How much Range do we Actually Need in our Electric Cars?

What's happened to range anxiety? It seems to be a thing of the past! If batteries are getting bigger and EV's are going further where will it end. Is 500 miles enough?

Do we need to cart around heavy, expensive batteries on the off chance we might drive hundreds of miles? There must be a sweet spot that covers everyone?

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[michaelowen]

I like your emphasis on no compromise driving. So, for me, it's 70 mph, it's air con and heating on when required and, yes, 200 would do it for me. No arctic clothing, no misted windows, no crawling along at 50 mph. In my own circs a 24 would do all but 6 of the journeys I make in a year but, thus far, those 6 journeys are deal breakers (all deep into charge point deserts like Wales and the Peak District). A nice add on - it might even get me into a car with much less range would be App free charging at stations with a minimum of 10 charging stations. I just want to do contactless or, at a push, chip and pin. It's watching YouTube videos of people faffing about in the rain and having to get security to allow them to cross the carriageway of a motorway that made me put my plans to go EV on ice (pun not intended).

[paguk]

For me 200 miles at a steady 70 to 80 with a/c and heating as and when i want.
That would cover 95 % of my needs

[NickJones-sfzj]

Think 250 miles would be enough to be honest I mean by that which includes winter driving

[moveonmotortrainingenj-p]

This proved very useful, thank you. My wife and I are in the process of trading our diesel car in for an EV, and we are still indecisive wether it will be a Ioniq or a Kona. Truth be told, few car dealerships are bothered with EV`s, but our local Hyundai dealership as was a nearby Renault dealership were very very helpful. We had the opportunity to ride 2 days with either car so we soon bumped into the range issue. As we did 400 kms each testdrive we soon discovered that we don`t use the car a lot but when we do, we ride at least 200 kms. Since we want to rely on our own solar power resources, the Kona will be the one. With the help of those dealerships but also with the EV-youtube channels like yours we, and I think many more people, get very useful information. It is much appreciated! Cheers from the Netherlands. We travelled through the UK many a time with our ICE-motorcycles, we hope to visit agaiin and probably also with our EV.

[scottwills]

Ok, my minimum before I buy one is 300 miles (bear with me) I think I would probably not want to use the bottom 20% (as I would be panicking looking for a charger) and most people say to charge to 80% so with the 40% off that will leave me 180miles which is about as far as I would want to drive in one go. I think the sweet spot will be around 60-80kwh batteries with better efficiency from the car.

[chrisabbott]

Really interesting, thoughtful video, thank you. Totally agree with your analysis.

[BRID]

Splash and dash rapid charging will be the game changer.Absolutely no need for 100kwh batteries where 50/60 would suffice.The ability to top up 50 miles range in minutes will revolutionise the situation.Will it come sincerely hope so!

[vampireechidna]

You make some excellent point in this video. My leaf is good for work at 60 miles per day with a little charge left over. In a 24kwh leaf it can be difficult to do some long distances, but like you said a majority of the time the low battery range is fine. For me, I'd like to do about 160 miles. I don't mind a charge on route. With one charge that's a round trip range of 300 miles. Plenty for long distance, with one rapid charge. For me the 60kwh would allow me to depart with my ICE car.

[markgaudie]

Just hope that the rapid charger is available when I stop. Always worth checking the apps to see if they are working or occupied on route.

[stephaniealdridge]

We have been watching you video's and tbh you prompted us to go investigate a leaf at our closest Nissen dealer, Consequently we ended up buying a 2015 Tekna which we fell in love with. We have had her for just over a month now. We live in a remote part of Cornwal and our housing association will not allow us a charge station. So we use the granny charger at home and type two at my brother's which is about twenty miles away.
Regarding range anxiety. We have never suffered from it, We only have the 24kw battery but it's plenty for us we can drive coast to coast and to mid Cornwall there are plenty of fast charge points down here to enable us to cover the entire county without issues.
However we can see some gaps in the charge network down here when leaving Cornwall so as far as we can see the 40kw would come into its own only when leaving the County on long journeys.
I agree though that a 60kw would probably be enough to convert all our friends to full electric. Time will tell, thank you for a range of excellent video's which definitely helped us to to decide to go full EV.

[enyaq_gorm]

when we drive down to England we tend to stop every 250 miles or so when we stop for a coffee and a loo stop. So around 250 would work. More often than not though we fly when going to England and hire a car when we get there

[anthonypalmer]

Good discussion ! I'm ok for 200 miles. I have the 40KW, 150 miles is ok. A few times a year we'll venture to the coast, south or south west from Bristol.
If chargers were available that could be relied upon to be working 100% and available, then I'd settle for 100 miles.

[robmog]

I studied my mileage on google maps timeline for several months before ordering the leaf 2zero. Maximum I did was 78 miles in a day, and that was in a rented van moving furniture for my daughters.
I've had the leaf for just over a month and used the public charging system last week for the first time. No worries. Normally charge at home, I'm retired so only use the car two or three times a week. But we are gradually using the leaf more than my wife's auris hybrid and when that comes up for change I reckon we'll get another ev.
Good videos keep em coming, thanks.

[AndyJHiscock]

Very true. I think people are trying to compare apples with apples, As you said a modern ICE car with a 70 litre tank can do 400 miles, unless the EV can do 400 miles "I'm not interested". I have the same argument with people who say they want to be able to get into their car knowing they can go out for the day and get back without worrying about finding a place to charge the car.

