EV Owners Do You Have Range Anxiety?

[uscmatt99]

Question for those of you who have lived with an E-vehicle. What is your experience with stated range vs actual range in the summer and winter? I'm at a decision point of either getting an outgoing model (2023 E-Tron) with less range (225 miles) or revised model (2024 Q8 E-Tron) with more range (300 miles). Not sure what the reality is vs published numbers. The difference in the models is just a rebranding and some cosmetic stuff other than the battery.

We like to buy to keep for at least 5 years, and this would be our first battery car. We live in Chicago, already have a garage charger from the previous owner of the home, and almost always drive locally, with the occasional 150 mile one-way trip into Michigan in summer and winter. Pretty significant discount if we went with the 2023. For any further drive I'd just rent a vehicle, but this would be quite rare.

[JasoninDenver]

We live the the mountains of Colorado and decided against an ev for the time being because of range anxiety. Our Tesla driving friends report their range takes a 30-35% hit in bitter cold weather. Add in the increased drain going over a 10,500 ft pass and I was not comfortable with even the 300 mile stated range of a BMW IX as we always have the risk of being stuck or rerouted due weather road closures.

If it was a pure short trip city car with round trips of less than 100 miles I would have still gone for the IX.

[superdog]

I would. Definitely.

A buddy of mine almost picked up a taycan.

Decided against it because he would not be able to take long drives.

[THC]

I will never know … EVs are being jammed down our throats but I have lockjaw

[pickettt]

I haven't noticed any extreme range fluctuation with varying temperature, but I live in Southern California. The temp swings just aren't that wide. That being said, range is not a concern for me considering my daily drive. I still have ICE cars for longer trips, but the 20 minute charge stops in the EV every 300 miles are a welcome rest.

[Cru Jones]

Seems like the 225 mile version is enough for you. That being said, I would prefer going for the longer range for more flexibility and better resale in 5 years.

[Moondoggy]

Originally Posted by THC

I will never know … EVs are being jammed down our throats but I have lockjaw

[Chewbacca]

My Club Car lasts 18 holes. No issues.

[Maleg]

You are the perfect EV candidate. If you intend to keep the car for its useful life go with the most comfortable version with the most attractive options.

[SearChart]

Not an owner, but living in the Netherlands with about the best infrastructure in the world I would have zero worries.

[1st amg]

A few of my friends/colleagues bought the Ford Lightning and they are bitterly disappointed with the actual range they get. The cold/winter months have shown a 40% reduction in range. On top of that, they took the truck on a road trip that is about 500km and stopped half way to charge....there was a 45-minute wait for their turn, then another 30 minutes to top up the charge. Traveling with kids, they said this was awful.......no thanks

[TheVTCGuy]

None, but then again I live in SOCAL, like Pickett. We have mild (relatively speaking) temperature swings and charging stations all over the place. Now, driving 350 miles to Arizona, yes, that requires special planning.

[1William]

When in doubt, don't. Word to live by.

[austinp]

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

My Club Car lasts 18 holes. No issues.

Lol. Same.


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[GoingPlaces]

I think about those winter storm pile-ups where we see hundreds of cards stuck on highways. Just imagine those are all EV's sitting there running out of juice in sub freezing temps.

[HHIslander]

Originally Posted by THC

I will never know … EVs are being jammed down our throats but I have lockjaw

We have a new Lexus GX, 2006 4Runner and 2016 Lexus LS. All have V8s. Wouldn’t have it any other way.

[bullies]

I bought a Tesla X (~315mile range at 100%) last year for my wife (replaced a 2013 Q5). For the first few months I had a little anxiety with it, but now that we put in a stage 2 (fast home) charger the range anxiety is gone.
Like you 95% of our driving is local (South East PA). It does get less range in the cold. But, it doesn't matter since most days we put ~30 miles on it.
We have a big SUV too. I think we've put under 1,000 miles on it year to date.
Not going to the gas station, almost ever, is awesome.

[brandrea]

As others have stated it depends entirely on your driving habits.

I owned a PHEV BMW for this very reason. Living in Canada I noticed that the full charge on winter months got me about 50% less than in summer. It was a great car going to and from work, (10 km round trip), but that’s about it.

[Mountain]

I would definitely worry as the variance between actual range and stated range seems too great, and extremely variable depending on temperature, speed of driving, hilly terrain etc.

[John Ryan]

No, a little at first because it was all so novel, but it quickly lapsed

Some factors:

being able to charge at home
switching battery to show % instead of miles
tesla charging network - there are chargers everywhere I have needed them
a little planning ahead in terms of route - has not been necessary, but alleviates anxiety

The EV with home charging is a game changer. I can take 95% of my trips, including multiple days with overnight stays, without having to stop for charging. On longer road trips, there have been many many tesla charging options. By the time I stop, plug in, use the restroom, grab a coffee, it's practically time to hit the road again. If I did all of those things + had to pump, the net time difference would be longer for gassing up.

I also have a combustion engine so it's the ultimate flexibility. If I want to go far and minimize the amount of time I spend at each stop I take the truck.

caveat:
range in winter/cold weather significantly worse (30-40%)
no experience with non Tesla EV, I often see the Tesla charging stations outnumbering non Tesla 10:1 or more - this may add to range anxiety

[Blansky]

I think some EV drivers and perspective drivers have a number of anxieties about EV.

No more hot sounding rumbling exhausts, can affect performance in other areas as well.

EV jacked up trucks with big wheels and a step ladder, and you pull into a parking space, and it just makes a whirring sound.

