- EV consultants coated over 2,800 miles in a Lucid Air Grand Touring on a coast-to-coast drive throughout the U.S.
- They discovered that the density of chargers had vastly improved and the chargers themselves had higher interfaces than those in Europe.
- Some reliability and authentication points persist, nevertheless. That is one thing OEMs and cost level operators can work on.
Restricted driving vary and scant charging infrastructure are thought-about two of the largest roadblocks to wider adoption of electrical automobiles. Whereas each features have room for enchancment, it’s additionally true that the U.S. has taken an enormous leap in these departments over the previous few years. That’s what two EV consultants not too long ago discovered after driving coast-to-coast in an EV, taking simply seven charging stops to cowl hundreds of miles.
Julius Wilhelm and Janek Metzner of German EV software program agency Pionix Gmbh not too long ago drove a 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring from Los Angeles to New York, overlaying the so-called Cannonball Run route. The duo, who’re additionally the authors of the Electrical Avenue e-newsletter, drove 2,806 miles throughout the nation and claimed to set a world report for the fewest charging stops taken for a coast-to-coast drive. They stopped solely seven instances to cost, overlaying over 400 miles between each cease.
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A number of EV consultants have pushed coast-to-coast in an EV earlier than. Ryan Levenson of The Kilowatts YouTube channel who drove from L.A. to New York in a 2021 Tesla Mannequin S in 42 hours and 17 minutes. InsideEVs’ pal Kyle Conner of the Out of Spec YouTube channel drove the opposite means spherical, from NYC to L.A. in a Porsche Taycan 4S. They each reported having horrible charging experiences, however each these runs have been in 2021. Hundreds of chargers have gone on-line within the U.S. since then.
Metzner and Wilhelm appeared to have run into fewer charging troubles in comparison with these on the earlier runs. They discovered that driving coast-to-coast in an electrical automobile was not a far-fetched dream, however a actuality that anybody with some fundamental route planning can expertise. They each used A Higher Routeplanner and charging station locator PlugShare.
You don’t essentially want a 500-mile EV just like the Air Grand Touring both, as the typical distance between quick chargers was between 30 to 50 miles, they stated. (Though this varies between states, with some corridors within the central U.S. nonetheless having charging deserts.)
The duo began driving in L.A., crossing Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania earlier than culminating their journey in New York Metropolis. Granted, the 2022 Air Grand Touring is a road-tripping beast. It has 516 miles of EPA vary on the 19-inch wheels. It attracts energy from a 112 kilowatt-hour battery pack. The EV consultants on this check rented one with 21-inch wheels, so their real-world vary was barely decrease, however nicely above 400 miles, which is greater than what most EVs provide today.
By the point they accomplished the journey, the Air consumed 697 kWh to cowl 2806 miles, delivering 4 miles per kWh (15.5 kWh/100 kilometers) of effectivity. A 2024 Tesla Mannequin 3 Lengthy Vary AWD has an EPA effectivity ranking of 3.9 miles per kWh. So what the Air achieved in the true world is phenomenal. The duo additionally had an important charging expertise for many a part of the journey, with all Electrify America, ChargePoint and EVGo stations juicing up the Air at speeds of over 200 kW.
A 150 kW FreeWire Increase dispenser gave them some troubles. They arrived on the charger with 0% vary and the charger throttled speeds because of overheating.
“Warmth is your enemy. You require much more cooling throughout quick charging periods. You want cooling on the [car’s battery], on the charger, on the cable after which cooling for the cabin,” Metzner stated. Fortunately it added 15% again into the battery, sufficient for a drive to a different close by station. The perfect charging speeds they noticed was at a 350 kW GM Vitality station in Hubbard, Ohio, the place the Air peaked at 295 kW.
“There may be enough protection of quick chargers just about alongside the interstate freeway system… Normally it’s between 30-50 miles between each quick charger. So basically, charger density is fairly good,” Metzner stated. Nonetheless not everybody can afford a $110,000 Lucid Air Grand Touring that may drive over 400 miles on a single cost. “We’d like each moderately priced automobiles with moderately sized batteries. We additionally want dependable infrastructure and extra density,” he added.
In a weblog summarizing the journey, they wrote that the person interface of newer chargers within the U.S. was extra customer-centric in comparison with the chargers in Europe. “Bank card costs are displayed transparently on the standby display and the built-in FAQ and the sequence on how one can begin a session are useful. Displaying present complete session prices additionally helps to know what prices to anticipate earlier than the session is completed.” It’s value studying in full as there’s loads of real-world details about each the great and unhealthy of overlaying huge distances within the U.S. in an EV.
