Future-proofing cars is no bad thing, but I wonder if the ultra-fast chargers to feed them will really get built, and if they are, whether they will be able to give their best consistently. We can complain about the government and that “the infrastructure isn’t good enough”, but I think that’s missing the point.
Let’s be honest: 400kW is an enormous amount of power. Put a different way, it’s about the same as a BMW M3 CS at full throttle (543bhp is 405kW). Surely what we need – to put it in fuel terms – is not faster pumps but smaller tanks that go the same distance.
Even if someone comes up with a production-ready 200kWh solid-state battery tomorrow that weighs 100kg and can charge at 1000kW, that power still needs to come from somewhere.
It’s why I went a bit gooey in my recent review of the Mercedes-Benz CLA EQ. It gets about 100 miles more range than the BMW i4 from a similarly sized battery. That’s 100 miles you don’t have to sit around waiting for it to charge; 100 miles you effectively don’t have to pay for. It’s why I get annoyed at cars that do a wasteful 2.5mpkWh.
It feels faintly coal-powered. When a Ford Mustang V8 does 20mpg, at least you get both speed and burbly noises in return. In an inefficient 600bhp EV, you just get speed.
