[handiyman45]

Got my new Kia E-Niro 4+ 2 weeks ago and today finally got to drive (for business) from south coast to Watford. (105 miles each way) Great drive.
I made sure to set the heating to a low 20.5 degrees and 'driver only' heating on as well as recirculating heating.
I started off with a full charge of 256miles on the clock. By the time I was half way on the way back I needed to get a refill as I wouldn't make it back.
First stop Services at Winchester South not working despite displaying on the app it was available. Put all my credit card details in only to find out it would not work.
Next on to Shell at Chandlers Ford, also showing working fine. Only it was not. Called Shell and was told it was out of order.
Then to Rownhams services: Also not available!
Getting desperate now. Finally got to Lyndhurst Forest Lodge hotel which has a BP Pulse. It was working but their car park was closed as the hotel is not open.
Desperately, I removed the bollards and got some CCS charge at last with only 11 miles left to home which was 18 miles away.
For a newby this is not a great experience. Is this the way it is everywhere? Should I have stuck to my Volvo diesel after all?

 

[Tandy0]

Yeah, it's bad round Bournemouth. Is that where you were headed? There was a couple in a Porsche had similar trouble a few months ago.

You maybe need to investigate destination charging. Then there's no need to stop on the way home.

 

[electricdriver]

Just look for InstaVolt chargers...they are almost invariably working and offer contactless payment with no faff. They have their own app, or just use ZapMap or PlugShare.

 

[DSLRed]

Presume the services at Winchester was Ecotricity?
They are simply awful. Avoid at all costs. It will lead to a less stressful life.

 

[mikegs]

Is this the way it is everywhere?

No, but it's very patchy when you get away from the main routes. I live near Soton and there is not much rapid charging around - I looked as I wanted to test the car when I first got it. Ended up using an Instavolt near Warminster when I went to Bristol (which I could have done on a single charge, so was a 'safe' test).
You have a long range car and I would be inclined to drive much slower to do a journey like that without needing a charge. It would be quicker and less stressful in the end.

 

[handiyman45]

Yeah, it's bad round Bournemouth. Is that where you were headed? There was a couple in a Porsche had similar trouble a few months ago.

You maybe need to investigate destination charging. Then there's no need to stop on the way home.

I'm near Christchurch. The Lyndhurst Forest Lawn Hotel/BP Pulse was very good, although kind of closed to the public due to hotel shut.
I'm not clear what you mean by destination charging.

 

[handiyman45]

You have a long range car and I would be inclined to drive much slower to do a journey like that without needing a charge. It would be quicker and less stressful in the end.

So the 256 miles I started out with ended up being about 220 miles. I was very careful driving a steady 66mph on cruise control, not using brakes, just regeneration braking.
But hey, I'll learn from the newby mistakes and make sure I get a fast charge in sooner than this time. Lesson learnt.
Thanks for your responses.

 

[Johnny Read]

Desperately, I removed the bollards and got some CCS charge at last with only 11 miles left to home which was 18 miles away.

Just be very wary doing that. Was there any ANPR cameras on the hotel carpark? Some require registration in the hotel, otherwise you could receive an invoice for the privilege of parking there, even for a short while. That sort of thing could turn out to be a very very expensive Rapid charge.

 

[Tandy0]

I'm near Christchurch. The Lyndhurst Forest Lawn Hotel/BP Pulse was very good, although kind of closed to the public due to hotel shut.
I'm not clear what you mean by destination charging.

Destination charging, is where you plug your car into a 3 to 7kw post in a car park say, while you do your shopping, or visit your client. There seem to be plenty of these in Watford. Have a look at Zapmap.

 

[SuperLeaf]

So the 256 miles I started out with ended up being about 220 miles. I was very careful driving a steady 66mph on cruise control, not using brakes, just regeneration braking.
But hey, I'll learn from the newby mistakes and make sure I get a fast charge in sooner than this time. Lesson learnt.
Thanks for your responses.

66mph, that's where the problem was.
Consider going about the same speed as the big trucks, about 55mph, you wouldn't have had to charge, would have been home sooner and would have saved a few pounds.
Added benefit, less wear and tear on rotating parts, your EV will last forever.

 

[handiyman45]

Destination charging, is where you plug your car into a 3 to 7kw post in a car park say, while you do your shopping, or visit your client. There seem to be plenty of these in Watford. Have a look at Zapmap.

