Hard to benchmark due to tradeoffs (size/design) and improvements in batteries (original EV-1 had lead/acid batteries).
There are numerous EVs today with lower Wh/mile values despite being larger, but the Hummer certainly isn’t one of them. I don’t think the EV-1 gained 80% SOC in 1 hr. It did use a 240v charger from what I can tell. EV-1 had a slippery CD of 0.19. Combined with small cross-section, that gave it great aerodynamic efficiency.
Yeah, the EV1 was pretty darn small. My Chevy Volt, which is not a large car, has about 7" more length and 7" more height, but about the same width. It seems the EV1 could only support 6.6kW charging (30A @ 220v), but with a 26.4kWh battery, that’s four hours on the nose to charge empty to full.
Interesting note on the Wh/mi, the EV1 was right around 250 using the more modern range value. There definitely are larger EVs now that’ll do that or better.
You are completely ignoring the bolded part of Lucy’s statement, which is a key component in its accuracy.
Stopping to charge every 175 miles (about the best you could do on a car with a 200 mile range) is absolutely unacceptable on a road trip for many people, so a full EV does not even merit consideration as a possibility.
Whereas a PHEV has a range similar to an ICE, I believe, but can still avoid using gasoline for many, possibly most, trips.
I italicized my qualifier, because sure, if you’re not in a particular hurry and/or you’re not going too far, you can make a EV road trip work. But the range sacrifices are still substantial for road trips. It’s just not going to be the same kind of trip as would be possible in an ICE. (For example me driving 1,000 miles to/from my in-laws in one day, which is something I have done multiple times.) You may think the world should just suck it up and make those sacrifices, and/or they are not a big deal to you, but they are a big deal to a non-trivial subset of the population, including me.
I think a PHEV would meet my needs, and one would certainly reduce my gasoline consumption considerably. I don’t believe it’s an economical choice for me at this time, and considering the environmental impact of manufacturing / disposing of the battery I’m skeptical that it’s much (if any) greener than an EV, but as battery technology improves that part might also improve.
I don’t believe it’s an economical choice for me at this time
I would add that when I was in the market for a new vehicle in 2020 I started out planning on a hybrid, also considered PHEVs, but ended up with an ICE as an equivalent hybrid was just too expensive when all the costs were included.
I wouldn’t even consider a full EV as the range was way too problematic for my needs.
Stopping to charge every 175 miles (about the best you could do on a car with a 200 mile range) is absolutely unacceptable on a road trip for many people, so a full EV does not even merit consideration as a possibility.
I just googled “how often should I stop on road trips” and the websites that came up recommended a 15 minute stop every two hours. This is enough time to charge at each stop (15 minutes to charge 130-140 miles). You may be much more experienced at road trips, but for many people (who only do a couple of road trips a year), this is what is recommended to be a safe road user.
Twig’s Rule: “I’m the exception!”
I think we can all agree, based on the (shrinking) variety of vehicles available, that people have different needs in the vehicle they will drive.
Yikes, 15 minutes every 2 hours? Yeah, I stop WAY less than that.
Sheesh when my dad & I were regularly driving 850 miles to see his family we’d probably only have the engine turned off for maybe two 5 minute stints total. I can’t imagine making six stops of 15 minutes each. That would add 80 minutes onto our travel time. Yuck!!! I’d be a lot more tired, and the trip would be a lot more dangerous if we did that.
Note that we were trading off driving… I don’t think you need to stop for 15 minutes every two hours if you’re changing drivers every two hours. I think it’s more than is really needed even if you’re not, but I assume that recommendation is for solo driving.
Yikes, 15 minutes every 2 hours? Yeah, I stop WAY less than that.
Several websites recommend it. They do not REQUIRE it. The EV, though, requires it.
Sheesh when my dad & I were regularly driving 850 miles to see his family we’d probably only have the engine turned off for maybe two 5 minute stints total.
I’m going to hazard a guess that that’s unusual - 14 hours of driving with two pee breaks (and taken while the unattended car is filling up with gas) and eating while driving/peeing. It’s doable but … why? I would spend the whole next day recovering.
Sounds like you might need to wait until solid-state batteries come out (600 miles on one charge).
Several websites recommend it.
Do they recommend it when you have multiple drivers and are not driving more than 2 hours?
With all the driving you do, did you factor in the cost of gas due to different MPG on ICE V hybrid over cost of ownership? Just curious.
I’m sure you are not rare in your desire for not stopping on long drives, but I’m guessing your argument appeals to a small minority of drivers.
FWIW, our last two purchases were hybrids, though we don’t buy cars often. We have a 2010 Prius and 2020 Rav 4. Not sure what our next car will be but we’re considering putting solar on the house with an EV home charger and getting an electric vehicle to drive during the week and use the RAV4 for longer trips.
With my current EV, I estimate a road trip that used to take me 11 hours, now takes 12 hours. Personally, that’s not a problem because I like to get my steps in every day, so I use that extra hour to get my steps in during the day rather than at my destination.
I would spend the whole next day recovering.
Huh… we’d leave at like 7 AM, get in at like 10 PM (15 hours was typical in summer as we’d hit traffic in the Northeast… it was usually faster at Christmas), visit until maybe 10:45, in bed by 11 or maybe 11:30 allowing a few minutes to read & wind down, usually up around 8:30 the next day ready to go. So maybe one extra hour of sleep?
You’re sitting on your ass… it’s not really all that exerting. ![]()
I find long drives exhausting
Do they recommend it when you have multiple drivers and are not driving more than 2 hours?
Everyone in the car should get out and stretch. If you don’t want to, then don’t. Form blood clots in your lungs for all I care (though I do care that this doesn’t happen to you).
I’m like you, and I do not stop every two hours. Straight to Vegas 4.5 hours or so. I’m just not making a stink about it in the internet.
You’re sitting on your ass… it’s not really all that exerting.
That is actually the issue. If it were exerting, you’d stop the car and take a nap.
14 hours of net driving in a day is pretty extreme.
Most we do is 4hrs driving before stopping.
We drove 2,800km in 15 days when we did the Iceland Ring Road. That was a lot by my standards.
14hrs and 850 miles…ouch. My back hurts just by reading that.
I find long drives exhausting.
As does your car, if it has a gas engine.
Hey-yohhhh!
With all the driving you do, did you factor in the cost of gas due to different MPG on ICE V hybrid over cost of ownership? Just curious.
Yes, I did factor that in for sure.
I wanted either 4WD or AWD and a decent amount of cargo space… which is tough in a hybrid. Conpared to what I ultimately bought, the hybrid I most seriously considered had 55% of the cargo capacity with the seats in place (big minus) and the MPGs were 5 better in City driving and 5 worse in Highway driving. So more or less the same. (Now the hybrid did have a more powerful engine, but I don’t especially care about such things.)
But I did look at other hybrids and I was making the comparison on those, yes.
2020 Rav 4 was one of the hybrids I looked at. I hated that it didn’t have a CD player even as an option, but it was a solid contender, as I recall.
Stopping to charge every 175 miles (about the best you could do on a car with a 200 mile range)
There are a ton on EVs with a range of 300 miles these days.
I just googled “how often should I stop on road trips” and the websites that came up recommended a 15 minute stop every two hours.
Maybe i would hate road trips less if i did that, but it’s certainly not something I’ve ever done. I doubt many people who take road trips do that. No one who flies in legs longer than 2 hours gets up and walks around for 15 minutes every 2 hours, either.
I suspect that’s the kind of advice that people give as some kind of ideal that they know won’t be done in practice, except by those few who actually look for advice on the Internet and then follow it.
