Is it the electric highway or the range anxiety roadway in Joe Biden’s America?
A 5,000-kilometre round-trip in an electric vehicle (EV) from North Vancouver, B.C., to Santa Barbara, Calif., should tell the tale – many tales, as it turns out, and here is one of them.
Before we hit the 2021 Kia Niro EV’s start button, however, note that this is not a sanctimonious decarbonization travelogue; nor should you confuse it with a definitive guide to long-distance EV transportation.
What we have here is a dispatch from North America’s electric avenue in a time when the multi-lane fossil fuel highway remains the road most travelled, especially in the United States, where gasoline consumption is considered in some quarters to be a patriotic duty and loud internal combustion engine revving, squealing tires and high-speed tailgating speak to an inbred testosterone disorder in some demographics.
For fuel cost comparison purposes on this trip, a gasoline-powered 2021 BMW X3 driven by Brother 2 is along for the I-5 ride.
Below are notes and insights gathered along the way for anyone else considering an EV adventure beyond urban commuting.
Before you go:
•Pack paper maps of your route and destination; Google and mobile phone apps are great, but not so great if you have a technical malfunction or lose internet service far from anywhere you have ever been before. BCAA is a reliable source for current road maps.
•Useful mobile apps for mapping out charging station routes and charger type and availability include ChargePoint, Flo, ChargeHub, Chargeway, EVgo and PlugShare.
•Take the 120-volt trickle charger that came with your EV for emergency charging between high-speed charging stations as part of the EV Confederation’s ABC mantra: Always Be Charging.
•Reread your EV manual.
•Plan and plot your route carefully so that charging stops coincide with lunch and other routine driving breaks. You’ll need Plan Bs for recharging station options; write their details down in a three-ring binder trip planner.
•Research, research, research: patience and planning are key to long-distance transportation success, especially in an EV when gasoline still rules the road. Also, you can find bargains and breaks for EVs along the way. Some hotels offer free EV charging (Portland’s Hotel Vance, for example), and some highway rest stops have free EV chargers.
En route:
•EV driving range can be extended by maximizing your electric motor’s regenerative braking system, which helps charge your car’s battery when you are driving down hills or slowing down; EVs also have different driving modes that use varying amounts of energy. Consult your manual for details. The less you use energy-intensive features like air conditioning and heating, and the lighter your car’s payload, the more miles/kilometres per charge.
•Enjoy the electric ride. Because there is no engine noise, inside the EV cabin all is peace and quiet. EV acceleration (peak torque) is instantaneous, and, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes, EVs convert over 77 per cent of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels, while conventional vehicles achieve only about 12 to 30 per cent of that conversion from the energy stored in gasoline.
•Note the price of fuel posted at roadside gas stations, and smile within.
•Check rear-view mirror frequently. If there isn’t one there now, there will soon be a large Ram 1500, Ford F-150 Lariat 4X4 or Chevy Silverado 3500 pickup truck with tinted windows and oversized off-road tires looming large, regardless of what speed you are driving. Best to let it pass, especially if driver and passenger are dressed in camouflage fatigues.
At the charging station:
•You will want to find stations with multiple high-speed DC (direct to your battery) chargers – multiple because some chargers will likely be out of order and others might be occupied. On this trip, the easiest to use and most reliable were operated by Electrify America, a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group (ETR:VOW3), which began rolling out the network in 2018 as part of its emissions scandal settlement with the EPA and the California Air Resources Board. At last count it had around 800 charging stations in North America. So, its zero-emission vehicle commitment in 2017 to invest US$2 billion over 10 years to set up a public network of electric charging stations has turned out to be a profitable penance in the long run if you consider that it plans to expand its number of charging stations to 1,800 by 2026, 100 of which will be in Canada operating under the Electrify Canada brand. The electricity cost of its high-speed chargers on this road trip ranged around US$0.43 kW/h, which for the Kia Niro worked out to anywhere between US$20 and US$30 to recharge its battery to 100% for a driving range of 245 miles (around 400 kilometres).
•Have extra cash ready. Most U.S. West Coast charging stations are in mall or Walmart (NYSE:WMT) parking lots. When you have a charging break of anywhere between 40 and 80 minutes, you will be tempted to visit adjacent retail stores, coffee shops and grocers.
•Be ready for an EV chat with other EV owners. Unlike at gas stations, where drivers roll up to the pump, stick fuel hose in vehicle, refill and take off, at an EV charging station you have a community of like-minded electrification enthusiasts who have some recharging time on their hands, which provides an opportunity to share EV advice and swap personal journeys to electrical enlightenment.
•Don’t forget to move your car once it is recharged. Electrify America starts adding penalty charges to your bill after a 10-minute grace period.
Some numbers to consider:
There is no space here to provide travel details of the two-week, 5,000-kilometre trip along America’s West Coast electric highway, but it’s worth noting the fuel consumption numbers for the Kia Niro EV ($US232) and Brother 2’s gas-powered 2021 BMW X3 ($US589).
According to EPA estimates, the average annual fuel savings for the Niro versus the X3 would range around US$4,100.
The journey’s other main takeaway is that long-distance travel in electric vehicles is more than a fanciful notion today. It is viable, enjoyable and more environmentally friendly than its fossil fuel powered alternative.
The sooner a more extensive and reliable network of charging stations is established in B.C. and across Canada, the more likely it will no longer be the road less travelled in this country. •
