This is a real condition. I just stepped out of a Nissan LEAF and a small incident got me thinking about real life, and where and how the electric car will fit in.
I've read similar stories where some counterparts of mine were faced with a crisis of some sort, with a non-fully charged EV as their only mode of transportation.
My event took place on a Tuesday. During the course of a meeting, my phone rang three times and I could see that it was a family member (FM) calling. Once the GTG was over, I called back and learned that my FM had an accident with his new car. Thankfully, no one was hurt; only his pride and a good part of his car's front end were damaged.
Either way, the distress in my FM's voice was palpable, and so I headed out to meet with him and to help out with what needed to be done. My tester was the Nissan LEAF, and before I clambered down the stairs to the lot I glanced over at the iPhone and the LEAF App to take note of the state of the batteries and their reserves.
Indicated range was 74 km. I quickly realized that I was about to travel just shy of that distance in the next few hours with no chance of plugging in the car. The pressure was on.
As I reached for my coat, my coworkers wished me luck and off I went. I unplugged and stepped into the LEAF, started it and it indicated a mildly more encouraging 80-km range. I set off in mild rain using no wipers, no headlights, no heat, no radio, but plenty of hope. By my calculations, I was about to cover roughly 65 km, a third of which was range-murdering highway.
The whole time I was driving, not 5 seconds would go by without my glancing down to the range indicator, as I tried to foresee what the remaining charge would be when I got to my destination. I drafted behind a few trucks and tried to keep my speed below 100 km/h. No fun.
When I finally pulled into the lot where the hurt car was parked, my range was just above 50 km. As the afternoon unfolded, I actually ended up travelling more than I had anticipated. All of the extra kilometres were accumulated in town. When I finally pulled into my driveway at home, the range indicator showed 24 km. I had covered 75 km, give or take, but had assaulted the range by only 56 km. The LEAF performed admirably well, but I was a wreck.
Now, I'm not sure that I'd be able to deal with this on a regular basis. I was far too concerned with the flashy digital numbers in the cluster than I was the road while driving on the highway. I thought and re-thought about my routes, trying to figure out the flattest non-speedway roads to take – and this, while I was covering ground. Not good.
EVs are great – to a certain extent – but this is by far the worst aspect of the current crop of full EVs on the market. The Chevy Volt being more of a hybrid than an electric car does not have this issue, nor do regular hybrids. From where I stand, should you choose to purchase an EV, make sure that you'll always be able to charge the car when idle, and always plan your travels with no less than a 50-km range margin.
That being said, I can't wait for the next-generation electric cars where batteries will offer nearly, or as much, mobility as do gas-powered cars.
I've read similar stories where some counterparts of mine were faced with a crisis of some sort, with a non-fully charged EV as their only mode of transportation.
My event took place on a Tuesday. During the course of a meeting, my phone rang three times and I could see that it was a family member (FM) calling. Once the GTG was over, I called back and learned that my FM had an accident with his new car. Thankfully, no one was hurt; only his pride and a good part of his car's front end were damaged.
Either way, the distress in my FM's voice was palpable, and so I headed out to meet with him and to help out with what needed to be done. My tester was the Nissan LEAF, and before I clambered down the stairs to the lot I glanced over at the iPhone and the LEAF App to take note of the state of the batteries and their reserves.
Indicated range was 74 km. I quickly realized that I was about to travel just shy of that distance in the next few hours with no chance of plugging in the car. The pressure was on.
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| Photo: Olivier Delorme/Auto123.com |
As I reached for my coat, my coworkers wished me luck and off I went. I unplugged and stepped into the LEAF, started it and it indicated a mildly more encouraging 80-km range. I set off in mild rain using no wipers, no headlights, no heat, no radio, but plenty of hope. By my calculations, I was about to cover roughly 65 km, a third of which was range-murdering highway.
The whole time I was driving, not 5 seconds would go by without my glancing down to the range indicator, as I tried to foresee what the remaining charge would be when I got to my destination. I drafted behind a few trucks and tried to keep my speed below 100 km/h. No fun.
When I finally pulled into the lot where the hurt car was parked, my range was just above 50 km. As the afternoon unfolded, I actually ended up travelling more than I had anticipated. All of the extra kilometres were accumulated in town. When I finally pulled into my driveway at home, the range indicator showed 24 km. I had covered 75 km, give or take, but had assaulted the range by only 56 km. The LEAF performed admirably well, but I was a wreck.
Now, I'm not sure that I'd be able to deal with this on a regular basis. I was far too concerned with the flashy digital numbers in the cluster than I was the road while driving on the highway. I thought and re-thought about my routes, trying to figure out the flattest non-speedway roads to take – and this, while I was covering ground. Not good.
EVs are great – to a certain extent – but this is by far the worst aspect of the current crop of full EVs on the market. The Chevy Volt being more of a hybrid than an electric car does not have this issue, nor do regular hybrids. From where I stand, should you choose to purchase an EV, make sure that you'll always be able to charge the car when idle, and always plan your travels with no less than a 50-km range margin.
That being said, I can't wait for the next-generation electric cars where batteries will offer nearly, or as much, mobility as do gas-powered cars.