EV Owners Do You Have Range Anxiety?

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

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.

Agreed, highway on cruise, as long as there are no hills or wind in your face

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[Boopie]

I do, for long trips.

[stockae92]

Originally Posted by 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.

if most of your driving is local and you have home charger, base on just range anxiety or not, get the lower range is fine.

Lighter weight, less battery to haul around all the times. Cheaper because battery is expensive. for eTron, they are good at deep cycling charge for road trip, meaning they can hold high charge rate for longer (deeper into the charge cycling). They are not very efficient, but they can faster charge for longer so end up getting more juice into the battery in shorter time.

And if you take a 150 miles trip, its likely that you can make it in one charge if you leave home at 100%. if not, and if you are not in a hurry, one stop for fast charging in the middle will be all it takes to reach your destination.

For your use case, I wouldn't have any range anxiety at all.

For me, I wouldn't even think twice about out of town trip any time, regardless of the state of charge on my car. All it takes is a little planning for charging, and it will take slightly longer. It also helps to travel with people who enjoy stopping to smell the roses, instead of "get me there as soon as physically possible, bend space time continuum if you have to". haha

btw, i am on my third EV and I still don't have a level 2 charger at home. :)

[BillA]

OP
It comes down to whether you think you will take a long trip with the car or just short around town. If you want it for a long trip, the only game in town, at least for now is Tesla because of their supercharger/fast charger net work. Tesla has more superchargers than all the other L2 chargers combined. They say they are going to open the chargers to other cars, but I have not seen it yet. There are some pilot programs going on now.
I am on my second EV, the first was a Nissan Leaf, great car, but mileage was 150 miles max. Winter time did reduce. Now I have a Tesla M3 AWD, when I got the car 100% charge was about 353 miles, 2 years later, 100% is about 246 miles, that is during winter months, so maybe better when the warm weather comes along. When I take longer trips, I stop on the NJ Turnpike, lots of Tesla superchargers there, others seem to be not working. An EV is fine, just know your limits.

[Calatrava r]

An EV might make sense as an in-town car with round trips of 20 miles or so. That way you can charge it at home while not in use. The range and temperature are non-issues then.

[Calatrava r]

Originally Posted by BillA

OP
It comes down to whether you think you will take a long trip with the car or just short around town. If you want it for a long trip, the only game in town, at least for now is Tesla because of their supercharger/fast charger net work. Tesla has more superchargers than all the other L2 chargers combined. They say they are going to open the chargers to other cars, but I have not seen it yet. There are some pilot programs going on now.
I am on my second EV, the first was a Nissan Leaf, great car, but mileage was 150 miles max. Winter time did reduce. Now I have a Tesla M3 AWD, when I got the car 100% charge was about 353 miles, 2 years later, 100% is about 246 miles, that is during winter months, so maybe better when the warm weather comes along. When I take longer trips, I stop on the NJ Turnpike, lots of Tesla superchargers there, others seem to be not working. An EV is fine, just know your limits.

Are you saying your full battery charge dropped over one hundred miles in two years? I did not know the batteries wear out so quickly.

[uscmatt99]

Just wanted to update this thread. My wife and I couldn't decide on an EV (my preference) or ICE (her preference) so we went with both and got a plug-in hybrid. We previously owned an Audi SQ5 and it was really a joy to drive and perfectly sized for our family as of now. I had no idea that there was a plug-in version of the Q5, but came across it on another dealer's lot and it's awesome for our needs. The battery is good for around 30 miles in the city, and charges in 2 hours with our home charger (or over 24 hours on a 110V outlet ugh). Total range with a full tank of gas and full battery is around 380-400 miles. The battery keeps about 30% of its charge in reserve so that when you're essentially driving with the ICE it's a boost from the line, then recharges when you're coasting with the regenerative brakes. Off the line it's just about as snappy as the SQ5 was. But then in stop and go traffic, it's totally on the battery and super quiet. Amazingly seamless transition from battery motor to the combustion engine. You can hear it and feel it just slightly, and get confirmation in the guage cluster. Good news is you could easily drive this with no access to electricity as a regular ICE car, but would have reduced power with just the 4-cyl turbo. That would be rare for us. Or you could just drive it as an EV and never go through a tank of gas if the range met your needs. This is closer to our use case.

Anyway, this will be a perfect car for city use with the occasional longer road trip. I can see these being a good compromise for those with range anxiety. Only downside is there are 2 systems in parallel, each of which can develop a problem as the car ages. But we'll probably be out of it in 5 years so no big deal.

[SDGT3]

Glad you got what will work out for you. We still have a deposit down on a Chevy Silverado EV truck but have gone with a 2023 Toyota Hybrid as a commuter car. Nearly 50 MPG with a range of 600 miles which alleviates the range anxiety.

