The difference, ISTM, is that in an ICE it's entirely up to you whether to just push through or slow down and enjoy it, as well as not constraining where you go, what route you take and where you stop and stay. The latter issues will eventually be a minimal problem as the charging infrastructure becomes more common, but only a major increase in battery capacity and charging speeds will provide anything like the flexibility of liquid-fueled ICEs. The question is how close do BEVs have to approach that point before most people will say "that's good enough"?dgpcolorado wrote:Just so. I look forward to my EV road trips — they are relaxing and fun. The Supercharger stops give me a chance to take a break and walk around for a bit. In an ICE car it was just push-through-to-try-to-get-it-over-with; it is a completely different feeling in an EV for me. It doesn't hurt that I am surrounded by some of the most beautiful National Parks and Monuments, as well as designated scenic roads, in the country, which makes road trips to explore them easy and well worth doing.Zythryn wrote:It is glorious!Leaf15 wrote:I could not understand how anyone can enjoy 2,000 - 3,000 miles road trip in any car EV or ICE. Either way it sucks, big time!
Best road trip I ever took was in a BEV.
We enjoyed the journey almost as much as the destination. I think that is the real trick, if you make the journey fun, it is wonderful. If you convince yourself the journey has to happen before the fun, it is miserable.
If I'm pushed for time (not being retired, I usually am on longer trips) I can just press on, and if I'm not, I can stop whenever and wherever I wish, and refueling the car doesn't control where I eat or stay or how long I need to do so. That's totally different from planning your stops around the limited, relatively slow (compared to liquid or gaseous refueling) and more frequently needed charging sites that are currently available. Even when pressing on, the scenery and the driving interest makes a huge difference to the level of enjoyment, which are a couple of reasons I usually opt to drive U.S. 50 instead of I-80 across Nevada (it's also shorter for trips to Colorado and southern Utah on/south of I-70). As it is, it's still impossible to do that trip in any BEV using QCs. Unlike many people here, I often do 4-5 hours (rarely 6) at a stretch on road trips without feeling like I'm a masochist, and while I have no need or wish to drive much east of I-25, what's a 1-1.5 day drive from the Bay Area in an ICE is two or more in a BEV, which is time I'd much rather spend at my destination. Of course, I could fly and rent a car, but for cost, hassle and emission reasons I don't do that anymore (except in emergencies).