When will Faster supercharging be available?

[gowthamn]

Any idea when charging speed and range will improve?

Specifically, I should be able to drive 2.5 hours without a charging stop and charge for just 20 minutes and then travel another 2.5 hours.
I am probably looking for high speed charging.
I cant convince myself to buy an EV without this.

 

[Jays200]

OK, I'll bite.

Don't buy one yet.

I'm the opposite. I live in a state one third the size of the USA with just over 2 million people and , OH NO, no superchargers.

I have a M3 reservation but have just been on a 5 month vacation through Europe and the West coast USA and the future is here now re EV's. We can't wait for a M3 so have our MX arriving in a few weeks with real world range of close to 500kms. I just did 13500 miles in the USA in two months and 500kms would have worked in the mountains and snow and wait, they've got Superchargers too.

If you're "probably looking", "not sure", "can't convince yourself", "specifically", then you should stick with an ICE.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I'm sorry that you have to drive far and fast so often, but I'm afraid that there's no immediate prospect of 450-600mph charging. Companies are obviously working on faster charging but it's a tough one.

 

[GSP]

@gowthamn,

Teslas can do what you describe at today's charging speed and range.

You do need to start each day with a 100% charge, and also take a one hour lunch break. Just drive about 150 miles, supercharge for 20 minutes, drive another 150 miles and supercharge during your lunch break. Do the same in the afternoon and you have covered 600 miles. You will arrive more relaxed and refreshed than if you took an ICE car.

Charge back to 100% overnight and you are ready for another 600 mile day, if needed.

EVtripPlanner.com is a good resource to plan your trip using actual supercharger locations.

GSP

 

[JHuberman]

We have taken 2 trips longer than 1000 miles and the car has always been ready for the next leg before we were at the superchargers. We were either eating, walking our dogs, or talking to other Tesla drivers when the app notified us that the car had sufficient charge.

 

[Evbwcaer]

A 100D could do that, an 85 can do that in decent conditions. 5 hours at 60mph is 300 miles. A 100d is rated for 330ish miles. In 20 minutes of Supercharging a 100d is going to gain about 100 miles of range. That gives you about 430 miles of rated range in your scenario, to cover an estimated 300 miles.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Any idea when charging speed and range will improve?

Specifically, I should be able to drive 2.5 hours without a charging stop and charge for just 20 minutes and then travel another 2.5 hours.
I am probably looking for high speed charging.
I cant convince myself to buy an EV without this.

The Model S already does that.
Even my 75D gets about 400km in real world freeway driving, and 20 min charging takes that about 600km.
Freeway speed is 110, so that's about 5.5hrs and 20 min charge.

 

[Mark Z]

If you are limited to 20 minutes, does that include the time to exit the freeway, drive to the charge/fill-up location and return to the freeway? If not, then a 6 minute gasoline fill and window clean time might be the only solution. Visit the Supercharger locations you would be using and time the entire process. Do the same for the gasoline stops as well. Consider the extra time when the gasoline pump doesn't give a receipt and you must wait in line at the cashier for a duplicate receipt. If you are limited on travel time, be sure to drive in areas without freeway congestion and construction, as that will slow your drive time.

I add an extra day to vacation trips for the unseen circumstances. Having those extra days is very calming when flights are cancelled, weather closes the highway, or at Grand Junction, CO when the ICE generator failed and at Gilroy, CA when the BEV charge port failed.

The road trips and vacations with the best memories are the ones done at a more relaxed pace. No matter what method of travel, stopping and experiencing the adventures along the way is worth the time. Taking only five hours recently on my OKC to LA drive and seeing the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest was priceless. I said to the park ranger, "I have passed this way countless times and never stopped." He said he hears that every day. Best of all, he suggested visiting Walnut Canyon near Flagstaff. Unforgettable Indian history better than any museum. I finally saw Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon on this drive as well. All it takes is adding a few hours or days to enjoy what life has to offer if we just take the time.

 

[David99]

I think you just have to wait a little longer for the exact EV you want.

I don't understand why the 2.5 h vs 20 min is such a hard threshold for you. How many road trips do you do and is 20 min vs 40 min really that much of a difference on the few times you do road trips?

Look at it this way: I drive 60% of my miles on road trips but in terms of days that's only maybe 5% of the car's use. 95% of the time I'm driving my daily errands/work/fun stuff were charging is never required during the day. So 95% of the time having an EV is more convenient and better than any ICE car. Only the road trips take a little longer but that's a small sacrifice I'm willing to take for having the better car/alternative overall in the cast majority of times I use it.

