Electric cars are quick, quiet, and kind to the planet, but limited range and lengthy charging times mean road trips aren’t exactly their strong suit.
That’s what I learned when I took Toyota’s new bZ4X SUV from New York to Washington DC one weekend in early April. The 500-mile journey wasn’t some epic coast-to-coast adventure, but rather the kind of long-haul drive someone might casually take a few times per year and not think twice about — if they’re behind the wheel of a regular gas car.
In a battery-powered vehicle, though, things aren’t always that simple.
Charging can take a frustratingly long time
Let’s nerd out for just one moment to establish some basic concepts.
Every EV has a maximum charging rate, expressed in kilowatts (kW), that governs the amount of power it can accept from roadside fast chargers. For the bZ4X AWD Toyota provided, that’s an uncompetitive 100 kW. The higher an EV’s rating, the faster you can hypothetically charge — so long as you find a charging plug whose rating is equal or greater.
But you don’t always achieve that max charge rate due to the charger, the temperature of the battery, or, in my case, settings built into the vehicle itself. During my trip, the car never got close to 100 kW, leading to some excruciating charging times.
Its all good, the Politicians backing this are receiving money right and left. They will not be driving those cars, but will be living in luxury on your dime.
Its not about being GREEN – its about them making money and being in control.
When will the State Police fleet be converted to EV
What’s absolutely frightening about these EVs are the recharging times. The author say on his trip from NYC to DC, he ran the battery power level down to 36% capacity and it took 45-minutes to recharge the battery to 75% capacity. Then on his return trip, with the battery capacity at a scary 6% capacity (before he ran out of juice) it took an hour and 15- minutes to recharge to 80% capacity. What if he had of pulled into the recharging station and someone else was plugged in recharging their EV? The time to wait next in line could easily extend to well over an hour before it’s your time to recharge. And Heaven forbid if there’s. An EV in front of you waiting his turn for the guy who’s plugged in. You could then be waiting 2-3 hours before it’s your turn. This is absolutely crazy! The technology does not exist and won’t be plentiful by 2035 to ensure the driver of a EV won’t have to wait in line to recharge.
I’ll keep my car. It’ a SULEV and sips gas and makes 90% less emissions. EVs are just not there yet for me.