Filling a gas-powered vehicle can still be cheaper than charging an electric one

[mjs020294]

Most people tend to do trips under 50 miles and charge at home. If you regularly do 300+ mile road trips an EV might not be the best option depending on your location.

We have around 6-7kWH surplus from our solar each day (after that its only 10cents from the grid) and my wife gets free charging at work. So basically our EV will be running on free electricity 99% of the time.

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[Thanos85]

My wife is the same way with the extra time on long trips which is why we usually take her car. You are right about this being the golden age. I have steadily seen more cars at charging stations and even a bus was charging at one on Bakersfield.

I am curious why you cannot travel acroos WV

I drive about 90 miles a day for work, and charge at home. The Mach E has been awesome. I have taken a few 1,000 mile RT road trips, and it doesn't bother me to do all the planning, but it would make my wife crazy. My biggest worry is that EV adoption is going to soon outstrip the charging infrastructure and that we are living right now in a "golden age" where when you show up at EA, there is ALWAYS a charger available. It doesn't bother you to take a 25 minute break and plug in. When the day comes that you have to wait 30 minutes before you can plug in, that is going to cause a whole other host of issues. Plus the fact that I currently cannot drive through WV from Ohio.

We currently have a Fusion Energi, which is a great PHEV for my wife as a daily driver because we fill it up with gas about twice a year. But it is not great for road trips because they filled the trunk with batteries. So we are trading it in for the Lincoln Corsair PHEV - all those same benefits but ROOM for stuff. Until things get more settled in infrastructure, we will use that car for road trips as this golden era comes to an end.

In the last year since I got my Mach E, I have gone from ZERO cars at the EA stations on such trips, to being one of 3 or 4 cars charging.

Curious why you cannot drive through WV from Ohio?

 

[jhalkias]

I am curious why you cannot travel acroos WV
Curious why you cannot drive through WV from Ohio?

If you travel on I77 South from Ohio, there is a DCFC in Cambridge, OH, and the next available one is in Wyethville VA. Both EA stations, and a distance of 262 miles - the Mach E has a range of 270 miles (and that is from 100% which you would not wait to charge to at an EA DCFC station). Besides that, I do not want to go to Wyethville, but head East on I64 after Beckley into VA. Charging stations are on the drawing board now at least - maybe later this year.

My actual destination is Williamsburg VA, and the only route I get (that I have traveled) is by going through PA rather than through WV.

 

[mkhuffman]

My actual destination is Williamsburg VA

My hometown! Say hi when you arrive!

 

[Logal727]

The damage from this article is already being done, heard a relative talking about it and they don’t even own an EV

 

[jhalkias]

My hometown! Say hi when you arrive!

Our son lives there now - actually a little outside of Williamsburg in Lanexa . . . Here is a map from Plugshare of what I am talking about - only showing DCFC chargers with a CCS/SAE plug on that route.

 

[mkhuffman]

Our son lives there now - actually a little outside of Williamsburg in Lanexa . . . Here is a map from Plugshare of what I am talking about - only showing DCFC chargers with a CCS/SAE plug on that route.

Yeah, that looks pretty impossible. And Williamsburg is a DCFC desert also. The nearest is in Newport News, about a 20 minute drive. The station in Newport News is actually good - I have used it a couple times.

 

[jhalkias]

Yeah, that looks pretty impossible. And Williamsburg is a DCFC desert also. The nearest is in Newport News, about a 20 minute drive. The station in Newport News is actually good - I have used it a couple times.

Actually . . . There is a FREE 50KW charger at Newtown shopping center I have used several times. My sister lives in Suffolk, so I have used that Newport News EA too.

 

[TheCats]

A doubling in sales in a year does not mean a doubling of the number of EVs on the road.

Also note that those are worldwide numbers. The bulk of the EV sale increase happened in China, and most of those were mini cars. Those aren't going to be competing for U.S. charging stations. They aren't even going to be competing for DCFC stations on their home turf.

(I do expect those mini EVs to continue to rapidly grow, especially with the jump in oil prices that hits China harder than the U.S.)

 

[Thanos85]

If you travel on I77 South from Ohio, there is a DCFC in Cambridge, OH, and the next available one is in Wyethville VA. Both EA stations, and a distance of 262 miles - the Mach E has a range of 270 miles (and that is from 100% which you would not wait to charge to at an EA DCFC station). Besides that, I do not want to go to Wyethville, but head East on I64 after Beckley into VA. Charging stations are on the drawing board now at least - maybe later this year.

My actual destination is Williamsburg VA, and the only route I get (that I have traveled) is by going through PA rather than through WV.

I live in SE Ohio

 

[mkhuffman]

A doubling in sales in a year does not mean a doubling of the number of EVs on the road.

Also note that those are worldwide numbers. The bulk of the EV sale increase happened in China, and most of those were mini cars. Those aren't going to be competing for U.S. charging stations. They aren't even going to be competing for DCFC stations on their home turf.

(I do expect those mini EVs to continue to rapidly grow, especially with the jump in oil prices that hits China harder than the U.S.)

We both are predicting the future, so I say let's check back in December and see if 2022 was a good or bad year for DCFC.

I hope your optimism is correct because I like taking my MME on trips and I don't want to have to take my wife's ICE because of lack of charger capacity. I think it will be bad especially during typically high travel times. We will see. I will be glad to be wrong.

 

[jhalkias]

I live in SE Ohio

You might be able to make it across that charging desert then.

 

[Eagertrader]

Getting ready to embark on a 1500 mile round trip on my GT. Will report on this thread my experience with charging on my way back.

As far as charging at home, I only charge from 10 pm to 10 am with my electric provider off-peak rates, using a level 1 charger. I’ve been driving my GT for 3+ months now and initially thought that I’d have to install a 240V 50 amp outlet in my garage to get a level 2 overnight charge, but thus far I haven’t needed it. My cost of driving the car is probably one tenth of what a comparable performance ICE would cost. But that’s not the main reason I bought this EV, as it would take me 30+ years to recoup the cost from the savings. Latest tech and contribution to the environment were my primary reasons.

 

[Maquis]

Getting ready to embark on a 1500 mile round trip on my GT. Will report on this thread my experience with charging on my way back.

As far as charging at home, I only charge from 10 pm to 10 am with my electric provider off-peak rates, using a level 1 charger. I’ve been driving my GT for 3+ months now and initially thought that I’d have to install a 240V 50 amp outlet in my garage to get a level 2 overnight charge, but thus far I haven’t needed it. My cost of driving the car is probably one tenth of what a comparable performance ICE would cost. But that’s not the main reason I bought this EV, as it would take me 30+ years to recoup the cost from the savings. Latest tech and contribution to the environment were my primary reasons.

since you only have a level 1 at home, what level of charge do you plan on having when you depart on your trip? I always charge to 100% before leaving on a road trip.

 

[Eagertrader]

Just drove from Washington DC to Palm Coast, FL, a total of 800 miles trek with five stops to charge. Driving a Mach e GT.

Here’s what I learned:

* Electrify America rocks! seamless charging.
* Stopping at other chargers may be frustrating.
* Charging on the road is as expensive or maybe more as an ICE.
* To avoid range anxiety plan to have a 50 mile to empty cushion when arriving at the next charging stop.
* To be able to limit your waiting time, your charging limit is to 80%.
* Charging at home is far less expensive than an ICE.

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