Ah, I see. I suppose it would help a bit but 1 hour on a 7kW charge doesn't get me back home.
And typically where my client is there is no ev charging around unless I take a taxi to and from but that defeats the object of an electric car

 

[Tandy0]

Ah, I see. I suppose it would help a bit but 1 hour on a 7kW charge doesn't get me back home.

You said you were 7 miles short. Does your car only manage 1 mile per kwh?

 

[handiyman45]

You said you were 7 miles short. Does your car only manage 1 mile per kwh?

Yes about 7 miles but that is to 0 miles left. A bit tricky that. I would want to have at least 10-15 miles when getting back home

 

[Tandy0]

Yes about 7 miles but that is to 0 miles left. A bit tricky that. I would want to have at least 10-15 miles when getting back home

Your car does 210 miles on a 67 kwh battery. That's 3miles per kwh. So 7kwh would gain you 21 miles.

Though as someone else mentioned, you'd have done the whole journey with a lighter foot. I have only driven any car at a max of 60, and I think even that would have got you there and back.

 

[pilotwoo]

This thread isn't a great advert for EV's. Multiple chargers not working despite apps saying they are, possible parking fine and drive like a granny

Another year on and charging is still a mess. Let's hope we get some progress soon.

 

[DSLRed]

This thread isn't a great advert for EV's. Multiple chargers not working despite apps saying they are, possible parking fine and drive like a granny

Another year on and charging is still a mess. Let's hope we get some progress soon.

I have to agree. If the answer to the charging question is to drive long distances slower than a HGV, and slower than my aging mum does, then the charging network still has a long way to go. I dont ever want to feel obliged to hypermile, I want to drive a car like a car.

 

[SuperLeaf]

I have to agree. If the answer to the charging question is to drive long distances slower than a HGV, and slower than my aging mum does, then the charging network still has a long way to go. I dont ever want to feel obliged to hypermile, I want to drive a car like a car.

60% of UK grid electricity is from non-renewables, mainly gas and nuclear.

If you keep that in mind, the environmental footprint of an EV driving the Motorway speed limit isn’t so great.

One way EV’s reduce our footprint is by spurring us to drive slower. They do so by making us aware that higher speeds affect our already limited range.

What’s the point of going for an EV if you have no intention of driving ecologically and/or economically?
I don’t get Tesla drivers punching it on the highway, it misses the whole point of driving an EV.

If we want to be precise, we must also not forget to mention the environmental impact of tyre wear particles (TRWP) at higher motorway speeds. EV’s are heavier by their very nature and there are many reports of premature tyre wear on EV’s, which are in fact caused more by EV drivers flooring their itchy feet than anything being wrong with EV’s.

 

[Phlashman]

Yep, you've ran into the worse EV driving has to offer.

Winter, so your expected range is as low as it could be and crapped out chargers and apps. It's not a great start.

The good news is it's significantly better than it was just a couple of years ago and it's getting much better. First you have a 67kwh battery, some of us had a leaf with 24kwh and that journey of yours would of consisted of 2 or even 3 potential recharges. If it wasn't freezing like it has been you wouldn't have even needed a charge. Second, chargers are getting installed at quite a rate and multiple in the same location so having to hop from place to place is becoming rarer. Though it does still suck when it happens, it is happening less and less.

Stick with it, you'll adapt. You'll start to think like an EV driver and maybe have known you'd want a little bit extra to get home and a quick 10 minutes at a reliable instavolt/BP Pulse/Polar/ionity charger earlier in your journey would have been a good call.

 

[steveharvey2001]

Just look for InstaVolt chargers...they are almost invariably working and offer contactless payment with no faff. They have their own app, or just use ZapMap or PlugShare.

Set Zapmap to ignore anything other than Instavolt or Osprey rapids when planning your journey.
If you encounter any other ones that aren't out of order, it will be be a bonus.

(or just get a Tesla 😂).

 

[idiotzoo]

Instavolt have done deals with McDonalds and KFC which means we’re likely to see far more of them. BP Pulse are also investing heavily it seems, though I consider the charger state data from their network to be garbage.

Instavolt tend not to be on the major routes, but quite close to them so a short detour is usually all that’s needed. Life is no much less stressful.

On the subject of speed.... Tesla Bjorn did a video where he compared hypermiling to driving “normally” and stopping to charge. On his test stopping to charge ended up quicker overall which was surprising.

I’ve done the long slow journey at an indicated 55 in my e-Niro and was happy to do so on that occasion, got 5.2m/kWh on the return leg but it did take a while.