The Fisker Ocean Removes the Anxiety out of Long Range Driving
The electric vehicle world is full of “paper specs” and “real-world realities,” but few cars bridge that gap as interestingly as the Fisker Ocean. If you’ve been following the EV space, you know the Ocean Extreme/One has made some serious waves with its range. We’re talking about a vehicle that officially boasts an EPA-estimated 360 miles on a single charge—a number that has been verified and lauded across the automotive blogosphere.From Edmunds (who managed a staggering 358 miles in their independent testing) to InsideEVs, the consensus is clear: the range isn’t just a marketing gimmick. It’s a legitimate long-distance contender. But as any seasoned EV owner will tell you, the spec sheet is just the starting line. Once you add personal style, varying speeds, and the unpredictable nature of California traffic, the numbers start to tell a more nuanced, “lived-in” story.The Style Tax: 22″ Wheels vs. The Range
Let’s start with the aesthetics. I opted for the 22″ wheels because, frankly, they make the Ocean look phenomenal. They give the car that aggressive, planted stance that separates it from the “jellybean” look of so many other electric SUVs. However, beauty comes with a literal price in the form of rolling resistance.
On average, stepping up to the 22-inch F3 SlipStream wheels results in a 10% range hit compared to the standard 20-inch setup. While the car is physically capable of that 360-mile mark, those extra two inches of wheel diameter knocks my long distance driving down to roughly 325 miles of potential range.
Putting it to the Test: SF to Palm Springs
I recently took the Ocean on a classic California trek: San Francisco to Palm Springs. This is the ultimate litmus test for a long-range EV. It was on the sister trip, San Fran to San Diego, that the Lucid Grand Touring posted it’s wonderous 500-mile drive. On my trip, I actually achieved 325 miles on the journey: Driving 270 miles from San Fran to Bakersfield, arriving with 55 miles remaining on the computer. Now, looking at the math, that’s almost exactly the 10% reduction I expected from my wheel choice.But there’s a caveat: the “Golden State crawl.” A significant portion of that drive was spent in the 55–65 mph range due to heavy traffic. In the EV world, traffic is actually your friend. Lower speeds reduce aerodynamic drag—the ultimate enemy of battery life. Had I been cruising at a steady 75–80 mph on a clear highway, that 325-mile figure likely would have dipped closer to the 290-300 range I normally get. Even the Lucid had to respect this notion of speed v. distance, and achieved their great run driving an average 65 mph.
The Desert Routine: LA and Vegas Runs
Living in the desert, my most frequent routes are the Palm Springs to Los Angeles round trip and coming home from Las Vegas. These are the drives that define my ownership experience, and they’ve settled into a very consistent “real-world” average.Whether I’m fighting the wind through the San Gorgonio Pass or climbing the grades out of Nevada, I am consistently seeing 300-mile drives.- Palm Springs to LA Round Trip: This is roughly 210–240 miles depending on where in the basin I’m heading. I can leave home with a full charge, handle my business in the city, and get back to my driveway without ever looking for a public charger.
- Vegas to Palm Springs: This is about 230–270 miles depending on the route. Coming home from the strip, often with the AC cranked, I still roll in with a comfortable buffer. Our last trip, taking the back route through Kelso and Joshua Tree, with temps in the 90’s, I returned home with 71 miles remaining!
- So here’s the funny thing about the 22″ wheels, the car isn’t calibrated properly for the increased wheel size, so the odometer under reports the mileage, so reported miles are lower by a few points. As you can see, the Google map shows 229 miles from Fontainebleau in Las Vegas to our home. But the car recorded 222.7 miles driven. And as much, the 71 miles remaining, may translate to an actual 75 miles, if I were to actually drive to a dead battery, so that would have been a total drive range of roughly 305 total miles
- Vegas to Palm Springs: This is about 230–270 miles depending on the route. Coming home from the strip, often with the AC cranked, I still roll in with a comfortable buffer. Our last trip, taking the back route through Kelso and Joshua Tree, with temps in the 90’s, I returned home with 71 miles remaining!
