Picking up first EV tomorrow and driving 400 miles home
Discussion
Just looking for a some advice as this will be my first EV experience outwith company vehicles where we have private charging facilities.
I will be driving from Heathrow to Glasgow tomorrow in a 42kw Fiat 500. I know this is probably the worst EV for such a journey but this is where I find myself.
The car has an official range of 199 miles but I expect at motorway speeds it will likely be more like 130/140 which means I am probably going to have to stop 3 or 4 times to recharge.
Are all chargers now contactless payments or do I need to have user accounts for the various suppliers? Is there a preferred app (if required)?
I realise this is probably a dumb question but I don’t want to be caught out tomorrow?
I will be driving from Heathrow to Glasgow tomorrow in a 42kw Fiat 500. I know this is probably the worst EV for such a journey but this is where I find myself.
The car has an official range of 199 miles but I expect at motorway speeds it will likely be more like 130/140 which means I am probably going to have to stop 3 or 4 times to recharge.
Are all chargers now contactless payments or do I need to have user accounts for the various suppliers? Is there a preferred app (if required)?
I realise this is probably a dumb question but I don’t want to be caught out tomorrow?
Good luck!!
All the major services should have banks of chargers which will take contactless debit/credit cards.
However, seeing as you've got a 400+ mile trip, it would be worth getting an Electroverse 'card' from Octopus (you won't be able to get the card in 24 hours, but can use the Electroverse app which gives a discount, and then get a subscription to Tesla (or another network) to get cheaper charging on your trip.
I'm not sure how the FIAT's navigation (if it has any!!) handles a trip, but I just use Android Auto and stop when I need to, however you will need to plan a bit more. Use zapmap to get a view of chargers, or ABRP app to plan your trip.
All the major services should have banks of chargers which will take contactless debit/credit cards.
However, seeing as you've got a 400+ mile trip, it would be worth getting an Electroverse 'card' from Octopus (you won't be able to get the card in 24 hours, but can use the Electroverse app which gives a discount, and then get a subscription to Tesla (or another network) to get cheaper charging on your trip.
I'm not sure how the FIAT's navigation (if it has any!!) handles a trip, but I just use Android Auto and stop when I need to, however you will need to plan a bit more. Use zapmap to get a view of chargers, or ABRP app to plan your trip.
Bonefish Blues said:
Join Tesla for a month @£10.99 & use the Supercharger network with the card you've logged in the app. Pull up, fill up and drive away. You'll save the £10.99 on that single journey.
You don t need a subscription to use Tesla chargers. If you can see it in their app , with no Tesla registered, it s open to all.If it was my money.. i d use Tesla or Ionity (Ionity 47p Kwh with £10.50 subscription)
Set satnav to look only for those. Mine is set to Ionity only.
You may need decent nav app that will know fest charger availability etc, like abrp, presumably the Fiat will allow carplay etc!
RotorRambler said:
Bonefish Blues said:
Join Tesla for a month @£10.99 & use the Supercharger network with the card you've logged in the app. Pull up, fill up and drive away. You'll save the £10.99 on that single journey.
You don t need a subscription to use Tesla chargers. If you can see it in their app , with no Tesla registered, it s open to all.If it was my money.. i d use Tesla or Ionity (Ionity 47p Kwh with £10.50 subscription)
Set satnav to look only for those. Mine is set to Ionity only.
You may need decent nav app that will know fest charger availability etc, like abrp, presumably the Fiat will allow carplay etc!
AIUI, the faster you drive the less efficient it is so the lower the range. OTOH driving from London to Glasgow at 55mph will take you 3 weeks. Or at least it will feel like it.
I would probably not look at charging costs because once you find out that 55p per kWh is equivalent to about £1.60 per litre IIRC, if you have to pay 70p or more, you might cry a little inside so unread what I just wrote.
Once you get home, though, you'll probably be paying under 30p per kWh which is like paying for petrol back in the 90s. I do such short journeys with about 30-50 miles a week so I haven't bothered converting to an EV tariff. If you're doing daily 50 mile commutes then you will benefit from changing to an EV tariff. If you Wfh, you may find your normal day rate increases to over 30p (depending on supplier). Of course, you could spend about £5k(?) on a battery array and charge up those batteries at night on the Octopus 4p EV tariff.
It all takes more planning. When to charge, having to remember, what to charge, setting up weekday and weekend schedules. You like planning, right?
(Oh, in case you're wondering, I cba to change to an EV tariff because I'd first need a smart meter and that's a day I'd have to plan to not do any work. And since I'm doing so few miles, it isn't worth the cost savings. What I discovered is that my typical journeys through the week cost £1-2 so petrol is actually pretty cheap after all!)
I would probably not look at charging costs because once you find out that 55p per kWh is equivalent to about £1.60 per litre IIRC, if you have to pay 70p or more, you might cry a little inside so unread what I just wrote.
Once you get home, though, you'll probably be paying under 30p per kWh which is like paying for petrol back in the 90s. I do such short journeys with about 30-50 miles a week so I haven't bothered converting to an EV tariff. If you're doing daily 50 mile commutes then you will benefit from changing to an EV tariff. If you Wfh, you may find your normal day rate increases to over 30p (depending on supplier). Of course, you could spend about £5k(?) on a battery array and charge up those batteries at night on the Octopus 4p EV tariff.
