only charges his car to about 80%, though for our longer round trip he took it to 95%
I dunno in my experience it’s pretty much the same feeling when your “tank” gets low. I have had plenty of range anxiety in rural locations in my ICE vehicles over the years when my gas light was on and there were no exits with gas stations nearby. I have run out of gas when I was young and stupid but have never run out of battery in the 8 years I’ve been driving an EV. 40 miles of range left and only 15 to go would not bother me in the least but I just rolled in last night from a trip with 7 miles on the minimum (17 on the estimated).
And remember anywhere there is an electrical outlet outside you can access you can charge your car. It’s slow at 110, but it works. More electrical outlets than there are gas stations!
(I would never buy a LEAF again, though. The Bolt is the superior affordable EV – 250 mile range, better charging interface (CCS-SAE vs ChaDeMo), better battery technology. Our used LEAF was a great introduction to EVs in 2015, but we switched to the Bolt in 2017 and haven’t looked back.)
Do owners of those electrical outlets approve of general population use? I guess I’m asking is, if you see an outlet at a commercial location, you just use it?
In an emergency I would, but as I said I have never had to in the 8 years I have been driving an EV. I have heard of people who have done it though, just to get a few miles down the road to the real charging station. Have you ever plugged in your phone in a public place like a coffee shop or library? Did you ask first? Same deal. It’s just a car. It doesn’t draw much juice at 110. I have plugged into 110 outlets in hotel parking garages.
When we were n Ireland & the UK we noticed they have electrical outlets and charging on lampposts because it’s all 220/240 there. You just park and plug in. We didn’t rent a car so didn’t use it but it’s pretty cool. They don’t have to have a special charging station – just use what’s already there.
I guess I’m the odd duck, I wouldn’t do it without permission. And, I have not plugged my phone into an outlet that was not identified for public use…but, I do have multiple mobile chargers that I make sure are charged and take with me when I know I’ll be out and about without access to my car or a public charger. Just curious on the charging thing since you mentioned there are so many more chargers than there are gas stations - I guess you can look at it that way, I probably wouldn’t.
Edit: This sounded obnoxious - didn’t mean for it to come across that way. My husband calls me a girl scout - it makes my life easier, he just doesn’t care about other peoples thoughts that some how mean more to mean than they actually should.
That’s not what I said. I said there are many more electrical outlets — not chargers. Not the same thing and I would never make that statement.
I think most people feel free to charge their phones or plug in their computers in public spaces or businesses where they are. If I was having a charging emergency (again hasn’t happened to me but I can imagine it) I would feel fine with plugging into an available outlet and would ask if someone was around but if was after hours and no one is there and I’m running out of charge I’m not going to bypass that opportunity because I couldn’t find someone to ask.
I haven’t asked when I’ve plugged into a 110 outlet in a hotel parking garage. I’m paying the hotel already. And it’s a very small draw at 110.
I also don’t usually ask if I can go to the bathroom at McDonald’s.
Yes you did say outlets but you are using them as a charger in this scenario - it works for you, that’s what counts. I do not think the bathroom at Mc Donalds scenario is the same as using an outlet in a commercial facility if it’s not for public use and actually I think many people will buy a coffee or soft-drink for the use of the restroom.
The closer equivalent in an ICEV would be the distance-to-empty display found in many newer ICEVs. The typical regular fuel gauge is small and low resolution, so it may not be easy to guess how many miles you have left with the needle pointing to 1/8.
I absolutely HATE this feature. I can NOT have it displayed on my car. If there wasn’t a way to turn it off, I’d put tape on it. It completely stresses me out no matter what the number says. I wind up just staring at it instead of the road. Nope. No way. Hate it.
And I’m the person who finds it a PITA worrying about charging tablets, laptops, phones, etc. I don’t like things getting low at all. I always have at least one portable charger with me. I get completely stressed out if I won’t have access to a charger for any length of time.
And in a car, once it gets to about 1/3 of a tank, I’m planning on when I’ll get gas. I only need gas once/month so we tend to get it on our trips to Walmart (twice/week). I never let it go below 1/4 tank.
I bought my younger daughter a used Rav 4 hybrid (not plug-in). This thing is a beast on gas mileage, and has only needed one fill up since Christmas. When I renew the yearly registration, however, I have to pay an extra $100 to our lovely state to cover the gas tax it is NOT getting from her car. It’s not a big deal to us, but it might not make hybrids attractive to some.
I would definitely get a hybrid like she has in the future.
that’s easy to do from a technical standpoint; just double the size and weight. Batteries are the most expensive part of the EV, so a 600-700 range battery would cost >2x a 300 range battery. No way to make them affordable in the US
Note that economy and range ratings are made differently in different countries. According to How To Convert Conflicting EV Range Test Cycles: EPA, WLTP, CLTC , the CLTC rating used in China tends to be about 35% more optimistic than the US EPA rating, and the WLTP rating used in many European countries tends to be about 22% more optimistic than the US EPA rating.
