What One Charge Driving Range Would Get You To Strongly Consider an EV?
 

200 miles on a single charge is mentioned as the driving range when many more people will start considering buying an EV.

I feel a 250-275 mile driving range on a single charge would be the sweet spot for me.

The furthest I might drive is Los Angles, which, in round numbers, is 400 miles from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Lithium batteries are happiest at an 80% charge. Half way to LA is 200 miles. 250 miles x 80% is 200. It would be reasonable to stop for 30 minutes midway to LA. That's how I arrived at 250 miles on a single charge would be my minimum. We're ALMOST there! With battery density improving reliably at 7% annually, I'd guess we're about 3 years away from that 250 mile EV.

So, what single charge driving range is good for you AND how did you arrive at that number?

200 would work fine for me but my current 100k miles cost per mile is 20 cents @ mile.
I did the math before I got my Mirage and the higher property taxes and insurance on a Leaf selling for 20k would be more than my total fuel cost. At the current rate my fuel cost per 100k miles is $3500.
That does not even consider the cost of any replacement battery.
Total cost of ownership is my most basic criteria.

How do you calculate your cost of ownership, Gary?

12.9 CPM for 100k miles purchase price including taxes and fees (total OTD)
3.5 cpm current fuel
3.6 cpm tags, property taxes, maintenance (do the labor myself)

That's figuring the residual value of the car at $0. Any residual value above that reduces the 3.6 cpm calculation listed above.

Coming from a car with 700-800 mile range, I'd definitely consider a 250-300 mile range EV. Had a spin in my friends Nissan leaf based van earlier today, she loves it, charges it at home in 3-4 hours. Only gets 70-90 miles per charge, but it's enough for an everyday commute to work etc. It's saving her litterly thousands a year.

The gti may be my last fossil fueled vehicle, I'm not sure yet, but in 3-5 years, I'm sure an EV will be an attractive buy, so long as performance is decent enough.

Took a picture of where the engine used to go in the "olden days" for you guys ;)

Paul, if you suspect a low car battery, just like testing a 9 volt battery, try the tongue test.

For me, it's not just the "range anxiety." It's the total package, with all things considered. Some of the factors that I considered included:

• Exterior and interior styling
• Luxury
• Form factor (e.g., SUV)
• AWD
• Features (e.g., I love keyless entry & start)
• Acceleration
• Initial purchase price
• Fuel cost per mile (I consider amortized EV/Hyrbid battery life and cost in this)
• Total cost of ownership

All things considered, I'm driving a 2015 Audi Q5 with 3.0L diesel. At the time, nothing else compared closely enough. I even considered the Q5 hybrid and declined, finding the diesel a better value.

I'd want 500 miles so that 80% would give me the 400 miles I'd need to go visit my daughter without having to charge along the way. Probably not too likely.

Tesla Model X would be perfect then, ticks all those and more. But the price....im assuming it's at least double/triple that of the Audi no doubt.

2 x 200 mile stints with a coffee/pee break in the middle? Would that work? A lot of the EV's coming out this year have around a 200 mile range.