[Barry.W.]

Hello there,
I have a VW Passat GTE which is a company car and the lease ends in June, for my next car I am looking at going full electric. I have shortlisted two cars - the Polestar 2 and the Ford Mach-E, I have chosen these as they both have good range on paper, have a good specand I have got a good lease price for both cars, I am unsure which one to go for at the moment but my real concern is the charging infratsructure. I do several trips to Scotland annually and am concerned how reliable the charging infratstructure is, I have heard reports of charger not working or not connecting to the car. What I am looking for is peoples own experiences and any suggestions as to what charging operators are the better ones to use and who to avoid etc.
Any insght will be handy for me, and I welcome peoples opinions on the two cars I am looking at.
Thnaks in advance.

 

[80698]

Take a look at ABRP to plan potential routes with both cars and Zap Map to see what charging options are available. You want to be aiming to only use a few charging networks, mostly the ones that have a good track record of reliability and install 2+ chargers per location to minimise the risk of things going wrong. So that would be networks like Ionity, Instavolt and Osprey.

In Scotland itself, you should get yourself a RFID Card for the Chargeplace Scotland network. Whatever you do, DO NOT rely on the app. The card costs £20 per year and is worth every penny for the problems it will help you to avoid. With these you want to pay close attention to Zap Map comments, and always have a plan B to charge somewhere else nearby as they don't have the greatest reliability, but for the most part are decent especially with the above card.

I've managed with cars that have smaller batteries for long journeys, so you shouldn't have any real issues making the switch to electric with these models.

 

[h8ten]

Probably both of these cars are too new to have much in the way of user feedback. I have a model 3 and there are a few issues with some chargers and the 'handshake' with the car. From what I have read these are more down to the car as opposed to the charger. This is only for rapids, destinations seem to be fine. I would suggest getting a ChargePlaceScotland card as mobile signal is not always great at one or two chargers and the app is not the best, to put it mildly, although the couple of times I have used it I have been fine but I prefer the card.

 

[andrew*debbie]

What I am looking for is peoples own experiences and any suggestions as to what charging operators are the better ones

I have been inconvienced but never stranded. That is with '80 mile' and '100 mile' cars.

Always have viable plans B and C.

Instavolt are my favourite.
I have also had good luck with GeniePoint units at Morrisons. Usefull if they happen to be where you need them.

Ionity should be helpful getting to Scotland. Their offering is target at cars like the ones you are considering.

 

[RicM]

I have been using the ChargePlace Scotland network in the Scottish Borders for over 14 months (its the only network here apart from a couple of BP Pulse and PodPoints). I can only speak for this area so perhaps others can comment on the other areas in Scotland.

I think in that time I have had only a handful of occasions where the rapid did not work. I have never used the app (Charge Your Car) - the RFID card is the way to go. A few times I have called the ChargePlace Scotland number and they answered fairly quickly. I have started a few charges that way. They also actively noted faults when I reported them which do get fixed, sometimes quite quickly. Being a rural area with essential workers spread over the area I think they are more proactive now.

 

[CCRaulie]

Hello there,
I have a VW Passat GTE which is a company car and the lease ends in June, for my next car I am looking at going full electric. I have shortlisted two cars - the Polestar 2 and the Ford Mach-E, I have chosen these as they both have good range on paper, have a good specand I have got a good lease price for both cars, I am unsure which one to go for at the moment but my real concern is the charging infratsructure. I do several trips to Scotland annually and am concerned how reliable the charging infratstructure is, I have heard reports of charger not working or not connecting to the car. What I am looking for is peoples own experiences and any suggestions as to what charging operators are the better ones to use and who to avoid etc.
Any insght will be handy for me, and I welcome peoples opinions on the two cars I am looking at.
Thnaks in advance.

You may want to consider how generous the manufacturer is with their warranties since VERY FEW people can work on electric vehicles. I found this out when my e-Golf Premium needed work to be done on the battery casing. It was damaged but VW made the repairs and it was under warranty for a car 4 years old. And I recently bought it. So it was a trying time for me.
Both Polestar and Mustang Mach E are good cars it would be a hard choice to make. Hyundai has great warranties and the Ioniq 5 newest models may even be better.

 

[Xinix]

If the OP is concerned about charging, why not consider a Tesla Model Y? Superchargers cannot be beat when it comes to doing away with charger-anxiety.

 

[Barry.W.]

If the OP is concerned about charging, why not consider a Tesla Model Y? Superchargers cannot be beat when it comes to doing away with charger-anxiety.

This will be a company car, and unfortunately my MD would not pay for the Model Y as the lease cost would be too high (it’s not available in the UK yet). After reading lots of posts on charging and getting other people’s view points I am not so worried now and I have taken the plunge and placed an order for the Mach-E.
it’s not due until the end of July / beginning of August but roll on the summer.
Thanks for everyone’s input.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[EdH]

If you have another ICE vehicle in the household for long trips, get any EV that meets your needs. I have stopped recommending EVs to anyone without access to another ICE vehicle, based entirely on my experience.
I've tried those long journeys but it's just too much of a faff and introduces an unacceptable level of anxiety. Maybe when all big petrol stations have good quality charging facilities I'll try again.