Long motorway round trip in MG S5EV – Update after completing the trip

[blohot]

If you have not seen my earlier post on my charging plan, please do so first Long motorway round trip in MG S5EV – practical charging strategy & costs. This update is on the real world data based on my completed journey.

Update after completing the trip – what worked and what didn’t

I’ve now returned from my Newcastle ↔ Southampton trip and wanted to share how the charging plan worked out in practice.

Onward journey (Newcastle → Southampton)

• First stop was IONITY Sheffield at around 10:30 am. I charged 36 kWh at a cost of £15.50 (IONITY Power).
• My next planned stop was IONITY Fleet, but midway I realised I wouldn’t comfortably make it. I diverted to IONITY Milton Keynes instead and charged 39 kWh for £16.79.
• That top-up was sufficient to take me all the way to Southampton, making the planned Fleet stop unnecessary on the onward leg.

Return journey (Southampton → Newcastle)

• I left Southampton with around 100 miles of indicated range, which was enough to reach IONITY Fleet.
• At Fleet, I charged 34.79 kWh at a cost of £14.96.
• To add an extra safety buffer, I stopped briefly at IONITY Milton Keynes, charging 14.53 kWh for £6.25.
• Final main stop was IONITY Sheffield, where I charged 46.60 kWh at a cost of £20.04.
• I arrived back in Newcastle with around 35% charge remaining.

Overall trip stats

• Total distance: ~700 miles
• Total public charging: 171 kWh
• Total public charging cost: £73.54

That works out to:

• 10.5p per mile
• 4.09 miles per kWh
• 43p per kWh (exactly matching the IONITY Power rate)

Based on this real-world data, my average usable range per full charge works out to roughly 245 miles.

Key takeaways for other MG EV drivers​

• Real-world motorway efficiency can be better than expected, even in winter.
• Subscription-based rapid charging (IONITY Power in my case) makes a huge difference to cost.
• Planning long legs with a backup IONITY stop (Milton Keynes) removes stress.
• Charging to 80–90% on rapid chargers is generally optimal; 100% is rarely needed.
• Long-distance EV travel is very achievable with realistic assumptions rather than WLTP figures.

Happy to compare notes with others who’ve done similar long runs in MG EVs.

 

[TimothyN]

Thank you.

At what speed did you drive?

 

[blohot]

Thank you.

At what speed did you drive?

I drove at the top legal limit but most of the route had variable speed limits and there were road works going on as well. Depending on your setting the adaptable cruise control also slows you down from doing a constant speed.

 

[stevedee]

As we are due to do our first non-local trip next week (Bognor to Liverpool) here are a few very simple questions;
- power of each charger?
- time spent charging at each charger?
- did chargers accept regular credit card payments?

Many thanks.

 

[Ian Key]

Some back of fag packet maths comparing cost to a petrol car.

Average efficiency - 38mpg
Average petrol cost per gallon - £6.11
Total cost for same trip - £112.50
Saving - £39

You also took 5 stops to recharge. In an ICE car you would need to visit the petrol station before setting off, again to refuel to get back plus a couple of comfort breaks so perhaps 1 stop less.

 

[blohot]

Some back of fag packet maths comparing cost to a petrol car.

Average efficiency - 38mpg
Average petrol cost per gallon - £6.11
Total cost for same trip - £112.50
Saving - £39

You also took 5 stops to recharge. In an ICE car you would need to visit the petrol station before setting off, again to refuel to get back plus a couple of comfort breaks so perhaps 1 stop less.

Yes, I saved around 30% as compared to an ICE car. Perhaps spent more time on charges but I timed the charging stops with coffee and lunch breaks so it was all good

 

[blohot]

As we are due to do our first non-local trip next week (Bognor to Liverpool) here are a few very simple questions;
- power of each charger?
- time spent charging at each charger?
- did chargers accept regular credit card payments?

Many thanks.

I used the IONITY Power subscription that costs £10 per month and gives you the lowest public charging rate of 43p per KWh. All the Ionity chargers are 350 KWh although in reality, I was getting a throughput of around 120 KWh. I spent around 25 mins on average at each stop. I had added my credit card to the IONITY Power subscription and it will pre authorise a £40 payment every time you charge.

 

[dx4100]

This is very interesting as we have not done any real long range driving yet requiring public charging.

So this sort of drive is where I would be using my ICE diesel car.

45mpg
£1.36 a litre (I would never refuel at services and neither would I have too)
400 mile range so only one stop refuel
Total cost £90.82

The EV becomes a hassle on this sort of drive and offers no real benefit. Its why we went for what we thought was the perfect two car household setup. Two cars with two very different purposes.

Those numbers above you need to factor in the cost of the home charge and the subscription and any savings start melting away.

