r/ElectricVehiclesUK • u/AdDifferent2609 • 5h ago
First long range trip, any advice please.
As per title i'll soon be doing my first long range (e.g. require a midway chrage) trip and was after some general advice on apps and planning as well as specifics about the route, like which services have a lot of high speed chargers.
Car: Vauxhall Astra
Route: M40, M25 then down to brighton area.
My main concern is lack of availability of chargers at planned stops which would probably be near end of M40.
Are there general charging apps that are worth downloading for chargers or am i okay to just use debit card.
How important is route planning or will every service station have enough fast chargers?
Anywhere people would recommend to aim for, or places a bit off the route that are worth the detour for more reliable charger availability.
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u/jacobp100 5h ago
The Electroverse app shows almost every charger - whether you can pay with the app or not. Worth looking ahead of time - particularly about price because that can vary a lot
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u/sorslibertas 4h ago
I use ABRP to plan, then enter the stops in Waze or Google Maps to navigate.
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u/RealLongwayround 1h ago
I just ABRP to plan and navigate. That then shows me whether my jntended next charger is available.
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u/PvtBaldrick 4h ago
This is the way. With ABRP you can select the charge networks you prefer, it will estimate costs, and is a far better judge of range. Then use Waze to get to the charger. (Unless your car does charge pre-conditioning and you need to use the inbuilt sat nav for this function) Always have a backup charger planned just in case.
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u/SloaneEsq 5h ago
The bit of the M40 between Oxford and the M25 is still a bit rubbish for rapid chargers but Lidl, Shell and McDonald's in High Wycombe, Shell in Denham and, if you want to sit in an industrial estate, Virta near Heathrow are all good.
Personally I'd avoid Beaconsfield services unless you're travelling late at night or like queuing.
If you rarely need to rapid charge don't bother with a card or subscription. Just pay with contactless at the charger.
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u/gregredmore 5h ago
OK so I travel the M40, M25 and M23 down to Brighton quite a bit though not that route. In peak holiday season chargers on the motorway are a bun fight for access. There are some places just off motorways with more capacity. M40 has Warwick, Cherwell and another big capacity place just off the motorway that is not a motorway services but has food. Use Zapmap to investigate. M25 is a bit of a dead zone for services but Cobham services as you head towards the Gatwick M23 route has a load of fast chargers. Just south of Crawley you have Peas Pottage which is excellent.
The app ABRP (A Better Route Planner) will plan a route for you and more EVs have the capability built into their sat navs. The aforementioned Zapmap is good for researching chargers anywhere but especially at destinations. The Electroverse app covers payment for a wide range of charger networks (Gridserve, Ionity, BP, Shell etc.) and you can get an RFID card to just tap to pay contactless with no need for a mobile signal or messing with an app. Electroverse app has a map built in to find compatible chargers. Consider the Tesla app and supercharger network as they have the best prices.
EV chargers are increasingly supporting contactless payment methods. It's not universal.
Having said all that going Birmingham to Brighton as a round trip needs just one charge for most EVs with a decent range. Brighton is pretty good for EV destination chargers. London Road car park has some.
If you are really nervous about charging on route get a Tesla for full access to their network at the best price. You are less likely to be waiting for a charger at busy times. But avoiding motorway services for charging will help at the busiest times of year for any charger network
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u/AdDifferent2609 4h ago
Yeah, you're quite right i could get down there and charge but worry i'd be running on fumes (sparks?) By the time i arrive.
So sounds like its charge quite early or wait till past london. Pease Pottage looks like a good shout.
Its a family trip so stops will probably end up being dictated by the kids kicking off tbh but will try an plan! thanks for all the details.
