Yahoo Autos How to Live with an EV—and Not Panic about Range at Every Turn
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A recent round-trip drive in a Genesis Electrified GV70 reminded us how range anxiety is alive and well.
Driving an electric car requires different planning and expectations than a gasoline-powered car.
We share several pointers to make sure your own experience with an EV is less fraught.
It started out so well. I took delivery of the 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 AWD Prestige, $75,275 worth of luxury battery-electric vehicle, for a drive to the Volkswagen Atlas launch in the Catskills. The drive up was uneventful, but for the return from Saugerties, New York, to Connecticut I had 105 miles to travel and the Genesis indicated 125 miles of range. What could go wrong?
The return trip was fraught, with lots of range anxiety. The experience made it clear why some consumers are still resistant to buying EVs. The news that seven automakers—GM, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, and Stellantis—would collaborate on a robust fast-charging network is certainly welcome. My trip was nerve-wracking, but yours doesn’t have to be.
Top your tank batteries at every opportunity
Don’t trust your round-trip to the total promised range—always charge at your stop over, if at all possible. On an overnight, the Genesis would have easily fully charged, had we just plugged it in—it has an onboard 10.9-kilowatt charger, and can be fast-charged from 10 to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes.
Never cut it too close in an EV
Understand that electric range is far less precise than what you’ll find indicated in your gas car. Highway driving in an EV will eat into indicated range a lot more than side roads, where brake regeneration adds to the amount of charge in your batteries.
In fact, the range remaining as indicated on your dash assumes a percentage of regen, based on the EPA formula for calculating miles per gallon equivalent, and the freeway offers very little of it. In short, your mileage may vary.
If at all possible, use apps
The best apps not only say what kind of chargers are available at a charging location, but also whether they’re in use—or out of order. Useful third-party apps are from Chargeway, Plugshare, and ChargeHub, as well as supplier apps from ChargePoint, EVGo, and Electrify America. Want to find a hotel with suitable charging? Try EVHotels.
Factor in non-operational chargers…
…and try to eliminate them ahead of time. It’s a big problem, and a hindrance to faster EV adoption.
A recent survey found that only 72.5 percent of 657 public fast chargers in the San Francisco Bay area were in working order. Tesla does better than many of the independent networks. PlugShare allows users to enter notes about whether stations are working or not. That’s good, but the information may be out of date by the time you access it.
