Roadtrip - which car would you take?

Honestly, my PP 2020 has done the trip while getting 55+mpg. That's not even a tank up and on the way back it was barely 1/3 of a tank.

 

@john1701a It was so very nice and relaxing to read your post above, without all the noise both and above and below it..

 

I'm not OP. You gave your opinion and I gave mine, that's it.

 

That's something that annoys me to no end. They keep putting in bigger batteries to get more range because they lost range due to reduced efficiency because of the extra battery weight used to increase the range which is necessary because of the reduced efficiency cause by the extra battery ... ad infinitum. Eventually, by brute force, they get a car or truck with 450 miles of range. A few do it more elegantly like the Lucid air, but mostly, it's the EV version of "There's no replacement for displacement."

And they go, "WOW! Look at all that range." But they only get about two miles per kWh. Last fall on the way back from Michigan, we met up with an F-150 Lightning driver at our first charging stop in northern Ky. I don't know if it was the 98 or the 131 kWh battery, but it was a lot bigger than the 65 kWh in my Bolt EUV. He could charge a lot faster, though. Still, every time we stopped to charge, all the way through KY and TN, he was there also charging. Even at our last stop of the day near Chattanooga. Sure, he put kWhs into the battery faster than we did. But he also took them back out a lot faster. In the end, it didn't save him time; it just cost him more money.

 

someone is finally getting a clue:

volkswagen-s-state-of-the-art-aerodynamics-made-the-id7-an-efficiency-champion-216535.html

 

But they still can't match the aerodynamics of the Model S...

 

Having made a similar trip (desert, but not quite these record temps) I would definitely take my Tesla.
Interestingly enough, I took it in a 2012 Model S.

We took it prior to the 'pre conditioning pack' and mas speed was, as I recall, 120 kW.
It was a wonderful experience and I was never tired at the end of a day of driving.

 

Personally, I’m not that interested in aerodynamics when it comes to ev’s.
I still want something utilitarian like gen 2-4 Prius, and their aerodynamics are pretty good

 

If you're just tooting around town, you could shape it like a brick and be OK. But aerodynamics is a big deal on long highway trips.

 

EVs may lose up to 31% of range in extreme heat, report says

Consider that EV's lose significant capacity in extreme heat.

 

Click bait. The main terms being "may" and "up to." My Bolt on a little 2-mile errand in hot weather will use about 30% or more of the kWh used for those 2 miles for cabin cooling if I don't pre-cool it. And for a short trip, who cares about range?

Make that a 20-mile trip and it's more like 9%. 200 miles and it's even less.

Kind of like my Prime was except I couldn't go 200 miles on a single charge.

From the article at Recurrent (which is an excellent resource that I use and recommend)

I added the bold.

Here's the link to the Recurrent article, which points out that you can (and probably should, imho) pre-cool the cabin while the car is plugged in so that you don't eat up range taking the heat out of the seats, dash, steering wheel, etc.
Summer Survival Guide for Electric Cars: What A/C Does to Range

BTW, pre-cooling an EV actually works, unlike my experience with my Prime. Not bashing the Prime. I loved that thing, but Toyota dropped the ball in making the car use battery power for pre-cooling and then replenishing it rather than just using shore power.

 

Is the bolt a/c as efficient as the prime heat pump?

 

For me, since I'm getting older and more sensitive to road noise, I would take the Tesla. The Prime isn't as loud as some cars but it's still way too loud on the highway. To the point that I use noise cancelling head phones. Frankly I'm looking for a new car for this very reason. I wish there was a Camry Prime.

 

I admit road noise is a factor as we age. I have so much NOISE in my life...I need quiet on an airport commute. I covered the interior of my wife Prius with KillMatz 2 boxes worth and did roof, doors, floorboard,trunk, everything, It is much much quieter than my Prius without anything. Best 8 hours of work and $140 I ever spent. I did so for her 100 mile daily commute to Denver. We have since moved and now she is remote...So I get her Quiet Prius to take to the airport now....and I'm enjoying it even more. I would Vote Tesla.

 

That's hard to quantify. It seemed to me that for cooling, they both seem similar in range impact as a percentage. But you feel it more with the Prime's already short range.

When it comes to heating, I think the Prime's heat pump is better than the resistance heating in the Bolt. That's why Toyota spent the extra money on a heat pump. Resistance heating on the Prime would really clobber the EV range.

Here in FL, I've used heat very little in either car. Heated seats and (in the Bolt) steering wheel, help to minimize the need for heat. But I still use it if the wife is in the car or if the windows fog up.

 

What year is your Prime? Because my 2017 base model comes with a heated steering wheel.

 

The 2018 Plus didn't have a heated steering wheel.

 

I'd say "Take the Prius", but look where you're posting.

I did a similar trip in a 2014, except with 2 adults, 2 kids and a roof box. Averaged 42 mpg, doing 65-75 all the way.