Road trip: Melbourne to Canberra in one day

[claylucas]

Hi all, I recently bought a 2021 ZS EV that I love. My 13-year-old and I are planning a trip from Melbourne to Canberra next month, and we can do it in a petrol car we have, but I'd much rather take the MG. I only have the wall charger that came with the car so far, and it gets us to 245km - it seems to top out charging when the car reaches 245km. I haven't yet bought a fast-charge cable but will. My question: has anyone on this forum done this Melb-to-Canberra trip, or a similar distance (650km) in Australia, and is a 650km trip possible in one day in a 2021 MG ZS EV using charging stations along the way?

 

[Tim Green]

I recall a forum member doing a 400 mile (650km approx) round trip in a day, so it should be possible. Obviously you need to research recharge points.

 

[Coulomb]

I only have the wall charger that came with the car so far, and it gets us to 245km - it seems to top out charging when the car reaches 245km.

That just means that the car is full, and the estimated range, based on previous driving, is very roughly 245 km. It's not like it's a guarantee.

My rule of thumb with my ZS Mark 1 (bought April 2021) is that you can bank on 200 km of freeway (100 km/h) range when new; now that our cars are around 3 years old, that might be 190 km or less. 110 km/h would reduce that range slightly as well.

I know people that have done Brisbane to Canberra in a Mark 1, but I'm pretty sure that they didn't do it in one day. They also did Brisbane to Melbourne. Back then, charging infrastructure wasn't nearly as reasonable as it is now.

 

[Tim Green]

well my mk 1 bought January 2020 now has 20,000 miles and I still expect 160miles range (say 260km) unless it’s really cold ambient. So full charge to start plus say 2 stops enroute (80%) to do 400 miles should be fine.

 

[claylucas]

I recall a forum member doing a 400 mile (650km approx) round trip in a day, so it should be possible. Obviously you need to research recharge points.

Thank you Tim.

That just means that the car is full, and the estimated range, based on previous driving, is very roughly 245 km. It's not like it's a guarantee.

My rule of thumb with my ZS Mark 1 (bought April 2021) is that you can bank on 200 km of freeway (100 km/h) range when new; now that our cars are around 3 years old, that might be 190 km or less. 110 km/h would reduce that range slightly as well.

I know people that have done Brisbane to Canberra in a Mark 1, but I'm pretty sure that they didn't do it in one day. They also did Brisbane to Melbourne. Back then, charging infrastructure wasn't nearly as reasonable as it is now.

Thank you very much - great to know.

 

[profdraper]

Why not plan out a few scenarios using a Better Route Planner? eg the route via Albany looks very doable, ABRP

Alternately, you could check EV stations on PlugShare; filter to show only CCS/SAE; then perhaps use these as waypoints on the SatNav or Google Maps etc. Wodonga City Council | Wodonga, VIC | EV Station

Both apps are avaiable for phones & can sideload on CarPlay and Android Auto.

 

[aserraric]

I haven't yet bought a fast-charge cable but will.

Fast chargers (aka DC chargers or CCS chargers) have the cable permanently attached to the charging point, since they have very specific demands and are often actively cooled.

What you may want is a Type2 cable to be able to use AC chargers on the road. Just be aware that those are not really fast, they will take several hours to recharge the car fully, whereas a DC fast charger typically takes less than an hour. Often, those AC chargers are in places like hotels or parking lots/garages, where you can charge overnight.

 

[Coulomb]

Fast chargers (aka DC chargers or CCS chargers) have...

It seems to be a convention in the UK that "fast chargers" are AC "chargers" that are faster than granny (plug into a general purpose outlet) "chargers". DC chargers are called rapid chargers.

In most other places, "fast" and "rapid" mean the same thing, and refer to DC chargers. Since this forum is highly, though not exclusively, UK centric, we have to allow the Brits their terminology. Even if it's occasionally confusing, as above.