Finally..

I'm off to that there London tomorrow in the e

600 mile range would be useful but I won't incur the wrath of khan going there in a BEV

I'm ere all week

1 stop in each direction but 2 on the way down might suit. It won't be a fast journey, I could go in a petrol or the bike but I expect it will piss it down so I am going for quiet comfort

 

Yes 2 on the way down with one of them close to target gives you flex.

You can take sceptics for a razz and show off doing a right tight turn in Ikea car park .

 

Stage 1 complete, sat at a charger in Northants thinking how the hell did I manage to commute here 4 days a week

74 miles used 74% at around the speed limit on fancy cruise control. Some twatty traffic on the way for a broke BMW and a similar Pug. Took 90mins not due to the car

Arrived at instavolt, started charging at 49kw but has slowed down now.. added 50% in 14 mins while I grabbed a snack and toilet break

Arrived 1330
Departed 1405 on 95%

 

Charge 2, Shell recharge at Mill Hill

Poor.. first one didn't work.
2nd started fast, slowed down, stopped a lot. Needed an RFID card and app. Still sketchy

Got it going. It stopped quite frequently then restarted

Arrived 1521 on c40%
Faffed for 10 (this is all to common)
Got it going
Departed 1610 90% and bored


.

 

Shell always shyte. That is I think Apex Corner you will find Mill Hill is a mile down the A41 south

 

It's what they call themselvesAnyways, like BP they are a pita

I got it up to 82%. Where it stayed for several miles oddly.

Got to my dest, sank a load of ale, got up this morning, 78%.. that got me to Northants at a lick with 7% remaining and back on my fave instavolt..

24 mins later at 85% and ready to head off. I have 70 miles to go so I think at speed limit on motorway this will get me home but flat.. the hard shoulder less sections of mway with the low charge Ind were better than Starbucks

made it back with a load to spare

I was paying 79p to rapid! More than ten times my home rate.

And getting 3.4mi/kw means 23.3p/mile.. that is about square with 28mpg - s2000 can nearly do that

Overall 270 miles cost me

£31 at insta (2 charges)
c£10 at Shell
And I need another home charge to return it to where I started (£1.70)

£43... Or 6.6 gals of squirt at £6.5 - equates to about 41mpg

In terms of convenience it was fine. I need a break after about 80 mins, my lower back does not like driving so that was fine. Chargers were available, flaky in the case of shell but there were plenty of them when I ventured away from the motorway.

Overall? I wouldn't buy an electric if I did this a lot
I don't want to do this a lot.. 3h15 to get back, traffic ok.. I spent longer than needed charging as I was reading in the car.. 50 mins, so 2hrs 25 driving. Speed camera alerts constantly from waze. Glad I didn't take the S. My back is aching like a bitch

 

Which is not quite the same as what others call Shell* clue - it begins with the same two letters 'sh'.

They've been installing chargers for ages at my was local Shell hi octane stop on the A11 midway to the reliable MFG at Barton Mills and only 10 miles from home. My distrust of SHell (Sheer Hell) Recharge is such that rather than use them as plan B if Barton Mills is full my contingency is to peel off short and granny drive cross country to arrive home almost empty. Last time it was 2 miles left due to diversions and during school pickup / rat running time of day. Why is it these mothers on the school run drive like maniacs 'life or death' speeds?

 

Well , that pretty much confirms the way I am thinking about range, it just takes a little bit of planning.coupled with a slightly longer stop . Lol being old and retired not into driving 4/500 miles without a break , so a relaxed coffee break and top up the volts.

 

Yup CHIPPO that's how it goes. Most of the guys (Honda 'e' FB page) are Instavolt fans they are reliable plus widespread e.g. many McDonalds. Contactless payment card no app required but can be tricky to start charging I believe the top most pins are for comms getting a charge authorised whereas once the charge is active the lower pins do the work. Advice is to hold the charger up so the weight doesn't drag it down so possibly compromising the comms. Once charging has started you can walk away.Insta take £30 on deposit before making any connection which you need to watch. Other chargers e.g. BP can be flaky that way too but I don't use - no smart phone no apps

The others I personally commend are MFG and Gridserve. Both are contactless payment card only usually many in a row and all working. At major junctions usually.

These are to me the big three 'plan round' and usually I can devise plan B as well as my main planned stops.

 

Range is a minor/none issue for me
I don't want to drive for hours on end, it's boring and I don't find it comfy
The e doesn't encourage you on this
And it charges fairly quickly (but also looks after its battery)

I bet your renno will charge faster still

I have the apps and am a smartphone loon. I didn't use it to charge but you need it for some