Electric Euro roadtrip! England to Italy in a Peugeot e-208

A big journey in a small car: Canterbury to Italy. Here's the full video - all the highs and lows of the driving, the charging, trying to use A Better Route Planner, and (perhaps worst of all) hotel food.
Here are the costs if you're interested:
- Car: Onto very kindly gave me the car and charging for free. If you got a car from them it'd be £1,407 in total. More info here: • Small car, big journey...
- Eurotunnel: €434.58 / £373 (I bought last minute so it was high)
- Mont Blanc tunnel: €51.50 / £44.20
- Tolls: €157.40 / £135.10
- Hotels (excluding food!): €193.57 / £166.14
If you’re interested in trying out ABRP and Tronity, use the referral links here:
Tronity: 25% off - app.tronity.io/signup/cdwklOAdg or use the code: cdwklOAdg
ABRP Premium: 30 day free trial - abetterrouteplanner.com/premi...
-
Support the channel! Visit my Ko-Fi page and buy me a coffee (or my wife a gin and tonic): ko-fi.com/misterev
Please use my referral links:
Octopus Energy: £50 off - share.octopus.energy/free-sag... (or quote "free-sage-191" to them)
Octopus Electroverse: £5 credit - electroverse.octopus.energy/n...
Chapters:
00:00 - Getting ready
02:24 - I need the battery percentage!
04:26 - Le Shuttle
07:38 - 12v warning!
08:55 - Welcome to France
09:39 - Baralle. The first charge? Or maybe not.
10:41 - Charger 1: PowerDot, Saint Quentin
13:27 - Charger 2: Allego, Carrefour, Reims Tinqueux
17:13 - Hotel 1: Hotel Akena, Troyes, France
18:45 - Day 2
20:04 - Tweaking ABRP settings, and loving Tronity
24:42 - Charger 3: IONITY Langres Perrogney
27:21 - Charger 3: IONITY Jura
30:45 - Driving me round the bend
32:44 - Is a Tesla easier?
35:35 - Charger 4: IONITY Bonneville
36:24 - Why I like IONITY… but wish they used Kempower chargers
39:16 - Siri-assly
40:40 - Mont Blanc… any time now…
42:38 - Hotel 2: 3T Boutique Hotel, Ivrea, Italy
43:36 - Walking around Ivrea
47:40 - Charger 4: Free to X, Genova
51:30 - Charger 5: IONITY, Versilia Ovest
52:08 - How to order at an Italian bar
52:49 - Broken charger!
56:10 - Charger 6: Avveva, Grosseto
57:09 - Charger 7: Free to X, Civitavecchia
58:31 - I'm here! Time for a cocktail

[@elbarkero]

The excitement when this showed up on my homepage

[@AndyC2_]

That speaks volumes about your life

[@antoniopalmero4063]

Your honeymoon must have been a blast 😂 .

[@elbarkero]

Yea speaks volumes that I’m planning on driving my ev across europe and love to see it can be done so easily.

[@shanabugs]

Great video as usual. As a newish EV owner, these journeys you have shared have inspired me to be confident with long trips across the length of the UK. Looks like Europe will be just as easy so thats next on my list!

[@MrEV]

I’m so happy to hear that. Yes, do it!

[@ginapeterb]

Yes I was not confident about travelling across Europe then I watched Andrews video going to Italy last time - actually was followed his route most of IONITY stations we stopped to charge - starting at Baralle then Champfleury on to Troyes Sud - Jura - Bonville etc etc through France Switzerland and to Italy actually the IONITY stop around northern Italy are good - plenty of chargers up to Mont Blanc tunnel the choice is great - it was only when we watched video we decided to go

[@JS-vs9co]

Great video - good to see that charging on long trips is becoming more trivial. Would love to see a separate showcase of the Tronity app 👍

[@troop73oo]

What a great road trip video, full of useful information and no music! Fantastic, really enjoyed thank you.

