I’ve had mine for nearly a year and have no complaints with charging. Granted, we don’t take it on long road trips, but I have charged it at a fast charger and the performance was fine with me. My last fast charge at a 50kw charger got 32Kwh in 45 minutes. That’s about 140 miles for my Bolt. (YMMV)
99% of my charging is at home though.
For a small upgrade in the charging system on board, that time can be halved.
Stats show that this would be the case for the vast majority of drivers. The average commute in the US is 30 miles round trip, which means that many owners wouldn’t even need a Level 2 charger at home. Is the ability to fast charge in 20 minutes for the once a year/month/week road trip worth paying another $40,000 for?
Not really. But the ability to “fast charge” on a road trip is the last thing that ICE vehicles have ever EVs, even though most drivers will almost never be inconvenienced this way. The flip side is never having to go to a gas station ever again.
[I’m leaving out towing from this discussion, as we’re talking about everyday vehicles. If you regularly tow anything, you’ll need a gas truck as there isn’t a viable electric option. I doubt this will change for a long time, if ever. Same for tractor-trailers.]
I disagree. An electric motor is so superior to an I.C.E. that all of it will eventually be electric. Battery performance is the only impediment and I expect that to improve to 400 KWH/Kg by 2035 or so. Beyond that threshold, virtually any mobile application becomes viable as electric, even airplanes.
Battery technology is obviously the key. There will (hopefully) be a tipping point where the amount of juice carried on board, plus the speed at which it can be replenished at one of a multitude of fast-charging stations will meet/exceed the ICE experience.
I don’t know when that will be, but an extraneous factor that will bring the tipping point closer will be the disappearance of gas stations and the cost of gas as EV take-up shrinks the business model for retail gas sales.
It will be a very different experience when there aren’t 3 gas stations at every major intersection.
I get all that, it was just a dig at those who have to convince themselves they’re not driving a station wagon/minivan.
I’d possibly buy a Scout EV.
I’m curious as to what you’re seeing in the Scout that isn’t already out there?
I mean, these are the promo shots.
A vehicle that looks like an old Scout.
The SUV market, the actual take these things off road market, desperately needs reliable short wheel base vehicles that don’t require a mortgage to purchase.
Anyway I’m sure the vehicle I’m talking about would cost $125K after the marketing teams were done with it.
Dear Audi.
Please make a fucking A5 E-Tron. Thank you.
Audi’s ability to design the best car interiors remains undefeated.
PSA: The presenter gives a very idiot-friendly (i.e. I got it) explanation as to why higher voltage charging systems on cars is a benefit - not just in charging times. It’s at the 11:21 mark if you want to skip to it.
We’re seeing the first evidence of this here with EV adoption in Vermont skyrocketing. One of the most common uses of the space is for restaurants and coffee shops. The garage doors of gas stations / auto repair shops make for spectacular window viewing during cold months and excellent combined indoor / outdoor space during nice days when they roll up the doors and create a seamless indoor / outdoor dining experience.
Popular cars designs that aren’t in their lineup.
No, it’s just Texas, the Anus of Civilization.
Battery longevity concerns are being proven unfounded as EVs age gracefully.
And that’s 100,000 miles with no oil changes or probably any maintenance whatsoever.
Why in the hell did you look for a post over a year old to reply this to?
Is battery longevity a function of miles/use, the number and nature of recharges/discharges or just time (i.e., how much capacity is lost in an unused battery over time).
My understanding is that battery deg. (see…I’m hip to the parlance) comes from the charge/discharge cycles and has very little to do with age. Hence the miles on the truck in the article is far more important than its age.
So, even if the degradation rate doubles over the next 100,000 miles, the truck will still have more than 90% battery capacity after 200,000 miles. Not bad at all.
Compare that to an ICE truck. No doubt it will be fully capable of 200,000 miles, but how much will have been spent on oil changes and a clutch or two in that time? A 5,000 service on my 4-cylinder Acura used to cost over $1,000…
It also matters how you charge. Heat and resistance increases as the battery is filled, so charging to 80%, especially when using the level 3 DC fast chargers, rather than to 100% will save battery life ( as well as time - since it slows down at the end). As a rule, I charge to to 90% with level 2 at home and 80% when I am using the DC fast chargers.
As well, how often you use Level 3 fast chargers matters. It’s great when you are on something like a long trip but is less than optimal than the “trickle charging” of a Level 2 home charger. I charge to 80% all the time and will only go to 100% when I am on a long trip and need to make it to the next L3 charger.
I just saw a cybertruck in my neighborhood.
Holy crap that was the ugliest vehicle I’ve ever seen.
I was laughing hysterically at how shitty it looked.
I’m still giggling.
