By Gary S. Vasilash

One of the things that OEMs are touting is the range that their electric vehicles can travel before they need a charge.

This, of course, is a means by which the dreaded consumer “range anxiety” with EVs can be assuaged.

For example, when Mercedes introduced its VISION EQXX concept car last week one of the points that people stressed about this sleek concept is that it has a range on the order of 620 miles.

When Chevy introduced the 2024 Silverado EV it noted that it has an estimated range of 400 miles.

While not a Mercedes, think about a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. Stylish. Seats five. Fully fitted with tech. Depending on which trim level, it returns a combined miles per gallon rating of either 52 mpg or 47 mpg.

So, with its 13.2-gallon fuel tank, this means that you have range of 686 miles or 620.4 miles. In a car that you can buy today. (Assuming that you can find one.)

Then the Silverado.

While the numbers aren’t available for the 2022 3.0L I-6 turbo-diesel, there are for the ’21 model with that engine. The 4WD truck has a combined miles per gallon rating of 26 mpg.

The Crew Cab has a 24-gallon tank.

So this means that the Silverado diesel has a range of 624 miles.

Somehow that electric 400-mile range is impressive only for an EV.

And then, of course, there is that whole thing about charging.

One of the features of the ’24 Silverado is that thanks to its fast-charging capability, one can get 100 miles of range within 10 minutes.

According to the American Petroleum Institute, it takes an average of two minutes to fill a vehicle with liquid fuel.

Somehow that 10-minute charge doesn’t seem all that impressive.