Cycaduk
Standard Member
Apologies for the long winded nature of this post.
So, we had to visit a customer in Brussels and decided to drive there in my facelift, long range MGZS SE. I started out from home, in Northamptonshire with 100%, driving first to Basingstoke (102 miles) to collect a colleague. I topped up to 80% (30.2kWh) at the Shell garage near Brighton Hill basingstoke. From there to the channel Tunnel, stopping at the shell services just before 114 miles, to top up to 80% again (28.3kWh). From Calais into Belgium, and stopped about 60km from our hotel, 103 miles filling up to 80% (35.4kWh)again. The hotel, Barons House B&B in Huldenburg had one charger, which we used overnight to go to 100%; it cost €15 per night to use the charger, so would have been more value not charging to 80% earlier.
Visited the customer next day and brought back a piece of equipment. Had lunch at a small village, then visited a supermarket that had charging available, but only got about 4.7kWh in, and it tried to hang on to my type 2 cable! back to the hotel; 120 miles, charged to 100% overnight at the hotel, (then back to Calais for le `Shuttle'. 140 miles. The Tesla superchargers in the flexiplus parking would not reach to my car; they are designed for cars with side entry charging ports. We were able to use a different charger though, to get back to 80% (34.3kWh) whilst having coffee and treats in the lounge.
Then back to Basingstoke 122 miles for a further 80% (35.2kWh) topup at shell Interestingly my Shell card worked at the European places we topped up at, and we had no problems with Bricking the car. Phew.
Comparing this with similar journeys in LPG/Petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars; you have to plan your journey, and be prepared to adjust if conditions require. A typical stop to charge to 80% takes an hour from 20%, about 1/2 an hour from 50%; its definitely best to plan your stops around meal times, comfort breaks of 15 minutes can also be utilised especially if very fast charging is available, and usable. The heavy rain also took its toll on the economy; I guess apart from the wipers and air con to keep the windows clear, the tyres need more energy to pump the water off the road. If you travel slower, then you can delay your charging sessions, in terms of distance travelled, but overall it still takes less time to travel at posted speed limits, and charge more frequently, always providing there are chargers available.
So, we had to visit a customer in Brussels and decided to drive there in my facelift, long range MGZS SE. I started out from home, in Northamptonshire with 100%, driving first to Basingstoke (102 miles) to collect a colleague. I topped up to 80% (30.2kWh) at the Shell garage near Brighton Hill basingstoke. From there to the channel Tunnel, stopping at the shell services just before 114 miles, to top up to 80% again (28.3kWh). From Calais into Belgium, and stopped about 60km from our hotel, 103 miles filling up to 80% (35.4kWh)again. The hotel, Barons House B&B in Huldenburg had one charger, which we used overnight to go to 100%; it cost €15 per night to use the charger, so would have been more value not charging to 80% earlier.
Visited the customer next day and brought back a piece of equipment. Had lunch at a small village, then visited a supermarket that had charging available, but only got about 4.7kWh in, and it tried to hang on to my type 2 cable! back to the hotel; 120 miles, charged to 100% overnight at the hotel, (then back to Calais for le `Shuttle'. 140 miles. The Tesla superchargers in the flexiplus parking would not reach to my car; they are designed for cars with side entry charging ports. We were able to use a different charger though, to get back to 80% (34.3kWh) whilst having coffee and treats in the lounge.
Then back to Basingstoke 122 miles for a further 80% (35.2kWh) topup at shell Interestingly my Shell card worked at the European places we topped up at, and we had no problems with Bricking the car. Phew.
Comparing this with similar journeys in LPG/Petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars; you have to plan your journey, and be prepared to adjust if conditions require. A typical stop to charge to 80% takes an hour from 20%, about 1/2 an hour from 50%; its definitely best to plan your stops around meal times, comfort breaks of 15 minutes can also be utilised especially if very fast charging is available, and usable. The heavy rain also took its toll on the economy; I guess apart from the wipers and air con to keep the windows clear, the tyres need more energy to pump the water off the road. If you travel slower, then you can delay your charging sessions, in terms of distance travelled, but overall it still takes less time to travel at posted speed limits, and charge more frequently, always providing there are chargers available.
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