far your daily commute is. If you are traveling very far from home each day, this will affect your car’s potential range. The practical electric car to choose would be one that has a range of 1/3 more than the distance you normally travel. The most ideal car would be one that has twice the range of the usual distance you normally travel. The need for a battery recharge after a long commute can be easily resolved with a power-up station at your work place, so that your battery has the full work day in which to recharge before the long commute home.  

 There are electric cars that are capable of higher speed long distance driving. The Mitsubishi i-MiEV can run at speeds of 70-80 mph, but its range will be reduced, and you will need to figure in stops for recharges along with your estimated travel time. If you are traveling a long distance but simply driving at normal speeds, this may not be a problem.

 There are other considerations to take into account with regards to how well your car will travel on the battery power you have available and how wide its potential range is. In most instances you can run all of your daily errands without worrying about stopping to charge. However, there are occasional circumstances that reduce your car’s range that you will need to account for in advance, in order to avoid getting stuck, such as:

 Driving in the winter, when the range will be lessened by 20-25 percent because of the effect of cold temperatures on the batteries

• Using the car’s heater and windshield wipers at the same time, which uses more of the battery power and reduces the car’s potential range
• The age of the car’s batteries will also affect your car’s ability to travel long distances and high speeds; older batteries do not hold a charge for as long and range will be reduced incrementally