 

[blohot]

This is very interesting as we have not done any real long range driving yet requiring public charging.

So this sort of drive is where I would be using my ICE diesel car.

45mpg
£1.36 a litre (I would never refuel at services and neither would I have too)
400 mile range so only one stop refuel
Total cost £90.82

The EV becomes a hassle on this sort of drive and offers no real benefit. Its why we went for what we thought was the perfect two car household setup. Two cars with two very different purposes.

Those numbers above you need to factor in the cost of the home charge and the subscription and any savings start melting away.

Agree with you that practically speaking, there may not be cost savings but tbh, you rarely do such a long journey and for shorter trips, the charging stops are eliminated mostly.

 

[dx4100]

Agree with you that practically speaking, there may not be cost savings but tbh, you rarely do such a long journey and for shorter trips, the charging stops are eliminated mostly.

We do around six long journeys like this a year. Usually involving a fully loaded car with roof box as well. The other thing to factor is if you do a long journey like this the likely hood is you will be at the destination for some time, driving around, requiring further public charging making even more of a hassle.

For me ICE is the obvious choice for long range still if you have a choice.

But for most other purposes the ev wins. We are reducing the ICE probably down to 5000 to 6000 miles next year on the insurance as I dont see us using it nowhere near as much now we have the EV

 

[MGS5CJB]

If you have not seen my earlier post on my charging plan, please do so first Long motorway round trip in MG S5EV – practical charging strategy & costs. This update is on the real world data based on my completed journey.

Update after completing the trip – what worked and what didn’t

I’ve now returned from my Newcastle ↔ Southampton trip and wanted to share how the charging plan worked out in practice.

Onward journey (Newcastle → Southampton)

• First stop was IONITY Sheffield at around 10:30 am. I charged 36 kWh at a cost of £15.50 (IONITY Power).
• My next planned stop was IONITY Fleet, but midway I realised I wouldn’t comfortably make it. I diverted to IONITY Milton Keynes instead and charged 39 kWh for £16.79.
• That top-up was sufficient to take me all the way to Southampton, making the planned Fleet stop unnecessary on the onward leg.

Return journey (Southampton → Newcastle)

• I left Southampton with around 100 miles of indicated range, which was enough to reach IONITY Fleet.
• At Fleet, I charged 34.79 kWh at a cost of £14.96.
• To add an extra safety buffer, I stopped briefly at IONITY Milton Keynes, charging 14.53 kWh for £6.25.
• Final main stop was IONITY Sheffield, where I charged 46.60 kWh at a cost of £20.04.
• I arrived back in Newcastle with around 35% charge remaining.

Overall trip stats

• Total distance: ~700 miles
• Total public charging: 171 kWh
• Total public charging cost: £73.54

That works out to:

• 10.5p per mile
• 4.09 miles per kWh
• 43p per kWh (exactly matching the IONITY Power rate)

Based on this real-world data, my average usable range per full charge works out to roughly 245 miles.

Key takeaways for other MG EV drivers​

• Real-world motorway efficiency can be better than expected, even in winter.
• Subscription-based rapid charging (IONITY Power in my case) makes a huge difference to cost.
• Planning long legs with a backup IONITY stop (Milton Keynes) removes stress.
• Charging to 80–90% on rapid chargers is generally optimal; 100% is rarely needed.
• Long-distance EV travel is very achievable with realistic assumptions rather than WLTP figures.

Happy to compare notes with others who’ve done similar long runs in MG EVs.

Very useful info and great detail thank you for helping other members

 

[Hugo A Go Go]

• Charging to 80–90% on rapid chargers is generally optimal; 100% is rarely needed.

This one is the key for me. The charge rate really slows down after 80% and it is usually quicker to move on to the next charger instead of charging until full.

For example, I returned from the Newcastle area to Dundee last weekend.

I charged at Ionity Metrocentre from around 10% to 80% which took 28 minutes. I knew it wouldn’t quite be enough, but the charge rate had really slowed and the car indicated it was another 56 minutes to reach 100%.

Fine if you are having a meal, but not so great if you are sitting in the car waiting.

Instead of waiting, a 7 minute topup costing a fiver at Ionity Edinburgh Shawfair saw me get home with plenty left to spare.

I’ve done a few long trips now and know I need around 90% to comfortably get home from Newcastle or Carlisle.

The other thing, which hopefully everyone knows is to set regen braking to level 1 on the motorway. You want the car to keep its momentum when you lift off the accelerator.

 

[MGS5CJB]

Useful info thanks hadn’t realised about reducing regen on the motorway. Lot’s still to learn

 

[blohot]

The other thing, which hopefully everyone knows is to set regen braking to level 1 on the motorway. You want the car to keep its momentum when you lift off the accelerator

Yes, indeed. I was mindful of this fact and it certainly helped