Tips and Takeaways from My First 800-Mile EV Road Trip in Scotland

[woohoo]

Regarding charging infrastructure, recently in the area they opened up a Tesla charging station right next to a vineyard which is open to the public. I often go there in the evening for a walk and there's always at least 2-3 cars parked up charging with their owners sitting inside waiting for the charge to end. I'm sure it's not a massive issue to sit in a car for 20min or however long it takes (it would be a pain to do this daily though), but this vs just rolling up to a petrol station, filling up your tank in 1-2min and driving off feels a bit retarded.

I don't think anyone has argued that its more convenient to charge an EV when out and about. Though you could top up your range pretty fast with an ultra fast charger.

Its obviously early days. However, its a pain in the arse to fill our diesel Volvo, i have to travel to Sainsbury’s 10 mins away to get a cheap price. Compare that with our EV, park it up and plug it in and the next morning its ready.

Driving an electric car is just better in my opinion. We have a diesel Volvo and a petrol caymen, both nice cars and they feel clunky and noisy compared to the EV. Smooth acceleration is amazing in an EV.

[woody1]

If you plotted a graph of typical EV range over the past 10 years, I imagine it's a pretty steep trajectory. I remember not so long ago 100 miles was exceptional.

With constantly evolving battery technology, I wouldn't be surprised to see 1000 miles in a few years time. Then public charging would become less necessary.

[d000hg]

With constantly evolving battery technology, I wouldn't be surprised to see 1000 miles in a few years time. Then public charging would become less necessary.

battery tech is allegedly improving about 5% per year, there are no rapid improvements on the horizon. The performance gains we've seen from early EVs are due to increased capacity and better engineering, and tricks like better regenerative braking, etc.

It sounds like until there is a standardised charging network, this is still in "early adopter" phase for anyone wanting to routinely drive longer distances and not able to rely on home/workplace charging.

[dsc]

I don't think anyone has argued that its more convenient to charge an EV when out and about. Though you could top up your range pretty fast with an ultra fast charger.

Its obviously early days. However, its a pain in the arse to fill our diesel Volvo, i have to travel to Sainsbury’s 10 mins away to get a cheap price. Compare that with our EV, park it up and plug it in and the next morning its ready.

Driving an electric car is just better in my opinion. We have a diesel Volvo and a petrol caymen, both nice cars and they feel clunky and noisy compared to the EV. Smooth acceleration is amazing in an EV.

I think with an ultra fast charger at home and daily trips starting and ending at home it's almost hard to see a downside, it's when you haven't got fast charging facilities at home or need to charge on the road, especially in the UK where infrastructure is still crawling (US is most likely much much better). Things will change and more charging stations will pop up, although if EV ownership grows as well, then it might all be cancelling each other out ie. amount of chargers goes up, EV amount goes up as well and you end up in the same scenario again with people queuing to chargers on service stations (seen that many times).

As for battery capacity I personally think we will hit a ceiling and you won't be seeing cars with x times range as it is now. Also resources will most likely start going up in price and this is something which will keep EV prices high for a long time.

[Mordac]

2 weeks planning for a trip to Scotland (if you include waiting for the card to arrive) is lunacy. If I had to undertake such a journey (and I'd need a very good reason to visit Scotland in the first place) I would get on a plane at Heathrow, and hire a petrol-powered car at the other end. Sitting in a car park watching an app, and fretting about overstay charges doesn't sound like anyone's idea of a fun time. The whole EV 'revolution' doesn't feel like progress - we might as well go back to the horse and cart. The horse will almost certainly outlive your Li-ion batteries, as long as it learns to avoid all the potholes.

[woohoo]

2 weeks planning for a trip to Scotland (if you include waiting for the card to arrive) is lunacy. If I had to undertake such a journey (and I'd need a very good reason to visit Scotland in the first place) I would get on a plane at Heathrow, and hire a petrol-powered car at the other end. Sitting in a car park watching an app, and fretting about overstay charges doesn't sound like anyone's idea of a fun time. The whole EV 'revolution' doesn't feel like progress - we might as well go back to the horse and cart. The horse will almost certainly outlive your Li-ion batteries, as long as it learns to avoid all the potholes.

I don't think an EV is for you then.

[woody1]

battery tech is allegedly improving about 5% per year, there are no rapid improvements on the horizon. The performance gains we've seen from early EVs are due to increased capacity and better engineering, and tricks like better regenerative braking, etc.

Even if the range only improved by 5% a year, that would still be nearly 30% higher in 5 years time. That would put 500 miles within reach.

I still reckon 1000 miles is not beyond the realms of possibility before the end of this decade.

[woohoo]

Even if the range only improved by 5% a year, that would still be nearly 30% higher in 5 years time. That would put 500 miles within reach.

I still reckon 1000 miles is not beyond the realms of possibility before the end of this decade.

Toyota have been promising increased range and smaller batteries for a while, perhaps this is the time.

Toyota CEO "Our Solid State Battery Will Change The Industry In 2024" - YouTube

[Zigenare]

Toyota have been promising increased range and smaller batteries for a while, perhaps this is the time.

Toyota CEO "Our Solid State Battery Will Change The Industry In 2024" - YouTube

Courtesy of

[woohoo]

Courtesy of

I didn't watch all of it tbh, but I did Google it. I'm still not sure if the extended range is due to aerodynamics and improved energy recovery rather than improvements in the battery.

I can increase the range on my car significantly if I put it into range mode, but I lose heating/air conditioning, regenerative braking kicks in, and my speed is limited. That's not a fun way to drive tbh. So for me, it's the battery range and charging speed that will make the difference.