Everyone’s Buying Teslas And I’m Just Here Like…
As we continue to evolve, and society pushes for sustainability more and more, going green has never been trendier. Now the shift to going completely emission free is a slow one, innovative companies like Tesla are not only ushering in a new era of environmentally-friendly vehicles, they’re doing it in style.
Here in Montreal, we seem to be embracing the trend too, because as you've probably noticed, Teslas keep popping up all over the city. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely a step in the right direction, just that I’m here like, "Nice car and all, but for $120k, can it actually last farther than a milk-run to the corner store before running out of juice?”
With some help from the auto insurance experts at La Capitale, I decided to find out exactly how efficient this new automotive generation really is by putting the driving ranges of 9 different 100% electric vehicles to the ultimate road test: A trip to Gaspé!
First stop - Drummondville (110km from Montreal)
With a 100km driving range, the Mitsubishi i-MiEV couldn't make it to Drummondville, but the Smart Fortwo Cabriolet with 110km range does barely manage. The Ford Focus (120km) breezes through but with only 10km to spare. Three down, six to go!
Second stop - Victoriaville (162km from Montreal)
If you're looking to visit the famous Le Madrid restaurant (you know, the one with all the dinosaurs out front?), the Chevrolet Spark EV and the Kia Soul EV will get you there, but not much further unfortunately, tapping out with 130km and 150km driving ranges respectively. It's also the end of the road for the futuristic-looking BMW I3 which offers 160km driving range, 2km short of Victoriaville itself. A solid effort by all.
Final stop - Rivière-du-Loup (432km from Montreal)
Out of the 3 remaining competitors, only the Tesla Model S (439km driving range) arrives with charge to spare, over the Nissan Leaf (172km driving range) and Tesla's Model X counterpart (410km driving range). In the end, Tesla proves to be the undeniable champion, but we already knew it would didn't we.
Okay, driving all the way to Gaspé on a single charge is still impossible, even for Mr. Musk himself, but the results are still very promising. Overall, driving ranges come down to a variety of factors, and depending on your personal needs, electric cars can go the distance.
Considering the long-term savings, the good it does for the planet, and a growing network of charging stations (including more than 800 here in Quebec), going electric is finally becoming a viable form of transportation. The government even offers generous rebates on the purchase or rental of certain models to encourage the transition.
So while Tesla is certainly making electric cars look cooler than ever, they're not the only ones playing the gas-free game. Major manufacturers like Ford, Chevy, Mitsubishi, and even BMW are all racing to turn the eco-dream into mainstream reality, and I for one am all for it. Here's to the future of affordable sustainability!