A couple took an electric car on a 1,500 mile road trip. They had to stop 12 times and forgo heat due to their range anxiety.

Business Insider ^ | 2/14/23 | Grace Kay

[Libloather]

Taking an electric car on a road trip can be a stressful experience - at least according to a couple who took their Kia EV6 on a cross-country trip from Michigan to Florida.

Axios reporter Joann Muller said her husband took the electric car on a 1,500 mile road trip - she joined him part-way through - to see if the US is truly ready for mass EV adoption. While electric cars are becoming more prevalent, charging infrastructure isn't quite what it should be, Muller wrote.

"We were constantly thinking about where to charge next," Muller wrote of her experience during the trip. "It occupied our minds more than where to eat or spend the night."

They stopped 12 times to recharge the car, which has an estimated battery range of 274 miles, over the course of the 1,500 mile, four-day journey, and that charging times were between 20 to 55 minutes.

The reporter said that while they were never afraid of getting stranded, the trip took a lot more planning than it would have with a traditional combustion-engine vehicle. The couple had to juggle "route-planning apps and billing accounts with various charging companies, which can get confusing," as well as dealing with "glitchy" chargers.

Muller said her husband drove the car alone from Detroit to Washington DC, where they met up to head to Florida. During his solo portion of the trip, he said he was so "anxious" about the drain cold temperatures would have on the battery that he didn't use the cabin heat, choosing instead to rely on the heated steering wheel and seats.

While EV range continues to improve, charging infrastructure still poses a major hurdle for electric-vehicle adoption.

[MachIV]

In otherwords, Clubcar will be a better choice than Tesla.

[MachIV]

If people cannot travel long distances the first casualty will likely be National Parks. Think about trying to get to, in, and around Yellowstone in Wyoming. It will collapse economically due to no one can reliably get there. Then we’ll have to listen to some leftist running the Dept of Interior complain about declining attendance.

[zeugma]

They stopped 12 times to recharge the car, which has an estimated battery range of 274 miles, over the course of the 1,500 mile, four-day journey, and that charging times were between 20 to 55 minutes.

Divide the distance by number of stops, and you'll see the true range is 125 miles, not 274.

[JoJo354]

I didn’t think of that...actually our whole economy would collapse because no one could go far for vacation. Florida relies on tourism dollars so we would be hurting!

[Blue Jays]

"...Yeah, thugs driving gas vehicles who have relieved you of any valuables…"

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Totally agree. Criminals know charging stations are frequently located in remote locations and often tucked into darkened corners of parking lots.

The criminals can essentially bank on the fact it will be a driver who will undoubtedly be distracted for an extended period of time by his/her mobile phone while charging the car.

While totally unscientific, the criminals can also be confident the greenie libtards they encounter will probably not put up a meaningful fight if victimized.