[@JeanPierreWhite]

I chuckled when you mentioned guiltily using a toilet in a hotel. If that isn't bad enough one time I stopped at a supercharger, it was at a swanky shopping center so I thought, right no problem here. I walked for 20 mins around the shops, all high end clothes and other worthless places. No where to go. No food places or coffee shops. So I went back to the car with my legs crossed and saw a hotel across the road. I went across the road went in the hotel, acted like I owned the place with bravado and confidence to get by the receptionist without raising any concern. I found the toilets really quickly and was very proud of myself and then saw there was a lock on the toilet door with a sign saying see receptionist for a key and if you are charging your Tesla don't ask. I went out the side entrance and found a skip where I could go behind it and have a piss. On the way home we charged at the same place. I simply waited and drove to a target a mile down the road and used their facilities. I did buy something for my wife as a thank you to Target for meeting my needs.

[@judebrown4103]

😂 Now this story is worthy of an Andrew and Flaviana video! 🤣

[@MrEV]

That's hilarious!

[@user-id2oz1gd7z]

Great, laid back presentation as usual Mr E V.👏👏😊😊

[@hollyandtheev6519]

Your road trip vids are genuinely some of the best content on KZbin. Love ‘em!

[@MrEV]

Thanks so much!

[@geoffreyjones6019]

Excellent video as per thank you. I can’t travel long distances because of health issues so really enjoy watching your peregrinations around Europe.

[@LEgoiste.]

This was a great watch, you keep it real and with humour. It’s not only me then that takes that last second panic wrong turn!😢😂

[@judebrown4103]

Brilliant, really enjoyed this. I'm sure you wont have argued on the way back but i bet something happens to make us chuckle😄👍

[@richardholland2389]

Great road trip video. It’s interesting to see the difference from your earlier trips to Italy. Faster, more reliable and easier to plan

[@MrEV]

Definitely getting easier every time.

[@DebbieCardell]

Enjoyed watching this, great video 👍 can’t wait for part 2!

[@MrEV]

Coming soon!

[@somethingpeculiarthistime]

Yay! Been waiting for this!

[@nipa6666]

Great Video as always thanks!!!

[@bloodynorahvan2203]

Enjoyed watching this, thanks 🙂

[@ginapeterb]

Thanks Andrew welcome to Marina de Cerveteri !! Great video

[@smijas]

The drama-factor in EV-driving will subside, I'm glad you can spice it up with family members of Mr.EV, Nice trip, good video & edit work!

[@iantaylor1172]

Watched it. Gives me confidence to do road trips to Europe.

[@SeanyHardy]

Wow that was an epic but enjoyable video. I’ve driven as far as Germany but I’ve always wanted to do Italy and you’ve encouraged me to do it.

[@MrEV]

Thank you! Great to hear.

[@nealy2815]

Well done for taking the trip on for the sake of the review. 👋

[@lknight5579]

Always very watchable and I like the Guy Ritchie editing.

[@Keith_Butcher]

Great video. Did that trip years ago using petrol. Great to see familiar places again and that the major problems are still language and customs. Never did understand how shops worked!

[@bmwalker89]

Another great video

[@danwood7770]

As a new E208 EV owner this video was so helpful and has shown me how to make my longer journeys easier thanks so much

[@MrEV]

Lovely to hear. Thank you!

[@harley883ap]

Glad you got through all the editing & got this video out great evening viewing for me & my Daughter Gilly

[@MrEV]

Yes, it was quite a task getting it edited. In the middle of the next part now... Thanks so much!

[@antoniodimascio5340]

I love to go to Italy 🇮🇹 with my fiat 500e it's my dream from childhood I remember when we went on holiday with a Austin 1100 from Cambridge to montecassino and with a fiat 124special T as a little boy I was excited thank you Mr. EV for your service and dedication

[@MrEV]

What a special memory!

[@jozef5373]

This year we will spend our holidays in Italy for the 3rd time. 2nd time with EV. Last year with citroen ec4 we did total 3500 km from Slovakia to Italy very easily. We have enjoyed it a lot.

[@michaelridley2864]

Another great road trip video, thanks. We managed a long weekend in Normandy recently, our first EV experience abroad, and it all worked pretty well. Ionity are brilliant, particularly with plug and charge enabled. And on Electroverse they are also a bargain at 39p per KWH. However away from the main routes, some of the urban charging infrastructure (7kw AC) seems not quite as reliable, to put it mildly....

