A month ago, a friend of mine purchased a new Prius "Prime", which is a "plug in" hybrid that's supposed to run most of the time on its battery. The manual states that a full charge requires 5 hours from a standard 120 volt outlet, or 2 hours from a special 240 Volt outlet (the type used by an electric clothes dryer). Her round-trip commute is 125 miles at highway speeds; when she works from home she generally drives 30 to 40 miles locally, and she frequently makes daily trips of 220 to 330 miles on work assignments, visiting her friends or on weekend get-aways.
Unfortunately she's had a few issues:
First, the car's on-board charging cable is not long enough to reach a suitable outlet in her house, and it's specifically stated in the manual that it not be used with an extension cord. Therefore she cannot charge at home or when visiting friends or get-aways. There are suitable charging stations at work, but they're sometimes occupied. She's used a public charging station once, but was dissatisfied with the multi-hour wait while charging.
Second, the car's battery apparently has a range of only 20 to 25 miles when fully charged (the dealer said that's typical). Since the majority of her trips are much longer than that and she can't charge at home, her car's battery is nearly always discharged. Fortunately the car is a hybrid, so the engine runs constantly unless she's braking, moving slowly or stopped in traffic.
Thirdly, her mileage is nowhere near the 50+ MPG that was claimed; it's actually not much more than her previous conventional Toyota RAV-4.
So how practical could a pure-electric car be for her? I'm feeling that for the charging time to be reduced to 5 or 10 minutes for full charge at public charging stations (such as at gas stations), charging systems and/or batteries will have to evolve to a much higher level than is currently attainable.
I don't see that rapid charging at home/work/friends will ever be economically feasible: It's my understanding that all existing and proposed rapid-charging stations require industrial-grade 3-phase power far in excess of that available in residential areas. Even when a medium-power 240 Volt dryer-grade connection (generally installed in a garage, which my friend doesn't have room for) is used, full-charge time for a modern long-range electric car exceeds 10 hours.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a huge 'pro-electric/hybrid guy' (but I'm ok with them, just don't own one yet). It sounds like your friend is almost exactly the wrong demographic for a plug-in car.
When I go to the office and go out to lunch, my commute is probably 25 miles total per day. When I work from home, I probably drive 40 miles per week. When I 'go somewhere' (visiting family, rocket launches, vacation etc.) I will do 1200 miles in a week. I have a 200A service in the house, but it is pretty loaded, so a change would be needed there. There is a transformer in my front yard, so the concept of getting higher voltage and/or 3-phase is not out of the question and could likely be done. I would probably be a decent candidate for a full electric car. Your friend seems not to be and a hybrid or gas car simply makes more sense.
As far as the 'no extension cord' rule, I'm sure it is 'correct' and insurance wouldn't cover anything if something went wrong, but at some point I imagine they will specify a gauge vs length requirement.
I think (not a fact, as I haven't committed) that as of today, having a plug-in only car requires a lifestyle commitment. We all are used to the constraints required by ICE cars, but the differences for EV or Hybrids are different. If you want to go straight EV today with the least inconvenience, you'll probably need to tweak your house power set-up, figure out how to get an extension cord that might break rules but be safe from a technical standpoint (i.e. large gauge/low voltage drop at the current required) and then accept that you get screwed every now and then. Same thing goes for if you want to have a big dog, children or a pool - a lifestyle commitment is required.
I imagine in 50+ years, the inconvenience of driving a 'classic' 2021 Corvette will be similar, as you'll have to bring your own fuel with you, transport it in approved containers (since all convenience stores will be rapid charging but only one every thousand miles will have 'gas' vs. charging stations), have a permit for 'non-self driving vehicle' and steer with your hands and not an app will make the ICE guys feel like today's plug-in guys.
Pretty sure I won't see it get that far, but who knows. . .
I think major infrastructure changes will happen and high voltage/high current (relative to today's common household stuff, not the proper industry definitions) will become more common at the household level. Where that power will be generated, I have no clue. . .then again, the first demonstration of electric light was 1835 and the 'common' incandescent light bulb came about 70 years later and lasted for 100 years before being upset by other technologies. Pretty sure nobody on the forum knows a time when electric light wasn't common. . .same may be said about EV's by the new rocketeers we help get started in the hobby!
Sandy.