Let's Talk About Range Anxiety

 R  A  N  G  E    A  N  X  I  E  T  Y  !

It's a real thing for many would-be (and, I suspect, current) owners of electric cars. The idea that you can be caught in the middle of nowhere while your charge level drops and drops, with no charger in site! And if you do coast into a charging station on 'fumes' (not sure what the electric equivalent of that is - suggestions?) only to find it filled, broken or - horrors! - ICE'd by some Neanderthal in a lifted pickup truck.... What now?! 

I also have had this concern as I contemplate buying a Tesla Model Y. Although I live in an area that is pretty saturated with charging stations, and most of my road trips involve I-95, which has plenty of Supercharging options, it's still a concern, simply because there are gas stations everywhere but charging options are so limited.... Right?

Well, in thinking about this issue, I've come to some conclusions.....

First, I've had range anxiety in my ICE vehicles plenty of times. Crossing the GW Bridge on a return trip from Cape Cod, with gas below a quarter of a tank and anxiously monitoring the 'Range' function on the trip computer.... I was stuck in traffic approaching the Holland Tunnel leaving NYC in July, with a quarter tank, and I sat for literally 30 minutes in the same place and wondered if I should have filled up before I drove into the city.... And the flip side is, there have been plenty of times when I've stopped to fill up with a half tank, knowing I had a trip coming up the next day - even one that I know would only take a quarter of a tank. So range anxiety is real for ICE vehicles too! 

Of course, the accessibility and frequency of of gas stations IS more than the charging network now, especially if you have a non-Tesla and cannot access the Supercharger network. (The SC network is limited to Tesla vehicles, but a Tesla can also use any other charger if you have an adapter). And you can't get full range in an EV with a 10-minute fill-up of gas. That is true - right now. But you CAN get a significant range increase in 30 minutes with many EV's, and frankly, aren't we in a bit too much of a hurry some times? I expect as battery technology improves you'll be able to get much more range in much less time, fairly soon. 

Second, when I take a road trip in my 2014 Mazda CX-5 SUV, our current road trip car, I can get 300 miles on a tank of gas - and maybe a little more if I'm willing to be a little anxious about fuel level.... So say 320 miles with no traffic, no headwind, etc. A Tesla Model Y Long Range is rated at 326 miles on a full charge, which translates to probably 280-285 miles real-world. So we're not talking about a lot more range in my Mazda than in a Model Y. At 65 miles an hour average, we're talking about the difference between around 5 hours and 4 1/3 hours. So not much difference - driving to Florida from NJ, for example, means maybe another 2 hours time difference, accounting for charging time. Both cars would take a little over 3 stops (in my Mazda or a rental car, we would typically make 3 stops - 2 for gas, one for lunch/gas) and roll into St Augustine very low on gas. I would probably make an additional stop with the Model Y, just to not roll into town low on electrons. And there are plenty of Supercharger stations along I95, so finding fuel isn't an issue. 

Third, I rarely drive more than 60 miles a day in my current job as a Realtor. I looked back over my mileage logs from the past three years, and the most I ever did in one day was 174 miles; only 4 other times in three years, did I do 100 miles or greater. So no issues with my normal driving, especially if I have charging capability at home - which I will.

Finally, I've been watching some YouTube videos about Tesla road trips - some with towing a trailer, which REALLY affects range (as it does with an ICE vehicle). And I've come to the conclusion that I could spend too much time worrying about range and not enough enjoying the ride. There is one video series where a guy (Brandon Flasch, the EV Nomad) has an old Model S 70D with a limited range (under 200 miles) and he took trips from Minneapolis to Phoenix via different routes, and had no issues stopping every couple of hours to charge (sometimes short stops, sometimes longer, depending on the next leg of his trip to the next Supercharger). He enjoyed the trip, got lots of bathroom breaks (important to me at my age!) and didn't worry about having to be anywhere at a specific time. And isn't that the point of a road trip?