[@forcata]

I love your videos man please upload more

[@MrEV]

Thanks so much!

[@seanashmore8785]

Best EV channel on KZbin - I live vicariously through your videos.

[@MrEV]

Thanks so much!

[@cinnamonrage]

I left comments elsewhere complaining about a car brand - but this has been a really interesting well done video - thank you.

[@decimal1815]

Charge speeds are really impressive in this car.. nice!

[@willielarsson9651]

Looking forward to seeing this.. jeez I'm worried about travelling from Glasgow to Bridlington in Oct!

[@jayrap94]

Before having watched this I'm already excited and hopeful this trip was smooth and comfortable (energy and ride-wise). I STILL don't drive a few months before my 30th birthday but I'd love to one day drive from Britain down to Italian lakes and the French and Italian coastlines with a 14 ft/ 4267.2 mm long racing paddleboard on the roof of an electric car (advise on carrying SUPs/surfboards on EV roofs welcome from all commenters) and trip videos like this should be VERY helpful. I hope everything is even easier when I finally can afford to drive and buy an electric car! 🏄🛶🔌🚗🚄

[@jayrap94]

Watched it all - a nice easy drive (as far as long range drives go)

[@grahamhill7845]

37.49 mins in and loving it

[@kevinclarke9933]

I’m not sure I like EV’s, but I love these videos.

[@chrisrowe22]

Love road trip videos! I find ABRP excellent for planning journeys, but useless for navigation. Plan on ABRP, and then put the route into Google Maps for a less stressful journey. I agree about driving an EV through France, a real pleasure. I’m off there again 2 weeks on Tuesday and I can’t wait!

[@PierreSimonsson]

wxactly my point i tryed to navigate with ABRP but i will NEVER EVER more use ABRP as a navigation tool, But again it is supergood to plan your trip.

[@michaelridley2864]

Exactly right.

[@techwhizard]

What if the map plan in ABRP incl charging stops along the way is different to what google or Apple Maps tell you for same route?

[@TiberiusDarkforge]

Another great video and it's nice to see the continuing improvements to the charging infrastructure across EU. I did have to do a double take at around 46 minutes because, at the speed you were going, the motorway sidings gave the optical illusion that you were reversing down the motorway! 😀

[@MrEV]

How weird! 😀

[@michalrybinski3233]

Thanks for the Tronity code!, signrd up and looks really usefull long term

[@PhilippeDHooghe]

Great video, Andrew. I guess the way back was not worth another video, which is quite all right. I have owned the e-208 for over 2 years now. My wife and I absolutely love it. I started looking at your videos when I bumped across the "Charges too fast" one, which intrigued me and I ended up watching the whole very long thing because I really like how you do these. They are the most real life experience video's I've seen on EVs. I always look to Bjorn Nyland's because of the techie stuff I'm into and also the 1000 km challenges speak to me. I skip a lot through his. But your video's have a much more "normal people" and "every day use" approach, I skip nothing on yours. The e-208 you used is a better version than mine that is a first batch production. Yours had more and better heat pumps, a transmission ratio that is better suited to hiway driving and a more informative dash. My e-208 may have done 23 kWh/100km on the same trip, but I found it becomes more efficient when DC fast charging. Mine is a GT on those beautiful but inefficient 17 inch low profile tyres, also not helping with consumption and very harsh suspension, but the thing handles like a gocart, "like a Porsche" as Bjorn said. Stellantis is learning, but I'm pretty disappointed about the e-308 which they should have done on the STLA platform. I don't mind my e-208 being thirsty, we use it for local stuff and we have a Mercedes Diesel Estate for long haul. On local stuff our e-208 does 18 kWh/100 km on average. And it charges from our solar, so there is really nothing to complain about. But it limits long haul capability, we never used it for a destination that does not fit one full charge. I may stretch it a bit and do some DC fast charging to get home. I see your Megane is quite a bit better. I believe 12 kWh/100 km should be achievable in the not too distant future for "local driving" and hiway consumption should be more like a Tesla Model 3, proving we are perfectly capable of 18 kWh / 100 km on sustained hiway speed limit driving. I believe the future is to not too fast charging and big batteries for long haul EVs. 18 kWh * 6 * 1.42 makes the battery 150 kWh charging at 1.5 C (230 kW) for a 10-80 charge time of 30 minutes for adding 600km of range. With future batteries that don't mind 100% SoC, the battery capacity may be lower at around 120 kWh.

