QOTD: Range Anxiety

by Tim Healey

Published: February 2nd, 2023

Hyundai announced today that the maximum range in the Ioniq6 will be a tick over 360 miles.

Not bad!

Range anxiety has always been a concern with EVs, but we're reaching a point where EVs can get over 300 miles to a charge -- this Hyundai isn't the only one. It wasn't that long ago when 300 miles was pretty good for an internal-combustion-engine vehicle.

Of course, technology advances, and now most ICE cars, crossovers, and trucks get more than 400 miles of range. That's usually because cars are simply more fuel-efficient now -- though sometimes it's a function of a large tank. That latter bit tends to happen with gas-guzzling large trucks -- it is possible for a vehicle with poor MPGs to achieve a decent fuel range if the tank is big enough.

The few ICE vehicles I test now that have a range under 300 miles are dedicated sports cars and cars with tiny tanks. That said, 300 miles still would give me, if I had an average commute of 40 miles per day, seven and a half days of driving before I needed to refuel. Or in the case of an EV, seven and a half days before needing to recharge. Yes, yes, I am simplifying things here -- no one is driving exactly 40 miles a day each day, I'm not factoring in weekends or non-commuting trips, and I'm not factoring in the effect that weather and driving style have on EV range -- but the point is, 300 miles of range means you won't need to worry about charging on the daily.

To be fair, most EVs aren't yet at 300. All-wheel drive seems to sap range, and in some cases, one must fork over more dough for a battery pack that can provide more range. Right now, ranges of 200-250 miles are more common, and having even 50 fewer miles available to you can make a difference.

This leads, after this long preamble, to my question to you -- what range, be it fuel or EV charge, would make you the most comfortable? Even when driving an ICE vehicle, I find myself eyeing the gauge a lot more when the max range is under 300. Even when gas is cheap -- and even when I can expense it. Same with EVs -- I was more relaxed testing the Mercedes-Benz EQS than I have been with other EVs because I knew the range was over 300 miles.

What say you? Sound off below.

[Image: Southworks/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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6 of 63 comments

Surakmn on Feb 03, 2023

Wrong question, for a lot of people even a PHEV has enough range for commute or errands. The problem is lack of a cost effective, speedy and available charging infrastructure. With an ICE you're usually never more than a few miles away from a ten minute fill up. THAT is what makes me comfortable on a cross country trip. Electrics can manage more routes than many people realize but you have to plan it out and allow for charging times and pray charging stations are real and working shopping the way. It's a few years out yet.

1 Reply
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- VoGhost on Feb 04, 2023
  
  The Supercharger network has 40,000 chargers, plenty for my needs. I'm never more than 20 miles from one. And I leave the house every morning with 300 miles of range - can you imagine if ICE could do that?
  
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- Bullnuke on Feb 04, 2023
  
  The Supercharger map from the Tesla website is interesting in that the vast majority of Supercharger locations are concentrated and fairly close together on the East and West Coasts with large close clusters near large cities. Are these clusters related to range anxiety issues or a they based upon the number of Tesla vehicles in these areas? Of those "40,000 chargers", how many are serviceable at any one time? It would be helpful to a Tesla owner to have a "live" map to show the real-time availability of chargers in the network - that shouldn't be all that difficult with all the connectivity hyped by Tesla and their products. I am annoyed when I roll into a fossil fuel filling location and find one of the eight or ten pumps has a yellow bag over the only open nozzle but then all I need do is roll down the street a couple hundred yards to find another open fuel dispensing pump. I'd likely be more annoyed finding that the only open charger at a Tesla Supercharging Station 20 miles from me was out of service and needed to get out my map and hope that I could charge up another 20 miles away without the same issue.
  
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- VoGhost on Feb 06, 2023
  
  Bullnuke, The Tesla supercharger network is extremely reliable. Plus, the vast majority of charging stations have 8-12 chargers. Your vehicle can tell you how many are available on the nav sys. They've literally thought of everything. You just pull up, plug in, and do what you need to do. No credit cards. No phone apps. Go to the bathroom, grab a bite, and you are set to go.
  Maybe wash your hands, too.
  
  Like
Surakmn on Feb 04, 2023

True anyone who tops off nightly has plenty of range for their commute, that's not the point. Tesla's proprietary network is an asset but moot for the majority that doesn't plan to buy a Tesla. And to the previous comment's point, charging stations aren't ubiquitous. When fast charging becomes as quick, as cheap and as readily available as gas stations an electric will be viable as an only car in the garage.

1 Reply
- VoGhost on Feb 06, 2023
  
  Maybe those are your needs, but they don't represent what most of drivers today need. It's like saying, "I'll buy an ICE vehicle when I can leave the house with 300 miles of range every morning" or "I'll buy an ICE when I spend less than a minute a week refueling" or "I'll buy ICE when I no longer need to stand outside in the weather at gas stations every week."
  Once you experience the advantages of EVs, most people realize those supposed disadvantages are actually fake.
  
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