Road trip from East Midlands to Skye (and back)
Discussion
I’ve had a BMW iX50 for almost a year now and I have taken it for a few long trips - which have generally been just by myself. That’s significant as there is less downside on a solo trip than when the whole family are in tow. We have just returned from a week long trip to Skye. Some folks thought it was “ambitious” to undertake this trip. Thankfully the iX50 has decent range and I planned the route (to some extent) around charge locations. Some notes below to help any others planning the trip.
First charge point was Ionity in Alnwick of the M1. Super fast & super reliable. Car was at 35% when i plugged in. We ate lunch while the car charged to 100% in less than an hour.
We stopped at Edinburgh for a couple of nights to see some shows and catch up with friends. There was enough battery to get us to Pitlochry with 47% charge. Again, a spot of lunch and some light shopping for meats, cheeses & whiskey which took an hour and a half and the car was back to 99%.
One benefit of the slow speeds on the highland roads is efficiency is towards the higher end of the spectrum. Saw some really good numbers in the iX50 when pootling at 50mph.
We stayed just off the mainland 6 miles from the Kyle of Lochalsh. Charging on Skye itself was poor, so a couple of times I drove into Kyle and took a charge. I found it reliable for the 3 charges i did there, but i saw some others (who had hired an EV from Inverness on a fly/drive trip) who were less successful. Non-UK people can’t get the app and rely only on webpay. This seems to the least reliable method of getting a charge from a Charepoint Scotland operated machine.
I did come across a charger at the Scottish candle co site but it wouldn’t start via the app or the webpay.
On the way back down, we stopped at Oban for lunch & whiskey distillery tour. I didn’t need a charge but there was one in the car park so i thought why not. This is where i learnt that different generation chargers work differently. Newest ones across RFID card / app / webpay. Oldest ones are card only.
Final destination was Cameron House off Loch Lomond for a couple of nights. Free charging and plenty chargers! Hurrah!
First charge point was Ionity in Alnwick of the M1. Super fast & super reliable. Car was at 35% when i plugged in. We ate lunch while the car charged to 100% in less than an hour.
We stopped at Edinburgh for a couple of nights to see some shows and catch up with friends. There was enough battery to get us to Pitlochry with 47% charge. Again, a spot of lunch and some light shopping for meats, cheeses & whiskey which took an hour and a half and the car was back to 99%.
One benefit of the slow speeds on the highland roads is efficiency is towards the higher end of the spectrum. Saw some really good numbers in the iX50 when pootling at 50mph.
We stayed just off the mainland 6 miles from the Kyle of Lochalsh. Charging on Skye itself was poor, so a couple of times I drove into Kyle and took a charge. I found it reliable for the 3 charges i did there, but i saw some others (who had hired an EV from Inverness on a fly/drive trip) who were less successful. Non-UK people can’t get the app and rely only on webpay. This seems to the least reliable method of getting a charge from a Charepoint Scotland operated machine.
I did come across a charger at the Scottish candle co site but it wouldn’t start via the app or the webpay.
On the way back down, we stopped at Oban for lunch & whiskey distillery tour. I didn’t need a charge but there was one in the car park so i thought why not. This is where i learnt that different generation chargers work differently. Newest ones across RFID card / app / webpay. Oldest ones are card only.
Final destination was Cameron House off Loch Lomond for a couple of nights. Free charging and plenty chargers! Hurrah!
We did Oxfordshire to the Kyle of Lochalsh last year. I found the 3 CP Scotland chargers either side of the Skye Bridge and the really old one at the Glenshiel Chocolate shop all worked perfectly with the RFID card.
I was really surprised, as from what I had read they weren't that reliable.
I was really surprised, as from what I had read they weren't that reliable.
"This is where i learnt that different generation chargers work differently. Newest ones across RFID card / app / webpay. Oldest ones are card only."
You highlighted an interesting problem.
Already technology is making obsolete chargers which have been installed not a few years hence.
How long before technology merges to offer ubiquitous charging?
I am talking about a petrol pump. That hasn't changed for many years.
My stance on EV's is that they are not needed and are a reaction to politicians rather than science and technology.
Still, my thought about the pace of development stands. How long before the 'old' chargers are covered in grass? Think of all the waste going into their installation etc. Funded by tax payer subsidies.....
You highlighted an interesting problem.
Already technology is making obsolete chargers which have been installed not a few years hence.
How long before technology merges to offer ubiquitous charging?
I am talking about a petrol pump. That hasn't changed for many years.
My stance on EV's is that they are not needed and are a reaction to politicians rather than science and technology.
Still, my thought about the pace of development stands. How long before the 'old' chargers are covered in grass? Think of all the waste going into their installation etc. Funded by tax payer subsidies.....
FastEdd11e said:
I am talking about a petrol pump. That hasn't changed for many years.
Petrol pumps have changed considerably.First they were hand pumped.
Then they were operative operated and paid for in cash.
Then they were used by the driver and paid for at a kiosk.
Now they can paid for at the pump using RFID
FastEdd11e said:
"This is where i learnt that different generation chargers work differently. Newest ones across RFID card / app / webpay. Oldest ones are card only."
You highlighted an interesting problem.
Already technology is making obsolete chargers which have been installed not a few years hence.
How long before technology merges to offer ubiquitous charging?
I am talking about a petrol pump. That hasn't changed for many years.
My stance on EV's is that they are not needed and are a reaction to politicians rather than science and technology.
Still, my thought about the pace of development stands. How long before the 'old' chargers are covered in grass? Think of all the waste going into their installation etc. Funded by tax payer subsidies.....
All new chargers going forward, and for about the last two years have to accept contactless payment without requiring an app etc. The CCS socket is now the standard moving forwards. Standardisation in our part of the world has occured.You highlighted an interesting problem.
Already technology is making obsolete chargers which have been installed not a few years hence.
How long before technology merges to offer ubiquitous charging?
I am talking about a petrol pump. That hasn't changed for many years.
My stance on EV's is that they are not needed and are a reaction to politicians rather than science and technology.
Still, my thought about the pace of development stands. How long before the 'old' chargers are covered in grass? Think of all the waste going into their installation etc. Funded by tax payer subsidies.....
The obscure and difficult chargers represent the first wave of installations and will need to be scrapped, but moving forwards, the newer chargers could last a very long time. Easily as long as a typical petrol pump I expect - both require some maintenance of course.
As for EV's not being needed, they will save millions of lives and are simply a better way (speaking of science and technology...) to design a car.
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