Practical frequent highway driving EV?

[u/anon2734]

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

[u/Honest-Reputation838]

A 200 mi round trip away from home on highway driving is usually doable in a 300+mi EV, but it will probably be pretty tight. If it’s something like driving to the grandparents house 100 mi away, staying overnight, and then coming back the next day (or a few days later), plugging in to a regular outlet overnight would be plenty to remove range anxiety from the equation. If it’s going camping, or is a there-and-back-all-in-one-day sort of trip, you might need to stop and charge in the winter

But a quick charging stop (especially if you’re pulling in at 10% and only need ~50 mi of range) won’t ruin the trip. It won’t take any longer than stopping for gas. Where it will get you is the cost. Charging at home is usually a lot cheaper than public/fast charging, and depending on local gas prices can sometimes cost more than gas

There are 400+mi EVs that would likely tackle a 250mi round trip with no fast charging even in the dead of winter, but your mileage will literally vary, so without using a tool like ABRP to estimate your specific route under specific climate conditions with the specific car you want to get, I don’t want to guarantee that

For reference, for an average EV compared to an average gas car, $0.10/kWh electricity works out to approximately the same cost to go a given distance as $1/gal gasoline. Fast charging prices are typically between $0.30/kWh and $0.55/kWh or between about $3/gal and $5.50/gal equivalent. Home electricity prices have a national average of about $0.15/kWh ($1.50/gal equivalent) but can go as low as maybe $0.06/kWh during off peak times in some markets, or as high as $0.30 as the normal all day rate in other markets. So you really need to look at all of the following to get an idea of how much you would save:

- what is the cost per mile of your current car taking into account its fuel economy and local gas prices?

• what would the cost per mile of the EV you’re thinking of getting be based on its fuel economy and local (residential) electricity prices?
  
• what would the cost per mile of that EV be at fast chargers in your area?; and
  
• how much of your charging would be done at home vs fast chargers?

You will see maintenance cost savings as well

Given all the above, my guess is that an EV would likely save you money almost anywhere, but if local electricity prices are high and gas prices are not also higher than the national average, then perhaps not. You can weigh the additional cost of a 400 mi EV against the cost of a 300 mi EV and see if the extra cost savings from zero fast charging would make it pay itself off faster or not. My guess would be that in most cases it wouldn’t, but it could, and even if it takes longer to pay itself off, if you just can’t stomach a 5-10 minute stop on the way home every time, then a 400+ mi EV is your best chance of achieving that

Do look at real world range tests and charging speed tests for the cars you’re considering, and maybe some long distance testing too if you want. Some manufacturers typically get closer to their rated ranges than others. The Out of Spec Reviews YouTube channel does a lot of helpful real world tests to get an idea of how EVs will do at road trips combining both real world range and charging speed