My ZS EV at Saint Martin’s Cross in Worcester charging @ 25p/kWh. Lovely!

(Click the thumbnail for a link to the video)

When buying an Electric Vehicle (EV), it is crucial to consider some of the semi-regular long-distance journeys that you will be doing.

When I considered purchasing an EV in the middle of 2019, I knew I would need an EV to do at least 100 miles in any condition from 100-0%. The reason was the ‘regular journey’ from Hull to Yeovil and back, which I would complete 3-4 times a year.

Unless you know your football (we’re national league, I recall when they paraded around the town when we got promoted to the championship), or aviation history, Yeovil is approximately 280 miles away from Hull.

In my old Hyundai i20, it would be unlikely I would do this in one trip. The main reason is that I would always hit traffic around Birmingham (A42/M42) or Bristol (M5), regardless of the time I left. If I knew traffic was terrible, I would pull over and go to the toilet or have something to eat.

As a result, I likely stopped twice in 90-100 mile stints. This meant, in realistic terms, the “4 hours 55 minutes” quoted by Google Maps was never achieved in my petrol car. Add about 90 minutes either in traffic or at the services.

4 hours 55 minutes? Not a chance! Public transport looks good however…

So, in my EV, it made complete sense, given that during these stops, I would typically wait for traffic to die down (about 30-45 minutes) while getting on with some work or, more so now, catching up with marking or lesson planning. Therefore, it would never be a waste of time.

Another aspect many drivers (including myself) forget is that your concentration tends to lapse after a couple of hours. In my i20, this was the case. If I tried to make the trip in one go (emphasis on tried), I would be exhausted by the destination, and I usually need to do something when I get there!

With my EV, a significant benefit is that as I have to stop every 90-120 minutes, I have never felt so refreshed after arriving at any destination. I noticed this on #5: 550 Miles on Polar Plus. Although it may have taken you more time, if you can find a way to pass the time productively, you feel better about it!

Even for 2019, actually was pretty easy. (Click the thumbnail for a link to the video)

However, I would like to emphasise one phrase: “have to”. This is not the best position to be in as, especially during 2020, I did notice that the infrastructure was struggling to take the sudden huge uptake. I encountered chargers where people were finishing, and since there was only one (and typically didn’t allow combined AC/DC charging), I had to wait 5-10 minutes. I could avoid the stop by checking Zap-Map before arrival in a much longer-range EV such as the MG 5 LR and the ZS EV Mk2. In the case of my ZS EV, I cannot.

This will not be as much of an issue for new EV buyers; there are no EVs on the market currently with less range than my Mk1 ZS EV (maybe a Leaf 40kWh possibly?). However, if you are considering buying used, I can see why having no option not to stop is a potential problem.

Overall, I have found that my ZS EV has been doing its job very well; it does the 70-mile daily commute (for £2 a day, mind you!), and then for any long-distance journeys, it is onto Zap-Map or A Better Route Planner (ABRP), and the job is done.

It is as simple as that. Sure, some of the infrastructure will show cracks (think of EV-centric festival aftermath or the first day of the summer holidays), but overall I have easily accessed chargers.

P.S: I use Audible to keep me busy on the road trips and regular journeys I do. How about supporting KC Talks EV and using the Audible link below for a free trial?

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