It all takes more planning. When to charge, having to remember, what to charge, setting up weekday and weekend schedules. You like planning, right?
(Oh, in case you're wondering, I cba to change to an EV tariff because I'd first need a smart meter and that's a day I'd have to plan to not do any work. And since I'm doing so few miles, it isn't worth the cost savings. What I discovered is that my typical journeys through the week cost £1-2 so petrol is actually pretty cheap after all!)
I get jobs delivering these little low range EV long distance, including Scotland, the answer is always put it on the truck.
Flatly refuse to do the Transit Ev, too big for the truck .
I would be tempted not to leave Heathrow and get on a flight to Glasgow and have the car transported lol.
Wish I had done the truck with a petrol hybrid Connect van, useless piece of s
t with a tiny fuel tank. All the way to Inverness from London, a diesel does it on one tank.
Flatly refuse to do the Transit Ev, too big for the truck .
I would be tempted not to leave Heathrow and get on a flight to Glasgow and have the car transported lol.
Wish I had done the truck with a petrol hybrid Connect van, useless piece of s
t with a tiny fuel tank. All the way to Inverness from London, a diesel does it on one tank.The first thing would be is to make sure that wherever you are picking the Fiat 500 up from has it fully charged!
I'd download the Electroverse App, card will follow in the post, and use that initially.
Also download the ZapMap App.
That is an interesting initial first drive of it.... Good luck and perhaps do a follow-up letting us know how it went!
I'd download the Electroverse App, card will follow in the post, and use that initially.
Also download the ZapMap App.
That is an interesting initial first drive of it.... Good luck and perhaps do a follow-up letting us know how it went!
Some providers give you preferential rates for signing up, though they seem to be ending them now. Gridserve was the last one I used that did it, and it was a handy 10p/kw off but didn't seem to have the same discount last time.
Realistically, don't worry about it. I'm sure it's an obligation now that they have to accept contactless payment and not just app payments. My sneaky tactic is to find the 100kw chargers if they have them. They're more likely to be empty, and they're over the max charging rate for my car anyway. The likelihood that no chargers are free is pretty slim in general though.
I assume you're doing something along the lines of M1 then the full length of the M6? There are a plethora of service stations along the M6 and all of them that I know of have plenty of charging points. Don't get caught up in range anxiety. If you've never run out of petrol, you'll never run out of charge. Just don't push it to the very last mile and you'll be fine. Give it a week and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. It's totally overblown.
Realistically, don't worry about it. I'm sure it's an obligation now that they have to accept contactless payment and not just app payments. My sneaky tactic is to find the 100kw chargers if they have them. They're more likely to be empty, and they're over the max charging rate for my car anyway. The likelihood that no chargers are free is pretty slim in general though.
I assume you're doing something along the lines of M1 then the full length of the M6? There are a plethora of service stations along the M6 and all of them that I know of have plenty of charging points. Don't get caught up in range anxiety. If you've never run out of petrol, you'll never run out of charge. Just don't push it to the very last mile and you'll be fine. Give it a week and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about. It's totally overblown.
I bought my first EV last week and decided to take it for a spin up North to catch up with the some friends ahead of shipping it abroad. I drove from Surrey to Manchester and then back the following day. I made no attempt to prepare for the journey, or to do any sort of hyper miling / economical driving. I wanted to see what happened if I drove as I’ve always done in an ICE car. Sat at 80-85 most of the way with aircon on and radio blasting.
I had to top up once. You’ll need to do more. The first time I tried two motorway service stations and was greeted with too few charging stations, the ones that were free had the wrong connector (I didn’t even know this was a thing) and one charging station unusable because some f**kwit parked across two spaces blocking the access to the second cable. I ended up charging off the motorway network at some other places, which were very close by and cheaper apparently, although I didn’t pay much attention to that as wanted to check the overall cost when I got to my destination.
Charging from 20-80% took about 40 mins so no big disaster, having a coffee and a leg stretch.
All of the stations I saw took contactless payment on my credit card.
I had to top up once. You’ll need to do more. The first time I tried two motorway service stations and was greeted with too few charging stations, the ones that were free had the wrong connector (I didn’t even know this was a thing) and one charging station unusable because some f**kwit parked across two spaces blocking the access to the second cable. I ended up charging off the motorway network at some other places, which were very close by and cheaper apparently, although I didn’t pay much attention to that as wanted to check the overall cost when I got to my destination.
Charging from 20-80% took about 40 mins so no big disaster, having a coffee and a leg stretch.
All of the stations I saw took contactless payment on my credit card.
I wouldn't try and save money.... i'd just want to get home so would pay anything that was asked.
It's a one off journey and one off circumstances.... don't pressure yourself into signing up for all sort's of things and then tyring to get them to work.
Just get home and then work out how you want to go forward!
It's a one off journey and one off circumstances.... don't pressure yourself into signing up for all sort's of things and then tyring to get them to work.
Just get home and then work out how you want to go forward!
