A Long Journey Looms. Do You Take The ICE Or Electric Car?

Transportation A Long Journey Looms. Do You Take The ICE Or Electric Car? Neil Winton Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Nov 4, 2022, 11:01am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Nissan Ariya (Photo credit should read Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images) Future Publishing via Getty Images Because electric cars are so expensive, they will often be bought by families owning multiple vehicles. That poses a fascinating dilemma. If you plan a long journey of say 300 miles there and back, do you use traditional or battery power? The data I’ve collected over three years driving more than 20 electric cars for about a week each makes this decision easy.

Once the speed of an electric car nudges over 60 mph, the available range starts to disappear quickly. If you plan a long drive, reach for the internal combustion engine (ICE). Many electric vehicles are currently ridiculously-expensive town cars.

Auto industry consultants JATO Dynamics said the average price of a new battery-only electric vehicle in Europe was €55,821 after tax ($55,000) in the first half of 2022. A huge increase in battery capacity is required and the charging network needs to become more ubiquitous and user-friendly. Long-distance travel in an electric car may well end in the slow lane with the trucks doing 55 mph, freezing or sweating with the air-conditioning or heating switched off, and in silence.

The electric car revolution will grind to a halt without much cheaper vehicles and an abandonment of the notion electric cars can do everything an ICE car can. That will only lead to heavier, unaffordable cars with ever-bigger batteries producing more carbon dioxide (CO2) and defeating the object of the exercise in the first place. For electric cars to reach the masses, small is beautiful.

Think of a weather-proof, safe, 4-seater battery-powered golf-cart priced around $10,000. I recently planned a journey from close to Worthing on the south coast of England to near Castle Combe in the Cotswolds, a round trip of about 300 miles with an overnight stay at a hotel boasting four electric car charging points. The drive would be about 90% high-speed motorway.

On my driveway was Nissan’s latest electric car, the Ariya , with a claimed range of 250 miles and a 63-kWh battery, and my 1. 4 liter turbocharged ICE powered Suzuki Vitara. The gasoline Vitara regularly claims 330 miles range after a fill-up.

MORE FOR YOU The ‘Backsies’ Billionaire: Texan Builds Second Fortune From Wreckage Of Real Estate Empire He’d Sold California Congressman Josh Harder’s FARM Bill Could Revolutionize The Central Valley’s Biotech Ecosystem And Turn Almond Husks Into Yoga Pants Daily Dividend Report: Snap-On, Capital One Financial, Hershey, UnitedHealth Group, Dominion Energy Suzuki Vitara (Photo by Xavier Bonilla/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images On the surface, this looks like an easy electric option. After all, 250 miles of range suggests a relaxed scenario. Lots of range in hand to get there, plug-in overnight and return the next day.

But after driving the Ariya for a week, the raw data suggested that a nightmare journey awaited if I opted for electric. My home charger overnight produced average battery capacity of only 208 miles. That’s really no surprise.

My website table shows most modern electric cars fall short of official WLTP-orchestrated claimed battery capacity data by at least 20%. Then there was the motorway cruising performance. My data shows that driving on motorways at an indicated speed close to 75 mph, the range offered by an electric car dives alarmingly.

The British motorway limit is 70mph. Most drivers assume that speedometer exaggeration combined with police leeway means that up to an indicated 80 mph is safe from official intervention. In mainland Europe, the motorway limit is mainly 130 km/h (81.

25 mph) apart from the unlimited sections on some German highways. (read Hyundai Ioniq 5 helps to prove long-distance EV journeys are possible, but which really suggests the opposite ). The range on the Ariya was slashed by highspeed driving by about 33%, which brings it down to 139 miles and suddenly the ability of the car to reach the hotel – 130 miles – began to look problematical.

The hotel said its charging stations were available only on first-come/first served basis, and given the event I was attending was likely to be unusually electric-car heavy, that became an unreliable option. An on-route charge after about an hour’s driving was inevitable. Nissan Ariya in New York City.

(Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Anadolu Agency via Getty Images During the 3 years or so I’ve been road-testing electric cars, I’ve always used my home charger for fill-ups. My attempts at using local charging facilities hadn’t ended well, foiled by either out-of-order signs, not having the right app, or not being able to read the instructions on sunny days. Before attempting this journey, I downloaded the appropriate app from BP Pulse and launched a trial run.

I’d tried to use this facility once before, but the two chargers were in use. This time they were free. The app gave no instructions so I called the hotline which said I should top up with cash first.

This seemed bizarre to someone used to the simplicity of driving up to a gas or diesel pump, filling up and paying. I was joined by an experienced electric car driver who pointed out a credit-card option. This Audi e-tron driver had driven into the charging bay at a 45-degree angle because this was the only way to make a connection with his car.

The cables connecting the charger to the refueling nozzles were too short. I had to inch the Ariya as close as possible to the charger, then use much strength to almost force the connection. BP Pulse was recently awarded 20 th place out of 21 in Zap-Map ’s annual British quality poll.

The fact there 21 contenders also shows there are too many charging operations in Britain, most of which have their own separate apps. A BP Pulse electric vehicle charging station Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg © 2022 Bloomberg Finance LP The connection worked and I pumped 125 miles worth of electricity into the Ariya in 30 minutes.

Nissan claims it can take 165 miles in 30 minutes. I still haven’t found out how much this cost. My monthly credit card bill will reveal this.

The readout on the charger informed me about the percentage filled, the amount of electricity, but not the price. This charging experience made me think twice about taking the electric car. I would likely stop after an hour or so.

That would add at least an hour to my outward trip, assuming the bays were free and the transaction smooth. The charging industry has acknowledged its problems but hasn’t yet demonstrated the ability to match the ubiquity of the ICE fast and efficient refill. There are only two electric cars that I’ve driven that would have made the outward journey with no range anxiety.

These are my table-topping Tesla Model 3 and Kia Soul with an estimated high-speed range of 239 and 205 miles. I could have made the hotel if I’d slowed down to about 55 mph, and turned off the air conditioning, heater and radio, but that seems a poor compromise in a vehicle that costs around £46,000 after tax ($51,500). Given my Suzuki Vitara option, electric made no sense.

And the Vitara, on similar journeys, actually performs better than the 330-mile range offering. The long-range creates maximum efficiency and raises the miles per gallon a notch or two and would save me at least two hours overall compared with the EV and eliminates range anxiety. A no-brainer.

In the event, a stomach bug meant I had to cancel the trip. The Nissan Ariya 63 kWh Advance competes with the likes of the VW. ID4, Ford Mach-E, Tesla Model Y, Kia EV6, Volvo XC40 Recharge, Mercedes EQA, Skoda Enyaq, and Hyundai Ioniq 5.

The Ariya stands out from the crowd as a handsome beast, particularly with its nifty copper and black paint job. But its electric qualities are only comparable with the competition, a disappointment given it is the new kid on the block with a chance to sport the latest technology. Prices start at £43,845 after tax ($49,0000).

The Ariya is available in two grades, Advance and Evolve, but in three different battery and powertrain combinations with two-wheel drive 63kWh, two-wheel drive 87kWh, and e-4ORCE all-wheel drive and 87kWh, with claimed range of up to 329 miles. Nissan Ariya 63 kWh Advance Electric motor – 214 hp Torque – 300 Nm Battery – 63 kWh Gearbox – automatic Claimed battery range/battery capacity – 250 miles (WLTP) WintonsWorld test range/battery capacity – 208 miles (average of 3 charges, 16. 8% shortfall) Highway cruising range – 139 miles Highway cruising penalty – 33% Charging capacity – claim 165 miles/30 minutes – WintonsWorld test 125 miles/30 mins Drive – front-wheels Top speed – 100 mph Acceleration – 0-60 mph 7.

3 seconds Price – £46,365 ($51,850) after tax and before subsidies Follow me on Twitter . Check out my website . Neil Winton Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.