Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Road Trips, EVs, & Range Anxiety Questions
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Get Out and Go
Member
Member


Joined: 13 Nov 2004
Posts: 2127 | TRs | Pics
Location: Leavenworth
Get Out and Go
Member
PostSat Feb 05, 2022 6:04 pm 
I see a number of Southwest trip reports and with retirement next year, I hope to partake in the same. biggrin.gif I may be looking to replace my '15 Forester by then and would consider an Electric Vehicle, but am apprehensive about satisfaction on road trips. Currently, I can make it to Whitefish, MT (420 miles) on a fill-up in Wenatchee, a satisfying feeling. What if I want to make a trip to the Steens? Issues with an EV? Of course, the answers to these issues will likely be quite different 3, 5, or 10 years from now. Subaru might have their Toyota-borrowed hybrid Forester out in '23, if I consider that option. Just wondering about EV owners and their satisfaction on road trips. uhh.gif

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostSun Feb 06, 2022 10:11 am 
It somewhat depends on which EV. Tesla's supercharger network makes longer trips along major corridors not particularly different from travelling in a gas powered vehical. There is a Tesla Supercharger about 60 miles from the Steens Mountain trailhead in Burns, OR Superchargers recharge at about 15 miles per minute. Other EV makes have a less extensive charging network, where Level 3 chargers are avaialble, they charge current EVs like the Leaf Plus or Chevy Bolt at about 6 miles per minute. There is a level 3 charger in Burns OR as well. The Bolt is one car I've been considering -- based on a friend's experience with his over the last 3 years -- unfortunately due to the battery pack debable -- you can't get a Bolt as all the battery production is being dedicated to replacing battery packs of existing Bolt customers. The Kia Nero EV is another vehice that looks promising -- but supply is very limited. Tesla's are pretty keen -- but I would rather throw $120K towards a down payment for a house for my son than at a AWD Tesla Model X.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!



Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11272 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
PostSun Feb 06, 2022 11:55 am 
I would go hybrid.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Schroder
Member
Member


Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 6696 | TRs | Pics
Location: on the beach
Schroder
Member
PostMon Feb 07, 2022 8:05 am 
We had a Bolt for the past 3 years & it was bought back by GM over the battery issue. We just bought a VW id.4 and are heading to California with it tomorrow. It came with 3 years of free charging at Electrify America, owned by VW, which now seems to have chargers everywhere. I figure I'll have to stop and charge twice between Seattle and the Bay Area, which takes 20-30 minutes to full charge. I'll let you know how it goes. The comfort level of this car over the Bolt is like night and day.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostMon Feb 07, 2022 10:52 am 
When I talked to a VW dealer about 3 months ago they indicated it was about 9 months from placing an order to delivery for the AWD version of the ID4

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Schroder
Member
Member


Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 6696 | TRs | Pics
Location: on the beach
Schroder
Member
PostMon Feb 07, 2022 10:56 am 
Randito wrote:
When I talked to a VW dealer about 3 months ago they indicated it was about 9 months from placing an order to delivery for the AWD version of the ID4
We had to wait 3 months - much less than a Tesla these days. Hyundai EV's are not being sold in Washington yet & the only EV that seemed readily available when we were shopping was a Ford Mustang.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
kiliki
Member
Member


Joined: 07 Apr 2003
Posts: 2310 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
kiliki
Member
PostTue Feb 08, 2022 11:02 am 
Have you seen the websites that show charging locations, like Plugshare or Chargehub? There's a ton of info out there. When we decided to go electric, we did the math for the places we regularly go--Mazama, Orcas Island, the coast, Crystal Mt, etc. It worked out for us. In some cases it might be advantageous--I've known a few people that bypassed overflowing ski area parking lots and headed right to an open and very conveniently placed charger. There will be times when we have to stop to charge but given that I won't have to stop for gas--I'll charge at home--and won't have to get oil changes, I think it will come out in the wash. It seems like we could combine it with lunch stops pretty easily as well. I think it just depends on how often you drive out of range. We placed an order for a Volvo XC40 EV in December and it's supposed to be here early May. In January they called and said they got in a sage green one in our trim level (we chose blue) that we could have if we wanted, but, and I now think foolishly, I chose to wait for the blue.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostTue Feb 08, 2022 1:59 pm 
kiliki wrote:
I've known a few people that bypassed overflowing ski area parking lots and headed right to an open and very conveniently placed charger.
FWIW: When I was leaving the Silver Fir base area Sunday afternoon the charging station located there was packed to the brim with Teslas. I suspect you need to get there early to plug-in, espically since it doesn't appear that this station charges for "idle time". Looks like the non-Tesla plug is currently busted. https://www.plugshare.com/location/273141

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Brian Curtis
Trail Blazer/HiLaker



Joined: 16 Dec 2001
Posts: 1696 | TRs | Pics
Location: Silverdale, WA
Brian Curtis
Trail Blazer/HiLaker
PostTue Feb 08, 2022 2:21 pm 
Get Out and Go wrote:
Subaru might have their Toyota-borrowed hybrid Forester out in '23, if I consider that option.
Subaru started taking reservations for the Solterra today. Pricing is expected to be available in the April-May timeframe. No word on availability. The expected range on the Solterra is a somewhat disappointing ~220 miles.

