EPA range ratings for the Polestar 2 & Volvo XC40 Recharge are in. They suck.

"LJ909" (lj909)
10/07/2020 at 22:01 • Filed to: Volvo XC40 Recharge, Volvo XC40, Polestar 2

The XC40 comes in at just over 200 miles of range at 208. The Polestar 2 falls short on its range. Polestar 2 was shooting for over 250. It comes in a 233. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! pointed out that when they tested the Polestar 2 in August they got even worse range. They were only able to get 190 miles of range. And with a price of $60k+ that’ s a hard sell. The XC40 Recharge’s rumored starting price over $50k+ might make it easier to swallow, but not much. Both of these ranges relegate these to 2nd car status for me.

DISCUSSION (16)

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > LJ909
10/07/2020 at 22:57

I’d gladly take a v60 Polestar instead. I think plug in hybrids are the way to go for now. At least in America where we bigly value being able to drive 500-1000 miles in a day if we please.

wbizarre - OEM fetishist > LJ909
10/07/2020 at 23:00

Everyone needs to specify a “worst-case” driving range: Very cold day, no pre-heat, full to the brim with people and things, with heat and heated seats on max. Or on a super hot day with AC on max, full passenger & luggage weight.

I haven’t seen reviewers mention these factors at all. They mostly say “come on people, 200 miles of range is plenty, stop being paranoid!” But here are a couple of neat snippets from The Drive:

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and

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So on a hot day someone’s 233-mile-rated Polestar may drop to 193 miles. Or to 137 miles in winter . It’s probably still fine for a commute for most people. But they’ll be thinking real hard whether they’ll make a round trip from Jersey to PA to see family.

LJ909 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
10/08/2020 at 01:33

Agree. They are the best middle ground. If Tesla had gone that route we would have more on the market.

LJ909 > wbizarre - OEM fetishist
10/08/2020 at 01:37

Good point. No one ever mentions weather conditions. That’ s a huge factor. Especially for people that live where weather can get to extremes. And with global warming that’ s becoming a lot of places. Even here in Southern California where we get pretty damn hot. Being in bumper to bumper traffic on the 405 can make it even hotter. So a 103 degree day is really 108-110 in traffic on the freeway.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > LJ909
10/08/2020 at 05:58

I’ve heard about this new technology called hydrogen fuel cells....electric, no emissions and there’s a chance it could solve this whole EV range anxiety thing...?

In seriousness, I still do not get why hydrogen hasn’t become the precedent...it makes a lot more sense to me . Fill-up times are so much shorter than charging an EV...quicker than petrol fill- ups, even, in some cases. Still no emissions, it’s an abundant resource (though, yes, generation stations require a lot of resources to run), and the range is good enough that Airbus is considering using it for commercial passenger aircraft, plus, no masses of EVs charging on the grid and putting on additional strain on grids that are often already overworked (that would murder the electric grid like California seems to want to do to itself)...what’s the downside? 0_o

Napoli > LJ909
10/08/2020 at 06:42

No we wouldn’t. Tesla sells every car they can possibly produce.

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
10/08/2020 at 08:37

Hydrogen: Difficult to manage the fuel supply chain, apparently.

Plus, the hype train never really got moving like pure electric. I still remember in the late 90's that it was clear to me that hydrogen fuel cells would become commonly used in industrial settings. It was so obviously the right answer. Good thing I didn’t bet my career on that insight.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com
10/08/2020 at 08:44

I don’t get how, if we can manage the supply chain for petrol and diesel, we couldn’t manage the supply chain for a fuel based on one of the universe’s most abundant resources ...

LimitedTimeOnly @ opposite-lock.com > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
10/08/2020 at 08:49

It is certainly possible, but I understand that the storage temperature for the fuel version of hydrogen necessitates more expensive containment vessels, thus affecting the economics as well as the logistics.

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > wbizarre - OEM fetishist
10/08/2020 at 08:57

Yup. This is my hang- up with getting a fully electric car at this point. Winter regularly gets below 0F here, so losing 50% or more of my range is worrisome. In the winter I regularly drive from home to work (no charging available), from there to a ski hill (no charging available), and from there back home. It’s a little under 100 miles total with 3 times I need to heat the cabin back up to temperature. If I had a vehicle rated to around 200 miles of range, I’d be real nervous about making it home any time it was really cold .

His Stigness > LJ909
10/08/2020 at 14:51

Assuming that for the Polestar 2 the useable capacity is 75 kWh (electrek says 78), that would mean it gets an EPA estimated 3.1 kWh per mile. For an SUV, and a heavy car, that’s really not bad. I get anywhere between 3.5 and 4.0 mi/kWh in my e-Golf, which has a battery well over half the size, and is a much smaller and lighter car.

It’s really annoying that with EVs people focus too much on that one number and not anything else. Nothing is put in perspective. Nothing is nuanced. It’s just that one number.

His Stigness > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
10/08/2020 at 15:00

Oh boy. If you think EV infrastructure is lacking (it’s not), well I’ve got a bubble to burst when it comes to hydrogen stations.

I live in a popular socal county. And it’s large. There is a grand total of ONE hydrogen refueling station here. And everytime I drive by it, no matter the time of day, there’s a line. And when the nozzle is used a lot it will generally ice over, causing more delays. You don’t get that problem with a DC fast charging station...

Just look at what Toyota Muira owners are saying. Many have begged to get out of their lease because of re-fueling issues.

Hydrogen isn’t a suitable source for regular travel. It’s great for commercial purposes because many of the issues you have with it for regular cars is easily solved when it’s involving a fleet, so you don’t need a fuel station on every corner.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > His Stigness
10/08/2020 at 17:32

Yeah, I get your point. But, you see, EV stations are not lacking in California (they’ve always been pretty forward thinking) ....BUT they’re pretty lacking in most other places, especially here across Canada. There are maybe....7 proper charge points at ONE building in all three towns surrounding me. Granted there are like NO hydrogen stations, of course, but if it was adopted, that would change, as it has in some places with the appea rance of charging stations.

That being said, my point was more that Hydrogen would make more sense to me IF they set up the infrastructure because it acts more like gasoline, i.e. quick fill times, longer range than BEVs, abundant resource that wouldn’t strain the electrical grids that are already very strained in some places (like Cali). :)

His Stigness > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
10/08/2020 at 18:47

But the problem with having a fuel system just like gasoline is that it also continues to pollute, whereas you can feasibly charge your car on renewable energy alone, and the transmission of electricity doesn’t put on a strain on roads and such like transporting fuel.

And the biggest advantage of EV over fuel cells is that you can install a charger in your garage/home.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > His Stigness
10/08/2020 at 19:15

True about transporting hydrogen, you’d need trucks and ships to transport it yet. As for charging on renewable energy...true, but if a proper hydrogen generation setting was set up, that could create hydrogen using renewable energy as well, though it would need a lot of it, and hydrogen EVs have no emissions, similar to BEVs.

Yeah, having a charger in your house would be good though with EVs, I agree. But most of us are used to popping into a station to fill up though, so that would just be the same if hydrogen stations were the thing.

LJ909 > His Stigness
10/08/2020 at 19:22

I think it’s because that one number is the main one that matters. What gets me, like I pointed out to someone else, these testers never take into account environmental effects in the batteries ranges either.