Jalopnik: Prius Prime

On long trips, you sometimes need to plan fuel fill-ups carefully too.

 

Even with superchargers I don't feel the Tesla is competitive for cross country travel. Needing to "fill-up" every 200 miles is itself a drag, then add 30 minutes to your "fill-up" time and going cross country becomes a chore.

Until they come up with a way to swap used batteries in under 10 minutes, hybrids will be the way to go for me.

 

There's usually a billboard saying "last gas for 100 miles."

 

Not in a car with a 600 mile range.

 

The V.3 version of the Supercharges is supposed to be over 350kW of charging power. Even in a relatively inefficient Model S (because of its weight), 400kW would replace 200 miles of driving in 9 minutes. I've been pointing out that charge rates on Supercharges need to be 500kW for years and it looks like they are finally getting there.

To make Ev vehicles practical for trips, they either need these powerful chargers in way, way more places, or they need batteries to give them 600 mile ranges. The funny thing is, if you have a 600 mile range, I'd argue that 50kW CHAdeMO chargers would be sufficient and Superchargers would no longer be needed.

 

I live in Pinellas county Florida. It's most densely populated county in the state. There are 3 CHAdeMO stations in my county. There are so few charging stations in general. I had a deposit down on Model3 which I canceled. Owning a plugin Prius has taught me currently I won't own a pure electric car until there are more charging stations added. Most large parking garages have 1 charger which usually has a Chevy Volt occupying it.

 

Understood, and I appreciate your analytic clarity.

I personally am a fan of both cars and change my mind daily which one to buy. The Prime is my proverbial girl next door: pretty, sweet, dependable and a gal any fellow would be lucky to marry. The Tesla is the Brazilian-Norwegian fantasy presumed waay out of reach... but maybe not. Of course she is high maintenance, and a lot more likely to have issues along the way.

It's great to have choices.

 

Many with a Tesla are making long distance trips. The 600 mile drive to my parents would take an hour or so longer in a Tesla; 9 hours is currently our best time. The longer break periods for charging might make the trip less of a chore though.

But many areas outside the major population corridors are still underserved by Superchargers. Then again, gas stations didn't spring up everywhere overnight either.

Don't tell Bob, he took his i3 REx on such a trip and was filling up every <100 miles.

BEVs don't have to do cross country trips in order to improve the transportation segments emissions and oil use. Most households have more than one car, and many have more than two. One of those household cars doesn't see anything more that driving the daily commute. Considering home charging needs, 40% of the population can work with a BEV that has the range of the Leaf.

Tesla had one that did it in 90 seconds. Nobody used it, choosing the Superchargers instead.

 

That was because he was desperate to take delivery of the car and wanted to track its performance. I assume he had the option of having it shipped.

He is getting ready to take a drive home in his new Prius Prime soon.

 

No, he took on a trip after that.

 

Judging by the Tesla owner's forum the SuperCharger network works really well for long distance driving. The only complaints I have read are concentrated to a few spots in California where the high penetration of Tesla cars has caused some competition for charging spots between mostly locals and the occasional traveler. That problem has been nipped in the bud by new rules that change the free forever deal in place until now.

It sounds like BWilson drives far and often, and on a schedule, so it makes good sense for him to choose a car that matches that kind of use. I have driven more than 500 miles once in my adult life, and that was a one-way trip. Any other case I fly, so my potential driving radius includes at most one complete charge for an hour. Just not an issue for me, and I would be driving on the interstates where SuperCharger placement takes me in any direction I care to go. Long story short, of all the reasons I keep debating whether to buy a Tesla in late 2017 - early 2018, long distance driving is a non-issue for me.

 

It works just fine if you stay near the network.

Go try to find a way to visit the Carlsbad Caverns in a Tesla, and find your way home.

 

No they aren't that rare.
Many people have taken millions of miles of trips without issue.
I've driven anywhere I have wanted to go in Teslas.
Lee has an unfortunate circumstance to go places a Tesla wouldn't work.

Most people don't have that limitation.

 

The unfortunate circumstance is that there are such places.

And when you say "most people don't have that limitation", I say you're wrong. Most Tesla owners don't because they knew they wouldn't before they bought them. Most people in the country do have that that issue, and so don't buy Teslas or other low-range BEVs like them.

 

It's pretty easy. Plan for destination charging in Carlsbad or nearby.

Really though, what is the point of looking for a place you *might* visit once in your lifetime as an excuse to avoid a Tesla ?

 

I can't find any but 120V plugs at campgrounds or RV parks.

I go on trips that Teslas couldn't do conveniently or safely at least 10 times a year - and most are within 150 miles of my house.

 

you don't need an excuse to not buy a tesla. there are plenty of good reasons to buy or not buy any particular vehicle.

 

It took me around 12 seconds to come up with a list of choices

Planning trip to Carlsbad Caverns | Tesla Motors Club

As Bisco says, you can rationalize until you are blue in the face but it is not required. Just follow BWilson's lead and choose the car you like the most and has the least number of compromises for your use case. Then you can skip the pettiness.

 

According to Plugshare, those are 120V outlets, just as I posted above. How long does it take to gain 280 miles of range from that source? I'm thinking 70 hours or so.