Recently, while watching a very interesting and well done youtube video I came across a curious quib: If you plan on “roatripping” in an EV, the only one that will work is the Tesla quoting the supercharging network. But, avid readers of this blog will note that its very possible to do lots of roadtrips in my 2018 Nissan Leaf, a 5 year old model with a CD player and no supercharging. As it turns out, its all about what you mean by a roadtrip, more specifically how far do you plan on going in a day, if you are crossing multiple states (or provinces) in a day driving thousands of kilometers, then yes, fast reliable charging is THE most important variable (see this post). But if its a more leisurely affair, with a few hundred kilometers of daily driving, my 2018 Nissan Leaf can do that quite easily.
As always, the devil is in the details, more specifically how far do you need to drive in a day? As overnight charging can be done from a standard electrical outlet (see this post), something widely available, it comes down to how far do you need to go in a day. Generally a few hundred kilometers is quite easy. For example, my 2018 Nissan Leaf will do 150 km in just about any conditions without any charging. Managing my speed, I can fairly easily get 200-250 km without needing a charging station at all.
With a bit of research (see this post), you can find (ideally fast) charging stations, that in my case can easily add another 200 km or so to my driving day. True, you need to stop to charge, but in my case, the kids get hungry long before my car needs a charge, so I am stopping anyways.
The above graphic illustrates the driving tally comfort level for my 2018 Nissan Leaf. Briefly, at less than 200 km, I can’t understand why you would ever want to drive a gas car. The interior benefits alone from having an EV (my boot is over 500l) make the proposition well worth it, and I can usually charge overnight where I am be it from the charging station in my garage, a level 2 charging station, or just a standard electrical outlet. Between 200 and 500 km per day, some charging is needed, usually only one or two charge stops, with some planning (see this post), its manageable, but as we go above a 500 km daily driving tally, multiple charging stops are going to be required adding to the pain.
But do you want to drive more than 500 km in a single day? Its a lot of driving, and even with optimistic assumptions could take 5-6 hours (source), add in some traffic, and that could stretch to 8-10 hours, its a long time to spend sitting. Much more enjoyable to make a few stops, see something new and amazing, Ontario Canada is full of wonders that beg exploring, and I am sure your region is too.
Electric car adventures 