FEV vacationing

End of last year I had to say goodbye to my almost 7.5 year old diesel lease car. Because of the changed regulations and tax laws I ended up getting a full electric car from Audi with a theoretical range of slightly over 500 km. This summer was the first time we went on vacation with it and we suffered a bit from anxiety range because the 500 km range is not reached by far if you are traveling on the highways. We went to the Vosges in France which was around 550 km from home for us. Except for the fact that you need a bit more time to charge compared to filling you tank with petrol it was very much the same as traveling with an old style fossil fuel burning car. Except that my average speed and also top speed on the trip were quite a bit lower compared to the past. Driving fast with an electric car really impacts the range negatively. But considering the short average distance between charging stations on the highway and the availability of free chargers at these stops there is no need to drive slow. Except of course the fact that a charge will take you around 20 minutes so you would really have to fly to make up for the time lost for an extra stop. Driving faster in an electric car will probably not get you there sooner if that is the objective. Maybe one day when electromagnets in the road will propel cars along the highway maglev style will autobahn speeds for long stretches become an electric vehicle reality. We will have to count on the Germans with their love for fast cars to turn that into reality. But average speed aside I didn’t have to adapt my traveling habits in any way switching from diesel to electric car. I always found a free charger when I needed it and in towns and villages I could combine the charging with parking while visiting a site or shopping, definitely a plus compared to petrol cars. All in all it was a positive experience and the only 2 things missing for truly carefree traveling from my point of view are an extended driving range of 85O km and more charging stations in cities. At that point there will be no more practical differences between electrical and petrol cars. Emotionally the driving experience will never be the same and if you love roaring engines and the smell of partially burnt petrol then you may have a bleak future ahead of you.