Range Anxiety

[FC49er]

Download A Better Route Planner (ABRP) for your phone and see what it says for EV charging in the trip route. You’re going to want this app when you get your truck so go ahead checkout how things look around your expected travel routes.

Ya, I’ve known about this app for a few years now

 

[Imhotep]

I hope Slate will let you take delivery of your truck at the factory in Warsaw. I will do so, if the delivery charge is less or it is waived. I have never been the midwest and it would be quite an adventure driving to my home in the state of Washington. Will I have range anxiety? Yes !

Thought I would revive this thread for those expressing interest in a pilgrimage to Warsaw:
https://www.slateforums.com/forum/t...deration-would-take-place-in-this-room.13468/

 

[EV Trek]

Went to Mountian City Tennessee today, population of 2,500 people, they now have 2 DC fast charger stalls and 6 public level 2 charge stations. 6 months ago they had none.
I never would have thought they would have any DC fast chargers.

 

[sodamo]

I never really gave VW much thought growing up until my first tour in Germany (1987-1991) when VWs would RIP past me on the autobahn at easily 120mph+ (I think Golfs and the like, not the beetles). Was a real eye-opener, those things can scoot! American versions may be different but damn!

We were there about same time 86-91,. You are correct, exciting cars.

 

[Daemoch]

I run out of gas about once a year now days. And I mean the car, not lawn mowers and tractors and chainsaws or anything goofy. Real car. I basically just like rolling dice cause im lazy sometimes and dont want to deal with it or maybe I just want to see if I can eek out one more day. It drives my wife crazy. Ill drive several days with the gas dummy light on and the needle firmly sitting on EMPTY. And Ill pass oodles of gas stations. Theres one literally 2 blocks from my house.

Growing up I had a few cars with crazy unreliable or completely busted gauges. I've never had a motorcycle with one at all. Range anxiety is just so.....meh. You do the math (and learn your vehicles capabilities and your own driving habits) and ignore the rest; numbers dont lie. Lights and gauges do.

If you have 40 miles left (of 150 total), thats like starting to freak out because you have over a quarter tank of gas still. Do you start freaking out when you still have 25% of your gas tank full? Thats just silly.

For comparison, I drove a motorcycle cross country that only held 2.5 gallons and got 30 MPG.... thats 75 miles on an entire tank of gas. I drove that thing literally across the entire country and up and down it for YEARS; it was my primary vehicle. And keep in mind it had no gas gauge whatsoever. Not being an idiot, when I drove across Wyoming and Nevada a few times, I did strap a 2 gallon gas tank to the back....but theres stretches out there with 'No gas station or anything for X miles' signs that MEAN IT.

So relax. 40 miles to spare is a lot of extra to play with.

 

[Daemoch]

100% agree. Ever since diesel gate, the corporate decisions and cars and tech they produced have been garbage. We had a TAOS for 1 yr and in that yr the Brakes were gone in 6K miles, Headgasket blown by 10K, DSG needed reprogramming a few times, and the Infotainment stopped working everytime we put gas it it. Bizzare.

However, I still drive a 24yr old TDi Golf that runs like new though. And impulse purchased the Last all/mostly Analog GTI with EA888.3 engine. Analog in this case = Cable Pull HAND/E-Brake, KEY in the ignition, Analog Gauge Cluster with Needles, NO NAV but oddly Wired Apple Car Play. End-of-an-Era with the ability to use my phone for everything else (sort of like SLATE). -- I have a search setup for a vintage Scirocco and Corrado VR6 though.

If youre in the Madison, WI area I just saw a sweeeeeet looking '87
16v Scirocco go up on FB Marketplace the other day. $4200. lol

 

[KevinRS]

Sorry to be a downer , but the delivery charge (if charged for any vehicle) must be charged for all vehicles. It’s one of the really smartest regulatory requirements ever conceived. 🙁

That covers charges to get a vehicle to a dealer, or other distribution point. Delivery to your house is a whole other thing, and would be an extra charge.

I run out of gas about once a year now days. And I mean the car, not lawn mowers and tractors and chainsaws or anything goofy. Real car. I basically just like rolling dice cause im lazy sometimes and dont want to deal with it or maybe I just want to see if I can eek out one more day. It drives my wife crazy. Ill drive several days with the gas dummy light on and the needle firmly sitting on EMPTY. And Ill pass oodles of gas stations. Theres one literally 2 blocks from my house.

Growing up I had a few cars with crazy unreliable or completely busted gauges. I've never had a motorcycle with one at all. Range anxiety is just so.....meh. You do the math (and learn your vehicles capabilities and your own driving habits) and ignore the rest; numbers dont lie. Lights and gauges do.

