zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Culture
/
How Much Range Is Enough?
How Much Range Is Enough?-August 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:12:27

Image for article titled How Much Range Is Enough?

, range anxiety is real, and it factors into how people who don’t own electric vehicles perceive them. But the only way the public is ever going to overcome that fear . It’s quite the Catch-22.

Eventually, though, a new car buyer won’t have much of a choice but to go electric. And when EVs become more common on our roads than they are today, charging infrastructure proliferates and people’s range anxiety has been largely quelled, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann believes the average range will stabilize or diminish, rather than grow. As Duesmann told :

“Putting huge batteries for thousands of kilometers, I’m not sure that this is a trend that will go on. ... Later on they will go down because charging infrastructure is denser and also the experience of customers.” Audi owners, Duesmann says, will need a little time to adjust to the new EV paradigm. “Today you go to the gas station and get your fuel and its very natural how you get your energy for driving. With electric cars it’s not that natural, you have to adjust your behavior a bit. But once you’re used to that I think battery sizes will go down again, because they make the cars unnecessarily heavy and unnecessarily expensive. And unnecessarily big, too.”

To float some figures for cars on the short end of the range spectrum today, the Mini Cooper SE will go for about 110 miles on a charge, while the is estimated to have a range of about 125 miles (the more ambitious European WLTP cycle pegs that at 137 miles, but we’re being realistic here). That’s at least a third of what the longest-range EVs on the market now can deliver, like the latest Tesla Model S.

Perhaps 110 to 125 miles might be a bit scant for your only vehicle, but I’m wondering if there’s a sweet spot between 150 and 200 miles that is agreeable for most people — or at least will be once we’re more comfortable with charging up on the regular. And while I do think we ought to be a bit more pragmatic as drivers about how much range we really, truly need on a daily basis, I’m also sympathetic to the reality that nobody wants to be left in the lurch on the occasional road trip.

What do you think? How much range would you be comfortable for a vehicle that you’d lean on to do it all? Not how much range would be nice to have, mind you, but rather the smallest amount you think you could live with while putting that dreaded anxiety to rest.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Culture
Subaru Had It Right All Along
Subaru Had It Right All Along
When first came to the United States, it sold small funky cars that were decidedly un-American. As the company grew its own identity and became more established in the U.S., it became the first automaker to offer an all-wheel-drive passenger car in 1975. Subaru was also an early-adopter of...
Aug 7, 2025
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
2024 Kia EV9: What Do You Want To Know?
At long last, we are about to get behind the wheel of for the first time. Sure, , and sure, , and sure , but hey — what can you do? Anyway, before we get behind the wheel of this three-row electric beast, we want to know what you...
Aug 7, 2025
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I Can't Get Enough Of This YouTuber Who Builds Tiny, Fully Functional Scale-Model Cars
I love tiny, of . I have a that is roughly half the size of a normal cat, and she’s perfect. I own a 2013 , which is like the miniature version of a normal-sized vehicle (at least here in Texas) — but beyond that, I also own a Hot...
Aug 7, 2025
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
Watch ABS Fail When MotorWeek Tests A 1997 Chevy S-10
MotorWeek’s is some of the on the internet. The long-running automotive news magazine has a treasure trove of tests after being on the air for over 40 years. Where else can you find detailed instrumented testing of long-forgotten cars like the or a ? MotorWeek’s recent Retro Review upload is...
Aug 7, 2025
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
Toyota Is Moving A Prewar 700-Ton Press Machine Halfway Around The World
closed its São Bernardo Plant in November 2023, marking the end of its first overseas production facility. The closure caps off a period of continuous car production in São Paolo, , lasting over 60 years. The plant was home to a Komatsu 700-ton press that predates itself. And now...
Aug 7, 2025
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I Entered My Lifted Miata In A Real Off-Road Race, Here's What Happened
I have two automotive loves: The first is the Miata, the second is off-road racing. For a while I raced air-cooled Volkswagens in the deserts of California and Nevada and I was lucky enough to co-drive in a class 11 stock bug in the Baja 1000 a few years...
Aug 7, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved