[Panda]

Hi all, I have read all of the details here and followed the links, but it is still as clear as mud as it seems that I need:

• Chargemap €19.90
• KiWhi Pass €19
• Maybe Freshmile €4.99

And this is before a single kw is delivered? Is this right or is there overlap - is there a Venn diagram here? I could also get the Kia or Hyundai apps as well as this covers Europe.

I am hoping to drive to Provence and when we are there, use a charger a couple of streets away from the house we will be staying in. So mainly motorway or just off the motorway (but avoiding the Ionity chargers as they are so expensive).

Any other advice would be helpful.

 

[Panda]

Bit of a faff but try charge map and then look into the details of a charger (pick some random ones on route) the cards they take .. I found plug surfing covered my needs (as a back up) and no need to pay £xx down for a card etc (might have changed now) ... there is quite often some overlap between "providers" so the Shell app / new motion card might also work ... issue with apps and chargers is network coverage through so always worth having an RFID as back up.

It does all take a load of planning, you can go off autoroute and pick up some cheap/free charging at Aldi (or Lidl, I still get the 2 confused) ... eurotunnel folkestone is down so maybe use the Instavolt for a quick top up before getting on the chunnel ?

VW We Charge might offer a deal for our Seat friend ? Not sure if Kia/Hyundai have announced deals now they are part of the network. Outside of the Tesla network it's still looking a little complicated, overnight stop with charge might also help

Thanks for this. It does seem a bit of a challenge. I would like to use Ionity, but the costs are very high and I won't get the benefit of the super fast charge. Does anyone know if there is a way to get a month trial to access their lower rates rather than a 12 month contract?

 

[Panda]

I drove to Austria last summer. We intended to go via Belgium and Luxembourg, but last minute COVID stuff meant we had to go via France. I can confirm that the French charging network was terrible.

On the way back we went via Germany and Belgium and didn't stop to charge in France at all.

The most frustrating time on the way down was finding out that many chargers needed a Kiwi card (which we didn't have). Honestly, it will make you realise how good we have it over here in the UK.

Thanks for this. I still find it confusing to be honest. It looks like a lot is covered with Chargemap or Freshmile, so I don't know the best way to proceed. I assume that Kiwi isn't the only one?

 

[Panda]

Still not sure which cards to get. I'm happy using some Ionity, but won't get a big benefit from the charging speed.

I downloaded the Kia Charge app and a card will come, but to be honest, looking at the charges, I have no idea how much it costs to use as they have all sorts of calculations, but they all look higher than other cards. Freshmile looks pretty good and low cost for the card, so probably worth getting, but would anyone recommend any others. I see ChargeMap, KiWhi and PlugShare recommended. But which should I go with?