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this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
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Honestly, I have a hybrid, and even a lvl 2 charger at home, but I could never consider going full EV where I live, as I need a vehicle that can travel 700km in a single charge at -30°C before they are viable.
Give me a small SUV that can do that, and keep my payments under $300 bi-weekly, and I would switch in a heartbeat.
On a side note - fuck BC Hydro's exorbitant charging station rates, they are as bad as just using gas in my escape
Seems like you need to move closer to wherever you’re going or plan better
Difficult to find non-electric cars that can do that
Not every job is conveniently located beside a bus stop...
I don’t think the person lives 350km+ away from wherever they are going just so they can catch the bus there
I own my home and am as happy as I can be at my current job, why would I decide to move 350km away where I would have a rent/mortgage, need to find new work for my spouse and I, and live in a city that literally reeks of sewage constantly?
As for "planning better", cold snaps can happen at any time from late October to early April around here, and if one happens when I plan to do some shopping for necessities where its 20%+ cheaper? Oh well, at least the roads will be more likely to be clear.
So you have your car (block heater) plugged in anyway for these cold snaps
But the Ford Escape doesn’t have that range on a single tank in ideal conditions, let alone -30 where gas engines lose efficiency
Then use your stockpile and go when the weather clears like everyone else
...you are aware that battery efficiency drops drastically in cold weather right?
That doesn't magically get fixed by preheating the car, the batteries are not well insulated enough to stay at optimal running temperature at -30°C while going 100km/h, even if they have a dedicated heat pump, as heat pumps also lose efficiency below -20°C or so.
That’s why I pointed out that gas engines do as well and don’t even start in the cold
-35 but it’s irrelevant to the conversation
Gas engines needing to be plugged in or they don't start isn't relevant to why I can't trust an EV in the winter, it's the 25% loss of range at -8°C, and not wanting to get a hotel and stay somewhere overnight so that I may have the privilege of spending up to $0.41 per minute to charge my car overnight so that I can make it home in winter, vs my current hybrid, where it takes 5 minutes total to stop at a gas station to top up my fuel.
And actually, the Government of Canada states that most consumer heat pumps tend to need supplemental heat around -15°C to -25°C, with only the most expensive "cold weather" variants managing anything colder.
See screenshot as I can't hyperlink to the exact line in question stating that.
Gas engines lose 15% at -7
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/coldweather.shtml
The point is every complaint you have to say you can never use electric already exists and if they mattered to you then you wouldn’t buy a gas vehicle
You don’t need to charge overnight, plug in and charge while you are eating or pissing them get in and go
I will admit, looking io charging times, half an hour isn't so bad, now that BC hydro has put in/activated their level 3 charging stations.
When I purchased my current vehicle, there was not any non-tesla lvl 3 stations available, and even then there was only 1.
That being said, the available lvl 3 stations aren't near an amenity I would normally stop at, and would add nearly an hour to my current 12 hour round trip.
And again, my biggest problem with full electric vehicles in my situation is the charge time and charger availability, if the chargers available weren't for any reason, I would be SOL - and charger availability is a lot lower than gas stations even at the best of times
Going to become more common than gas stations eventually which as for “next vehicle” is relevant
It’s just a “whatever” thing
I think you'd fit into what we'd call an outlier situation.
I definitely agree that I am an outlier, but due to the size of Canada and how many remote towns there are (especially in western Canada, which Ontario and Quebec pretend don't exist), there are an unfortunately high number of outliers.
Honestly, more than getting everyone on full electric cars that don't have the range needed to compete convenience-wise, Canada needs to invest in better long distance transit options, be it better (preferably electrified) bus systems, or expanding on our train systems (and stop price gouging the very few passenger trains we have).
I absolutely understand, I'm in a fringe situation myself. I think when we focus too much on the wild cases like yours, we end up skipping over the minor issues that would solve the problem for most of the people who answered "not considering an EV". We need to make them more affordable to the people who can least afford it (rebates for used cars?), and we need to make it possible for people who rent to reliably charge overnight and/or at work.
Edit: I forgot your solutions about transportation, those are great as well and might add people to the "not considering any next vehicle" category. There will still be people like us though that public transport can't work for, especially as you said out west where things are a bit spread out outside the big cities.
BC actually has a tax exemption on used EV sales already, it hasn't helped.
Honestly though, put in a passenger train through all the small towns that goes 100km/h (or more) that runs 3-4x a day and I would go back to only owning a bike I swear (though not really, winters up here suck).
Regardless, a solid, affordable train service would remove my need for a hybrid over a full EV completely.