Many people around America will be travelling for Christmas New Year celebrations, leading many people to either take road trips in their personaI vehicles or need to rent a car after landing at the airport.
With that could come chaos on the roads caused by electric vehicles and inexperienced drivers of them, as the cold weather wreaks havoc on the batteries and range of the cars, particularly for inexperienced drivers.
Such is what Axios argued in a recent article, noting that though EVs are popular with many people and sometimes a cost-effective and good choice, those who are inexperienced with the cars and their quirks might have a tough time traveIing in them, particularly as cold weather decreases range and long wait times at charging stations cause frustration for EV drivers.
Making that point, the Axios report notes that while EVs are often full of fun technology and make for a smooth, comfortable drive, their growing popularity in rental fleets and with some demographics could make for “some unwanted travel surprises during a season that’s already pretty stressful.”
Continuing, the Axios reporter behind the articIe, Joann Muller, noted that she and her husband used their EV for a road trip across the country and learned the hard way that the car’s range isn’t set in stone and can drop like a rock, particularly when it gets cold out.
My husand and I learned this firsthand last February as the temperatures dipped on a road trip back home to Michigan from Florida,” Muller noted in her report on the potential holiday EV issues.
She continued, “We were overconfident in our car’s driving range, and had to practically limp to a charging station as the battery warnings flashed ever-more urgent messages.
And, outside of running out far more quickly than expected while on the road, EV batteries can drain while the car just sits in a cold garage or driveway, unlike the fueI in a combustion-powered vehicle. Muller, noting that issue, said, “An EV can lose battery range just sitting out in the cold.”
That’s just a minor headache if you need to go to the store, but could present a big issue if you need to make it back to the airport on time and return a rental car.
Giving another example of the sort of issues that reIying on an EV battery can cause when traveling, Muller noted that she was stymied in an attempt to make it to a baby shower on time by the lengthy recharging time of an EV she was using, saying, I missed half of my niece’s baby shower because I had to stop and recharge the EV I was test-driving.
And, noting yet another potential problem, Muller notes that the number of chargers is Iimited, so even if you choose a hotel with an EV charger, you could be stymied in your attempt to recharge by another guest getting there first. Hotel chargers are typically for overnight charging, but if another guest arrives before you, you could be out of Iuck, she wrote.