Planning a road trip

[Nicola_Won]

Hi all. I'm planning a road trip. One that will save me potentially £1400-£1800 in flight costs at half term. The trip is London to Megève France. There are some nicely placed superchargers along the route, but when I plan it on ev tripplanner, there is about 4 hours total charging time for the drive. It really adds a lot to this long drive that is better driven fast to get it out of the road.

I'm also worried that if it's -5 to -10degrees Celcius (Only Americans and old school brits know Fahrenheit right?) and raining/snowing out there which is common in Europe, that may range will really suffer. Consider also that I'll have kids in the car so turning off the heat is not an option.

So this is a real world trip that I'm planning and I've read plenty of tips: slow driving, turn off heating, more short charges instead of fewer long ones.

But I'm curious if people with experience of long drives across Europe have any specific/useful tips: Like best ways to waste time, expected availability at super charging places, expected range in windy, wet, cold weather.

I have a 2016 S70D.

 

[ThisIsTrue]

Well, I haven't driven in Europe, but I did a long trip in the first month of ownership across the north of the USA, including plenty of snow: 23 Days: 4400 miles

My biggest lesson learned was increase the buffer charge. The car wants to get going once it predicts 14% battery on arrival at the next supercharger. Since it was extra-cold, I doubled that in Idaho, and 20 minutes later happened to notice that the prediction on arrival was 11% -- and then the car suggested I keep my speed below 65 (MPH) if I wanted to get there. It was quite the "Oh no!" moment.

I slowed down, put it into Range Mode ...and arrived with 11% remaining. I realized later that I was losing capacity thanks to stiff winds, which I had hardly noticed because the car is so stable.

The stops to charge didn't bother me at all: it's a very dignified way to travel. I'd take a walk, get a bite, and hit the restroom -- then hit the road again. On the other hand, I didn't have to juggle any children.

So my advice is, take it easy, get a little extra buffer until you're comfortable with how it's using the battery in the cold/weather, and adjust accordingly each time you charge. Have fun!

 

[John Stuckey]

Our kid-less experience verified that if you plan on having fun on charging breaks (walks, eating, site seeing, etc) the trips will be enjoyable. The car with a lot of extra buffer was ready to go about 98% of the time before we were ready to continue our trips. Check for things to do around each SC. For instance, there is a old car museum and restoration business in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, USA, about two blocks from the SC. The place is amazing. It had the cleanest, most beautiful 1936 Woody I have ever seen. And it was for sale for $90,000. I would never has guessed that a high-end restoration shop would be located literally in the middle of a desert. Population of Santa Rosa is about 3000.
What are the objectives for your trips? Journey or destination? Etc.