Cocijo
Distinguished Member
General - Using an EV for extended journeys
This was the first extended journey in an EV for me, other than a Tesla. Previously all extended journeys were either using the Supercharger network or in an ICE, not using the public charging network.
Other EV’s that I’ve owned have only been used for local travel.
Using Superchargers you do feel a bit more confident to travel at a higher speed and run lower on battery, knowing that there will be available chargers that always work, so it was interesting to experience the public charger network on a longer trip.
Planning
I’ve mentioned previously that extended journeys in an EV need planning. Unlike an ICE you can’t really just jump in and go. The other really different experience for me is the average speed of a journey needed to achieve a reasonable range.
Average speeds
Most longer trips involve motorways or faster roads. This trip was nearly all motorway. To get a better range and less frequent stops out of an EV you must keep your speed down.
This can be an irritating experience. Travelling at 60-70mph on the motorways means that you actively engage with slower traffic. This can be a lot less relaxing.
Just lifting your speed by between 10–15mph takes you out of this area and makes for an easier (and safer in my opinion) drive, but it comes with a significant range reduction.
EV’s don’t like motorways
I’ve always liked to press on and get to my destination if possible rather than pootle along - unless your journey is relatively short even bigger battery EV’s don’t have that much range at high speed.
This is one of the current big limitations of all EV’s - drive them quickly and the range just plummets.
Charging experiences - 384miles - 3 x charges
The weekend trip totalled about 385miles. I had 3 charges. One was a destination overnight foc charge. The two others at rapids on the route. I started full at home and ended back at home with low battery light on. The rapids charging cost £13.90p and added about 40kwhr.
The 2 Rapid chargers
The 2 rapid chargers that I used were at J2 M40 services - outward and M1 MK Coachway coming back.
J2 M40 - chargers hidden away
The M40 Gridserve charger worked ok - I used contactless credit card - 30p/kwhr.
When you first arrive you see the Econtricity chargers which are I think 62p/kwhr - just around the corner are the Gridserve ones - poor signs at the services for the EV charging points.
Each Gridserve rapid has two cables but I don’t think both can be used at the same time.
Cars were waiting as I finished at 81% and pulled out of the bay - I think that I was lucky.
MK Coachway
The MK Coachway BP chargers are plentiful. Again I used contactless credit card payment. I got the error message shown in the pic below after a while, but by this time had enough to get home. Nice setup here. I wonder what double green lines on the road mean?
Summary
Overall, quite a nice trip. As an occasional journey I think it worked fine.
The ZS is not designed for regular longer journeys and that’s not what I purchased it for.
If travelling long distances regularly I’m afraid an ICE is still the best option. Even with Tesla it can be frustrating having to top up all the time if you’ve deadlines to meet.
The ZS was comfortable and quiet enough for this type of journey and the power and performance more than capable. If not for the range impact it’s quite easy to cruise along all day at the motorway limit.
Charging worked out well. I think that if you can choose larger hubs with multiple chargers you will have more confidence in getting a charge.