How long is long enough in the battery lasting department on an electric car for you to be willing to consider it? Just to be clear, I am not speaking about hybrids/plug-in hybrids/range extenders, I am talking about busy electron only propulsion.
50 miles, 100 miles, 300 miles? IMHO this (along with price and battery replacement costs) is the big hold back on electric cars. What is the range it can go that would make you seriously consider it?
For me, the range isn't the killer, the recharge time is. For example, if you drive 80 miles a day in a Tesla and try to charge it on a 115 outlet, it takes over 24 hours to charge.
Look at it this way, if charging stations were as common as fueling stations and it took 5 minutes to charge for a 60 mile trip, would anybody care that much that they were stopping every hour?
I drive less than 10 miles one way to work, so a 40 mile range is plenty for 90% of my trips. Even running around on the weekends, I could do OK. But for the occasional trips to the cabin, or the weekends with a lot of trips and no down time to recharge, a limited range is a deal breaker. So I need a second car or a hybrid. The cost of either is prohibitive. If the Volt came in a true wagon-style hatchback shape and cost $25,000 then it would be a good deal for me.
I want at least 100 real world miles. Including use of AC/heat.
My normal commute is 43 miles each way and that would give me a bit of extra for running around in the way to/from work while only needing to charge at home.
However if my work put in charging stations I would be happy with less than that.
For me the number is about 100 mikes. But it would have to recharge in less than 8 hours. That would make it work for me. There is son flexibility in that but those would be the ideal parameters that would make an all electric car work really well for me.
I actually have been looking hard at the Volt. For 90% of my driving I would be on the electric and having the extended range in reserve makes it virtually the perfect commuter car for me.
I still think that a multi platform battery exchange system and program that allows for 5-10 minute battery exchange of a completely charged unit is the answer.
Until they build a battery that can cover 500 miles a day, I am out of the hybrid game.
aussiesmg wrote: Until they build a battery that can cover 500 miles a day, I am out of the hybrid game.
You mean electric, right? 
8". Wait, what are we talking about? Oh electric range. Nevermind.
I have no issues with the range offered on current electrics. I have an issue with the price :) 40 miles a day would cover 99% of my driving. 70 would probably cover 100%
My son has a Leaf. 80 mile range. That's not enough. It means he can't make a day trip to see us (150 miles).
It is a combination of range + recharging time.
So, I would seriously consider one with a 200 mile range IF I was confident there was easily available recharge capabilities at the other end that could charge it in less than an hour.
"Easily available" DOES NOT mean I have to drive to my local Nissan dealership. It means I can plug it in at my friend's house.
Without that, I wouldn't consider it until a 500 mile range was reasonable.
I do 500 mile (round trip) weekend trips with regularity.
I would put up with a 1 hour charge at a friend's house, but if it has to be in a public facility, it has to be less than 10 minutes, and the facilities have to be REALLY available (like gas stations are).
Yeah, needs to be equivalent to the gasoline counterparts. Family is 90 miles round trip for hte closest, 3200 miles round trip for the farthest with the middleground going to 1500 miles round trip. An electric car will never be able to support those needs.
You guys with range issues... do you have more than one car? My wife has a car, I have a car. We don't need both of them to do 300+ mile trips. An electric could easily replace one of them.
In reply to Bobzilla:I hope you are wrong. I don't expect to live long enough to see it, but I believe battery changing stations will eventually be everywhere. Unless we skip batteries altogether and go to Hydrogen, which is probably a better option anyway.
In reply to ProDarwin:
We have one car.
I'm in line with SVreX, 500ish mile range with very accessible charging facilities and quick charge times.
Lately, whenever I've had to make a road trip somewhere more than a couple hours, I've just rented something for the trip. Depending on the time of year, I've been able to get mid-range rentals for around $20/day from Hertz with AAA discount from the airport. It works out in not putting mileage on my car, getting 2x the MPG, and not filling the hungry beast with 93. Oh, and I get to try out a lot of different appliances that I normally wouldn't drive and have been surprised on occasion. So if I owned only an electric with a 100 mile range, that would do for 90% of my travel and rentals would cover the rest.
In reply to Armitage: That's a good concept assuming you live in or near a big market. In smaller towns, cities, the rental car options are often really sad.
For my needs, 200 miles would be an acceptable range. It would allow me to get to/from work as well as mid-day trips to local client sites. I don't mind having a second car for times when I need to drive farther. The car also needs to be able to have a 2" receiver mounted. Not for towing, but for mounting a bike tray (more aero/efficient than roof-racks).
Rupert wrote: Unless we skip batteries altogether and go to Hydrogen, which is probably a better option anyway.
Right now, the main problem with hydrogen is the energy required to make it.
ProDarwin wrote: You guys with range issues... do you have more than one car? My wife has a car, I have a car. We don't need **both** of them to do 300+ mile trips. An electric could easily replace one of them.
When I can buy an electric car for under $4k that costs me pennies to maintain and can handle the wife running it to visit friends on the other side of the state, I might consider it.
I drive from Chicago to Colorado a couple times a year, so from that perspective it's gotta be 600+ or else 300 and charge in hour or so with chargers relatively easy to find. Otherwise 50-60 would be doable although 100 would be optimal. Or less if my work would let me charge during the day.
A lot of things would have to change first though. Like mainly my living situation, I would need to run an extension cord out my window and across the parking lot to charge in my current place.
measure twice, cut once
300+ miles and 15min complete recharge time
I need at least an honest 100 miles with use of AC and heat. I also need said electric car to be more affordable.
wbjones wrote: 300+ miles and 15min complete recharge time
This is the sort of unrealistic request that hurt the idea of electric cars.
No one is saying an electric car would be the perfect vehicle for everyone or every situation. Unfortunately, the current ~100 mile range isn't quite enough for my ~100 mile daily commute. If they could double that and keep the price in the mid-$30K range, I'd strongly consider buying one. I have a garage and running a 220V line for a charger would be child's play for me. Even compared to my TDI, I've done the math and an electric car would be substantially cheaper for how I drive 90% of the time. And it's not like a don't have a small fleet of gasoline cars to drive if needed...
350-400 mile range and recharge time of 10 minutes - the same standard I expect of any car.
SVreX wrote: So, I would seriously consider one with a 200 mile range IF I was confident there was easily available recharge capabilities at the other end that could charge it in less than an hour.
I did the math on the kind of power requirements this ability would require. You'd basically have to put a multi-megawatt power plant right at the point of charging.
We have a LOT of things to change if we want to go with electric vehicles. Need to build a lot more power production capability and a nationwide revamp of the power grid, in addition to redesigning our whole way of life and somehow making EVs a lot better at energy use.
In short, EVs will continue to be a niche for a long time, possibly forever, and hybrids are the best answer short-term while we work toward dealing with the infrastructure and lifestyle issues.
This is why I really like the Volt. It's an EV that brings its own infrastructure with it.
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