Road Trip EV Journalism

[Jason71]

Exeter looks to be turning into a pretty big hub now (they need queue management..) - aside from that Tesla has decent coverage up the M4 and M3/A303 (less so here). Not sure about up the M5. M40 Banbury is there for everyone too.

So realyl that leaves the leg of Cornwall. Tesla has Lifton and cambourne so you have a handy 'last mile' stop you can use for local travel if you're heading deep. So for non-tesla 'all' they really need is a couple of equivalents to those two deeper into cornwall.. hopefully soon?

Reported last week that lifton is doubling to 16. Not sure where they will put them. 16 would make about 30% of the total spaces in the carpark supercharger bays!

Wiki - UK and Ireland Supercharger Site News

Maidstone I've stopped there a few times coming back from Chunnel, but I don't do that anymore as everyone coming off the Chunnel (ferry too I expect) stops there and limited (6) stalls, old 150kW charger (so charging speed is as per "paired" if other stalls are full, even if not also had to...

teslamotorsclub.com

 

[spdpsba]

Reported last week that lifton is doubling to 16. Not sure where they will put them. 16 would make about 30% of the total spaces in the carpark supercharger bays!

Wiki - UK and Ireland Supercharger Site News

Maidstone I've stopped there a few times coming back from Chunnel, but I don't do that anymore as everyone coming off the Chunnel (ferry too I expect) stops there and limited (6) stalls, old 150kW charger (so charging speed is as per "paired" if other stalls are full, even if not also had to...

teslamotorsclub.com

That will be a huge relief. But where will they put that. Hope they are not going to remove the farm shop or the pub/cafe. I really like their cakes/coffee. Also will be good if they increase the numbers in Camborne.

 

[SpanishJ0n]

Re planning. With any Ice so long as the tank is above empty you can go anywhere and find fuel within 25 miles.. usually lots closer. For an ev you need home charging and keep it at 80% or more to be able to just leap in and go. Especially if you live more rurally and need to go cross country. You have to plan unless on motorway routes. Folks without home charging will have a hard time.

If you have a oil burner this is very bad advice as you risk a *very* expensive bill repairing the HP fuel system...

 

[DuncanLei]

Exeter looks to be turning into a pretty big hub now (they need queue management..) - aside from that Tesla has decent coverage up the M4 and M3/A303 (less so here). Not sure about up the M5. M40 Banbury is there for everyone too.

So realyl that leaves the leg of Cornwall. Tesla has Lifton and cambourne so you have a handy 'last mile' stop you can use for local travel if you're heading deep. So for non-tesla 'all' they really need is a couple of equivalents to those two deeper into cornwall.. hopefully soon?

There are non-Tesla chargers at Strawberry Fields farm which is on the same junction as Lifton, only 2 chargers and only 50kw but a nice spot and nearer to A30.

 

[Jason71]

That will be a huge relief. But where will they put that. Hope they are not going to remove the farm shop or the pub/cafe. I really like their cakes/coffee. Also will be good if they increase the numbers in Camborne.

I guess the destination chargers might get lost. Shame. last time I was there I plugged into one of them then went for dinner.........at different pub down the road

 

[thewishy]

There are non-Tesla chargers at Strawberry Fields farm which is on the same junction as Lifton, only 2 chargers and only 50kw but a nice spot and nearer to A30.

Podpoint list them as 75kw, however 89p/kWh

 

[Rirawin]

Panorama are doing a piece about EV cars broadcasting tonight BBC One - Panorama, Electric Cars: Is It Time to Buy?

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Panorama are doing a piece about EV cars broadcasting tonight BBC One - Panorama, Electric Cars: Is It Time to Buy?

Prediction: They'll say the cars are too expensive and the infrastructure needs to be much better.

 

[Konicom04]

I met a friend yesterday who i haven't seen in a while - he was shocked i have a tesla ( he knows me as a major gear head with love for stick shifts and track driving)

He laughed, told me he drove one and hated it. The fact that it takes time to supercharge, and its limited 200 mile range.

When I told him that I never visit supercharges, and never stop at gas stations, and have absolutely no range anxiety, his eyes popped.

Generally - people are royally clueless about EV's

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

I met a friend yesterday who i haven't seen in a while - he was shocked i have a tesla ( he knows me as a major gear head with love for stick shifts and track driving)

He laughed, told me he drove one and hated it. The fact that it takes time to supercharge, and its limited 200 mile range.

When I told him that I never visit supercharges, and never stop at gas stations, and have absolutely no range anxiety, his eyes popped.

Generally - people are royally clueless about EV's

It's one thing to know that you can charge the car at home, and destinations, but it's another thing _really_ to understand the implications of that.
That's the one thing about EVs I really want to drill into people.

(I haven't had to rapid charge (UK)/fast charge (US) my EV since last July.)

 

[Konicom04]

It's one thing to know that you can charge the car at home, and destinations, but it's another thing _really_ to understand the implications of that.
That's the one thing about EVs I really want to drill into people.

