Bradford to Biscarosse - our trip to Southern France

[JonLovejoy]

We reached France on Thursday evening, after a smooth, comfortable and stress-free drive. Left Bradford with 100% charge and then stopped at Baldock Services to use Ionity (pulling 38kWh in 38 minutes for £9.43 and Tesco PodPoint in Portsmouth, before boarding the ferry.

Left the ferry with 90% battery yesterday morning and drove 169 miles down to the Ionity charger at Mayenne. Had the units set to km and drove at the speed limits (mixture of 90, 110 and 130) although this depleted the battery quicker (understandably) rather than usual cruising at 65mph.

Arrived with 5% SOC and plugged in, initially getting 88kW and then peaking at 92kW before dropping back. Using Hyundai subscription brought it down to 25p (per minute as they charge in France) so an hour would cost £15 - I stopped it at 48 minutes and added 52kWh in that time - £12.

Next stop was Vallee de la Vire Gouvets, 44 minutes on this one to get back to 90% - peaked at 93kW. £11 cost with the subscription.

Made it down Eurocamp with no issues, the MG5 was a pleasure to drive - comfortable and fast charging, the Ionity chargers were rock solid. Plugged in at the cabin using the Tough Leads modular schuko cable.

TOTAL COST:
Five hours on Go Faster to reach 100% before leaving - £1.95

Ionity charges - £32.50 plus £11.25 subscription = £43.75

Top up rapid at Tesco Portsmouth (Pod Point) - £6.85

£52.55 to drive 800 miles, versus the price of petrol at approximately £120. Double that saving for the return journey and it's still an attractive proposition, if you can (and are prepared to) make it work.

 

[Alb]

Thanks for the feedback. I suspect there are lots of good stories like this but we tend to hear only about the disasters!

 

[smokie]

Thanks for the write-up. My estimate at petrol prices would have been nearer £150 - petrol is about £7.50 a gallon here and I'd assume 40 mpg so 20 gallons - so even better economy!!

I scouted around the town I was staying in Portugal to see what chargers there were and noticed they all charge you by the minute. I suppose it focuses peoples mind such that they don't just leave the car there once it's charged.

 

[Pict]

...but we tend to hear only about the disasters!

Mainly in the media where they are not prepared to plan as it doesn't make a sensational story.

It just goes to show that with a bit of thought anything is possible

 

[EVsince2016]

We reached France on Thursday evening, after a smooth, comfortable and stress-free drive. Left Bradford with 100% charge and then stopped at Baldock Services to use Ionity (pulling 38kWh in 38 minutes for £9.43 and Tesco PodPoint in Portsmouth, before boarding the ferry.

Left the ferry with 90% battery yesterday morning and drove 169 miles down to the Ionity charger at Mayenne. Had the units set to km and drove at the speed limits (mixture of 90, 110 and 130) although this depleted the battery quicker (understandably) rather than usual cruising at 65mph.

Arrived with 5% SOC and plugged in, initially getting 88kW and then peaking at 92kW before dropping back. Using Hyundai subscription brought it down to 25p (per minute as they charge in France) so an hour would cost £15 - I stopped it at 48 minutes and added 52kWh in that time - £12.

Next stop was Vallee de la Vire Gouvets, 44 minutes on this one to get back to 90% - peaked at 93kW. £11 cost with the subscription.

Made it down Eurocamp with no issues, the MG5 was a pleasure to drive - comfortable and fast charging, the Ionity chargers were rock solid. Plugged in at the cabin using the Tough Leads modular schuko cable.

TOTAL COST:
Five hours on Go Faster to reach 100% before leaving - £1.95

Ionity charges - £32.50 plus £11.25 subscription = £43.75

Top up rapid at Tesco Portsmouth (Pod Point) - £6.85

£52.55 to drive 800 miles, versus the price of petrol at approximately £120. Double that saving for the return journey and it's still an attractive proposition, if you can (and are prepared to) make it work.

Did you have to wait to charge or were they free when you arrived?

 

[JonLovejoy]

Did you have to wait to charge or were they free when you arrived?

All had more than one available when we arrived, we were joined by others at each stop but none of them filled up. Ranged from 4 to 8 stalls

 

[greeiig]

Hands up for reporting a "disaster". We had a bit of a bad start on our trip to France due to one bank of chargers being out of order (Autoroutes A5 Troyes to be specific).
If we hadn't been numpties and gone to an AC charger we would have been fine.

Very smooth journey on the way home.

Call out to the free chargers at Folkestone side of the Channel tunnel.

We never had to wait for a charger to become free. Despite the cost mentioned by some, the Ionity chargers are worth seeking out IMHO - the App works well, they always seemed to work and they were generally very fast.

The only thing I'd say is that you need to resign yourself to the additional trip time - if you've done the same trip in a ICE vehicle you will notice the difference... 30 minute stops every 90-120 mins are probably recommended anyway!

 

[greeiig]

All had more than one available when we arrived, we were joined by others at each stop but none of them filled up. Ranged from 4 to 8 stalls

Nice write up by the way - much more informative than mine, but then I wasn't anticipating driving until 2am!

 

[JonLovejoy]

Home!

 

[greeiig]

Impressive - welcome home!
I trust you had a smooth journey home?

 

[JonLovejoy]

Impressive - welcome home!
I trust you had a smooth journey home?

All fine, managed to slow charge near our hotel in Cherbourg so got on the ferry with 95% and then stopped at Peterborough Services and used the Ionity there, had 6% left.

 

[greeiig]

6% !! You're a brave man. Ionity are reliable though.
I got a nasty surprise in my Chargemap invoice.. charged overnight on an AC Charger near my hotel in Reims. Pleased to be able to leave it for a full charge, but didn't realise it charged per minute! Things to watch out for in the future..

