There’s a concern that with electric cars, the batteries won’t have enough capacity to let you drive around comfortably and freely without worrying about recharging. This is the “range problem.”But Tom Moloughney says it’s really not an issue. He’s been one of the field test guinea pigs for the Mini E electric car, which gets about 100 miles per charge, and hasn’t had problems:
The funny thing is, many of my friends stress about it more than I do. I’ll get a text inviting me to lunch and it will be followed up with, “will the car make it?” I’ve never had to turn down an invitation because of range. Recently, BMW sent a film crew to follow me around for three days for a documentary about the future of the automobile industry. We drove to New York City, to my restaurant and to my home. Whenever they suggested a location they would ask, “can you make it?” and I always did.Today, it took me four hours to drive to work. It’s only 35 miles and it usually takes 40 minutes. But we had a major storm this weekend with flooding and road closures everywhere. I was texting some friends as I was stopped in traffic and everyone responded, “How is your charge? Will you make it?”Yes, I made it. In fact I arrived at work with 73 miles of range left. I usually arrive with 65-68, but the slow stop-and-go driving uses much less energy than going 65 mph. Unlike ICE vehicles, I can sit in traffic for hours and not use any fuel. In fact, I passed a guy carrying a gas can walking on the shoulder of Route 46 in Fairfield. I assume he ran out of gas because he was stuck in traffic so long.Anyway, my point is that once you’ve lived with an electric car for a little while, you know how far it can go and you don’t really think about it much at all. I know where my travels will take me every day and even if there are detours it’s no problem. Actually, I hardly ever look at my range gauge anymore except to record my trip data when I’m finished driving for the day.
Obviously, whether range becomes a problem will vary a lot from driver to driver, but I bet most people would have Moloughney’s experience: Range isn’t an issue because they have a regular work commute, and do the vast majority of their driving within a 25-mile radius. What’s difficult is doing the occasional trip out of town in an electric vehicle. And that’s why we need trains.Via Gas 2.0
