EVs with 600 mile range

[n8236]

I’m in the camp of OP. The limitations of current battery tech is rudimentary. Infra buildout will take a LONG time. And not everyone can afford a Lucid. With an appetite for EVs, improved battery tech is IMO the best path for mass adoption.

 

[KySerenity]

I’ll return to everyone (including many on this board) saying that my Lucid with 516 miles of range is overkill (one needs to sto for the bathroom, eat lunch, or that is too far to drive at one stretch, etc) when I say it is the minimum I wanted. First of all, this is EPA range, not real world driving. i can get 80-90% of that on trips, so assume 80%. That means real world range is only 413. And that is optimal, not counting weather, wind, elevation changes, etc. But unless you charged it overnight and are starting at a full 100%, the real range is from about 80% down to about 20% when you will want to charge (due to minimal availability and issues with the fast charging stations). That means one is only using 60% of that 413 miles of optimum real range. Therefore you are charging every 250 miles in practice. Sure, a lunch stop or long bathroom break will suffice. But my experience with the family is that they want to stop for those where there isn’t a charger, so another stop is needed.

Most of the EVs on the road today are in the 300 miles of EPA range. Using the same formula, 80% of EPA for real world, then using 60% of that between stops and one is charging every 150 miles or so. That is WAY TOO frequent and about the distance currently between freeway EA stations (I hope they all work and are not full as you need to hit them all. As a plus, you will become good friends with your fellow EV owners hitting the same stops along the way ). I would not take a car on trips that had less than 400 miles of EPA range and there currently are only two models on the market with that, the Tesla S and the Lucid.

If the infrastructure gets better and charging speeds are reduced, I could travel with smaller batteries and shorter ranges. However, as it is not, I want a car with 500 miles or 1000 km of EPA range for now.

it was nice to take this current trip of 270 miles one way with a full charge from home and arrive with 40% of the battery left. One quick charge here to 80% will suffice with another one halfway on the way back since I won’t start full)

I agree 100%.

My Tesla has a current range of 275. Such range is insufficient if one does not have the reliability of the Tesla supercharger network. It would be scary taking trips with such short range and depending solely on EA charging stations. To me, the minimum acceptable range for any useful EV must approach 400 miles. With so many factors reducing range (temp, headwind, >70 mph speed, etc), choosing a vehicle with less will prove to be unsatisfactory.

 

[Sandvinsd]

Just completed my last trip - 646 miles using 160 kWh for a tad over 4 miles per kWh and equating to about 450 miles of real range. That worked for me.

 

[babwine]

I agree. We just did 350-mile trips between Phoenix and La Jolla, testing actual mileage and availability of EA stations along the way. Bad news: with mountains, 114-degree heat, and a full vacation load, we got only 60-65% of the projected mileage. Good news: charging at a 350 EA unit starting with only 50-mile estimated range, we sat in the car and watched it add 300 miles of charge in about 20 minutes. So that claim is true, if you start with very little charge in your batteries.

I agree. Posted mileage is pure PR ...unless one drives at 60 MPH, no A/C, no radio, etc. I have been doing calcs for several weeks and find I only get between 65%-70%. On good front though is charging speed. Just stopped at an EA with only 150KW chargers. Went from 39% to 81% in 25 minutes which based on LUCID's miles = about 190 miles

 

[Steveinarizona]

I agree. Posted mileage is pure PR ...unless one drives at 60 MPH, no A/C, no radio, etc. I have been doing calcs for several weeks and find I only get between 65%-70%. On good front though is charging speed. Just stopped at an EA with only 150KW chargers. Went from 39% to 81% in 25 minutes which based on LUCID's miles = about 190 miles

That kind of charging speed and AVAILABILITY of the chargers and I will prioritize range less.

 

[DeaneG]

That kind of charging speed and AVAILABILITY of the chargers and I will prioritize range less.

The state of CCS charging should improve next year as Tesla starts installing fed funds V4-CCS stations, and as EA replaces their worst towers with their next-generation units.