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LETS TALK EV’s: real world driving and experience… by Wayne Johnston

As of late there has been great discussion at every level on the merits of EV motoring vs ICE… All the silly and frankly idiotic comments show that many folks are clueless. At the end of the day like it or not EV’s are coming to a town near you. Before anyone chimes in on range, the cold etc., stop…


Yes there are challenges, but they are being met, not as rapidly as we want but they are getting better and better. Range is increasing and the issue of cold weather performance is being addressed as we speak. The infrastructure is being built, again not as rapidly as we would like.

You can beat up on Trudeau all you wish; however, I think you will find that this is very much a wise investment. The simple facts are Governments of all stripes often use incentives to attract such huge undertakings. Indeed even Doug Ford, hardly the brightest bulb in the box, has figured it out.

Odd how those in the Petroleum industry and some governments, like Smith's in Alberta, are doing everything they can to derail EV progress. But it's really quite simple. Alberta and many Albertans, especially in the oil industry, fear EV’s as their entire economy is Petro based. They want to sell more of the stuff and bugger the consequences.

Of course we will always need some fossil fuel, but we need to work on lowering our consumption. The reasons are obvious so I won’t belabour the point. I realize that EV’s aren’t for everyone, nor suited to every task… For the moment.

In September I sold my 17 Full sized LR Discovery Diesel. I was getting a combined 9.8 litres/100 Km. Decent mileage for such a big brute. I now have a 2024 Mazda CX90 GT PHEV, also a big brute… that delivers combined gas/EV 5.6 litres/100km. This includes over the winter where EV range is impacted. I’ve had it since Sept and have only put 9k km on it. I’m a retired Canadian Army Officer so I don’t commute anymore.

This machine is a good sized AWD 3 row SUV. It produces a combined 327 hp on regular petrol… so it’s hardly a dog when it comes to performance. I don’t have a level two charger as there is no need. I plug it in between 7pm and 7am for the cheaper electricity rate in Ontario.

Many days doing local errands I use no petrol. In fact there have been a few weeks I’ve driven every day and consumed none. Don’t assume I just do short trips. I often visit my 4.5 year old Granddaughter who, door to door, is 377 kms one way.

Mine is real world driving… in essence approximately 35% of the trip is pure EV. So riddle me this, particularly you folks who think that EV machines will never supersede ICE vehicles. I have a fair and serious question that goes to the heart of the matter. At the end of the day it’s about reducing fossil fuel consumption. How many of you driving your 3 row SUV’s and F150’s etc, are getting the real world mileage I’m getting? In all honesty I’m not even working at it as I know some folks drive to hyper mileage. I don’t…

For that matter how many of you driving cars, not SUV’s like Acura’s, Subarus, Toyotas, Nissans etc, are getting the mileage I’m getting… Precious few if you’re honest with yourself.

The money I’m saving on fuel is very noticeable. My spouse is really great with money and such. She tracks our expenses monthly and according to her figures our fuel bill has plummeted by 44%. I don’t know about you but I think that’s a rather substantial savings.

While an EV variant might not work for you it most certainly is working really well for us and others. Like many, I had range anxiety, hence my decision to go PHEV/Gas. I fully expect my next EV/Gas CX90 to have far better range, and far better cold weather performance.

That said I circle back to the fact that ICE machines will be outnumbered in the fullness of time. I wonder how many will actually be honest in the mileage they are getting in their ICE vehicles. Many of the larger ICE vehicles, and indeed many not so large, require the additional expense of Premium fuel to get optimum performance. Mine delivers optimum performance on regular, delivering optimum savings.

So, I have some advice for our premier, Doug Ford. He needs to reinstate the EV rebate in Ontario and encourage every other Premier to do so. That in itself will cause Danielle Smith to lose her raspberries.

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