 

[Truckyboy]

Sounds like a great trip was had.however..i am pleased with ordering my 1.5 petrol HS.rather than electric..as i intend driving to bulgaria end of june..when supposedly i collect my new car
Couldnt be faffed about with all those stops..

 

[cog16]

Nice trip.
As a French resident, I tend not to use autoroute chargers, but go for chargers just by a junction, which tend to be cheaper, (and a bit slower).
I use Izivia (EDF's own) and Mobive (Nouvel Aquitaine) rfids , using Abrp to find and filter out the slower chargers, and when not in a hurry, use Abrp recommendation to run at 80-90kph and enjoy the scenic routes!

 

[DuncsH]

We reached France on Thursday evening, after a smooth, comfortable and stress-free drive. Left Bradford with 100% charge and then stopped at Baldock Services to use Ionity (pulling 38kWh in 38 minutes for £9.43 and Tesco PodPoint in Portsmouth, before boarding the ferry.

Left the ferry with 90% battery yesterday morning and drove 169 miles down to the Ionity charger at Mayenne. Had the units set to km and drove at the speed limits (mixture of 90, 110 and 130) although this depleted the battery quicker (understandably) rather than usual cruising at 65mph.

Arrived with 5% SOC and plugged in, initially getting 88kW and then peaking at 92kW before dropping back. Using Hyundai subscription brought it down to 25p (per minute as they charge in France) so an hour would cost £15 - I stopped it at 48 minutes and added 52kWh in that time - £12.

Next stop was Vallee de la Vire Gouvets, 44 minutes on this one to get back to 90% - peaked at 93kW. £11 cost with the subscription.

Made it down Eurocamp with no issues, the MG5 was a pleasure to drive - comfortable and fast charging, the Ionity chargers were rock solid. Plugged in at the cabin using the Tough Leads modular schuko cable.

TOTAL COST:
Five hours on Go Faster to reach 100% before leaving - £1.95

Ionity charges - £32.50 plus £11.25 subscription = £43.75

Top up rapid at Tesco Portsmouth (Pod Point) - £6.85

£52.55 to drive 800 miles, versus the price of petrol at approximately £120. Double that saving for the return journey and it's still an attractive proposition, if you can (and are prepared to) make it work.

Nice report and great to hear the success

 

[greeiig]

Sounds like a great trip was had.however..i am pleased with ordering my 1.5 petrol HS.rather than electric..as i intend driving to bulgaria end of june..when supposedly i collect my new car
Couldnt be faffed about with all those stops..

Yes that is going to remain an impediment to mass usage of EV's. Enthusiasts who don't mind adding ~25% more time to journeys will do so, and you can see it's possible.
I'm on the fence - 95% of the time I'm using the MG5 for short/medium trips for which there is no downside regarding charging. In fact being able to charge at home is really convenient and obviously cheap.

It's just those occasional very long journeys for which it takes a different mind-set - you can't just put the foot down, let the kids sleep in the back and drive for 4-5 hours to get there. That's what my wife didn't like about our trip - instead of driving for 3 hours, having lunch then driving 4 more and getting there at 6pm, we had 3 or 4 30-40 minute stops and got there 2-3 hours later.

But if you have the mindset that you're happy to drive for a bit, stop for a bit, toodle along until you get there - and don't try to do too much in one day - it's actually fine.
I must also add that the driving experience is so much more relaxing in the MG5 compared with my old ICE Diesel - apart from when the kids start fighting!

 

[JonLovejoy]

We only stopped the same as we would have in an ICE and really for what is safe, about every three hours.

 

[Rookery]

That's brilliant to hear much easier than I had expected, thanks for relaying your MG5 experience, it gives me confidence to have a go myself.

 

[greeiig]

We only stopped the same as we would have in an ICE and really for what is safe, about every three hours.

You were clearly getting longer range than me then. After charging to 85% we were looking to recharge after max 2 hours. We had a roofbox and a car full. But were also stopping where ABRP recommended on the route plan

 

[John Sauve Rodd]

We reached France on Thursday evening, after a smooth, comfortable and stress-free drive. Left Bradford with 100% charge and then stopped at Baldock Services to use Ionity (pulling 38kWh in 38 minutes for £9.43 and Tesco PodPoint in Portsmouth, before boarding the ferry.

Left the ferry with 90% battery yesterday morning and drove 169 miles down to the Ionity charger at Mayenne. Had the units set to km and drove at the speed limits (mixture of 90, 110 and 130) although this depleted the battery quicker (understandably) rather than usual cruising at 65mph.

Arrived with 5% SOC and plugged in, initially getting 88kW and then peaking at 92kW before dropping back. Using Hyundai subscription brought it down to 25p (per minute as they charge in France) so an hour would cost £15 - I stopped it at 48 minutes and added 52kWh in that time - £12.

Next stop was Vallee de la Vire Gouvets, 44 minutes on this one to get back to 90% - peaked at 93kW. £11 cost with the subscription.

Made it down Eurocamp with no issues, the MG5 was a pleasure to drive - comfortable and fast charging, the Ionity chargers were rock solid. Plugged in at the cabin using the Tough Leads modular schuko cable.

TOTAL COST:
Five hours on Go Faster to reach 100% before leaving - £1.95

Ionity charges - £32.50 plus £11.25 subscription = £43.75

Top up rapid at Tesco Portsmouth (Pod Point) - £6.85

£52.55 to drive 800 miles, versus the price of petrol at approximately £120. Double that saving for the return journey and it's still an attractive proposition, if you can (and are prepared to) make it work.

Excellent reality check on France. Questions: 1 what map tool did you use to locate chargers? 2 did you find gaps where you were stretching it a bit? 3 how many subscriptions do you have? Again, thank you.