Long term these cards and subscriptions are a good idea if you need to charge away from home lots in future, otherwise I wouldn't bother.
First time EV long distance I'd drive to 50% then find nearest charger and just pay on normal card. You'll get some practice charging this way and still have range if something goes wrong, plus charging from 50% won't take as long so while you'll be stopping more you'll be waiting less.
First time EV long distance I'd drive to 50% then find nearest charger and just pay on normal card. You'll get some practice charging this way and still have range if something goes wrong, plus charging from 50% won't take as long so while you'll be stopping more you'll be waiting less.
super7 said:
I wouldn't try and save money.... i'd just want to get home so would pay anything that was asked.
It's a one off journey and one off circumstances.... don't pressure yourself into signing up for all sort's of things and then tyring to get them to work.
Just get home and then work out how you want to go forward!
This.It's a one off journey and one off circumstances.... don't pressure yourself into signing up for all sort's of things and then tyring to get them to work.
Just get home and then work out how you want to go forward!
It'll be a perfectly easy and stress free journey, but not particularly cheap.
Personally I use public chargers so infrequently I don't get too worried about the cost of them. I go to the fastest and most convenient ones.
UKsandman said:
Just looking for a some advice as this will be my first EV experience outwith company vehicles where we have private charging facilities.
I will be driving from Heathrow to Glasgow tomorrow in a 42kw Fiat 500. I know this is probably the worst EV for such a journey but this is where I find myself.
The car has an official range of 199 miles but I expect at motorway speeds it will likely be more like 130/140 which means I am probably going to have to stop 3 or 4 times to recharge.
Are all chargers now contactless payments or do I need to have user accounts for the various suppliers? Is there a preferred app (if required)?
I realise this is probably a dumb question but I don t want to be caught out tomorrow?
A word of warning from experience with Ev Fiat 500.I will be driving from Heathrow to Glasgow tomorrow in a 42kw Fiat 500. I know this is probably the worst EV for such a journey but this is where I find myself.
The car has an official range of 199 miles but I expect at motorway speeds it will likely be more like 130/140 which means I am probably going to have to stop 3 or 4 times to recharge.
Are all chargers now contactless payments or do I need to have user accounts for the various suppliers? Is there a preferred app (if required)?
I realise this is probably a dumb question but I don t want to be caught out tomorrow?
Several of them.
Be very careful connecting the cable to the car, the locking mechanism is very fragile and breaks, often, once it does you cannot charge the car.
I have recovered Several to main agents for this issue and seen the invoice for the replacement and you don't want one of those.
The trip won't be a problem, just take it as a bit of an adventure.
First, car stats
https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1285/Fiat-500e-Hatc...
- suggests 130 miles at constant 70mph in 23C weather, which is likely tomorrow.
I wouldn't set the cruise much over 70mph personally as it'll need more charging, although you can.
Second, a rough idea of stopping pattern
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/
suggests four stops. You don't have to stick to this but it gives an idea of the likely stop pattern.
The most the Fiat will take is 85 kW, so pretty much any fast charger will do.
ABRP will also show nearby food places for each proposed stop, so you can try and pick one to co-incide with eating lunch.
Have a nice trip!
First, car stats
https://ev-database.org/uk/car/1285/Fiat-500e-Hatc...
- suggests 130 miles at constant 70mph in 23C weather, which is likely tomorrow.
I wouldn't set the cruise much over 70mph personally as it'll need more charging, although you can.
Second, a rough idea of stopping pattern
https://abetterrouteplanner.com/
suggests four stops. You don't have to stick to this but it gives an idea of the likely stop pattern.
The most the Fiat will take is 85 kW, so pretty much any fast charger will do.
ABRP will also show nearby food places for each proposed stop, so you can try and pick one to co-incide with eating lunch.
Have a nice trip!
The Fiat is a lovely little car, albeit best around town. Your estimate of 130-140 miles range on the motorway is pretty accurate.
Disconnecting the charge cable sometimes seemed tricky when I first tried it - I've found that it always works if you do the following:
Open driver's door
Press button bottom left inside charge flap - below the green charge indicators
Wait a few seconds until you hear a soft click
Now you can remove the cable
Good luck!
Disconnecting the charge cable sometimes seemed tricky when I first tried it - I've found that it always works if you do the following:
Open driver's door
Press button bottom left inside charge flap - below the green charge indicators
Wait a few seconds until you hear a soft click
Now you can remove the cable
Good luck!
wink said:
The Fiat is a lovely little car, albeit best around town. Your estimate of 130-140 miles range on the motorway is pretty accurate.
Disconnecting the charge cable sometimes seemed tricky when I first tried it - I've found that it always works if you do the following:
Open driver's door
Press button bottom left inside charge flap - below the green charge indicators
Wait a few seconds until you hear a soft click
Now you can remove the cable
Good luck!
That explains why so many get broken and information that is good for the Op, I didn't know the reason why. Disconnecting the charge cable sometimes seemed tricky when I first tried it - I've found that it always works if you do the following:
Open driver's door
Press button bottom left inside charge flap - below the green charge indicators
Wait a few seconds until you hear a soft click
Now you can remove the cable
Good luck!
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