Jalopnik: Prius Prime

I don't presume to know the histogram of people's break habits on trips over say 100 miles, but in our home it is about 15 minutes every two hours. Since we travel about 130 miles in two hours, it is possible to figure out the net additional charging time added to a trip that includes N charges en-route, e.g. in a Tesla charging at 100 kW presuming 3.5 miles per kWh.

For 400 miles it would be an N=2 and each charge adds ~ 2 minutes extra time to the trip. That is about enough time for me to yawn at the exercise.

 

That's assuming that all your stops can be at Tesla charging stations.

On my last trip, the closest one of our stops (out of about 45 stops) was a little over a mile. That's a pretty long round-trip walk to and from lunch. The farthest was 3 days in a row about 30 miles from the nearest charger. That's over an hour round trip through traffic.

I planned our last road trip very carefully - with hindsight - had we been in a Tesla, and it would have added two whole days to our 14 day trip. And that was across the midwest almost entirely on major highways.

 

I agree on road trips being a chore. More so for my wife with her health problems. But I'm wondering if the extra time for charging could alleviate the burden. Forced breaks in which allow walking around and stretching could reduce the strain on the body from sitting in a single position for several hours. Maybe even a short nap.

For our frequent long trip of @ 600 miles, 9 hours is the best we've done. A major excursion upon when we arrive isn't in the itinerary, and couple hours more would impact anything else that might be planned. Our worst time was 14 hours, and that might not have changed in a BEV if the time charging allowed the grid lock to clear.

But many won't consider those angles when car shopping, so a BEV is out for long trips for them, but many households don't take all their cars on the trip, and there are still PHEV options. Then the dynamics will change in time. On Interstate 95, there were Superchargers at one of the rest stops, and I saw a sign for Chargepoint at this __ exit.

 

Tesla owners often post they arrive more rested than their past ICE experience, in part due to enforced stops for charging.

My family has this behavior anyway, as I posted above. And I know some people take long drives out of choice but I certainly fall outside of that group. I would never voluntarily drive over 500 miles if a flight was an option. Moreover, if I was forced to drive and my owned cars were poor tools for the job I would rent for that trip. No car is going to be all things to all people, all the time, and it is silly to criticize EVs for not reaching that pinnacle.

 

The problem with flying, other than the hassle and expense, is you only get one destination. Our last road trip had seven destinations. Flying would have been a nightmare.

Pretty sure the Prime will be everything for us, all the time. I'll use it to commute to work, to visit family locally, to go to my R/C flying field, and to go on road trips across the country.

The rental thing can be a fairly substantial hassle. You have to figure out how to pick up the car without leaving your car there, you have to arrange it and pay for it, and you never get a car you'd actually want to be in for a long time. I've rented before for long business trips where flying wasn't really a practical option, and I've always ended up with a car I didn't really like.

 

No, it will not. The limited 25 mile EV range makes that obvious. It will be an upgrade to your Prius but it will be a compromise you choose for your preferences and uses.

This seems like it should be obvious <<shrug>>

 

It has a 640 mile range - and a 3 minute refueling time - which I will gladly use.

 

And a 25 mile EV range you will also presumably happily use. And then you will not use EV after 25 miles -- because it is unavailable, not out of choice.

 

My bolding of places I specifically know have Tesla destination (~ 12 kW) chargers. The map shows SuperChargers in red, Destination chargers in black.

 

Using EVTripPlanner, I found that I would end up stuck in Durango for over 8 hours to charge. That's unacceptable. It means spending the night when I could be onto the next destination, plus the charger isn't at the hotel so I'd have to walk across town each way.

 

That's not a bug, it's a feature. It means the car will take me and my stuff anywhere I want to go whenever I want to go there, assuming I don't have to cross an ocean.

 

Then stick with the car you have. The EV range is just a boondoggle

 

I live in this area, you do not know what you are talking about.

At least you are consistent.

 

Ev to do virtually all of my in-town driving, Hv when I leave town. The problem with BEVs is they only do the first part well, so you need another whole car to do the second part.

 

I'm just going on the information on the Tesla supercharge site, the EVTripPlanner site, and the Plugshare site.

 

... because you have a short EV range plug-in.

Understand, I am buying the Prime too so I recognize its advantages. I'm just not blind to the compromises.

 

If I have a Prime, there's no need for me to have a Tesla (or Bolt, or Leaf). If someone gave me one, I wouldn't pay for the insurance because I wouldn't have a need to drive it.

 

If you have a car that runs, there is no need to buy a Prime.

 

Hardly. But this may be your problem: rather than asking for advice from Tesla owners who have already travelled the area or from locals who know the EV scene, you look at maps with blinders to justify your biases.

It is ~ 100 miles from Telluride to Mesa Verde Via Dolores;
It is ~ 110 miles from Telluride to Durango
It is ~ 30 miles from Durango to Mesa Verde

There are Tesla destination chargers in Durango, Telluride, and Mesa Verde, and SuperChargers to points West and South.
All Teslas have at least 200 miles of range per full battery.

 

Here's the route:

Flagstaff, AZ
Grand Canyon South rim visitor's center
Page Arizona
Mesa Verde
Telluride
Great Sand Dunes
Denver

Leave Flagstaff in the morning on one day, get to Denver in the evening the next day.