[@francecmax]

Thanks again Andrew, just love your videos. Just to mention, if you take the Irish Ferries from Cherbourg (yes pronounced "Cherbourg") in France to Dublin, they have 7kw onboard EV chargers for just 15 euros... must give it a try!

[@mrpugster]

Half Italian living here near Canterbury as well 🙂You could have dropped me off on your way down. Great video, have done the ride many times in an ICE so looking forward to trying in an EV.

[@nicholasarthurwood]

Just imaging how boring it would be. Having to watching someone constantly stop......... and fill up their Diesel car!

[@CookiezFlow]

These hour long road trip videos of yours are always a treat ! Hopefully we will not have to wait a year for another one. However as much as I love roadtrips, from a financial perspective, if you are travelling alone sadly it doesn't seem to be a great option with how cheap flying/trains can be these days. The tolls, tunnels, hotels, food and snacks during the charging stops, and of course the charging itself really adds up quickly. As well as the added mileage on the car so less resell value, tire usage, car washes, and also always the risk of an accident that could be dangerous and expensive. Which is a shame because I would love to do more, but you really need to be at the minimum 2 in the car in most cases to at the very least makes some sense.

[@MrEV]

Very true. Certainly if I wasn't making KZbin videos, I'd probably have flown as well.

[@kathrynmoll86]

Beautiful -- a veggie burger with gerkins! If you have it made to order, BK has the best Impossible Wopper Burger. It doesn't taste like cow breath (believe you me, I know what a cow's breath is like after growing up on farms). Agree with you on road trips with charge breaks. Never a hassle! With our Tesla X, as comfortable and roomy as it is, we would rather get out every so often, stretch the legs, have a coffee & croissant while the car charges. It does make the trip so much more enjoyable. Hey, always enjoy your videos even though we live a continent away! Love seeing the European maps with your charging stops, chuckling with your lovely sense of humour!

[@shreyaanagar]

Great video Andrew, as always! We do an annual drive from UK to Italy in an Ioniq 5 and absolutely love it. I wonder, is there a reason why you don't take the route via Switzerland and always prefer to go down south to France? Just curious. Thanks!

[@jean-marcgruninger9019]

yay , mission accomplished!

[@richardlphillips]

"Moral of the story is to use your eyes and not the satnav" 😂🤣 that really did make me lol.

[@Ava481]

Interesting content and well edited - appreciate this must have taken ages! Taking out the onto costs, it seems like quite a frugal way to travel especially if your wife and daughter had travelled together with you, albeit I know the Shell card saved you £££s. Interesting charge time was just over 4 hours, which given total travel time of 24 hours, seems completely reasonable. There's a bit of obsession about range all the time but I like the small but frequent stops to put that at bay. Certainly convincing that it's becoming much more viable. Cheers

[@QALibrary]

38:00 Total agree with your thinking about social media but thanks to you and others Twitter is a nice place

[@dlschgo]

Flaviana! Thank God!

[@MrEV]

Briefly, yes. Hopefully a bit more in the next part!

[@Jaw0lf]

Great video to show what can be done with a smaller range EV. I think that you need more to show the time you have driven between charges, as it would be easy for non EV drivers to just see charge after charge! Driving to Disneyland Paris was my biggest trip in my EV and it was also very easy with charging done when I was ready to eat, drink or use the facilities. Also the charging was done before we were!

[@COSolar6419]

As an Ioniq 5 owner, I can appreciate why you would be missing it.

