How much electric-car range is 'enough'? 300 miles much better than 200 miles: survey
by John Voelcker, Senior Editor 08/24/2017
Share This:
Electric-car drivers know that range anxiety abates quickly once you start using an electric car and get confident with its abilities.
Although a range of 60 to 90 miles covers the majority of daily car use in the U.S., it isn't enough for many drivers with longer commutes—especially at high speeds or in very hot or cold weather, which can cut rated range by 30 percent or more.
Tesla understood that from the start, which is why every one of its cars has 200 miles or more of range.
DON'T MISS: How Many Miles Are Enough To Kill Electric-Car Range Anxiety? (Jul 2012)
But how much rated range is "enough" to lure mass-market buyers, so they don't automatically reject a car before serious consideration?
The 200-mile benchmark is now widely used: Chevrolet touted it as the Bolt EV's range before that electric hatchback ended up with a combined EPA rating of 238 miles.
Below the Bolt EV and various Teslas, the highest battery range ratings this year are 125 miles (for the 2017 Volkswagen e-Golf) and 124 miles (for the Hyundai Ioniq Electric).
If there's a middle ground between 125 and 200 miles, Nissan may be about to explore it.
Persistent rumors of future battery sizes in the upcoming 2018 Nissan Leaf suggest it may offer two packs: a 40-kilowatt-hour base pack with a range of perhaps 140 to 150 miles, and a 60-kwh option rated at 200 miles or more.
Now a new survey by Autolist adds some more data to the discussion.
