Elecgric Vehicles - F250 Lightning - Event Date: 16 Mar 2022

I agree that the lack of charging infrastructure is a big drawback to electric vehicle's towing.  The WAPO has an article today about hydrogen.  As StephenH suggests, the deeper one looks into alternative energy the more the problems become apparent.  There is just no such thing as a free lunch.

Me thinks the conversation is turning a little too political.  I'm finding myself biting my fingers in an effort to stop them from going wild in the keyboard.  

Originally posted by offgrid I have no idea why someone would be limited to 150 miles per day in an EV. A Porsche Taycan did the 2900 mile Cannonball run last year in 42 hours, including charging time. That vehicle, the f150 and many other EVs are now designed around 800V DC fast charging so recharge at 150-250kw or more. Around 30-40 minutes to add 60-70 percent range or more.

There is nothing particularly aerodynamic about an f150, electric or ICE. The electric versions are going to get around a 230 mile range and the extended range version is going to get around 300. They will do that because they have big batteries. 98kwh and 131 kwh respectively.

The range difference towing can be expected to be about what we see with an F150 Ecoboost, say 26 mpg highway vs around 14 towing, or a bit better than 50%.

I have no idea why someone would be limited to 150 miles per day in an EV. A Porsche Taycan did the 2900 mile Cannonball run last year in 42 hours, including charging time. That vehicle, the f150 and many other EVs are now designed around 800V DC fast charging so recharge at 150-250kw or more. Around 30-40 minutes to add 60-70 percent range or more.

That 39kwh per gallon energy figure for gasoline is not pertinent. That is the chemical energy stored in the
fuel and does not in any way represent the energy available at the wheels. ICEs are horribly inefficient, if the energy available at the wheels is 10kwh/gallon you're doing well. So an f150 with a 131kwh battery is the equivalent of it having around a 13 gallon gas tank. At 26 mpg that's a bit over 300 miles range so the numbers line up. No drag benefit for the f150 Lightning.   

I guess the fossil fuel company pr folks have done a good job getting the average person to fixate on range when making comparisons between ICEs and EVs. In reality for most usage range is pretty irrelevant.

Let's for a moment focus on other points of comparison. 90 plus percent of ev owners replenish their vehicle's energy at home. Unless you have a gas pump at your house an ICE can't compete with that. Far more convenient.

And far cheaper. And not tied to the global spot price of crude oil. And with solar for charging you can home grow your energy and be free of dependence on whatever international incident Big Oil is using to justify their latest price gouging.

How about torque? No ICE can compete. Ditto for 0 to 60 and quarter mile times.

How about regen braking? EV drivers rarely need to use their friction brakes, saving cost recovering the energy.

Simplicity and cost of the drivetrain. Maintenance. Noise and vibration. The list goes on. And I didn't even mention air pollution till now.

Oh and can an ICE power your house?

So if you spend most of your time travelling long distances sure, get an ICE. But if youre the average user the EV has the ICE beat hands down.

So please don't critique the one area where EVs fall short unless you are also willing to be unbiased and acknowledge the multiple areas where the EV is far superior.