[BLACKHORSE 6]

Originally Posted by THC

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

Same

[BillA]

Right now if you want to take an EV on an extended range trip, the only show in town is Tesla due to their network of fast-charging stations. Only one time in 2 years were the superchargers not working and that was not Tesla problem, power outage in the area. My Model 3 had about 350 miles on a full charge 2 years ago, now 2 years later I get about 338 miles. When I travel, I take note of other superchargers, most of the time they are broken and don’t work.

[Chewbacca]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

Just wanted to update this thread. My wife and I couldn't decide on an EV (my preference) or ICE (her preference) so we went with both and got a plug-in hybrid. We previously owned an Audi SQ5 and it was really a joy to drive and perfectly sized for our family as of now. I had no idea that there was a plug-in version of the Q5, but came across it on another dealer's lot and it's awesome for our needs. The battery is good for around 30 miles in the city, and charges in 2 hours with our home charger (or over 24 hours on a 110V outlet ugh). Total range with a full tank of gas and full battery is around 380-400 miles. The battery keeps about 30% of its charge in reserve so that when you're essentially driving with the ICE it's a boost from the line, then recharges when you're coasting with the regenerative brakes. Off the line it's just about as snappy as the SQ5 was. But then in stop and go traffic, it's totally on the battery and super quiet. Amazingly seamless transition from battery motor to the combustion engine. You can hear it and feel it just slightly, and get confirmation in the guage cluster. Good news is you could easily drive this with no access to electricity as a regular ICE car, but would have reduced power with just the 4-cyl turbo. That would be rare for us. Or you could just drive it as an EV and never go through a tank of gas if the range met your needs. This is closer to our use case.

Anyway, this will be a perfect car for city use with the occasional longer road trip. I can see these being a good compromise for those with range anxiety. Only downside is there are 2 systems in parallel, each of which can develop a problem as the car ages. But we'll probably be out of it in 5 years so no big deal.

Smart.

Plug in or self charging hybrid is in fact the most logical and best environmental choice. Range, acquisition, residual, repairs, and cost per mile and all factored in. This isn’t even a debate.

[Calborn]

nope, for me the range concern doesn't feel any different than driving a gas car

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

Just wanted to update this thread. My wife and I couldn't decide on an EV (my preference) or ICE (her preference) so we went with both and got a plug-in hybrid. We previously owned an Audi SQ5 and it was really a joy to drive and perfectly sized for our family as of now. I had no idea that there was a plug-in version of the Q5, but came across it on another dealer's lot and it's awesome for our needs. The battery is good for around 30 miles in the city, and charges in 2 hours with our home charger (or over 24 hours on a 110V outlet ugh). Total range with a full tank of gas and full battery is around 380-400 miles. The battery keeps about 30% of its charge in reserve so that when you're essentially driving with the ICE it's a boost from the line, then recharges when you're coasting with the regenerative brakes. Off the line it's just about as snappy as the SQ5 was. But then in stop and go traffic, it's totally on the battery and super quiet. Amazingly seamless transition from battery motor to the combustion engine. You can hear it and feel it just slightly, and get confirmation in the guage cluster. Good news is you could easily drive this with no access to electricity as a regular ICE car, but would have reduced power with just the 4-cyl turbo. That would be rare for us. Or you could just drive it as an EV and never go through a tank of gas if the range met your needs. This is closer to our use case.

Anyway, this will be a perfect car for city use with the occasional longer road trip. I can see these being a good compromise for those with range anxiety. Only downside is there are 2 systems in parallel, each of which can develop a problem as the car ages. But we'll probably be out of it in 5 years so no big deal.

\

Excellent choice! I love my hybrid. Enjoy your new vehicle.

[bondtoys]

Range anxiety exists mostly in the minds of people that don‘t own an EV.
Once you own one, the anxiety gets away after some weeks.

[gliazzurri]

Originally Posted by bondtoys

Range anxiety exists mostly in the minds of people that don‘t own an EV.
Once you own one, the anxiety gets away after some weeks.

Or to consider it differently is that simply acceptance and justification? I have to wonder only in that the freedom element must be hampered if one considers all possible driving needs or purposes. The idea of planning a multi state trip seems more concerning if this was one’s only vehicle.

[TheVTCGuy]

Originally Posted by gliazzurri

Or to consider it differently is that simply acceptance and justification? I have to wonder only in that the freedom element must be hampered if one considers all possible driving needs or purposes. The idea of planning a multi state trip seems more concerning if this was one’s only vehicle.

Point taken. When you own an ICE (or hybrid) you don’t have to give any concern about re-fueling your car, there are gas stations everywhere. Taking a multi-state trip with an EV there is an extra thought as there are not as many EV charging stations. More and more are being built every day, and the app on my phone (and in the car itself) really helps out in finding one, so that alleviates the concern a bit. It comes down to are the advantages of owning an EV worth over-coming the inconveniences like the one you pointed out.

I was reading yesterday about a system that has been introduced to the states from Europe, where you drive in to small shop that looks like a car wash. Your cars battery is removed (all robotically I might add) and a new one installed in it’s place; in about five minutes. That might be the future of EV-refueling

[1st amg]

That's the perfect compromise. Great choice, congrats!