 

[sdorn]

I think you just have to wait a little longer for the exact EV you want.

I don't understand why the 2.5 h vs 20 min is such a hard threshold for you. How many road trips do you do and is 20 min vs 40 min really that much of a difference on the few times you do road trips?

Look at it this way: I drive 60% of my miles on road trips but in terms of days that's only maybe 5% of the car's use. 95% of the time I'm driving my daily errands/work/fun stuff were charging is never required during the day. So 95% of the time having an EV is more convenient and better than any ICE car. Only the road trips take a little longer but that's a small sacrifice I'm willing to take for having the better car/alternative overall in the cast majority of times I use it.

This is very true. Deciding not to buy an EV based on not being able to do 2.5 hours driving and 20 minute charging doesn't make a lot of sense when you look at the big picture for most people. If you are doing these long road trips once a month then an ICE may be better for you if you truly can't add a few extra minutes to each stop. However, as @David99 mentioned, the vast majority of the time when you are commuting back and forth to work or driving around town doing errands, etc. you never have to stop and charge as you plug the car in every night and start every day with a full battery. The convenience of never having to stop at a gas station as part of your weekly routine far outweighs the few extra minutes you spend charging on infrequent road trips.

 

[deonb]

Any idea when charging speed and range will improve?

Specifically, I should be able to drive 2.5 hours without a charging stop and charge for just 20 minutes and then travel another 2.5 hours.
I am probably looking for high speed charging.
I cant convince myself to buy an EV without this.

Why is 20 minutes the metric? Nothing takes 20 minutes... Drive for 2.5 hours, have lunch, drive for another 2.5 hours. Easily doable today.

Also... I see you're in Seattle. If you drive for 2.5 hours in ANY direction, your total travel time is MUCH more influenced by random traffic patterns and border waits than the difference between a 20 and a 40 minute charging time.

 

[David99]

@sdorn I think that is the hardest thing for non EV drivers to really understand. People think charging is an inconvenience that takes up lots of time. In reality it is a great convenience and makes driving so much easier because it happens at home and costing you no time at all.

 

[deonb]

The convenience of never having to stop at a gas station as part of your weekly routine far outweighs the few extra minutes you spend charging on infrequent road trips.

Agreed. I think if you spend more time in a year actively waiting for a charge to complete than you do visiting gas stations, stick with an ICE.

But my SWAG is that over 95% of people (who have the ability to charge at home) will save time over the course of a year by charging instead of fueling.

 

[JHWJR]

When folks do their math, they should also note that, with gas, you stand there while it fills, even if it is very, very cold out. Only when you are done can you go use a restroom and grab a sandwich. While my Tesla charges, I'm multitasking.

 

[Shock-On-T]

Most people are rushing to their destination so they can sit mindlessly on their phone.
With charging, you can do that mid-trip!

 

[David99]

Having said all that I still want an EV that charges in under 10 min.

 

[JHWJR]

ShockOnT: That's the best avatar I've seen in maybe forever. Thanks for the smile.

 

[Candleflame]

OK, I'll bite.

Don't buy one yet.

I'm the opposite. I live in a state one third the size of the USA with just over 2 million people and , OH NO, no superchargers.

I have a M3 reservation but have just been on a 5 month vacation through Europe and the West coast USA and the future is here now re EV's. We can't wait for a M3 so have our MX arriving in a few weeks with real world range of close to 500kms. I just did 13500 miles in the USA in two months and 500kms would have worked in the mountains and snow and wait, they've got Superchargers too.

If you're "probably looking", "not sure", "can't convince yourself", "specifically", then you should stick with an ICE.

Australia is just not a car country. There has been ample opportunity to build proper american style straight freeways or european style motorways to link up the Australian cities, raise the speedlimit and put a proper driving test and vehicle certification into place. But I guess there is just a lack of interest and everyone flies these days anyways.

 

[Jays200]

USA and Australia have very similar vehicles per capita. USA 797 per 1000, Australia 736 per 1000.

It a population/ distance thing. EG Perth to Adelaide 2700kms and nothing (almost ) in between. Heard of the Nullarbor?

 

[Candleflame]

Well certainly the east cost doesnt have such big distances. And they would be much less with a proper roads and appropriate speed limits. The NT made a good start but it obviously got ruined by labours unscientific policies as they do.