Quote:
Originally Posted by Rcnesneg
For me, Aptera is about range for price. It promises easy road trips to the most inaccessible parts of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, etc. Nothing else comes close for under $50,000, much less $35000. If Aptera had no solar whatsoever I'd still get one on the basis of range and efficiency.
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Ya, I think this is it. And like Redpoint5 said, you can drive for 16 years on $1,500 worth of electricity or solar panels at 10,000 miles per year.
A standard range Tesla would not go the places I go without a ChaDeMO addapter, and even then... Durango (ChaDeMo) to Albuquerque is about 212 miles from station to station with no quick charge in between unless you make a side stop in Farmington, which cuts it down to 183. In a non-Tesla there is no place to quick charge along that over 200 mile route.
The standard range Tesla's range is 272 miles, but if the Nissan Leaf we had is anything to go by, winter travel can cut that in as much as half in the right conditions just from the cold alone. One of the last times I went through New Mexico and southern Colorado I was pushing through pretty deep slush and snow that wasn't at all friendly to the fuel mileage on the Avalon. But at least the Avalon has a 600 mile range in good conditions and their's usually a gas station at least every 60 miles.
I think there needs to be about 3 times the good-weather range than distances between charging stations. A 600 mile range Aptera is less than a base Tesla Model 3 and a 1,000 mile Aptera is cheaper than a long range Tesla Model 3. With charging stations every 200 miles, either would work.
But either that or for me the EV needs to be the around town car with a second gasser for the highway. And around town means it needs to be dirt cheap. Or have both with a plug-in hybrid.
Of course I also question how the Aptera's range will be affected in adverse weather. It could be affected more than usual due to the smaller battery designed for extreme efficiency, not terrible weather.
On the other hand, right now I need a family car, so the Aptera would not work for me, but neither do any EV except plug-in hybrids. If Aptera ever comes out with a 4 or more seater I probably won't need the extra capacity by then. Also by then there might actually be charging stations closer to every 60 miles instead of every 200+.