Charged debate
27 October 2021
The most recent post on the challenges faced by high-mileage drivers using an electric vehicle led to an informed discussion on social media.
As followers of the blog will know, I have been monitoring the experiences of Peter Beach, sales and marketing manager with Genquip Groundhog, who in March started driving a Jaguar iPace. It’s meant to be an unscientific but real-life study into how practical EVs are.
Peter typically drives up to 40,000 miles a year seeing clients. Most recently, he said that the lack of charge points and the frequent difficulties in using them were seriously making him consider swapping the car for a hybrid with an internal combustion engine.
So what did others think?
Alexander Milne, general manager at The Hireman in London, said: “I think it really depends on how the vehicle is used and I can see that it would be difficult with the mileage that Peter is doing. I have a VW ID3 which, when charged to 80% according to manufacturer's recommendations, gives a range of around 200 miles or 175 miles once you have the heating and everything else on.
“I commute 50 miles each way. We have installed a 22kW charger at work and it takes two hours to charge up the car so, although I need to do this daily, it doesn't affect me. In fact I would say it is a relief not to go to garages all the time with their tempting expensive snacks!
“I'm also lucky enough to live very close to a fast charging forecourt in Essex which takes 30 minutes if I want to do a road trip at the weekend,” says Alex. “So it can work out even for people doing 20,000 miles a year.”
Similarly positive was Mike Robbins, sales director at Power Saving Solutions UK. “I suspect more people had the equivalent of Peter’s frustrations with the fuel shortages a few weeks ago! It just takes a little planning and the right car/network and EV will be the way ahead.”
Another happy EV driver is Rob Pullen, operations director with MHM Plant. He switched to a Tesla 3 model with a larger battery at the end of September, which typically gives him around 330 miles of usable range.
“I use the car for commuting and I only live a few miles from work so, with a few longer trips now and again, I’ll only drive say 6,000 miles annually which is below average,” he told me.
“I find I’m only charging the car once a week and the battery never gets very low. So compared to filling up with fossil fuel, and considering the tax advantages, I’m saving money and it works for me.
Rob added that if he did go on longer trips regularly, he thinks the vehicle’s range and the quality of the Tesla charging network, with more charge points and faster charging, it would work well. “The super-chargers recharge the battery in about half an hour,” he said.
Since the story was posted on the blog, Peter has continued to have mixed experiences. “Planning is important but if the charger you are aiming for is fully occupied or out of order, you have problems.
“I visited a service area on the M6 that is investing in 120kWh chargers with simple card payment facilities (no app required). All points were available, clean and working. Happy days.
“However, at another one on the M5 they have installed two charge points with two chargers on each (pictured above). Theoretically you should be able to charge four cars, but it’s not that easy. If you are connected to one and another vehicle turns up and plugs in, then the first car is switched off. Rather inconvenient I would say.
“Overall, what the earlier blog item referred to as 'charge anxiety' is here, and here to stay until the network improves,” says Peter. “It is the infrastructure that is the problem.”
How will Peter get on with his EV after the clocks go back this weekend and he’s using the battery-draining car heater, headlights, heated rear window and other essential equipment more on his travels? We'll see.
