Electric vehicles are a bit controversial in the United States (though not elsewhere). But is all the criticism brought on by politics, fearmongering, and that old boomer mentality of not wanting anything to change? EV owners seem to think so.
One of the biggest concerns with EVs? Range anxiety. But on Reddit, one EV owner questioned why electric vehicles are often accused of being poor road-trip cars. They wrote: “Just drove 537 miles (8.5 hours) with one (1) half-hour charging stop. Truly such a horrible inconvenience. As someone who takes many road trips, I have no desire to go back to gas, and I find it funny when people insist that EVs suck for road trips.”
Is range anxiety just a symptom of being an EV hater? Or is it a legit concern?
Is EV range good enough for road trips in 2026?
EVs are boasting ever-increasing ranges. Right now, most EVs offer between 250 and 400 miles, which is generally plenty for a weekend road trip. The average SUV, however, gets 300 to 500 miles on one full tank. Still, the average EV boasts ranges that will get you up the coast or into the woods just fine.
Right?
Well, not even the EV enthusiasts on that subreddit are convinced. As of now, EVs are probably not the best option for long road trips. Even if you love EVs. This is due to most EV’s actual range and a lack of infrastructure. For most EV addicts, you’ll need to really plan ahead if you want to use your EV for a long road trip.
Said one Reddit user: “Yeah, it is going to depend A LOT on where your road trip is going. I’m an avid outdoorsman so my road trips are almost always to remote (or at least rural) areas. I’m leaving in a week for fishing in northern Minnesota, headed to Lake Vermilion. I just checked Plug Share, and the closest charger of any kind (Level 2) is 40 miles from my resort at some random park in Virginia.”
Others chimed in with similar sentiments.
“My charging profile sucks (‘22 Bolt). I did a 740-mile each-way road trip this past spring down the East Coast of the US. Charging for an hour every 2 1/2 hours of driving. Yeah, not ideal, but once I settled into the routine and took nice walks and gave myself something to do while I charged, I really didn’t mind it. It took me 4 hours longer than normal, but I arrived less worn out and unhappy. Adjusted expectations, and it really wasn’t a problem. Plentiful chargers all down Interstate 81.”
Sounds like a bit of cope here. Another driver shared a similar sentiment, claiming it’s not bad to drive in the winter if you don’t mind stopping a bunch. And trust me, they were totally going to make all those stops even if they didn’t have an EV! That’s what they claimed, anyway.
“Yeah, my 2018 Leaf is objectively bad at road trips, especially in winter in Wisconsin. I have taken it for long road trips in California and survived, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone,” said a more realistic EV owner.>So, here’s the thing. EVs don’t have long enough range just yet. You can’t actually go by the EPA-estimated range, we found in our review of the Lucid Gravity Grand Touring. It’s not like you’re going to drive an EV with a 400-mile range for exactly 400 miles, completely emptying its battery. Nobody empties a gas tank either.
Wrote Dave McQuilling: “So going under 10% is a bad idea. Equally, going above 80% (though Lucid does support and seemingly recommend charging to 90%) is also sort of frowned upon. Again, it’s not great for battery health, and charging tends to slow down drastically above that point. So, since it’s a Lucid, let’s take 10-80% as your actual working range. Or 360 miles on average between charges.”
That’s still good, but nowhere near the promised 450 miles. You also have to factor in various road-trip elements, like areas with few charging stations to get you there, certain hotels or campgrounds without charging options, and cold weather further reducing range. You may end up in a pretty stressful predicament.
You may also want to consider that EV charging isn’t free anymore. If you want to add to the annoyance of road tripping in your EV. Many people are turning to EVs due to surging gas prices, but fast chargers don’t come cheap. It cost McQuilling $55 to fill the Lucid from 10% to 80% at a Level 3 station, which is 250 miles. Not that great.
I think if you truly love your EV, you can make it work. But do I agree that EVs don’t deserve the bad rep when it comes to road trips? No. I think they sorta do deserve it.