A very good point you made about how often has anyone driven 200 miles without stopping for a break (especially with a passenger or a dog). By the time everyone has been to the services and the dog has been taken for a walk, 20 - 30 minutes has passed comfortably, about 10 minutes more and you will have got your 80% charge.

I can't see why every town and every village across the country cannot have at least one AC/DC Rapid 50kW charger available they should be as common as pillar boxes - actually if there is a pillar box in the town or village there should be a rapid, here are my reasons.

It is safe to say every town and village has 3 phase electricity and 3G/or phone service.
No one needs to "man" the charger - unlike a ICE garage.
Unlike a ICE garage, no major excavations needed.
Installation is quick and cheap.
Small land footprint is needed.
Rapids are Inherently safer.
Near zero risk to the environment, can be decorated to blend into the environment
Remote managed chargers - as they are now.

Rapid charger areas can be merely an adaptation to a layby similar to what you see on A roads at the moment or public parking areas in small towns/villages

The benefits going forward considering the continued transition from ICE to EV over the next few decades mitigate the need for larger batteries if you know that holiday cottage in the middle of Dartmoor or Snowdonia the will have rapid charging all the way there and in he area. Once your there you know if you can find a City, Town or Village you will not be stranded with a flat battery.

I think a lot is all down to political will? Is this the push that's needed for the EV transition?

[ianlove]

Some very good points never thought of it that way before.

[dmysterio]

Thank you for that point of view. Well thought out and explained. Im probably alone in my opinion on this. Here is my take. I love the idea of having an EV. My plans include that new Jaguar iPace which I think is extremely stunning.

I am an ICE driver. While driving for the pass 30 years I have never considered weather, incline in the road, snow, rain, sleet conditions, icey road, weather temperature, and just about everything else I hear other YouTubers talk about when it comes to owning an EV. I live here in the states where driving 35 miles one way is not uncommon. If you have children, then its driving to pick them up from, or to an event. Its also the little trips to the store, or maybe a social function, or even church during the week. In a singe day I can cover about 150 miles.

Yes you are right to say as an ICE owner I want my electric car to be about the same in terms of my driving habits. Im not putting gas in my car every night, maybe twice a week because of my current lifestyle. I think its safe to say I would like an EV that can give me 200 miles solid, no matter what the weather conditions are, AC blowing in the Summer, heating in the Winter, and whatever the temperature outside is. Maybe thats not realistic with an EV in California traffic, but we're getting that now with an ICE vehicle. Overall I love your points, and agree with you.

[donatoottawa]

Great video. I have debating this with my EV friends for years now! I would say 200 miles is more than plenty for long distance driving. I would even say 150 “real” miles as long as the charging time is FAST! There have been plenty of videos showing the benefits of the ioniq over much longer range EVs due to it’s 70 kWh onboard charger.

[glenreidy]

I’m a musician and sometimes have to fill my car with pa equipment etc. The added weight and the fact that I’d be driving back home (possibly 200miles round trip on steep roads in the winter) in the early hours means I’d want to get home without having to stop. 300 Miles would be the ideal range for me.

[aaronbounds]

Thanks for the video. I could not have said it better myself. About 6 months ago now I purchased a 24 kilowatt-hour Nissan Leaf. I live in a suburban area, a city of about people in the US, and my commute to work round trip is 20 miles. I have not had a single problem with range anxiety in my vehicle. I can understand why having a 200 mile range is reasonable but for me a 24-kwhour Nissan Leaf is just fine. I have four young children and therefore it is impossible for me to do road trips in the Nissan Leaf anyway because of the limitation to a number of passengers that I can take in the car. If we have to do a rare road trip, maybe once or twice or maybe even three times per year we will do it in the minivan.

[didthis]

This is a game of fantasy battery size. You can always justify an ever bigger battery to price out the benefits of owning an EV
The key element is cost.

We chose a used (2017 24Kw leaf with a 3.3KW charger) because I calculated it would meet at leasts 80% of our daily driving needs and it was significantly cheaper than an equivalent year 30Kw/ 6.6 version and half the price of a new 40Kw Leaf. We kept the ICE car to pick up remainder of our needs.

Our experience with the Leaf has been, nothing short of astonishing. We commute about 1200 miles a month and top up every night to 100%. The longer trips to our friends in Chepstow, Northampton and Worcester, which was reserved for the ICE car were easily, comfortably achieved in the Leaf.

In three months the ICE car has only been used once because it was used to tow a trailer to the recycling site. It sits there looking very sad and dusty.

I have kept a watchful eye on running costs. The Leaf is costing me under .03p per mile.

To replace the ICE car which is only needed for the rear times we both need a transport I am considering a second 2013 Leaf with a little battery degradation being advertised locally for £4000. This would probably only do 50 miles with heater and Air Con.

It would, however meet most of the short trips. saving Fuel, £330 road tax and ever increasing repair service costs.

So to answer your question desire the battery that meets your needs and not the battery that quells your anxieties and save yourself a shed load of cash.

Oh! and for the 1% of trips, yes 1%, that your EV can't meet, fly, get a taxi or hire an exotic ICE on the money you have trousered.