STATE OF CHARGE

With just 16 hours to complete a three-state, 600-plus-mile roundtrip, we judge whether the nation's non-Tesla fast-charging network is a match for the new breed of long-range EVs like Jaguar's inspired 2019 I-Pace.

It's a trip we've done scores of times with barely a thought. From our home near SAE International headquarters in western Pennsylvania to the metro Detroit area is approximately 300 miles (483 km) of highway driving. We often do it in four-and-a-half hours without a stop of any kind, much less for fuel. Some diesels and hybrids, and even a few conventional gasoline vehicles, can knock off the entire roundtrip on a single tankful.

That wouldn't be the case this time. Jaguar had offered Automotive Engineering seat time in its new battery-electric I-Pace sedan and a must-attend conference was occurring the day before we were scheduled to return the brand's first-ever electric vehicle (EV). We were determined to make our familiar trip in the unfamiliar Jag.