ARTICLE: You Need Way Less Range Than You Think

[bumblebeetuna13]

Even as consumers demand electric cars that can go 250, 300 or even 400 miles between charging sessions, research shows that they can usually make do with far less.

Full article here: INSIDE EVs - How Much Range do you Actually Need

 

[Letas]

This is really simple math. I drive ~28,000 a year. My work is a 60mi round trip commute. For the most favorable use case, let's say I work 260 days a year. No vacations, Mr Boss man.

260*60=15600 mi commuting.

That leaves 105 days to make up for the 12400 (28000-15600) miles. That leaves me at 118 mi/day on my "days off". Hardly a "edge case" to suggest that 150 mi range is not enough, when a fantasy-driven, perfectly level demand curve suggests utilizing 80% of that on most weekends.

This forum loves to refute the "media" bias, but when the "media" spews these asinine claims that we should accept limitations, it does nothing but slow progress on EV tech.


I will determine how much range I need, not some journalist who likely WFH 3+ days a week.

 

[AZFox]

I drive ~28,000 a year.

All you needed to say was that and we could know you need the Extended Battery option.

 

[Dorbiman]

This is really simple math. I drive ~28,000 a year. My work is a 60mi round trip commute. For the most favorable use case, let's say I work 260 days a year. No vacations, Mr Boss man.

260*60=15600 mi commuting.

That leaves 105 days to make up for the 12400 (28000-15600) miles. That leaves me at 118 mi/day on my "days off". Hardly a "edge case" to suggest that 150 mi range is not enough, when a fantasy-driven, perfectly level demand curve suggests utilizing 80% of that on most weekends.

This forum loves to refute the "media" bias, but when the "media" spews these asinine claims that we should accept limitations, it does nothing but slow progress on EV tech.


I will determine how much range I need, not some journalist who likely WFH 3+ days a week.

It's almost like the key word in the OP was "usually". I might even think you didn't read the article or the accompanying research study. No one is telling you how much range YOU need. The journalist is highlighting the data.

Seems like a lot of resentment towards something it seems like you didn't even read.

 

[Letas]

It's almost like the key word in the OP was "usually". I might even think you didn't read the article or the accompanying research study. No one is telling you how much range YOU need. The journalist is highlighting the data.

Seems like a lot of resentment towards something it seems like you didn't even read.

To suggest I did not read the article, and then to say “nobody is telling you how much range you need” is a level of humor I can only chalk up to trolling.

The subtitle of the article, which I read when I *didnt* read the article is “You Need Way Less Range Than You Think”

The problem is there is zero critical thinking or data interpretation skills behind these claims. In its simplest form, this would be like me putting an article out saying “You don’t need to buy two shoes” and quoting a data claim that the average American has <2 feet.
The data isn’t the problem, it’s the interpretation (or lack thereof)

 

[AZFox]

The Extended-or-Not battery thread got me looking fairly deeply into this.

I agree with the article's title, even to the point of swinging my mind back toward choosing the Standard Battery option.

Importantly, my Truck will be a second vehicle and I can charge nightly at home. YMMV for other circumstances.

If your Truck is a second vehicle the dilemma an be reduced to a small poem.

If you need to go far,
Drive the other car.

Before someone posts a Contrarian Edge Case, I realize those exist.

TL;DR: I will need way less range capacity than I originally thought.

 

[KevinRS]

Not sure what you are trying to say here. You make lots of weekend road trips that are a lot longer than your commute?
The average is something under 14,000 miles per year. That works out to about 54 miles per day assuming it's all done in 5 days a week. Well within the Slate range, and nearly everyone drives far less than the 150 mile base range on a daily basis. Most people don't make 200+ mile road trips... ever. But everyone thinks they need 300+ mile range because their gas vehicle gets that, never mind they get gas once a week or less, and they can charge every night at home.

That is the point. Do the math for yourself, but do it based on the actual trips you make. The longest trip I made in the 10+ years I've had my versa was a bit over 200 miles one way. Sure in the Slate I'd have had to charge somewhere in the middle and at the end, but that's once in 10 years.
If I wanted to drive to Vegas, sure I'd have to charge twice with the base battery, and there may not be chargers in convenient places on that desert drive, but I have no reason to go there, if I did, I could always ride with someone else, or fly, or rent a car for a fraction of the price difference between batteries.
Actually I just for curiosity checked on an EV trip planning site, abetterrouteplanner.com which apparently already has the slate truck as an option, and yes, it takes a 43 minute and an 18 minute charging stop.
The longest trip I'm likely to make is to a family members house, 128 miles, that site calculates that starting with 90% charge, I need to stop for 5 minutes of charging to arrive with 15% There are actually a bunch of settings there, it's assuming 5% battery degradation, speeds up to 81 mph.

