An electrifying road trip

[offshore171]

That's pretty much a wrap for this trip report. Quite a modest holiday compared to some in here, but in these strange times we must improvise!

Hopefully it also helped anyone curious about how EV road trips play out.

Next road trip is to the NSW south coast - Sydney to Bega, and will be using superchargers at Berry and/or Narooma. May return the inland route. Superchargers at Cooma, Canberra or Goulburn.

I've used the Berry location already and it's much nicer than any petrol station!

(pic from Plugshare.com)

 

[VPS]

Interesting TR thanks - I've learnt a bit more about EV and have Dubbo on my list to stay at the zoo

 

[drron]

I was pretty surprised to see no 95 or 98 in both Cue and Meekatharra. No big deal for the trusty BMW though. It can run on 91 if need be

Even Mercs run well on 91.No 95 or 98 west of St.George on our south western QLD trip.

 

[BAM1748]

Don’t forget some like a three peddle gear change, the burble of a V8 or the faint plume from a turbo kicking in, we don’t all want vanilla driving.

My version of normal driving could be getting in my car in the southern highlands of NSW early morning and getting out at Victor Harbour in SA that same night.

Good to see EVs on the road but that one doing 75 km/h along the M5 trying to make it home on Sunday night was a hazard.

Horses for courses, enjoyed the report and photos.

Just on the "fuel" cost, as others have mentioned, you do most of your charging at home, at very low cost.

If you have an off-peak power plan, it works out at less than $2 per 100 kms of driving. Even less if you have excess solar.

For road trips your first "tank" is from home. You then use Superchargers, which are more expensive, but still cheaper than petrol, or charge at your hotel/motel which is often complimentary.

As for the general driving experience, theres no engine drone so you can do long stints at highway speeds and feel fresher on arrival. Conversation is easier. Music sounds better. Overtaking is effortless and stress free as mentioned previously. If you wish, the car can do much of the driving itself, or you can be fully manual, or in between. If you want to do some spirited driving on a twisty road, you can do that too.

This is our family's only car, so we're all-in. If I struck some extreme edge case like needing to drive to birdsville, I'd rent a car.

It would of course be a more difficult decision in places like WA where there are few if any superchargers AFAIK. Also more challenging if you don't have access to off street parking at home.

Further to the earlier discussion about setting charging limits, such as 80% for daily use or 100% for road trips, this is done via the app or the screen in the car and is simple as sliding your thumb:

View attachment 230232

 

[33kft]

Good to see EVs on the road but that one doing 75 km/h along the M5 trying to make it home on Sunday night was a hazard.

These are some of the fastest cars on the road. People like what they like but your perception of EVs is ridiculously skewed, just like if my perception of petrol cars was:



But what really gets me is how many people come in to an EV trip report to talk about petrol cars. There is some next level denial going on. If it were a thread about any given car on the road would it necessitate people coming in to say how their make/model is a better choice? There's a lot of closed minded folk out there. I am still shaking my head that most of the last page about an EV journey was about the merits of 98 octane fuel. It's a little embarassing to be honest - you could learn something or you could come in here and tell us about the internal combustion engine 148 years after it was invented. Which option did you take.....

 

[33kft]

Good to see EVs on the road but that one doing 75 km/h along the M5 trying to make it home on Sunday night was a hazard.

And just in response to the topic at hand: People are obsessive over the idea of EV range. OP's EV does 500km to a full charge. My other (non-EV) car is a turbo diesel that gets about 700km to a 50L tank the way I drive it, and thats about best case scenario as you can find, and it's only 200km further. That's damn good compared to some other cars I've owned such as (going to the previous points both about driving a V8 and 98 RON) a 6 litre V8 Monaro that I drove for a few years and got 380KM to a 70L tank of very expensive fuel.

So for all these stories of people apparently limping home in EVs I have to ask, what critical function are the drivers missing? Because somehow this doesn't seem to happen in fuel cars that have similar range? I get that there are more service stations to choose from, but that's rapidly evening out and the same concept applies.... check your tank and refuel (or battery and charge, you get the point) when you need to. There is nothing about the equation that is different, millions of people cope with it every day.

So whatever you saw on the motorway, quite frankly is a driver issue and not a vehicle issue. I've neither run out of petrol nor of charge and I pride myself in being smart enough to not manage either on a regular basis, or at all so far. If some genius is limping their EV home, I can only assume they previously coasted their petrol car down hills when they had similar problems existing in the world as a functioning human being.