that elitist from silverdale wanted to tell me that all carnes are bad--Studebaker Hoch
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
kiliki
Member
Member


Joined: 07 Apr 2003
Posts: 2310 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
kiliki
Member
PostTue Feb 08, 2022 3:04 pm 
Randito wrote:
kiliki wrote:
I've known a few people that bypassed overflowing ski area parking lots and headed right to an open and very conveniently placed charger.
FWIW: When I was leaving the Silver Fir base area Sunday afternoon the charging station located there was packed to the brim with Teslas. I suspect you need to get there early to plug-in, espically since it doesn't appear that this station charges for "idle time". Looks like the non-Tesla plug is currently busted. https://www.plugshare.com/location/273141
I noticed the same thing last Wednesday at Silver Fir. Luckily, at 60 miles from my house I won't need to use a Snoqualmie charger. Crystal said they will strictly enforce a 4 hour limit, and it will be reservation only.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
kiliki
Member
Member


Joined: 07 Apr 2003
Posts: 2310 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
kiliki
Member
PostTue Feb 08, 2022 3:09 pm 
Brian Curtis wrote:
Get Out and Go wrote:
Subaru might have their Toyota-borrowed hybrid Forester out in '23, if I consider that option.
Subaru started taking reservations for the Solterra today. Pricing is expected to be available in the April-May timeframe. No word on availability. The expected range on the Solterra is a somewhat disappointing ~220 miles.
That looks nice. 8.3" clearance. The Volvo we ordered only gets an estimate 223. I agree it is a disappointing number. But, I wanted the clearance (also 8.3") and the compact size will be easier to get in and out of our garage, which is off an alley, where the outlet is.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Schroder
Member
Member


Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 6696 | TRs | Pics
Location: on the beach
Schroder
Member
PostWed Feb 16, 2022 4:24 pm 
We just drove our VW id.4 from Seattle to San Francisco and back - down via I-5 and back up 101 to do some hiking in the Redwoods. VW owns Electrify America, which has charging stations about 100 miles apart down I-5 and a bit farther apart on 101. It was our first long trip in an EV. The weather was in the 40's when we left and got down to freezing around Ashland, where we spent the night. As soon as we got to Redding it was in the 80's. The first thing we noticed was that in the cold and climbing uphill through the Southern Oregon mountains, our range dropped to as much as 30 percent less than the car was predicting. We charged in Kelso, Springfield, and Grants Pass the first day and we charged to 100% each time, taking between 30 and 60 minutes at a 350 KW charger. There were several charging stations between the ones we stopped at. The second day we charged in Yreka (15 minutes), Anderson, and Vacaville, and all were pretty brief because we were getting as much as 30 percent greater than predicted range in the warm weather. When we reached Berkeley, where we stayed, we drove around for 4 days without any charging. We left Berkeley with a full charge and stopped at Willits, where it was starting to get cold again, and at Eureka for the night with some hiking side-trips in between. The next day we did some more hiking and thought we had plenty of range so we decided not to stop until we got to Grants Pass. That's where it got tense because as we were climbing up US 199 toward the Oregon border, we suddenly didn't show enough range to reach Grants Pass. We gained it back though on the downhill stretch with regenerative charging and had 30 miles to spare when we reached the Grants Pass rapid charger. We averaged 3.04 mi/kWh for the trip and it didn't cost us anything because we get 3 years of charging with the car.

kiliki, JimK, RichP, Randito
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Get Out and Go
Member
Member


Joined: 13 Nov 2004
Posts: 2127 | TRs | Pics
Location: Leavenworth
Get Out and Go
Member
PostWed Feb 16, 2022 9:35 pm 
up.gif Good info, Schroder. The VW looks nice, as well as the Volvo that Kiliki ordered.

"These are the places you will find me hiding'...These are the places I will always go." (Down in the Valley by The Head and The Heart) "Sometimes you're happy. Sometimes you cry. Half of me is ocean. Half of me is sky." (Thanks, Tom Petty)
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Schroder
Member
Member


Joined: 26 Oct 2007
Posts: 6696 | TRs | Pics
Location: on the beach
Schroder
Member
PostThu Feb 17, 2022 4:00 pm 
Another thing to note: If I had been paying standard rates at charging stations it would have cost 13 cents a mile versus 3 cents at my home charger electric rates. If I had driven my F-150, it would have been 23 cents a mile at the current gas prices.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
kiliki
Member
Member


Joined: 07 Apr 2003
Posts: 2310 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
kiliki
Member
PostThu Feb 17, 2022 4:26 pm 
Thanks for the report. I just met someone with a brand new Polestar 2 who raved about it and tried to get me to cancel my Volvo order for it. AWD, 270 mile range, 38K after the tax credit. Lots to like for sure. Poor clearance though--5.9". That's a little more than my Prius which I guess I've taken on better USFS roads, but it's not a hiking car. She said as of last month, there were cars in stock ready to go home. I did very much enjoy their Super Bowl commercial especially the digs at Elon Musk and VW.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Full Moon Saloon > Road Trips, EVs, & Range Anxiety Questions
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum