By BRETT ROWLAND |THE CENTER SQUARE
New testing shows that some popular electric vehicles fall short of their government-estimated driving ranges, underscoring anxiety Americans have about the range of electric vehicles.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency range estimates listed on electric vehicle window stickers and at fueleconomy.gov don’t have separate city and highway ranges, as they do with conventional cars and hybrids. Consumer Reports, the nonprofit research, testing, and consumer advocacy organization, put electric vehicles to the test.
To find out how much range EV models get in highway driving conditions, Consumer Reports put 22 of the most popular new EVs through a new highway-speed range test. The test involved driving fully-charged vehicles at a steady speed of 70 mph and only stopping when each vehicle’s battery was completely depleted and the vehicle was inoperable, according to the nonprofit.
Nearly half of the 22 vehicles tested failed to reach their EPA-estimated ranges, but some exceeded those estimates. The highway range of the tested vehicles ranged from 202 miles up to 380 miles.
Most drivers travel relatively short distances on a daily basis and are highly unlikely to reach the range limits of most new EVs. But long road trips are a different story. We feel that consumers should have an idea of how far EVs can travel on a long highway-centric journey,” Alex Knizek, Consumer Report’s manager of auto testing and insights, said in a statement. “Range is much more important when you’re far from home and away from reliable charging.”
Vehicle range is a consideration for long-distance travel, as a man from the Chicago suburbs recently demonstrated on a Thanksgiving road trip to Detroit, as The Center Square previously reported.
Consumer Reports said going forward it will evaluate the highway range for every electric vehicle it tests. It also asked the EPA to add a highway-speed range test. Car and Driver and SAE International have made similar requests.
A 2022 Consumer Reports survey found range anxiety was a reason 54% of adults in a national-representative survey said would prevent them from buying an electric vehicle.
That would be a particular concern where the communist leadership, J’iden and WEF,’s Klaus, Alaska’s proprietory guidance counselors have disallowed roads or anyone but policy enforcers upon until future confidential notice per se. forever. CAN I get a clap!
Also compare mileage attained summer vs winter. 80 degree day vs say, -15 at night running the heater full bore & headlights on. Mountain vs flats.
And going through mountain areas in the winter
& night.
Article today came out and said a guy who bought a Tesla EV found out just how expensive it is.
His batteries went dead and he needed new ones. Wanna know the cost? $26,000 dollars!!! This EV BS is exactly what we all knew it was. GARBAGE! No one is going to buy something that is horribly expensive to start with, then find out the batteries are just as bad.
Most likely, when he bought it, he was given a pitch that he wouldn’t need to ever replace them and give some ridiculous time of life for them. Beware. The only reason they want is all in EVs is so they can control us even more. If you like EVs fine. Drive one. Do not expect everyone to follow down your rabbit hole.
Another little detail the salesman conveniently overlooks is the load requirement of the high output rapid charger that enables the owner to charge the battery at home. It takes days to recharge the battery using a 110 volt outlet in your garage.
If you dont have the capacity in your electrical panel to add the expensive 220 volt rapid charge system you will be forced to wait while your vehicle battery is charging at a station.
I encountered several Tesla owners who bought without knowing the extra expense and time it takes to sit at charging stations. Ok if you have the time to enjoy a good book on the way home from work while waiting…
😂
I am shocked that these don’t need federal standards.
They should be taken off the street and put in the recycling yard.
That’s our government for us. Anything they touch goes to sh—-.
These reports on EV range in real-world conditions are next to useless if they do not also state, and account for, the prevailing ambient temperature. Unlike a normal vehicle with an internal combustion engine, a BV’s range is going to be a LOT less at -20 F than at 70 F.
We’ve had our Chevy Bolt for about 5 years and the coldest we’ve operated it in on a regular basis was around 6 or 7 degrees. At that temperature, I tried experimenting with different heating levels or options (like using the heated seats and have the heat set lower, for example). When running the heat on high with the heated seats on as well, and at the aforementioned temperatures, our range went from a maximum of about 290 miles in the summer, to about 210 to 220 in the winter. Then again, as with most people who drive, we rarely go farther than say 10 to maybe 20 miles a day, so it isn’t an issue. Of course, if we were to take longer road trips in the winter, other considerations might change, However, our ICE vehicle also loses about 10 to 15 percent range in the winter as well, but longer road trips aren’t an issue. I don’t really see this article saying anything really new.
Also, with the new solid state batteries that will be coming out in the next 5 to 10 years, range will no longer be an issue.
You mean the solid state batteries that have been promised for… well… several decades now?
Not holding my breath.
Those solid-state batteries are right behind commercial nuclear fusion, which has been only 20 years away for 60 years now.
Too bad the leftist greenies refuse to actually acknowledge history. If they did, they would not be relying on theoretical (and mostly fantastic) tech that has almost zero chance of becoming commercially viable.
Toyota has said their first EV’s with solid state batteries are coming out in 2027. However, I’m sure you’ll object to that for some reason too. Why don’t you go back to lighting your house with whale oil f you’re so against technological advancement
Yeah, and I have little doubt that those putative solid state batteries will be just as “safe and effective” as the highly environmentally destructive and fire-prone lithium batteries they are putatively going to replace.
Cman, why can’t radical leftist lemmings like you see that much of what passes for “technological advancement” today is actually a REGRESSION, as well as a purposely designed means to further monitor, track and enslave the population to the dystopian technocratic totalitarian dreams of the globalist ruling class?
Now, go get another clot shot booster — myocarditis is just waiting for you.
They will buy them, and plans should be made for their proper disposal. Or will they just stack them up in third world countries like the plastic or accidentally end up in the ocean. This should be the concern of the real environmentalists, if they exist.
Can you imagine getting stuck in the snow in an EV and wearing your battery down trying to get unstuck OR freezing to death while you are stuck because the battery died? EVs do not belong in Alaska or ANYWHERE in this nation. They are toxic, dangerous, and a drain on our resources.
Spoken like someone who has never driven one in Alaska, I have for years and I have gotten it stuck 3 times. Each time, it was out in about 5 minutes or less with almost no drain in charge.
It takes about 8 hours to fully charge a Tesla 3 long range at home and about 10 minutes to fill your Ford Explorer up with unleaded at the local Gas Station. The Tesla consumes 77 kilo watts per charge, (if my math is correct) meaning that according to my MEA bill I’d get dinged about 20 to 25 bucks per charging session. Tesla says that their 3 model will go 333 miles per charge, but if you deduct for the battery warmer and defrost you will likely get 220 miles per charge. My gas powered SUV burns 9.5 gallons of unleaded on a 220 mile drive or about 35 bucks worth of fuel. The Tesla appears to be cheaper to operate.
Trouble is, where I live we have numerous power outages, however according to Tesla my 7 KW diesel generator can charge their car. Fuel for 8 hours of generator run time would be about 30 bucks.
Summation, if my math is correct above, I might be in the market for an EV, that is, if power rates stay stable.
I would recheck your math. first you need to understand that the numbers reported are given in perfect conditions, or 70 degrees F on a flat track. Tesla has been testing their products in Alaska for years and have still not solved the problem of colder temperatures and its effects on battery performance. Add to that, the fact that the batteries only have approximately a 7-year life cycle, meaning you will have to replace the batteries at least every 7 years, and i would really question the economics of that decision. Higher initial cost at purchase, maintenance, and known battery degradation life cycle replacement costs, and one will quickly regret that decision to purchase one. couple all that with no infrastructure to support them and I believe you will be on the side of the road waiting for a ride. As far as power rates, the EPA has not permitted any new electric generation plants in decades, our current power grid does not have the capacity to support this unless the turn on the generators to make up the difference in the demands. meaning they will be forced to ration electricity and we will all “Have to necessarily pay more”.
AKMAN,
Kindly reread my thoughts above. I made allowance for the loss of mileage during winter conditions.
I agree with your assessment of the ability of Power Companies to provide the increased capacity for car recharging.
Still I was surprised that the EV was more economical to operate. Battery life however being the great unknown.
Let’s agree that the market, driven by freedom of choice by consumers making decisions best suited for them should prevail during this debate.
Our Chevy Bolt is 5 years old and has lost zero range. Am I to believe that in the next two years it will suddenly die on us? Please.
cman, just google EV Battery degradation, technically i don’t even think it has to be EV batteries, its re-chargeable batteries as a whole. Batteries will actually lose somewhere between 2-3% performance of there charge capacity per year. This fact needs to be scrutinized some as it only exists in a perfect world with perfect conditions. the average EV manufacturer will tell you its 8 years or a 100K miles, just like your warranties that they try to sell you and rarely get to utilize. it will vary on the conditions and the amount of use, but i am pretty confident that as we see more of these autos on the street that these facts will come out more and more.
What are you talking about with your claim of a 7 year lifecycle for batteries? There are Tesla Roadsters that are 15 years old and have only lost about 10% of their range. Some of these cars have more than 400K on them. Your claims are total nonsense.
AND(!), just imagine if you will. A family stranded in the middle of winter between:
… Palmer – Glennallen
… Glennallen – Tok
… Tok – Delta – Fairbanks
… Anchorage – Cantwell – Fairbanks
Out of a charge, out of a social credit, and ultimately “Out-Of-Luck!”
Tell me again this is a great endeavor and going to save the planet!?!?!
