this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2024
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Futurology
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Why? It's the main thing people talk about when it comes to EVs. How far can I go? How fast can I recharge?
It seems to be the most useful measurement.
On top of that it’d be great for comparison which I imagine is the whole reason for it being presented like this I would rather have 800 km range and get 500 of that in 15 minutes (like if I’m on a long trip) than have 850 total range and only 15 km in 15 minutes
But that's exactly why it's a bad unit to make comparisons on...I could claim 500km of range* in 15 on a car that only has 50kW of charging speed.
*but only if you keep the speed under 50km/h, the temperature is 25°C, the road is dry and there is a tail wind.
By using km as the unit, they can obfuscate a ton of information that make direct comparisons nearly impossible.
The very same thing is true with fuel economy ratings. The usefulness in such statistics is not in their specific accuracy for one vehicle, but in comparing more than one vehicle with each other (provided, of course, that the procedure for arriving at the ratings are similar enough).
Sure, if it was consistent. But the range varies wildly even on the same car depending on speed and weather conditions. Is it 500km highway or 500km city driving? Is it in the winter or in the summer? Is it on a rainy day? Is there snow? Is there head wind or tail wind? 500km is a completely useless unit for charging speed and battery capacity without comprehensive context.
That's fair. Probably should be judged like mpg ratings are.