If you have the money and want an electric car with the longest range possible, clean air is the way to go. Pick the right version and it has an estimated EPA range of 520 miles. Take the right route and that’s enough to drive from Atlanta, Georgia to Richmond Virginia without stopping. No sane person drives more than eight hours without stopping to go to the bathroom, but technically you can. However, for most people, that kind of scope is overkill. Heck, even 300 miles of range is more than a lot of people will need.
In case you lost it:
ArsTechnica report that a recently published study from the University of Deleware studied people’s driving habits over the course of a year in the Atlanta area, then created a model to see which electric vehicle would meet their needs. those drivers.
They found that of the 333 drivers in the study, many did not need a long-range EV. In fact, nearly 38 percent of drivers were able to make 100 percent of their trips throughout the year with a small, lower-range EV like the Nissan Leaf.
That also doesn’t charge a fee outside of being at home. Just stopping to charge a few times will allow more drivers to own an electric vehicle for less than 150 miles. Long-distance trips will still be inconvenient while driving a Nissan Leaf, but in that situation, it reportedly makes more sense to just rent a car for the trip instead of paying extra for a larger battery.
G/O Media can receive commission
“It’s cheaper to rent a car for two days (per year) than to spend $10,000 on a much larger battery,” said Willett Kempton, a professor at the University of Delaware. ArsTechnica.
When asked to comment on the article, Stephanie Searle of the International Council on Clean Transport said ArsTechnica it made some great points:
A lot of the news lately about EV ranges getting longer and longer, but the reality is, if a lower-end car can do that, it will be better for the customer’s pocket and the environment. school. Lower range means smaller batteries, and that reduces the environmental impact upstream from battery mining and manufacturing. Smaller batteries also mean more efficient electric vehicles that produce lower (greenhouse gas) emissions from electricity production.
In the end, the real issue isn’t the EV’s range. The fact is that there are still not enough chargers. If we really have a reliable charging network, many people will be able to live comfortably with more affordable electric cars even if they don’t have the option of charging at home. Thankfully, that is starting to change even if that change is slow. Even Tesla has started open its charging network to non-Tesla owners, which will make it easier for electric vehicle owners to make longer trips. And in a few years, things could be completely different for apartment dwellers who just want a basic EV to get around.