Interestingly, the Biden government is now massively downgrading fuel efficiency rating (miles per gallon equivalent) of EVs. Not because they are admitting that they aren’t that great for the environment. They are still ‘all-in’ on forcing us to buy them.
Leftists don’t want the EVs sold to obedient green idiots to offset the sale of large displacement ICE truck engines for the rest of us. Currently, every ‘120 MPG’ EV sold raises the manufacturers’ miles-per-gallon ‘fleet’ efficiency, which means powerful 20 MPG V8s are still allowed to be sold without the manufacturer getting fined under CAFE. This is arguably the reason why GM/Ford, etc are so enthusiastic about selling them.
Under the current regulatory regime, left wingers can virtue signal with their golf-cart EVs, while the rest of us can still have our long-range ICE trucks. Biden’s WEF handlers can’t allow that, and are now quietly re-rigging the game.
Heads they win, tails you lose. Never give them an inch. Never give them any credit.
As regarding EV range, even more important in Northern climates, especially in Alaska and Canada, is the winter temperature range. Besides their lithium battery’s special problems with charging at temperatures at freezing and below requiring their own embedded heaters in order to be charged, their electric passenger compartment heaters suck up electrical reserve energy at a high rate.
That is, unless we want to go back to heater-less vehicles where you have to wear heavy winter clothing or fur coats like they did when gas cars first came out in the early 1900’s! I have a picture of a car full of college guys returning from a late season Ohio State football game in the 1920’s all wearing stylish long racoon skin coats that apparently were the rage at the time! See: ‘https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon_coat
Leave your electric vehicle outside over night in Anchorage when it is 15 degrees, and then try to drive to Girdwood and back on a single charge. And, when you have run down the battery on the way back, try to find a charging station. Now, assuming you found a charging station, how long did you have to wait for the charge how much did it cost to get back home? Maybe you had to call a tow truck? How much did that cost? Just askin’….
I’ve done this actually. I left our Bolt outside when it was 0 degrees out. It was fully charged when I did so. The next morning I drove to Seward and still had about 50 miles of range on the battery. Any questions?
How about cold weather testing?
Tesla has been testing their products for years up at the CRTC (cold regions test center) for years and have still not found a solution to the battery performance in colder temperatures..
EVs are not for every situation, however if all you need is a daily driver that’s parked in your garage with a charger every night, then they are a great solution. Less energy cost, less maintenance, quieter, superb acceleration, less carbon emissions, and you whistle past every gas station you see. What’s not to like?
All Alaskan’s know not to drive a snow machine where there’s no snow. Similarly, don’t drive an EV where there are no charging stations. But don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. EVs have a place, they will improve with time, and in some situations they are actually better than petrol-fueled cars.
Freedom to choose, baby. Does that ring a bell?
Pitch your “freedom to choose” Bulls**t to Biden and his looney bin vice president.
Americans do not have the freedom to choose when auto makers continue to manufacture and sell gasoline powered vehicles are being penalized which in turn gets shuffled to the buyer.
Biden’s immediate demolition of the petroleum industry the moment He hobbled to his oral office and got out his executive order pen and swore up and down He will transform the energy situation overnight is all the evidence of him being a short handled puppet.
The decimation of petroleum overnight sent prices soaring at the pump…Where was the freedom to choose in that situation?
Loose the blinders Hans…Alaskans do and must use snow machines where there is no snow.
Many people just cant see the forest because those pesky trees are in the way….and that bell just keeps ringing.
The United States is producing more oil than ever before.
The oil and gas industry went on a $250 billion buying spree in 2023, taking advantage of companies’ high stock prices to secure lower-cost reserves and prepare for the next upheaval in an industry likely to undergo more consolidation.
A surge in oil demand as world economies shook off the pandemic downturn has stoked acquirers’ enthusiasm. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Chevron Corp (CVX.N) and Occidental Petroleum (OXY.N) made acquisitions worth a total of $135 billion in 2023. ConocoPhillips (COP.N) completed two big deals in the last two years.
that was from a Reuters article.
compare that to the 5.6 billion Hillcorp spent to purchase BP in AK. Willow is going to happen in AK. Biden is not demolishing the oil industry. Go visit the Permian Basin.
I think electric vehicles have their place and appreciate the technology and research into a new industry. Hopefully the demand for electric vehicles can lead to development in the Alaska mining industry.
We’ll lose the blinders when you lose your foil hat. Don’t want an EV? Don’t buy one. There are and will always be plenty of ICE vehicles for you to buy. Quit being such a ridiculous paranoid.
“There are and will always be plenty of ICE vehicles for you to buy.”
