There are few things like hands-on experience. We’ve all been to school to learn countless things, but nothing (in my opinion) equates to getting down and dirty and doing something yourself.
Like you, I’m learning more and more every day about hybrid and electric vehicles -- what makes them tick, and how they work. I’ve read a bunch on ‘em, I’ve been to a few launches, and have driven many of them over the last few years. Our recent EV comparo test shed much light on many of the ins-and-outs of living with an electric car.
I’ve spent time in a Volkswagen Golf blue-e-motion, Ford Focus Electric, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Nissan LEAF, and many others. And in some of the cases, I experienced firsthand what range anxiety is all about.
For the comparo, we induced range anxiety by driving the cars “hard” through a planned route, with charging stations along the way, to see how well things would unfold. It went very, very well.
As charging stations are only beginning to sprout up here and there, I actually made phone calls to insure they were operational at several locations. For every call, the people I spoke to were very helpful, courteous and actually excited about our test.
With a few confirmations, I planned out a route. Once at a mall for some shopping (part of the day’s intended activities), I was required to call up the company that manages the charging stations in order to have them activated. The person on the other end was thrilled and even sent me a follow-up email with charging time/energy details. Great stuff.
One of the most fascinating tidbits from the email was the amperage at which the cars recharged. Although the stations all provided an equal 240V of power, the amperage pulled by the cars varied, which largely influenced charging times. In this instance, the Focus EV pulled 28 amps of electrical current, while the Volt and LEAF drew 14. The Focus was “full” after only 37 minutes, the other two used the 95 minutes they were plugged in and still weren't 100% charged.
As well, the Focus gulped only 3.811 kWh while the Volt and LEAF took in 5.37 and 5.444 respectively. Oddly, all three cars travelled exactly the same distance, on the same routes, at the same time. Is the Focus more efficient?
This necessitates further investigation as it is clear that, much like internal combustion engines, comparable or similar does not equal identical.
Like you, I’m learning more and more every day about hybrid and electric vehicles -- what makes them tick, and how they work. I’ve read a bunch on ‘em, I’ve been to a few launches, and have driven many of them over the last few years. Our recent EV comparo test shed much light on many of the ins-and-outs of living with an electric car.
I’ve spent time in a Volkswagen Golf blue-e-motion, Ford Focus Electric, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Nissan LEAF, and many others. And in some of the cases, I experienced firsthand what range anxiety is all about.
For the comparo, we induced range anxiety by driving the cars “hard” through a planned route, with charging stations along the way, to see how well things would unfold. It went very, very well.
As charging stations are only beginning to sprout up here and there, I actually made phone calls to insure they were operational at several locations. For every call, the people I spoke to were very helpful, courteous and actually excited about our test.
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| Photo: Michel Deslauriers |
With a few confirmations, I planned out a route. Once at a mall for some shopping (part of the day’s intended activities), I was required to call up the company that manages the charging stations in order to have them activated. The person on the other end was thrilled and even sent me a follow-up email with charging time/energy details. Great stuff.
One of the most fascinating tidbits from the email was the amperage at which the cars recharged. Although the stations all provided an equal 240V of power, the amperage pulled by the cars varied, which largely influenced charging times. In this instance, the Focus EV pulled 28 amps of electrical current, while the Volt and LEAF drew 14. The Focus was “full” after only 37 minutes, the other two used the 95 minutes they were plugged in and still weren't 100% charged.
As well, the Focus gulped only 3.811 kWh while the Volt and LEAF took in 5.37 and 5.444 respectively. Oddly, all three cars travelled exactly the same distance, on the same routes, at the same time. Is the Focus more efficient?
This necessitates further investigation as it is clear that, much like internal combustion engines, comparable or similar does not equal identical.