Electric vehicle war, is gas soon to be toast?

[DoubleK]

Cold performance is a positive, lower energy density is a deal-breaker IMO.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

Cold performance is a positive, lower energy density is a deal-breaker IMO.

It's still early in the development cycle compared to lithium, which is much further along. If these take off and the cost/performance innovation curves look at all similar, it could be a very competitive option:

[bossy22]

Well, we got rid of the Tesla. We were originally looking at PHEV's. We wanted something with a good range. The Mercedes GLE450e fit that bill...but then my wife went into Audi. She ended up getting a Q8 e-tron sportback.


We had to trade in the Tesla. We had no interest at all.

[Faust]

Honda reveals delay of $15-billion Canada investment part of shift in EV strategy:

https://financialpost.com/commoditie...canadian-plans

[Faust]

Stellantis postpones Canadian-made 2026 Dodge Charger R/T model amid tariffs:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/winds...rger-1.7540754

[Faust]

Honda, Stellantis promise no job losses, continued commitment to EV sector: Joly

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/honda-stel...210017964.html

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Faust

Honda reveals delay of $15-billion Canada investment part of shift in EV strategy:

https://financialpost.com/commoditie...canadian-plans

I understand why companies are shifting focus to hybrids, but at the risk of developing full EVs is a very shortsighted plan. Will only allow Chinese automakers to eat more of their lunch

[Winsor_Pilates]

I used a charge station for the first time Sunday and it kind of sucked.
Was driving back from Merritt to Vancouver and needed to charge before hitting the highway.

Love my EV in the city with at home charging, but my first road trip experience left me thinking to take our other car next time.

4 cars waiting for 3 chargers.
Took 30 min to get a spot; then 40 for a full charge.
Over an hour extra to a 3 hour drive was a bit annoying.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I used a charge station for the first time Sunday and it kind of sucked.
Was driving back from Merritt to Vancouver and needed to charge before hitting the highway.

Love my EV in the city with at home charging, but my first road trip experience left me thinking to take our other car next time.

4 cars waiting for 3 chargers.
Took 30 min to get a spot; then 40 for a full charge.
Over an hour extra to a 3 hour drive was a bit annoying.

I think these are the scenarios where PHEVs really shine the most. You don’t really need a huge range for regular day to day driving, and in scenarios where you’d have to wait like that, I’d be okay with hybrid mileage.

[indes]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I think these are the scenarios where PHEVs really shine the most. You don’t really need a huge range for regular day to day driving, and in scenarios where you’d have to wait like that, I’d be okay with hybrid mileage.

Unless you're in the mountains. My PHEV sucked going up the passes because the battery would run out and then you're stuck with only your ICE engine going 10 under the speed limit. Recharged on the way down with the braking, but then same thing going back up again.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

I used a charge station for the first time Sunday and it kind of sucked.
Was driving back from Merritt to Vancouver and needed to charge before hitting the highway.

Love my EV in the city with at home charging, but my first road trip experience left me thinking to take our other car next time.

4 cars waiting for 3 chargers.
Took 30 min to get a spot; then 40 for a full charge.
Over an hour extra to a 3 hour drive was a bit annoying.

any idea how much the cost for the recharging?

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by indes

Unless you're in the mountains. My PHEV sucked going up the passes because the battery would run out and then you're stuck with only your ICE engine going 10 under the speed limit. Recharged on the way down with the braking, but then same thing going back up again.

I just did the return trip to Kelowna from Calgary. Sucked the EV charge down pretty quickly, but just kept it on cruise control nearly the entire time and it was fine. The only time I noticed anything was when we’d eventually feel like passing and you could feel it, but it wasn’t incapable of getting past some cars. We still had around 1/4 tank of gas left which included a trip to Big White. I think cruise control is probably the key to keeping everything smooth.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I just did the return trip to Kelowna from Calgary. Sucked the EV charge down pretty quickly, but just kept it on cruise control nearly the entire time and it was fine. The only time I noticed anything was when we’d eventually feel like passing and you could feel it, but it wasn’t incapable of getting past some cars. We still had around 1/4 tank of gas left which included a trip to Big White. I think cruise control is probably the key to keeping everything smooth.

