What I learnt from my first long distance journey in an electric car
I recently joined the EV community with the Vauxhall Corsa-E Griffin. Until last month (September 2022), I’d never done a long distance journey requiring the need and use of public chargers and therefore greater planning.
Read about my experience joining the electric car world in my previous blog post: My #EV journey has begun
The default had always been to use the Hyundai Kona Electric as it was more efficient and had 100 more advertised range than the Corsa-E. Due to this and not actually testing out how far the car can pushed, my range anxiety increased.
With an upcoming trip to Coventry from Leeds, followed by a journey to Wiltshire before heading back up North in the calendar, it was about time the Corsa-E was put to the test so I could see how it actually performed.
In total, 581 miles were travelled in the space of 4 days, costing £61.52. Additionally, £4.79 was spent on charging the car before and after these journeys using the home charger to get the car to 99%. This was all done during the 4-hour off-peak tariff on Octopus Go.
What did I learn from these long distance journeys?
- Planning is key and having back-up charger locations is very important. I was trying to not spend too much money on public charging (every penny and all) so my aim was always to try use Gridserve, BP Pulse and Lidl chargers as they were some of the cheapest at the time. I found by doing this, there wasn’t as many available chargers and meant on the odd occasion having to wait or moving on to another location.
- The overall journey time is much longer due to the stops you have to do. Our journey back from Wiltshire which usually would take 4–4.5 hours depending on traffic and breaks, took nearly 6 hours. If you have kids or a dog travelling with you, it’s probably not as noticeable as naturally you’d be stopping more or for longer. For those just going for a quick toilet break, the extra sitting around waiting whilst the car is charging is noticeable.
- On the flip side to my point above, it does give you time and you can be productive in that time whilst the car is charging, whether that be to catch up on some work or play a game with your passenger(s).
- The Corsa-E is very inefficient on motorways. I already knew this prior but doing a long distance journey highlighted the issue further. I don’t believe this is just an issue for the Corsa-E and believe it’s more an EV issue in general. This meant at times either averaging 60–65mph or adding an extra stop to top-up along the way.
- The people you meet at charging points, 9 times out of 10, are really nice to talk to and it’s always good to hear their experiences with an EV and any tips and tricks they’ve picked up along the way.
- Not everyone will have the etiquette as you and you will at some point come across people plugged in at 100% charge blocking a charger /charging bay.
Was it as bad as I initially thought?
Definitely not. I honestly thought I’d be constantly worried about needing to charge and where I could stop. Don’t get me wrong, it does require a lot more planning and time especially more so if you’re looking to get the most out of your money.
All in all though, I’ve gained more knowledge around what the range capabilities are in the Corsa-E which in-turn has given me more faith in how far I can push the car. I now have a greater insight into what’s involved in the planning of these journeys and what I’ll expect to find when using public chargers. Through doing this, I am more confident in taking the Corsa-E on longer journeys and 100% not as nervous. I’d class that as mission successful!
I am sharing my EV journey on Instagram. If you’re interested in following along, head over and give me a follow: fromsophiecars on Instagram.
