Diesel remains the king

When a year ago Tesla He invited us to his gigafactoría In Berlin, he also offered us to return to Spain testing two of his cars. So once our visit to the factory ended, our return began. First aboard a Tesla Model and Long Range RWD And after a Tesla Model 3 highland in its version of great autonomy. A 2,500 kilometers return trip With the city of Berlin as origin and Madrid as destination.

As we have, and my partner Mario Arroyo reflects in the video that accompanies this text, the differences between Travel with an electric car and one of combustion They were simply minimal. On the way we take advantage of the recharge stops to stretch the legs and rest every 200 or 300 kilometers. In fact, most of the time the car was ready to continue before we finished going to the bathroom and having coffee or eating something fast.

As we verified firsthand, the driving experience was not suffered in the least, what cost did the trip mean? What differences are there between an electric car and one diesel or gasoline?

All details about the price of recharges

One of the main doubts we had when putting ourselves behind the wheel for 2,500 kilometers is whether there would be any substantial economic difference in traveling with an electric car or one of combustion.

Before putting the numbers on the table, we have to explain some points.

How do we choose the recharges

In the first place, throughout the trip we have recharged the batteries in the super -cargers that Tesla has distributed in Europe. In the first place because we wanted to experience what was the most comfortable way to travel with the American firm’s car.

Keep in mind that when planning the trip, Tesla gives priority on the route to its supercargers, although it is also possible that it shows the competition. Understanding that it is the type of usual conduction That a customer of this type of vehicle would do, we let the planner mark the road, provided that it complied with some minimums, such as not arriving excessively battery in the destination.

Recharges prices

The reflected prices refer to the cost that a Tesla owner would have or who decides to subscribe monthly to the company’s posts. In addition, the prices collected here are the ones we are in every moment and place.

As can be seen, the most expensive price for recharge is in Spain and the cheapest recharges were in France. The price of the same can vary in practice because in the valley hours it is cheaper than in the peak or of greater influx. This means that the reflected price can vary between four and five cents per kwh recharged.

Gasoline and diesel prices

To compare electricity prices with fossil fuels, we have taken as a reference the Official Bulletin of the European Union in which the average cost of gasoline and diesel is collected by countries.

The reflected prices are those collected by European organizations the days we were circulating in Europe. Keep in mind that these are an average so the final price can vary in practice. Taking into account the kilometers made in each country, we have been able to make the corresponding accounts.

As for consumption, we have simulated prices with a gasoline car that consumes 7 liters/100 kilometers and one diesel with a consumption of 5.5 liters/100 km.

The cost of our 2,500 kilometers trip

Clarified all these points, then we leave what was the total cost of our electric car trip from Berlin to Madrid.

In the upper image all the costs of the recharges are reflected. It reflects the following:

• In blue: the kilometers and the cost per day
• In green: the cheapest option (electric car)
• In yellow: the intermediate option (diesel car)
• In red: the most expensive option (gasoline car)

When taking out our own conclusions, anyone can take their cost per kilometer if you have a diesel or gasoline car. The formulas are simple:

1. We take out the liters consumed on a day. To do this, we apply the following formula: (km made * liters / 100 km) / 100
2. The result is the liters we have needed for the day. For example. If the car consumes 7 liters/100, for the first day of 500 kilometers we have needed 35 liters. (500*7) / 100 = 35 liters
3. That figure is multiplied by the price of gasoline in each country.
4. Following the example of the first day: 35*1,889 = 66,115 euros
5. The cost is taken per day and adds day by day until our own result is obtained.

If we talk about an electric car:

1. First we have to know the battery size.
2. We take the percentage of recharged battery as a reference.
3. If our battery has 100 kWh and recharges 75%, we will be recharging 75 kWh.
4. We multiply those KWH by the cost/kWh of recharge. In this case, 75 kWh*0.42 euros/kWh = 31.5 euros.
5. We add the recharges to have the cost per day.
6. We add the days to obtain the total cost.

Only 50 euros difference

At 2024 prices, 53.62 euros is the difference we have obtained at the end of our trip between recharging a Tesla electric car during Almost 2,500 kilometers in the company’s rapid recharge posts and fill our diesel deposit (taking as reference the average prices reflected by the European Union) with a consumption of 5.5 liters/100 km.

If we take as reference a gasoline car with a consumption of 7 liters/100 kilometers, the difference It shoots at 136.61 euros. Again, we take as a reference the average prices reflected by European agencies in each country.

This tells us that in the time/money relationship, what is most profitable is, without a doubt, the diesel vehicle when it comes to traveling by road for long distances. Keep in mind that although in all cases the breaks exceeded the time of the recharges, who seeks to make the way in the shortest possible time will probably compensate for a diesel car.

But to all these data can some be added Asterisks.

First, we have always recharged in the Tesla supercargators. Having used slower recharge posts during the night, the savings would have been greater although it would surely continue to compensate for the diesel extra costs if you want to perform the largest number of kilometers in the shortest possible time.

The second is that despite recharging in fast plugsthe cost continues to compensate for combustion vehicles. The greatest savings in the recharges of an electric car is achieved using slow plugs. The good thing is that on such a trip we can combine plugs, prioritizing the least powerful (and expensive) if we plan to stop eating, rest or sleep.

But, on the worst scenario (always loading in fast plugs) the electric car continues to compensate financially. The difference, obviously, narrows, but is still cheaper. Each one has to value the time he uses in loading and that, unfortunately, cannot be quantified for this test.

Finally, add that while the price difference of a diesel and an electric can be small, the cost of maintenance of the first on the second is much greater and, therefore, it can end up compensating in the long term. Like everything, it’s a matter of throwing numbers and checking it for ourselves. With this calculator You can do it yourself to know if it compensates to buy an electric car or how many kilometers are needed to compensate for the extra costs in front of another technology.

In short, each driver is a world and has its own circumstances. Luckily, the car market is not white or black, at least for the moment, and we have never had more technologies to choose from. Choose the one that best suits our needs It allows us to save as much as possible at the end of the useful life of our vehicle.

Images | Xataka

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*An earlier version of this article was published in May 2024