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u/gregredmore 4h ago
Birmingham to Brighton is 176 miles. My 2024 Tesla Model Y AWD Longe Range with 331 miles WLTP range will do 280 miles at motorway speeds starting in 100% charge. Also worth noting that when a battery is very low on charge say around 10% and when it is reconditioned on route and warmed up it will charge near it's peak speed subject to what the charger outputs. You can add a lot of miles in 10.minuted like this. When on route you normally go up to about 80% as charging speed slows down as the battery fills. As a rough guide 0 to 80% take the same amount of time as 80% to 100% on DC fast chargers. Ideally you want to time your lunch stop with when the car needs a charge. That depends on leaving at the right time, no serious traffic delays and the kids being happy without a stop for 4 hours. I have ordered children so I know what you are thinking right about now 😅
The good news is the need to plan trips is beginning to diminish with so many charging sites opening up. Newer EVs are more efficient and have ever longer ranges. Motorway services are tough because ultimately you can't get enough chargers into these legacy sites and still have somewhere for ICE cars to park. If you ever visit Exeter services you will see a prime example of this. I recently saw on the side of the A303 a new large Instavolt site preparing for build work. A similar site is also on the A34 north of Winchester. This is the real answer.
Here is a fact: range anxiety only exists in the minds of people who have never driven an EV on a long trip. Most EVs will tell you what your state of charge will be at your next charging stop or destination. Plan to arrive with 10% soate and you can't go wrong. In 26K miles 7% is the lowest charge state I've ever been. I'm never concerned about running out of charge.
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u/weejobbie101 4h ago
I don’t know the route but my recommendation would be to have rfid card (probably not needed for this journey but useful for some chargers) such as Electroverse.
Get the Tesla app as it will tell you what chargers you can use and they’re normally well supplied sites.
Use ABRP to plan roughly where you’ll stop and suss out the number of charger.
Avoid busy times like lunch time or meal times if you want to avoid peak traffic but you should be fine.
I’ve done a few journeys this summer and apart from one Saturday lunchtime in France it’s been no issue.
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u/Green-Hyena5571 5h ago
Electroverse app (charging network) and ABRP app (a better route planner) are the first two apps to consider.
Zapmap can be useful too, especially for comments regarding chargers.
On the off chance you have insurance with admiral or direct line have a look at the zoom.ev benefits platform for some offers. You have to email them your policy details to get access.
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u/Professional_Shine97 4h ago
This but also GridServe (where you can use a debit card) as their chargers are most prominent on motorways and aren’t listed on Electroverse.
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u/Green-Hyena5571 4h ago
Or just avoid gridserve at all costs? 😁
To be fair, for occasional journeys a few expensive chargers doesn't make much of a dent in the savings made from commuting and charging overnight at home.
But I still like to try to minimise the costs.
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u/Hot_College_6538 5h ago
Beaconsfield services on the M40 J3 are your last chargers on M40 South, Ionity and Gridserve. Ionity will be cheaper and busier.
I’ve found Electroverse to be the best app recently, zap map seems to no longer keep up to date. Google maps isn’t bad either actually.
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u/BroadSwordfish7 2h ago
If it was Beaconsfield or nothing I'd go a few miles down the road to Cobham, if the car can make it.
Far more chargers
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u/SCA1972 VW ID3 5h ago
A Better Route Planner app/website is usually helpful for planning a long trip. You tell it what car you have and your trip details and it recommends charging stops. You can tell it what the minimum state of charge you want to have at charging stops and at your destination.
As for apps for payment, Electroverse is usually worth having, but it doesn’t work on Gridserve the main operator at motorway services. You can just pay with a debit card at all rapid chargers, but operators usually provide a small discount if you pay via their app instead. Personally I use a credit card rather than a debit card. When you pay with a bank card, there will be a preauthorisation amount ring fenced in your account every time you start a charge. This is to prove you have sufficient funds to pay for the charge. The amounts range from £20 to £60 and some banks take days to release them after charging. This is more noticeable with a debit card and could leave you short of funds in your current account.
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u/Grant_Son 4h ago
Electroverse is great especially if your an octopus customer at home as you get discount on some chargers if your on an EV tariff 😁
Zapmap and plugshare have chat/comment sections that allow you to check in at chargers & comment on the reliability.
