Another Electronaut has shared their journey with us at Octopus Electroverse, helping combat the common misconception about EVs and their inconvenience on long journeys.
Up next in our EV Driving Stories series, we have Nicolas Rhatigan, telling us about his trip from his home in south Norwich to Stratford, London.
If you have a story you want to be heard, share it with us via our community feedback form.
Let’s get plugged in…
I started my journey in my blue Jaguar I-Pace from south Norwich, headed for Westfield Centre car park in Stratford, London; I was on my way to Guy’s Hospital for an appointment.
Already almost fully charged with my Octopus Go registered home charger - I felt ready for my journey. A round trip of 224 miles and I had a range of 250 - I knew I was pushing it, but I figured 26 miles was contingency enough to complete the trip.
Unfortunately, there was an accident on the M11, resulting in its closure and a detour that should have only added 5 miles but the range was dropping faster than I had anticipated. I felt a little nervy as I navigated my way through unfamiliar East London, searching for a charge point.
The first charger I found wasn’t working and that put me on edge. Then I tried an MFG EV Power charge point at Redbridge roundabout and, thankfully, one was free! Big relief.
After that the charging process was a breeze; I plugged in, tapped my Electrocard and the charge started. I only needed to add around 30 miles and, using a rapid charger at 150 kW, it didn’t take long.
In the end, I was only about a 15-minute drive away from Westfield Centre, so I unplugged and quickly finished up my journey. Looking back it seems absurd that I got so worried; I didn’t need much of a top-up and it hardly delayed my journey. I made it to my hospital appointment with plenty of time to spare and the journey home was easy.
The round trip took around 4.5 hours, and the total distance covered was around 240 miles.
The MFG EV Power charge cost me about £10, and my EV consumed around 15 kWh.
I really appreciated the ease of viewing my charging credit via my Electroverse account.
The Electroverse app is packed full of handy features, designed to help EV drivers quickly find their next charge. If you'd like to learn more, have a read of our blog: 'How to use the Octopus Electroverse app'.
Also, my home charger is supplied with energy through an Octopus Go tariff, which provides me with reduced overnight rates, making charging up overnight for long journeys that much cheaper.
Yes, I recently took a longer trip, around 410 miles. I had preplanned a charge on the M3 heading down to Hampshire; this was nice and easy as the charger was working and available (150kW again, but charged at a lower rate). I thought I was being smart - staying at a hotel with free overnight charging - however, many other EV drivers had the same idea, and I struggled to find a charging point.
Coming back was harder, as I was pushed for time and struggled to find an available/working charge point on the M3 near Woking. That said, when I finally found a charge point at a McDonald's off the M25 (near Colney), it was a quick and easy process.
Planning definitely takes a lot of stress out of EV journeys, but it’s best to have a contingency plan in case the chargers you aim for aren’t available.
I’m pretty confident that I would now be able to charge before getting down to my last 10-15 miles - but if you don’t want to make that small amount of effort, then an EV may not be for you.
Another piece of advice: invest in a home charger. It's one of the best decisions I've made. The ability to charge up cheaply overnight meets most of my needs, it's very convenient, and it saves me a lot of money.
If you can't have a home charger installed, use public charging apps like Octopus Electroverse!
Want to read about another EV road trip? Check out Damir Vujevic's London to Montenegro 3,500-mile EV road trip, or find more in our driving stories section.
Feeling enlightened, or do you think something was missing? Let us know by sharing your feedback.
Interested in learning more? Head over to our Electroverse Community area for more electrifying content.