Sure Slate isn't for everyone. I have an uncle who lives in Boise, and takes cross country road trips. If my aunt is with him, they won't be taking freeways, so they might often be on routes that don't have chargers. He probably shouldn't get a slate.

 

[AZFox]

The problem is there is zero critical thinking or data interpretation skills behind these claims.

Did we read the same article?

The title is clickbait to some extent. That's forgivable.

That said, a lot of people will read it and find out the title is a true statement.

 

[AZFox]

The average is something under 14,000 miles per year.

Methinks the average for Slate Trucks will be lower because of what it is (commuter, second car, errand-runner, teenager / college student runabout, etc.).

 

[KevinRS]

Methinks the average for Slate Trucks will be lower because of what it is (commuter, second car, errand-runner, teenager / college student runabout, etc.).

Yeah, that average includes the high outliers, all the way into people putting 100k miles on in the first couple years, while slate's market will be more from from on the high end somewhere halfway past the middle of the bell curve down to the people under 1000 miles per year.

 

[GaRailroader]

I have a 50 mile round trip commute that I have been doing with a 149 mile range Nissan Leaf for the last 3.5 years. Granted that is not 60 miles, but it has been a non-issue. Generally I charge every other day unless it is a Friday then I will charge it up to give me more range to run errands over the weekend. I try to do all my charging at work since it is free there. I agree with the sentiment of the article that people way over estimate what they need for range. I’ve been trying to talk my older brother in to buying an EV for 7 years. He says he will get one when he can get a Rivian SUV with 500 mile range. He has zero need for 500 mile range but gets worked up about what he reads about range anxiety. The EREV would probably be a good stop gap for people like this that think they need so much range.

 

[KevinRS]

I have a 50 mile round trip commute that I have been doing with a 149 mile range Nissan Leaf for the last 3.5 years. Granted that is not 60 miles, but it has been has been a non-issue. Generally I charge every other day unless it is a Friday then I will charge it up to give me more range to run errands over the weekend. I try to do all my charging at work since it is free there. I agree with the sentiment of the article that people way over estimate what they need for range. I’ve been trying to talk my older brother in to buying an EV for 7 years. He says he will get one when he can get a Rivian SUV with 500 mile range. He has zero need for 500 mile range but gets worked up about what he reads about range anxiety. The EREV would probably be a good stop gap for people like this that think they need so much range.

Exactly, most people are fixated on comparing the EV range to a gas car's range, even though they don't top off the gas every day or even every other day, while with the EV it's as simple as plugging in when you park, for cheap at home, or if you are lucky, for free at work.

 

[AZFox]

In the Extended vs. Standard thread @JoeUser posted something that caught my eye at the time...

First time EV buyers put 'long range ' at the top of their shopping list. Second time EV buyers do not.

 

[SichuanHot]

That's a real word vomit of an article/editorial. More range is always better especially given that the battery is needed to power important accessories like HVAC and speakers. If given Car A that has 200 miles of estimated range and Car B with 400 miles estimated range being sold for the same price, the choice is a no brainer.

 

[Dorbiman]

To suggest I did not read the article, and then to say “nobody is telling you how much range you need” is a level of humor I can only chalk up to trolling.

The subtitle of the article, which I read when I *didnt* read the article is “You Need Way Less Range Than You Think”

The problem is there is zero critical thinking or data interpretation skills behind these claims. In its simplest form, this would be like me putting an article out saying “You don’t need to buy two shoes” and quoting a data claim that the average American has <2 feet.
The data isn’t the problem, it’s the interpretation (or lack thereof)

Let me start by saying my earlier snark was unnecessary. I apologize for that.

I understood the headline as referring to the average person (the generic "you”), not to you personally. The article’s data and examples focus on typical daily driving patterns, the average commute, and how much range is actually used on average.

I don’t think it’s the same as saying you don’t need to buy two shoes. The author explicitly acknowledges that some people do need a larger battery, for those who drive long distances frequently, have limited charging access, or want a single vehicle that can do it all. They also note that many households have more than one vehicle, so an EV with shorter range could fill one role while a gas car covers the longer trips.

I’m genuinely curious where you feel the critical thinking or data interpretation falls short. To me, the numbers line up with what I’ve seen personally, and a large chunk of the article is quoting Recurrent’s study rather than making its own claims. I think the bigger question is whether 95% of use cases should drive design and marketing, or whether the market should keep prioritizing those what if scenarios.