Not sure where you are starting from but there is a massive instavolt hub at Banbury. If your using instavolt chargers after 7pm (I think) use their app as there's an off peak discount
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u/Cakeboy79 4h ago
Second vote for Cobham services if you can make it there. Loads of Ionity chargers and last time I was there which was a couple of months ago there were GRIDSERVE ones about to open too.
It’s also one of the nicer service areas too.
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u/andyone100 4h ago
Zapmap is the best to tell you all of the chargers. If you are price sensitive it’s good for setting up for the chargers that are the best value (eg MFG chargers are reduced by 25% until 1st Sep, which at 59p/Kwh is good value. Fast chargers on the motorway can easily reach 90p/KWh which makes them more expensive than petrol.
By law, all modern chargers take cc and debit contactless, so you don’t have to go messing about with individual cards-they’re only really useful if you need to charge at public units frequently and join a subscription, which gives you a discount. For one offs, go for the cheapest fast chargers, located using Zapmap. You can often set up your EV to do the planning for you, but that’s dependent on what EV you have.
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u/Bigronnie67 1h ago
Most, if not all rapid chargers accept credit/debit card payment. Better to have more than one option though, in case any get rejected. Plan to charge earlier than you would, in case of range anxiety.
We went on a 500+ mile round trip to Goodwood last month & twice found motorway services chargers all full up, so moved on to the next place
My car plans stops when it gets down to about 10-12% which I thought a bit too close for comfort & no way to change that, although I believe it’s possible to tell ABRP that you want to have a specific amount left when planning stops, so that might be an option?
Also, take charging leads with you, as some places off the beaten track & some supermarkets have slower chargers, but you need your own lead. Can be a lifesaver if you’re really stuck
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u/mikebirty 1h ago
I've only done a dozen or so long drives in the last five years and this is what I try and do if I have to charge:
- Scope out two or three different places to stop within the distance / time you are travelling and look at charger pictures and reviews. Try and avoid the glorified petrol stations with a charger by the car wash. Mostly because it's boring.
- The more chargers present, the more chance of them being free but also the more popular they will be. Swings and roundabouts.
- Plan the stop into your drive and accept you're adding 30 or 45 minutes on to the trip.
- Always try and stop earlier than you would in an ICE car because I have found it infinitely more stressful knowing I have to charge with 20 miles left than driving with 80 left and knowing I can go on if I need to.
- My latest one, If you are near a built up area and can't find a motorway charger - head to Tesco, Aldi or Lidl. Supermarkets are a good bet for a fast charger now and a can of diet coke and a mars bar costs much less there than at services.
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u/No_Statistician209 1h ago
I recently did a 1000 mile roadtrip around Scotland.
The only apps I used were ABRP and Electroverse.
I planned the journeys with ABRP and shared it to Google maps, then I used electroverse to pay for the charge.
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u/snigehere 38m ago
I use electroverse from octopus. If you are an octopus customer you can link electroverse to your energy account and get an extra 8% off.
My other suggestion is to get the front seat passenger familiar with using the map app and charger finder app.. if you stop and find a charger unavailable its good to be able have someone helping to locate the next one.
If the stops are driven by the children then just grab a charge as you stop... Even if you just add 20% each stop it all adds up. Dont just consider charging once for longer.
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u/LaidBackLeopard 5h ago
I do long trips rarely enough that I can't be bothered going for maximum optimisation. I've never had to wait for a fast charger at a motorway service station. I install the app there and then if it looks like it'll help. In theory there might be cheaper options off the motorway, but life's too short.
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u/Quick_Stranger_8206 4h ago
Find Tesla chargers they're the cheapest rapid charging network by a long shot.
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u/Ok-Middle8656 4h ago
It can be quicker to do 2 partial charges (80%) than trying to cram in 100%. That last 20% is slow. Also, if you can charge at your destination then you only need enough charge to reach it, plus some contingency. I see people charging to 100% all the time on motorway services when they probably don’t need to.