 

[JohnM]

These are some of the fastest cars on the road. People like what they like but your perception of EVs is ridiculously skewed, just like if my perception of petrol cars was:

View attachment 230322

But what really gets me is how many people come in to an EV trip report to talk about petrol cars. There is some next level denial going on. If it were a thread about any given car on the road would it necessitate people coming in to say how their make/model is a better choice? There's a lot of closed minded folk out there. I am still shaking my head that most of the last page about an EV journey was about the merits of 98 octane fuel. It's a little embarassing to be honest - you could learn something or you could come in here and tell us about the internal combustion engine 148 years after it was invented. Which option did you take.....

I don't think people came to this thread to talk about petrol cars as such. It simply arose in discussion about where people go in their vehicles and what is likely to work for their individual circumstances. There was a segue into discussion about premium-RON fuel, but it was incidental. I didn't see it as an expression of denial. It was more about availability of all different fuels - electricity included.

I - as I am sure many of the others on this thread - would love to have a Tesla. But for most of where I drive, an EV is simply not a viable option.

And, as much as I would love the drive feeling (and especially the acceleration ), I can't afford to have a Tesla for my city driving or a spin to Margaret River and a fourbie for out - way out - in the bush where I spend a fair bit of time (especially now that I can't sit in 1A. ) Plus, I often want to cover 700-1000 clicks pretty much straight-up in a day's travel without sitting around recharging. And, at the end of that day, I may be in the bush with no way of charging the thing.

If I had the resources, I'd have both (CO2 manufacturing footprint ignored ) and use them for my two specific transport purposes.

So, limited to one vehicle, for me the diesel fourbie has to win, simply on practicality for my needs. It will do both things I need; an EV would only do one.

As good as they may be, an EV will never, ever work on the Canning Stock Route...

 

[33kft]

As good as they may be, an EV will never, ever work on the Canning Stock Route...

I couldn't agree more, and to be honest I regret the spray already it was totally unwarranted given how reasonable the discussion had been but truth is that every time you talk about an EV you get everyone telling you why they think it doesn't work - this is already entirely mature technology, EVs have been on the road for over a decade and it does get frustrating to see the same old misconceptions about how they don't go fast and they don't go far and it's not like driving a real car when I've driven plenty of real cars and my EV goes faster than them, goes as far as some of them (nothing beats the diesel for range) but is more enjoyable to drive than all of them, including the Monaro which I loved and still love, but I paid for its fuel for far too long and I get the same thrill now, it just involves putting pedal to floor off a standing start and watching pretty much everyone else fade into the distance.

So it's not just a technology for inner city tree huggers, but it does not fit every use case for sure - what car does?

 

[moa999]

As good as they may be, an EV will never, ever work on the Canning Stock Route...

Never say never but rural areas are certainly more difficult, and obviously getting the infrastructure on lightly used routes will take time.

Some suggestions that localised battery banks powering fast chargers connected to solar may be a solution (avoids the challenges and losses on power transmission).

But equally using a coughload of diesel in a truck to transport diesel to the middle of nowhere isn't efficient.

But even using diesel, couple of years ago AEVA (Australian Electric Vehicles Assn) and TOCWA (Tesla Owners Club WA) ran a test between a diesel Volvo V40 and a Tesla Model S powered from a diesel generator.

The Tesla used less diesel to cover 100km.
Combination of the highly efficient electronic motors and good aero, and the fact that a diesel generator running at constant speed is more efficient than a diesel engine in a car.

Tesla Model S charged with diesel generator still pollutes less than a diesel sedan

The argument that electric vehicles pollute just as much as gas-powered vehicles because they consume electricity produced from dirty energy sources,...

electrek.co

 

[JohnM]

Never say never but rural areas are certainly more difficult, and obviously getting the infrastructure on lightly used routes will take time.

Errr... the CSR is WAY beyond a mere 'rural area' (Way into the WA wilderness).

 

[flyingfan]

Thanks to the OP for sharing a great TR, nice change from flying (that many of us can't do at the moment).

I'm dreaming of getting a Tesla but it's well into the future. I tried to at least hire one for a weekend through the main chains but it seems Thrifty (?) who used to have one at SYD don't any more - rang and was told no. Not at all keen on going with the private rentals.

Appreciate the details and experiences of the Tesla. Sounds like a good drive all up

 

[offshore171]

Thanks to the OP for sharing a great TR, nice change from flying (that many of us can't do at the moment).

