Ingo Wilson
Standard Member
Having just completed a 1500 mile road trip around England and Scotland I felt other ZS EV owners may find these observations.
Wherever possible I used ZapMap to find CCS Chargers, an essential aid if motorway service chargers don't work on MGs. I had several close calls where ECOTRICITY chargers didn't work and I had to search elsewhere, off motorway. AVOID ECOTRICITY LIKE THE PLAGUE AS THEY WILL GET YOU INTO TROUBLE. On my last leg of the tour I tried charging on an ECOTRICITY charger several times without success (having observed other cars charged there successfully) to find I couldn't power up DRIVE or REVERSE and head off to chargers off motorway. The fault message on the dash read HV BATTERY LOCK OUT. Fortunately MG's AA membership helped out promptly and managed to restore correct settings to enable a charge ( for free!).
In order of preference:
Best: INSTAVOLT charge with credit card. BP POLAR charge with credit card or apply for account and get RFID card. Also credit card swipe for a fast charger at a LIDL store shown on ZapMap.
Worst: ECOTRICITY for reasons above. They are the the main supplier with clapped out kit in motorway services. You need to set up an account and install an app. Often the WiFi on chargers are not operating so you can't use the app. Helpline is responsive but they can't fix faults but can reboot chargers.
IONITY are a ripoff +£0.65/kWh.
In my opinion, like Brexit and Covid 19, the UK is ill-prepared for easy access to operational fast chargers.
PS Many supermarkets, such as Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, have free access to slower 7kWh chargers you could use but not all are tethered.
I hope my random notes help newbies and others. I welcome hearing of your experience.
Wherever possible I used ZapMap to find CCS Chargers, an essential aid if motorway service chargers don't work on MGs. I had several close calls where ECOTRICITY chargers didn't work and I had to search elsewhere, off motorway. AVOID ECOTRICITY LIKE THE PLAGUE AS THEY WILL GET YOU INTO TROUBLE. On my last leg of the tour I tried charging on an ECOTRICITY charger several times without success (having observed other cars charged there successfully) to find I couldn't power up DRIVE or REVERSE and head off to chargers off motorway. The fault message on the dash read HV BATTERY LOCK OUT. Fortunately MG's AA membership helped out promptly and managed to restore correct settings to enable a charge ( for free!).
In order of preference:
Best: INSTAVOLT charge with credit card. BP POLAR charge with credit card or apply for account and get RFID card. Also credit card swipe for a fast charger at a LIDL store shown on ZapMap.
Worst: ECOTRICITY for reasons above. They are the the main supplier with clapped out kit in motorway services. You need to set up an account and install an app. Often the WiFi on chargers are not operating so you can't use the app. Helpline is responsive but they can't fix faults but can reboot chargers.
IONITY are a ripoff +£0.65/kWh.
In my opinion, like Brexit and Covid 19, the UK is ill-prepared for easy access to operational fast chargers.
PS Many supermarkets, such as Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, have free access to slower 7kWh chargers you could use but not all are tethered.
I hope my random notes help newbies and others. I welcome hearing of your experience.