That is BS and a total lie, cman, and you know it. If your beloved usurper China Joe PotatoHead and his puppetmasters have their way, no, soon there will not be ANY, much less plenty, internal combustion vehicles for us to buy. Or do you not follow the news? Even the pro-establishment propaganda from the corporate media has been reporting on this agenda ad nauseam.
First they came for the wood stoves, but I did not own a wood stove, so I did not complain.
Then they came for the gas furnaces, but I did not own a gas furnace, so I did not complain.
Then they came for the internal combustion engines, but since I was by that point starving and freezing in the dark, it was too late to complain.
EV’s only accounted for only about 14% of all new cars sold in 2022. If you really think that’s going to suddenly shoot up into the majority of new cars AVAILABLE to be bought, you’re dreaming. Don’t want an EV? I have a solution for you: Don’t buy one. Problem solved. Quit trying to find issues where they don’t exist.
Then again, I guess you need to post such nonsense to stay on the Koch Brothers payroll.
“Less energy cost…” to whom? To the planet or to you? If it’s all about you, then I get it, but the amount of energy spent to get an ounce of cobalt is tremendous, not to mention the impact on the environmental and humanity.
“Less maintenance…” When and for whom? How much does it cost to replace the batteries if there are problems? How much to troubleshoot a charging problem that happens as soon as the vehicle is purchased and driven off the lot?
“Less carbon emissions…” How and when are you taken your measurements? Does that account for the energy production needed to mine the materials to make the batteries? How about transporting raw material around the globe to be used in manufacturing the intermediary materials for final battery production?
In Alaska, you “whistle past every gas station” because you do not use gas, but instead, rely on charging stations. Conversely, I “whistle past” every charging station. And, guess what, I can refuel in minutes and drive from Anchorage to Deadhorse and back, without issue.
I’m all for personal choice; drive an EV if you like, but to pretend that it’s environmentally friendly and then try to make a moral judgment based off that false premise is shortsighted at worst and dishonest at best. Just to be clear, I’ve visited these mining operations in the US and South America. I can tell you that the environmental impact is way worse than you think it is just so we can have our gadgets and now EVs.
Do you drive from Anchorage to Deadhorse on a regular basis? WTF is your point?
You’ve been watching too much CNN and need a reality check. You’re saying I should have a $50,000 car parked in my heated garage, plugged in all the time, that can be used only in a limited situation. Meanwhile, when I want to drive to Glennallen or anywhere else more than a few miles from my home, I should have another “regular” car for that purpose? Show me a single charging station between roadway communities in Alaska.
“EVs are not for every situation”. No shit? At this time, EVs are not for any situation in Alaska except taking up space in your garage, or carport or driveway if I don’t have a garage. Oh, and did I mention that massive taxpayer subsidy for every EV that’s every been produced?
There’s a charging station in Glenallen actually, right next to the Subway store.
“Freedom to choose, baby. Does that ring a bell?”
Tell it to your totalitarian globalist buddy, the usurper in the White House.
The freedom bell has never rung once for him and his anti-freedom, anti-human cabal.
Why are you pretending to value the freedom to choice? Democrats are diverting billions of dollars towards subsidizing adoption of EVs, while openly working towards banning the use and sale of ICE vehicles.
-state funding for recharge stations.
-direct tax credits with EV purchase.
-allowing continued EV free-ridership on highways paid by fuel taxes.
On the other end,
-massive increase in CAFE requirements
-upcoming bans on ICE use in cities as in the UK
-upcoming bans on sale – including gas-powered lawn equipment.
Where is my freedom to purchase incandescent or halogen bulbs? Oh yeah, it went away when Democrats banned manufacture and import – even though the public was choosing to purchase them in large numbers. It ‘rings a bell’.
ding ding ding, ant artica!!!!!
If they are so great, they should sell themselves. Without the government forcing them on us. And they should also be manufactured without taxpayer subsidies and let the free market decide how much they wish to support this movement. Cod liver oil is good for us too, but you just shouldn’t be forced to drink it.
Is this a surprise?
Can anyone name an internal combustion engine powered vehicle that meets or exceeds the EPA mileage as published?
Is internal combustion engines production a constitutional right? It may be. Private immunities are not sacrificed to civil privileges. Period. Natural rights, personal property, personal security, personal liberty preserved even in ancient roman case law, in law self defensiendo from death or mayhem, threatened hardship or impending duress to have continued enjoyment of life and reputation for every man as a natural right. (How can the Supreme Court be wrong?) In fear of battery, to recover equivalent damages, to begin again somewhere else of one’s choosing. Bouviers says personal liberty may be locomotion (choo choo) or internal combustion (vroom, vroom). Knowledge is often power. ALL political power is inherent in “the people” (not the democrats). Is what it says. If that matters to essentially empty heads. Come together. Subscribe occasionally to the US Constitution, Alaskans.
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