Road range anxiety
ROADTRIPPER LEIGH STAINES JOINS THE GROWING TRIBE OF EV DRIVERS WHO HAVE A NEW THING TO WORRY ABOUT: WILL THE CAR GO THE DISTANCE?
When embarking on a long road trip, our mental checklist often goes into overdrive. Have we packed enough? Did I grab that charger? Toothbrush? Do we have water or snacks? But when you’re an electric vehicle owner, one question screams louder than any other – will the car make the distance?
Welcome to the new paradigm of planning car travel – and the concept of “range anxiety”.
Since joining Australia’s growing tribe of electric vehicle (EV) converts, I have stuck to the relative safety of streets close to home, feeling confident in my sunshine fuelled vehicle’s ability to get from A to B. Yet, after six months, I felt it time to face my fears, and tackle my range anxiety head on with a 350km round trip to Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hinterland. Talk about deep end.
To set the scene, I have historically held little interest in cars, but living with an EV is different. I’ve grown to love discussing, dissecting, and researching my new wheels.
The first question that inevitably arises is “which model did you choose?” Model choice is a particularly hot (and sometimes controversial) topic. We’ve opted for a model made by a car manufacturer who’s learned to install the battery system but, at the end of the day, the choice is yours.
The basic infrastructure to own and drive an EV exists and is rapidly improving. Rooftop solar is available, effective and reasonably affordable to install, helping you avoid the irony of charging an EV with coal fired power. There’s no denying it, driving on sunshine provides a warm fuzzy sense of amazement that feels great.
Driving past a petrol station and knowing you never need to fill up again – even better.
YOU NEED TO PLAN
A growing network of charge points is extending the opportunity to travel longer distances, however unless you can make the trip in a single charge, planning is required to allow time for recharge.
I was fascinated last year during a visit to a friend’s farm in central Queensland to see the detailed spreadsheet of a fellow guest who had bravely made the trip in an EV.
Rather than planning the longdistance Outback trip by meal and overnight rest breaks, each stop was measured to optimise the trip around distance and battery charging times. At the end of the event, just as everyone was ready to head off, panic ensued when they realised there were some miscalculations on charge available for the return trip. It was a display of range anxiety at its finest.
This is certainly the current (pun intended!) downside of owning an EV. Charging up a battery from empty to full can take as long as 16 hours depending on the charging device. The eventual roll out of fast chargers that can pump in 100km+ capacity in 20 minutes will resolve this, but until they are available with the regularity we expect of petrol stations, the convenience of filling up the tank is not yet a reality.
While charge point locations are increasing, there is no guarantee that they will be available when you need them. Sometimes this is due to genuine demand side use, but just as often it may be because the location serves a dual purpose as a carpark, or in the case of my office building, the courier bay. As a result, planning ahead with a tight schedule can be risky and a Plan B, or a flexible itinerary is recommended.
TIPPING POINT
Despite the lag in public infrastructure, it feels like the shift to EVs has passed a tipping point and is now well underway. An influx of more affordable options is bringing the entry price down. However, if you’re keen to make the transition, you’ll need to be patient. There’s currently a six to 12-month backlog, due to supply chain issues. The good news is that those buying now are setting up a future second-hand market, which will enable a wider demographic to embrace EVs.
The additional upside of an EV is the significantly lower running expense. In addition to never needing to buy a tank of fuel, the car requires almost no maintenance as there are only about 80 components compared to about 1000 moving parts in an internal combustion engine. This reduces maintenance requirements to an annual light touch check-up of your tyres, brakes, airconditioning and any general wear and tear.
THE VERDICT?
As I drove down my street 350km later, I was thrilled to discover my range anxiety had been unfounded. We made the round trip on a single charge, with 100km of sunshine fuel in the tank, well in line with the advertised maximum range. Now the only danger is my enthusiasm to push the limits … perhaps we call this, range ambition?
Leigh Staines is an everyday driver, and a senior partner and lead expert on the regional manufacturing industry’s energy transition for PwC.
Each stop was measured to optimise the trip around distance and battery charging times