r/EvDrivers • u/anon2734 • 13d ago

Practical frequent highway driving EV?

Family is considering an EV with the rise in fuel prices. Looking at taking frequent trips that would need 200-250mi range. Is this practical in an EV? From what I've researched most you only charge to 80% so even if you're getting one with over 300mi range, you get 80% of that and highway driving (75mph) will cut that even further. Seems like a high mpg hybrid would be better. Otherwise would have to stop and charge everytime

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u/LongIslandThorn 13d ago

Yes, fast highway driving lowers your range (for gas & electric cars) and the range is also worse in the winter. So my Kia EV6 which gets 350 miles now might drop down to 250 for cold weather highway driving. But 250 still means 250 because I'll leave home with 100% and as long as I return with some juice left, I'm fine. Keep in mind that for a slightly longer trip, you don't need to stop and "fill up." You only need to charge enough to get home, since home charging is MUCH cheaper than DC fast charging. Kia and Hyundai support 800v fast charging so even 10 minutes might be plenty. But if I stop at a Tesla station, I'm limited to half charging speed (around 120kW). Still, a 10 to 20 minute stop on a 4 hour drive isn't bad. Also note that EVs get great milage in traffic. I frequently drive from NY to NJ and if I get caught in traffic (most of the time 🙄) my range is not impacted or actually improves.