[SDGT3]

A bit off topic, but I was at the racetrack and there were more than a few EVs there doing a track day, which is becoming more and more common. All were Tesla's as the charging network was close and some even used RV hookups to charge between sessions. I believe as the advances in batteries goes to a solid state unit, the range anxiety will be a thing of the past.

[brandrea]

Great choice OP. I did the same and it worked fairly well for around town driving.

Best of luck with the new vehicle

[bondtoys]

Originally Posted by gliazzurri

Or to consider it differently is that simply acceptance and justification? I have to wonder only in that the freedom element must be hampered if one considers all possible driving needs or purposes. The idea of planning a multi state trip seems more concerning if this was one’s only vehicle.

🤣🤣 I think that you just prove my point 🤣🤣

[DVR]

Switched from BMW to Tesla past September and have zero regrets. I can't imagine ever going back to exploding a gas to get moving. Stone ages.
Range anxiety with a Tesla? Why? SuC everywhere.

[BillA]

Originally Posted by Calatrava r

Are you saying your full battery charge dropped over one hundred miles in two years? I did not know the batteries wear out so quickly.

Typo, the mileage dropped from 353 to 338.

[gliazzurri]

Originally Posted by bondtoys

I think that you just prove my point

Yes as I wrote it I was thinking the same. So perhaps people just go along with it. Though I do genuinely wonder what most do if they want to have taken that typical road trip but don’t with this vehicle. Do most try it or avoid it? I’ve heard some renting which I find somewhat of an odd choice practically but hey they’re choice.

[Cru Jones]

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

Smart.

Plug in or self charging hybrid is in fact the most logical and best environmental choice. Range, acquisition, residual, repairs, and cost per mile and all factored in. This isn’t even a debate.

Not really.... Studies show many/most PHEV drivers don't charge their batteries, so they tend to drive their heavier vehicles (due to the batteries) only with their ICE engine. In that way, the "compromise" of PHEV is worse than ICE or EV.

[uscmatt99]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

Not really.... Studies show many/most PHEV drivers don't charge their batteries, so they tend to drive their heavier vehicles (due to the batteries) only with their ICE engine. In that way, the "compromise" of PHEV is worse than ICE or EV.

Wow that's crazy. I don't know why you'd pay the markup for a PHEV if you don't plan to charge. They really only make sense for people with access to home charging though. Too short a range to rely on public chargers, unlike full battery electric vehicles.

In that case a mild hybrid makes more sense. You recuperate energy that would otherwise become wasted heat at the brakes, you get a nice little torque boost from the line, and better overall mileage. In fact, other than cost, I'm not sure why mild hybrid architecture is not the de facto standard for ICE cars until they are phased out for whatever the future brings.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by uscmatt99

Wow that's crazy. I don't know why you'd pay the markup for a PHEV if you don't plan to charge. They really only make sense for people with access to home charging though. Too short a range to rely on public chargers, unlike full battery electric vehicles.

In that case a mild hybrid makes more sense. You recuperate energy that would otherwise become wasted heat at the brakes, you get a nice little torque boost from the line, and better overall mileage. In fact, other than cost, I'm not sure why mild hybrid architecture is not the de facto standard for ICE cars until they are phased out for whatever the future brings.

That’s the route I went this time (hybrid).

So much comes down to the type of driving you do. Based on my driving habits, I averaged about 5L/100 km on my PHEV and so far I’m about 6L/100 km on my hybrid. The hybrid was $20K less expensive tho

To be fair, it’s difficult to compare hybrids to PHEV’s unless they are available in the same model brand and line

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

Not really.... Studies show many/most PHEV drivers don't charge their batteries, so they tend to drive their heavier vehicles (due to the batteries) only with their ICE engine. In that way, the "compromise" of PHEV is worse than ICE or EV.

How can it be worse than ICE? It is ICE, except that the electric side runs during the least efficient driving phases. My Prius gets 60 mpg in the city and 54 on the highway.

I would like to see these studies, and know who funded them.

[bondtoys]

Originally Posted by Cru Jones

Not really.... Studies show many/most PHEV drivers don't charge their batteries, so they tend to drive their heavier vehicles (due to the batteries) only with their ICE engine. In that way, the "compromise" of PHEV is worse than ICE or EV.

That is far from the truth.
The additional consumption from weight is far more than compensated by regen braking, so in general a PHEV consumes less than a comparable ICE vehicle

[SolanaWatches]

I have an electric motorcycle (Zero S). Talk about range anxiety... I can't go more than 50-60 miles on a charge. I absolutely love all about it, except the anxiety I have getting on it, even when I know I'm just riding it down the road and have plenty of range. My eyes are always on the battery level.

[austinp]

Meh. I’ll wait until the EV trucks are equal to ICE. Evs are not for me yet but I’m down when they are comparable. I’d love to never have to go to a gas station.


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