I'm dreaming of getting a Tesla but it's well into the future. I tried to at least hire one for a weekend through the main chains but it seems Thrifty (?) who used to have one at SYD don't any more - rang and was told no. Not at all keen on going with the private rentals.

Appreciate the details and experiences of the Tesla. Sounds like a good drive all up

It was a great trip. For those curious, if you can't get your hands on a rental, book a test drive and see what you think.

 

[offshore171]

Errr... the CSR is WAY beyond a mere 'rural area' (Way into the WA wilderness).

Hold my beer...

 

[33kft]

Might be a good time to reference this other Tesla, too. It might be up for the challenge:

 

[BAM1748]

These are some of the fastest cars on the road. People like what they like but your perception of EVs is ridiculously skewed, just like if my perception of petrol cars was:

View attachment 230322

But what really gets me is how many people come in to an EV trip report to talk about petrol cars. There is some next level denial going on. If it were a thread about any given car on the road would it necessitate people coming in to say how their make/model is a better choice? There's a lot of closed minded folk out there. I am still shaking my head that most of the last page about an EV journey was about the merits of 98 octane fuel. It's a little embarassing to be honest - you could learn something or you could come in here and tell us about the internal combustion engine 148 years after it was invented. Which option did you take.....

Interesting you take the option on jumping to conclusions without probing deeper.

I'm someone who has a mini powerstation at home in it's own separate building, some nice German hideously expensive solar panels, hideously expensive batteries, a genset and mains power connection. So am well across the pros and cons which is why I drive an infernal combustion engine car. The cons of EVs restricted distance and travel in a day out weigh the pros for me.

I should point nothing beats burning 10 tonnes of coal to travel to lunch using steam power, sometimes the simple old fashioned things can be the most enjoyable.

 

[33kft]

Interesting you take the option on jumping to conclusions without probing deeper.

Probe deeper? Okay, why is it that an apparently well educated individual when it comes to energy storage feels that the need to equate EV technology with going 75kph on a motorway when that is not the experience for 99% of people at all. Again, how is this different to someone rolling down hills because they failed to put enough fuel in the tank?

Frankly I think you exposed plenty in that comment, but perhaps I have been quick to judge so I'd be keen to know your thoughts.

 

[TomVexille]

Might be a good time to reference this other Tesla, too. It might be up for the challenge:

View attachment 230327

Now this might be relevant to me. The corporation I work for has signed up to be 100% EV Fleet by 2030. I currently drive a Ranger as a service vehicle with long country drives a regular occurrence. It's looking like it will actually be viable by 2030.

 

[JohnM]

Might be a good time to reference this other Tesla, too. It might be up for the challenge:

View attachment 230327

The Cybertruck certainly looks the goods - but it still seems to rely on charging the battery from a power point.

I'm no engineer. What are the prospects that they could build enough solar panels into such a thing to be self-sustaining for power?

 

[offshore171]

The Cybertruck certainly looks the goods - but it still seems to rely on charging the battery from a power point.

I'm no engineer. What are the prospects that they could build enough solar panels into such a thing to be self-sustaining for power?

No chance. A standard solar panel produces around 300watts. So about 3 panels per kilowatt. Not really viable to put them on a car.

A decent household solar system would make a decent go of it though. A 10kw system produces around 50kwH per day. An average day's motoring (36km - ABS australian fleet average) in a Model 3 needs about 7kwH. Cybertruck is heavier and less aero, so maybe 10-12kwH.

 

[offshore171]

Don’t forget some like a three peddle gear change,

That was me once. Things change though and having driven this Tesla, I'm not going back.

Even most sports car makers have dropped the third pedal now, with a few notable exceptions like the Porsche 911 and the BMW M3, where its still available as a no cost option.

My version of normal driving could be getting in my car in the southern highlands of NSW early morning and getting out at Victor Harbour in SA that same night.

Sure, but because of your extreme edge case, doesn't infer an EV can't work for most of the population. That might be representative of about .1% of car journeys, and many of us never drive that far.

Many people (especially on here) would use a plane to travel that distance (under normal times that is).

Good to see EVs on the road but that one doing 75 km/h along the M5 trying to make it home on Sunday night was a hazard.

One of the NRMA's main callout reasons - cars running out of petrol. And they always seem to happen at the most inconvenient place (for others) like the harbour bridge.