If you have 40 miles left (of 150 total), thats like starting to freak out because you have over a quarter tank of gas still. Do you start freaking out when you still have 25% of your gas tank full? Thats just silly.

For comparison, I drove a motorcycle cross country that only held 2.5 gallons and got 30 MPG.... thats 75 miles on an entire tank of gas. I drove that thing literally across the entire country and up and down it for YEARS; it was my primary vehicle. And keep in mind it had no gas gauge whatsoever. Not being an idiot, when I drove across Wyoming and Nevada a few times, I did strap a 2 gallon gas tank to the back....but theres stretches out there with 'No gas station or anything for X miles' signs that MEAN IT.

So relax. 40 miles to spare is a lot of extra to play with.

The problem with this idea is that most newer cars, for several decades, have put the fuel pump in the gas tank, and it is cooled by the gasoline. Run under about 1/4 tank, and the pump is above the fuel level, and not getting cooled. Do that too much and you've got to replace the pump. People who drive on the bottom 1/4 all the time, like drive until the light comes on and then put 5 gallons in, and repeat really have pump issues often.

 

[The Weatherman]

That covers charges to get a vehicle to a dealer, or other distribution point. Delivery to your house is a whole other thing, and would be an extra charge.

The problem with this idea is that most newer cars, for several decades, have put the fuel pump in the gas tank, and it is cooled by the gasoline. Run under about 1/4 tank, and the pump is above the fuel level, and not getting cooled. Do that too much and you've got to replace the pump. People who drive on the bottom 1/4 all the time, like drive until the light comes on and then put 5 gallons in, and repeat really have pump issues often.

Agree. The delivery fee may be based your location. I was referring to the destination charge which is universal.

 

[cadblu]

I would absolutely choose the standard Slate with 150mi.

But I don't think there's anything wrong with people wanting to get more range than they strictly "need". It's not necessarily because of anxiety. It's just like how you might be willing to spend more for a phone or computer with a longer battery life, even if you don't need it.

Another aspect of opting for the ER battery is that it offers spontaneity. Say you want to go off course of your daily routine and check out something new or different. Like exploring new communities, restaurants, parks and golf courses, or even a different supermarket in a neighboring town. Drive by the old house you sold 10 years ago and see how they’re maintaining the lawn. Sometimes you just need to break out from the same old routine. Now a 30 mile round trip just to explore something new is now possible without any pre planning.

 

[GrizzlysGhost]

Another aspect of opting for the ER battery is that it offers spontaneity. Say you want to go off course of your daily routine and check out something new or different. Like exploring new communities, restaurants, parks and golf courses, or even a different supermarket in a neighboring town. Drive by the old house you sold 10 years ago and see how they’re maintaining the lawn. Sometimes you just need to break out from the same old routine. Now a 30 mile round trip just to explore something new is now possible without any pre planning.

My introvert ass never wanting to leave the house be like:

 

[TPL]

My once a week commute to my volunteer effort is 90 mi. round trip, with sometimes a 20 mile RT to the hardware store. It is also a lot of highway miles. Therefore, I find the 150 number to be a bit anxiety inducing. That's why I'll go for the extended range.

As a newbie to EV, am I wrong for having anxiety about only 40 mi. remaining at starting with 100% charge?

There's nothing wrong with putting in extra margin in order to be more comfortable. We did that with my wife's Leaf, getting the long range trim so that even if the battery degraded terribly and the weather was super cold she could still make it to work and back.

My daily driver has 87 miles EPA range and so the short range trim on the Slate would be like a breath of fresh air, but I'm still leaning to the long range version. (After all, this might be the last car I ever buy!)

 

[tubes]

(After all, this might be the last car I ever buy!)

I can take the aches and pains of getting old, but "this is the last time" stuff really hits hard. Yeah, Slate may be my last too!

 

[RedJoker]

I can take the aches and pains of getting old, but "this is the last time" stuff really hits hard. Yeah, Slate may be my last too!

If it makes you feel any better, "this might be the last time" is technically true for all of us.

Having said that, it doesn't make me feel any better.

 

[EV Trek]

I can take the aches and pains of getting old, but "this is the last time" stuff really hits hard. Yeah, Slate may be my last too!

I thought that when I bought my Equinox EV two years ago, then along comes the Slate threw a monkey wrench into that idea.

 

[LuMu14]

Theres also an argument for getting the extended range for extra load and towing with the truck. with a trailer on the back i can see the range getting cut in half, and 120 miles feels a lot better than 75.