I’m slowly learning about all-electric vehicles. So far, I’ve found that they’re very fast, very economical, and very hard to find an efficient charging station when badly needed. In simple English… I like the electric car concept, but locating charging stations that are open, working, and not busy is challenging.
Recently, driving a super deluxe Lexus 990A luxury all-wheel drive to the mountains and arriving at a hotel in Silverthorne all the charging stations were full; some with cars not charging but parked in the spaces.
Fortunately, I was able to establish a charging station and the luxury Lexus dash informed me it would take nine hours to fully charge. That was late at night, so by the next morning the car was fully charged with 218 miles of mileage that was the maximum distance that this luxury Lexus could travel from charging station to charging station.
Leaving, the next morning it is uphill to the top of Vail pass and 40 kw disappeared. I learned that the air conditioning unit demanded about 25 percent of the kw power, add headlights and the mileage drops significantly. Factory statistics from Lexus indicated 95 MPGs at the rate of 102 miles in the city and 87 highway/ per 100 miles. I think this is on flat land without headlights and air conditioning.
I was able to charge the Lexus at the Lodge Hotel on a Porsche charging station in the hotel basement that was fast and inexpensive.
Leaving Vail for the return to the city the mileage was 179 and dropped to 88 at home arrival. Once on E470 the car seemed to be thirsty for electrical juice and I turned off the air-conditioning unit.
What did I learn; all-electric cars are very fast with instant acceleration. The cars are ahead of the necessary support system to make them versatile for longer drives. The Lexus 990A at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $64,000 seems reasonable for such a sleek design, plush velvet interior, and a bevy of options.
While the concept of all-electric seems practical, the major roadblock at this moment is lack of uniform charging stations and locations. Tourists, or even a traveler to Grand Junction, could not make the trip on one full charge. What tourist or traveler wishes to spend nine-hours charging the vehicle, or even four-hours?
The vehicle is outstanding, the handling, drive, acceleration, assessorial, LED lights, and navigation, are exceptional. Just don’t venture too far from home as mountain drives use more KWs.
A very attractive feature on the 990A is a solid glass roof that changed shades with a control touch from clear, to opaque. Another feature is a very large center color screen. The air conditioning works well, and the Mark Levinson sound system is magic in the deluxe interior cabin.
Overall, this is an outstanding vehicle with assembly in Toyota, Aichi, Japan with “Ether” paint and quality assembly. The challenge is the vehicle is better than the supporting energy source. No doubt, in months and years to come, charging stations will be as abundant as present service stations.
For now, check out the hybrid crossovers that have the 2.5L engines, and Lithium battery support leading up to 50 mpg and self-charging.
No worries, and no waiting.