I didn't think the capacity would run into such issues for PHEV. Hopefully in the next few years, the capacity or charging speed from gas will improve to reduce that effect. That and them finishing the highways between AB and BC so one doesn't have to feel as anxious to take advantage of an opportunity to pass some struggler in the mountains every single time.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by indes

Unless you're in the mountains. My PHEV sucked going up the passes because the battery would run out and then you're stuck with only your ICE engine going 10 under the speed limit. Recharged on the way down with the braking, but then same thing going back up again.

I don't follow - why do you have to go 10 under the speed limit when it switches to ICE/hybrid? Mine is a seamless transition, I just drive and it picks what it needs. By the time you're on the highway you're using mostly ICE anyways.

We have taken our Escape PHEV all over the mountains now. Never had a problem passing someone - if anything I believe the ICE has more power. Best of both worlds while we wait for more EV infrastructure IMO.

[indes]

Originally Posted by Torture

I don't follow - why do you have to go 10 under the speed limit when it switches to ICE? Mine is a seamless transition, I just drive and it picks what it needs.

We have taken our PHEV all over the mountains now. Best of both worlds while we wait for more EV infrastructure IMO.

Because my Santa Fe didn't have enough power to climb the passes at 100km/h without the electric motor. Very niche issue for sure, aside from the couple passes on HWY 3 I never had an issue.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by indes

Because my Santa Fe didn't have enough power to climb the passes at 100km/h without the electric motor. Very niche issue for sure, aside from the couple passes on HWY 3 I never had an issue.

Was the vehicle loaded to the gills with your vacation stuff/passengers? Does having all that extra weight make a noticeable difference in power usage/ICE kick in on trips like that?

[indes]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Was the vehicle loaded to the gills with your vacation stuff/passengers? Does having all that extra weight make a noticeable difference in power usage/ICE kick in on trips like that?

Just me and a suitcase. It loses 90hp and 70ft/lbs once your hybrid battery is dead so its very noticeable from 261/250. It was one of the negative points in reviews that there was no setting to "hold" the battery and run it just as a hybrid. Instead the car burns as much battery as possible until it gets to 25% then it prioritizes keeping the battery up for when you need the power. So if you burn your battery down to 25%, then do driving that burns more than you recharge you eventually end up at 0 and lose 30%ish power.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by indes

Just me and a suitcase. It loses 90hp and 70ft/lbs once your hybrid battery is dead so its very noticeable from 261/250. It was one of the negative points in reviews that there was no setting to "hold" the battery and run it just as a hybrid. Instead the car burns as much battery as possible until it gets to 25% then it prioritizes keeping the battery up for when you need the power. So if you burn your battery down to 25%, then do driving that burns more than you recharge you eventually end up at 0 and lose 30%ish power.

What the, I could see that being a royal PITA. Agreed that no ability to hold the battery is a stupid oversight. Hopefully it's as simple as a future firmware update or something.

Does a similar thing with the battery getting too low happen during cold snaps too?

[indes]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

What the, I could see that being a royal PITA. Agreed that no ability to hold the battery is a stupid oversight. Hopefully it's as simple as a future firmware update or something.



Does a similar thing with the battery getting too low happen during cold snaps too?

With no heat pump the ICE ran pretty much all the time when you have the heat on so not as much of an issue, but definitely a dumb oversight lol.

[Torture]

Interesting. You can set whether you use gas ("EV later")/electric ("EV Now") or let the car decide on mine. Usually just leave it on normal.
No idea if that's similar on the Santa Fe. I've never experienced that problem and it always seems to be pretty seamless when it switches (aside from the noticeable roar when the gas engine first turns on) so maybe they designed it differently, or maybe I'm just used to driving gutless cars LOL.

We had it loaded to the gills with camping equipment, roof box, and bikes on this trip. (and one is a 75lb cargo bike). Seemed to have enough punch to keep up and pass when required on all the 1 lane highways in southern AB/BC.


^^ re: power usage, maybe 5km less EV range with roof box and bike rack on the Escape. 8.2l/100km highway driving this weekend wheras we'd normally be at 6-7. (also very windy in southern AB!)