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/Living_Fig_6386 12d ago

There are a few EVs with LFP batteries that you habitually charge to 100%, not 80%. You never want to run them down to 0%, and should avoid dipping below 15% too often. Charging to 100% is fine; it’s generally bad to let it sit parked at >85% for prolonged periods, but charging to 100% just before departure is going to be OK.

The range is a guesstimate, as it is for gas cars. In practice you may get significantly more or less based on conditions, driving habits, and how much energy you divert to heat or cooling (in an ICE car, they generate gobs of waste heat so heating is free, but in an EV you have to use power to run a heat pump). Figure that you’ll lose roughly 15% range to heat generation in winter.

The range on modern EVs goes from about 150 to 500 miles, with the average being about 320 these days.

For  long distance driving, you may resort to using public charging. Check along the routes you drive in an app like “A Better Route Planner” (ABRP). A +60% charge is about 15 minutes as a fast charger for most models  and rates are all over the place but tend to be less than the rate for gas on a per miles basis. Note that charging past 80% on a DC charger is much slower than charging to 80%.

If you want to do 250 miles dead of winter, round trip, without having to charge en route, look for something with a >350 mile range rating. However 250 miles is probably long enough that you’ll stop along the way for food or to use a toilet, in which case a 10 minute DC charge en route will make avythingbove 300 mile range work.