I want to reliably reach 10 miles in the city. Whatever the device is, matching units would be in each of our two cars.
I thought I wanted a walkie talkie but minimal reading convinces me that I can’t guarantee the range with units I’ve seen so far - claims of range are for “ideal conditions”.
What do I want? 10-mile range absolutely. Store and use in car. Chargeable in car. Can forget about it till SHTF.
There is no absolute on range with any radio. It depends on a number of factors. A 40W mobile radio may get a little father than a 2w-5w handheld, but if you are in rough terrain, the weather is poor or your antenna isn’t optimized it won’t matter what radio you’re using.
This Radio Range chart may help answer your question. It was written for FRS/GMRS radios, but generally applies to other radio services as well.