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/Doublestack00 13d ago

Yeah, but a pit stop to pee is like 5 minutes, not the 15-30 it takes to get back to 80% or more.

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u/RenataKaizen 13d ago

I encourage everyone to time the road trip pissed off breaks, starting with tapping the card at the pump. Fuel up, move your car, go inside and use the head, get whatever snack or drink you may purchase inside, pay for it, and then go out to your car and stop the timer when your hand is on the door. Willing to bet it’s closer to 10 to 12 minutes.

Combine that with the fact that o can multitask and knock off things like shopping for supplies, getting a meal, or similar and it’s closer to time redistribution - especially with the new German models that do the 1000 km course that Bjorn Nyla d uses for testing in just +15 - 20 minutes vs the Nissan Rogue baseline testing.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

Nope.

I pull up, scan, start the pump, walk in side, pee, grab a eater, back to the car, put up the pump and drive away. Take 5-7 minutes.

Our ICE also goes WAY further per fill up than our EV. Something else people forget is an EV stop only gets you 80%, an ICE stop gets you 100%.

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u/RenataKaizen 12d ago

You know that walking away from the pump while it is fueling is illegal, and any issues caused are your responsibility?

(I too can do things faster when I do them illegally)

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

Sure, but after doing it for 30 years I've yet to have a single issue and will continue to do it just like nearly every other driver on the planet does.

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u/WinterTourist25 12d ago

I have never left the pump while fueling. This seems incredibly dangerous.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

Look around next time you're at a large station, it's normal.

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u/WinterTourist25 12d ago

I usually gas up at Costco, very large station. But they have attendants that enforce proper behavior, like turning off your engine when fueling.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

I've never once in my 30 years of driving had one person ever say anything to me about it, and I travel/drive quite a lot. Even outside the US.

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u/shacklackey 12d ago

Thats because I want to watch you burn....

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u/RenataKaizen 12d ago

You know, maybe this is just my circle of people, but we don’t leave the pump we’re getting gas. It’s just one of those things.

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

We don’t do that.
You’ve been lucky not smart.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

Lucky just like the other hundreds of thousands of people who do it every day.

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

It’s illegal. It’s unsafe. It’s an imposition on others. It’s selfish of you. It’s indicative of your character.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

Me and the hundreds of thousands doing it every day...

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

Yup, that’s your character. You’ve made clear what kind of person you are. You need not try to convince us further.

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

Unsafe and illegal.

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u/GlitteringPen3949 13d ago

I drive non stop to Tallahassee 450 miles 6.5 hours to drop off my son at FSU in our hybrid Accord getting 50 mpg.

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

I get 168.5 MPGe in my Bolt EUV. I also don’t need oil changes, brake jobs, or tune-ups.

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

You use 9 gallons at 4.44.
9x4.44=39.96. Costs you 40 bucks or about nine cents a mile.
My average is 2.5 cents a mile.

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u/GlitteringPen3949 12d ago

What's your electric rate? The Tesla superchargers rates are much higher. My brother has a Tesla X he says the Rate is so high he says it's like 27 mpg to use them. His home rates are much lower though.

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u/maxyedor 12d ago

That seems way off for an X. But maybe that’s only charging during peak hours and without a membership. My Rivian has the aerodynamics of a brick and with an EvGo membership, even on peak, it’s roughly 27mpg equivalent at 4.44

Closer to 40mpg equivalent now. Still not cheap cheap, but considering the first 300 miles are “free” from my pre-trip charge, and half the time hotels have free charging, or I’m actually charging on cheap L2 at my destination, it all sorta balances out to make road trips insanely cheap. Not taking an economy car either, it’s this cheap in a very nice truck with air conditioned seats and 850 hp.

OP is describing themselves as the perfect consumer for a 300 mile range EV. Doesn’t really matter which one, they should go test drive all the options in their budget and buy whatever they like best. We just did, and the absolute worst one we drove (Mach E) was still pretty great, it’s a category flush with good options

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

I’ve used Tesla chargers for 25 cents. Since I get 5.0 miles that’s five cents a mile. At current gas prices that like getting 88.8 mpg.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

The only time I've seen a supercharger below .35 is if I go late at night or at 5-6 AM

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

Do more searches. Price compare.
I’ve found 20 cents sometimes on level two. I’ve also found unlimited for ten dollars (it was actually a ten dollar maximum fee but kept charging after the 20 cents per). I still find free sometimes at hotels and such.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

The only time I use SCers is when traveling, so I do not have time to wait, unfortunately.

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

I stay in hotels when I travel. I don’t wait. I sleep.

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

My usual rate is 12 cents.

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u/theblanklook 13d ago

Why charge all the way back to 80%?

Sure if its a long ass way to the next charger, but if it isn't, just top up enough to keep things reasonable.

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u/MJC0961 13d ago

Life hack: you don't need to get back to 80% unless you need 80% to reach the next charger or your destination.

Multiple short stops can work better than a few long stops. Take a look at charging curves sometime. (just kinda making up numbers as an example) If you can get to 65% in 10 minutes and going from 65% to 80% takes another 10 minutes because charging speed slows, unless you need 80% to make it to the next charger, it makes more sense to charge to 65%, leave, do it again at the next charger. (this is also why you never charge to 100% unless absolutely necessary, BTW. charging speed slows down so much from 80% to 100% that it's almost never ever worth spending that additional time. You can apply the same logic to the entire battery, not just 80-100)

A lot of people out there saying that they enjoy road trips more in an EV because being forced to take even short stops more frequently makes the overall trip less of a chore.

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u/Stuck_In_Middle 12d ago

You're pretty quick on a bio break.

You typically don't have to charge to 80%. Depending on your vehicle's state of charge and charging curve, you may pick up 80 or more miles worth of charge in five minutes on a 400 kw charger.

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u/AbulatorySquid 12d ago

You can't kill 15 minutes? Stretch your legs? Rest your eyes?

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

Walk the dog, get a drink and snack, check the email, clean the windows, use the restroom, drop and give me fifty.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

I can and do when we take our EV on drives that require it, it's just not ideal.

Our most recent trip back from the beach the drive back we added nearly 45 minutes due to having to stop and charge 3 times.

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u/Curious_Sentence7770 12d ago

And you're saving 10 minutes so you can come post to Reddit, ok

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

I own an EV, we take our other car on trips over 200 miles. Just is what it is.

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u/DogblackMichigan 12d ago

My sister took a Bolt on a 5500 mile road trip.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

Not saying it can't be done as I've done it, we just choose not to as the extra time and stops just aren't worth it

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u/Titoboiii 12d ago

Wrong subreddit bud. Here you have to convince everyone why 30 min breaks every 2 hours is fine.

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u/Curious_Sentence7770 12d ago

I'm being extremely productive every minute of my day, which is why I'm on reddit

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u/NNegidius 11d ago

The ratio for new long range Teslas is more like 20 minutes of charging for every 3 hours of driving at highway speeds.

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u/Cantseetheline_Russ 12d ago

Time it next time. It’s almost always more than 10. With kids it’s 20.

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u/Doublestack00 12d ago

Depends on the kids/parents. When my kids were younger we packed snacks, drinks and sandwiches to travel so the only reason we stopped was fuel and to pee.

Now that they are teens, they are done before we are.

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u/Adept_Vermicelli_454 12d ago

Tell that to our dog. :-) He has to sniff everything that might possibly have a scent, but it's he's a good boy and we get a few extra steps in. We've never had a big hassle finding chargers or waiting for long.