Howard wrote:With most new BEVs with larger batteries and fast charging one can add 100 miles range in well under half an hour - but it will cost more than charging at home!
Not always. Just been to the cinema this afternoon and the retail park has about 16 chargers (a mix of 7kW and 22kW) that are free to use. So I dropped in about 45kW (about 185 miles) whilst watching the film for nothing and saving £2.25.
Mike4 wrote:I always imagined when the battery gets low, the engine starts and runs at a fixed speed (for peak fuel efficiency) charging the battery, and the battery runs the electric motor which pushes the car along. Is this wrong?
That used to be the case with some 'range extender' type electric/petrol cars, the BMW i3 Range Extender was an example, but generally isn't the case now.
These days the battery is used for short/low speed/stop go, type journeys if it has charge from being plugged in or from regenerative charging, as it is ideal for those uses - fuel efficiency, environmental, etc. Then the petrol engine is generally used as a normal petrol engine in a car would be apart from that, although with the battery and motor providing a boost to performance when you 'floor it'. That isn't to say that with some cars you cannot change to a setting which will charge the battery from the engine, but that is really only useful if you don't have somewhere to plug it in and you need to use it regularly in a ULEZ zone where you have to use battery only as ICE are prohibited.