(I haven't had to rapid charge (UK)/fast charge (US) my EV since last July.)

My family of 4 adults have gone through 6 Chevy Volts ( Opel / Vauxhall Ampera in UK) over the last 9 years and learned the brilliancy of that car for daily commuting.
I swear - my wife would call me on rare occasions ( once or twice a year ) and would ask me to remind her how to put gas ( petrol? ) in it.
Its that good.

She doesn't have to call anymore - no more ICE here

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

My family of 4 adults have gone through 6 Chevy Volts ( Opel / Vauxhall Ampera in UK) over the last 9 years and learned the brilliancy of that car for daily commuting.
I swear - my wife would call me on rare occasions ( once or twice a year ) and would ask me to remind her how to put gas ( petrol? ) in it.
Its that good.

She doesn't have to call anymore - no more ICE here

Our (2013) Volt is car 2. Hasn't been filled since October. We had a mild winter so very little ERDTT, and I have destination charging so I can round trip even in winter. I did forget to plug in one day recently so the tank's lower than it should be. Out of the colder weather I can round trip to work without plugging in, but not a chance in winter. Maybe we can make it to our first Fuel Maintenance Mode!

 

[Jason71]

It's one thing to know that you can charge the car at home, and destinations, but it's another thing _really_ to understand the implications of that.
That's the one thing about EVs I really want to drill into people.

(I haven't had to rapid charge (UK)/fast charge (US) my EV since last July.)

What I always tell people is forget all the charging stuff its fine so long as you have a driveway and aren't a rep. The reason to get an EV is so that you never have to get into a hot or cold car ever again and never have or de-ice. Even if you forget to pre-heat. Instant heat when you set off.
I take a road trip a few times a year. I do one of those things multiple times a day much of the year. It was 46 degrees inside the car today when I turned on the ac from my desk this afternoon. You never hear that talked about outside of places like this.

 

[Alan J]

Prediction: They'll say the cars are too expensive and the infrastructure needs to be much better.

This programme was the usual mix of half truths and worst case scenarios. Driving to Scotland but not registering for Chargeplace Scotland in advance, not using Superchargers even when available etc. Home Charging costs £20 so how come it costs me £3 ?

 

[RedMod3]

This programme was the usual mix of half truths and worst case scenarios. Driving to Scotland but not registering for Chargeplace Scotland in advance, not using Superchargers even when available etc. Home Charging costs £20 so how come it costs me £3 ?

There is some truth in the programme. I guy I knew bought a Porsche Taycan, he loved the car but got rid of it after 6 months because he could not locate super-fast-chargers with any reliability. I suspect that if Tesla had not invested in Superchargers, they would not have been successful.

However, the BBC programme was very biased, as to be expected - they try to create news, not report it.

 

[Konicom04]

Our (2013) Volt is car 2. Hasn't been filled since October. We had a mild winter so very little ERDTT, and I have destination charging so I can round trip even in winter. I did forget to plug in one day recently so the tank's lower than it should be. Out of the colder weather I can round trip to work without plugging in, but not a chance in winter. Maybe we can make it to our first Fuel Maintenance Mode!

I do think the Volt is the best invention ever. The new prius is a total copy of the tech while GM decided to ditch Voltech altogether .
My lifetime "fuel consumption" was at 205 mpg when i sold it at 118 K miles

 

[Zilla91]

Driving to Scotland but not registering for Chargeplace Scotland in advance

But here's the thing, your average punter won't know that they should register for Chargeplace Scotland in advance. Heck, I wouldn't have known to do that until I read your post.

 

[Medved_77]

For anyone visiting Scotland please note that you do not need to register for an account in advance to use ChargePlace Scotland. You can sign up via web page or app immediately before you start your charge, just like many other providers.

Some charge points also accept contactless payment.

If you are well organised, you may wish to sign up before your trip and receive an RFID card. This can be preferable to using the app or web page and if you're visiting very rural parts of Scotland, can also help with patchy cellular coverage where only one carrier may provide a service.

 

[Adopado]

But here's the thing, your average punter won't know that they should register for Chargeplace Scotland in advance. Heck, I wouldn't have known to do that until I read your post.

But if you had been going on a trip to Scotland you would therefore spend a few minutes looking up the most common charging options… and you would immediately spot that ChargePlaceScotland was by far the most common and widely distributed.

 

[Adopado]

This programme was the usual mix of half truths and worst case scenarios. Driving to Scotland but not registering for Chargeplace Scotland in advance, not using Superchargers even when available etc. Home Charging costs £20 so how come it costs me £3 ?

If making a programme about EVs why is that they choose a presenter who has had no experience of driving an EV? The genuine problem issues could have still been raised just as effectively but from a position of understanding. I wouldn’t want someone to explain to me how a computer can enhance my life unless they have a good level of experience in using computers!