Driving around in an expensive vehicle that sounds like a child's windup toy can really hurt your "personal brand" I'm guessing.

I mean you gotta spend another 5 grand on speakers just to get noticed at all.

I think mileage is the least of the concerns.

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

None, but then again I live in SOCAL, like Pickett. We have mild (relatively speaking) temperature swings and charging stations all over the place. Now, driving 350 miles to Arizona, yes, that requires special planning.

A 350 mile trip would be one stop for 30 minutes (at a Tesla supercharger). I wouldn’t consider it special planning…I usually have to stop and pee anyway

[Krash]

Last year, during Hurricane Ian, my wife and I had to go on a rescue mission. We had to pick up my Mother-in-law in Fort Meyers. 262 miles away. 524 miles round trip. No power at her house in Fort Meyers. Power outages all along the way.

Thankfully, we have an AWD Subaru Outback with a combustion engine. Perfect car for the mission.

I haven't totally ruled out an EV, but we definitely would want a car with a combustion engine to go along with it. That's for sure.

[Bstewart]

Originally Posted by Krash

Last year, during Hurricane Ian, my wife and I had to go on a rescue mission. We had to pick up my Mother-in-law in Fort Meyers. 262 miles away. 524 miles round trip. No power at her house in Fort Meyers. Power outages all along the way.

Thankfully, we have an AWD Subaru Outback with a combustion engine. Perfect car for the mission.

I haven't totally ruled out an EV, but we definitely would want a car with a combustion engine to go along with it. That's for sure.

Wow. They should make an action movie based on that mission.

[uscmatt99]

Thanks for the great discussion everyone. It sounds like overall people are happy with their choice to drive an EV, and the main hindrances are unreliable charging when driving long distances, as well as shortened range in cold weather. Fortunately flooding would be very unlikely up here!

I think we are going to give it a whirl. Turns out I overestimated my max distance trip and it's around 120-125 miles, which is doable even accounting for a 40% hit on battery life during cold months. This particular model, according to driver experiences, can do 225 miles reliably in optimum conditions. Around town, I plan to drive it more aggressively as I usually do, since it will just charge up in the garage.

Things I'm looking forward to: No more trips to the gas station for local driving. Much less frequent and costly maintenance (hopefully) and fueling. I'll finally be able to warm up the car in our detached garage with remote control from my phone, and to top it off I won't be inhaling fumes while it's warming up. Improved safety features for me, my family, and all the morons on the road who don't pay attention, as well as adaptive cruise control, which admittedly I'd get with ICE or EV with a new car.

Things I'll miss: Not ever worrying about finding a place to fuel up on the road. Hearing the engine and cycling through gears when I floor it (though this is no big thing coming from an Acura MDX). Being able to park my beater anywhere and not worrying about getting it dinged up.

I'll probably end up renting an ICE car if there are any planned longer trips until I am more confident in the charging network along my planned routes.

[SDGT3]

We have a deposit down for a Chevy Silverado truck. It hasn't been released yet, but the range is supposed to be 400 miles. The real concern is range when towing. C&D did a real world test on the Ford Lightening (300mi range) with a trailer of 7500# and found the range to be only 89 miles..... If real world tests with the Silverado are comparable, then it's definitely not for us.

[uscmatt99]

Originally Posted by SDGT3

We have a deposit down for a Chevy Silverado truck. It hasn't been released yet, but the range is supposed to be 400 miles. The real concern is range when towing. C&D did a real world test on the Ford Lightening (300mi range) with a trailer of 7500# and found the range to be only 89 miles..... If real world tests with the Silverado are comparable, then it's definitely not for us.

Yeah there is a lot of fudging of numbers going on with the metrics they use for EVs. They just seem much more susceptible to variability with conditions. For a fleet of work pickup trucks that stay local and return to base daily for charging, EV makes sense. For towing/driving any distance, especially at freeway speeds, the aerodynamics of a pickup will hinder performance.

[rick lee]

Originally Posted by pickettt

A 350 mile trip would be one stop for 30 minutes (at a Tesla supercharger). I wouldn’t consider it special planning…I usually have to stop and pee anyway

And where along I-10 would you do that? I've ridden my bike between Phoenix and LA many, many times and I know every gas station along the way and exactly how far I can go at usually over 100mph for much of the way. I haven't done it in a few years, but Chiriaco Summit was usually where I got kind of serious about range and remaining fuel. That Chevron there is usually pretty crowded and there were no EV charging stations last time I was there. I can't imagine you'd get to a vital gas station like that one without a lengthy wait if they did have charging stations.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

Yeah there is a lot of fudging of numbers going on with the metrics they use for EVs...

Published numbers for gasoline engines are also overstated. I get it, you have to base the numbers on something, but I don’t think I’ve ever achieved the rate quoted on any car.

My current daily driver is a Camry hybrid and it’s supposed to get 5.1 liters/100 km combined. I’m lucky if I get 7

[uscmatt99]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Published numbers for gasoline engines are also overstated. I get it, you have to base the numbers on something, but I don’t think I’ve ever achieved the rate quoted on any car.

My current daily driver is a Camry hybrid and it’s supposed to get 5.1 liters/100 km combined. I’m lucky if I get 7

We had a couple of Audis previously and you've got that right! Other than the highway mileage on cruise control where we did get in the high 20's miles per gallon, they underperformed on mileage. One interesting thing about EV that makes it appealing to me is that they seem to overperform relative to ICE in the 0-30mph range as long as you don't floor it, whereas the mileage in our ICE cars has always been abysmal in this setting.