Just completed a 600 mile round trip from our home in Devon to the Eurotunnel in our trusty VW e-Up. Each way took approximately 12 hours, and was quite an epic & not sure I'd want to do it again. Maybe in the new e-Up with an increased range. We did a total of 21 visits to chargers, with the following success rates;
Geniepoint 4 out of 4
Instavolt 0 out of 2
Polar 4 out of 7
Ecotricity 5 out of 6
Shell 2 out of 2.
I'm going to send a complaint to Instavolt and Polar, and strongly suggest that all ev drivers do the same. It's really annoying and frustrating when the chargers don't work, and an overall success rate of only 70% is pretty dreadful. When phoning Polar, we were helpfully told that we were number 3 in a queue, and at 30p a minute on my pay as you go mobile adds insult to injury. I gave up ringing Polar - just moved on to the next charger. Recharging in the pouring rain and at night is not nice, as all chargers were out in the open, and I look forward to the day when we can charge undercover with some lighting. Once in France, we had just enough to reach our friends 50 miles from Calais in the pouring rain, at night & into a gale. Our effective range was reduced from 80 down to a bare 60 miles. Finally, I don't think you can use the charging network without a smartphone. I was logged into Zap map nearly all the time.
Geniepoint 4 out of 4
Instavolt 0 out of 2
Polar 4 out of 7
Ecotricity 5 out of 6
Shell 2 out of 2.
I'm going to send a complaint to Instavolt and Polar, and strongly suggest that all ev drivers do the same. It's really annoying and frustrating when the chargers don't work, and an overall success rate of only 70% is pretty dreadful. When phoning Polar, we were helpfully told that we were number 3 in a queue, and at 30p a minute on my pay as you go mobile adds insult to injury. I gave up ringing Polar - just moved on to the next charger. Recharging in the pouring rain and at night is not nice, as all chargers were out in the open, and I look forward to the day when we can charge undercover with some lighting. Once in France, we had just enough to reach our friends 50 miles from Calais in the pouring rain, at night & into a gale. Our effective range was reduced from 80 down to a bare 60 miles. Finally, I don't think you can use the charging network without a smartphone. I was logged into Zap map nearly all the time.