[@europainvicta3907]

I’ve been driving London to Rome for decades. I’d like to try it in an electric car. I used to do the trip in about 28 hours - sleeping in the car. Those days are over now 😊 I last did it about a month ago and stopped in Chambery and Parma on the way to Rome but was a bit quicker on the way back stopping only in Oulx. Mind you we were going to Paris (where we also live) on the way back. I left the car in Paris and used the Eurostar when I needed to come to London. One of my favourite routes - but a bit longer - is through Belgium into Germany down to Stuttgart, Ulm, across the Fern Pass to Innsbruck, then the europabruke to Trento, Milan, Piacenza and then it’s a straight road to Roma.

[@michaelstanley3961]

By the way love the 208.

[@ISuperTed]

Brave man! I drive an e208 And i the UK have had a couple of range anxiety moments that have put me off long trips here. Seems like Europe is far better - what a surprise!

[@MrEV]

It never used to be that way. France in particular has made enormous strides in the past two years. It helps to have a relatively competent government! That said, things are improving quickly in the UK. Just not quick enough!

[@AliWade1971]

Finished watching - took 3 sessions 😀. Hubby really wants to do a long trip in Europe, but I am not so keen. I would need a holiday when we got back. Your experiences are pretty much what we find in the UK - plenty of chargers and they mostly work.

[@MrEV]

Well done getting through it all. You'll need another three sessions for the next part, but there's some more beautiful Italian scenery in it at least!

[@JonathanPalfrey]

btw the flicking on the screen is caused by the high shutter speed of the iPhone because its bright, it needs to match the screen to avoid flicking but that would require an adjustable aperture, which the phone doesn't have or using an ND Filter.

[@patrickfavier4310]

E-Niro here, from 2019, 127.000km, and can still drive Netherlands to Piemonte Italy in a single day.(1200km drive) The ABRP has been usefull at first, with not much experience, but getting to know how the car behaves, learned to plan it down to below 10% SoC stops to get the maximum charging speeds, running 5-55% SoC runs in between charges.

[@kamally]

Surprisingly doable with enough planning. Also experienced that if you run into a broken Ionity charger, you can call a phone number that is on the charger and they will remotely restart it within 3-4 minutes.

[@mysurlytrucker7510]

Driving in Italy is interesting 😊 you could say, even dangerous 😳 but one thing is you will be happy when back in Switzerland or France.

[@paulhetherington6022]

Just travelled to Belgium from Newcastle (via the ferry from Hull) in our 40kwh Leaf. I invested in a Chargemap card for 20 euro and it worked everywhere, highly recommended. Our trip of 675 miles cost £62 in total.

[@somethingpeculiarthistime]

With the Kempower chargers, if you tap your side of the screen you get a QR code you can scan and follow the charging on your phone. You also get a charging curve recorded.

[@judebrown4103]

Ooh that's interesting to know, thanks 👍

[@MrEV]

I’ve filmed another video just about Kempower where I show exactly that. It’s such a great feature.

[@bartvanhoof6278]

@@MrEV and if you tap the "globe" icon at the centre top of the screen you can switch the language to English (or another of choice).

[@JonathanPorterfield]

Great watch Andrew , was so gutted we didnt get to see a Flaviana 'discussion' 😅

[@MrEV]

Thanks Jonathan. There’s actually not much of Flaviana in the next one either. She’s become a shrinking violet!

[@mdshovel]

@@MrEV not even a recipe? 😁

[@dmn1000000]

Great video Andrew. I'm driving through France and Spain in 2 weeks in my Zoe ze50. What does the future have in store for your channel now that onto has gone into administration? Tbh i think you and Flaviana could do anything and people would watch. Keep up the good work all of you

[@MrEV]

I'll make a video about Onto soon. It won't change anything much for us - there's plenty in the pipeline and loads of opportunities for content, thankfully. Thanks for your concern!

[@colinmcbottle]

Checking the finish trip distance. Its crazy to think the 208 mk1 with HDI engine would have only required 1 refuel in the whole trip (estimated autonomy of 900-1000km), while the mk1/mk2 petrol variants would have required 2. Gives perspective of how the range warps the trip around smaller, more frequent stops and that in turn changes driver habits: one big stop over 8-9 hours of driving will most likely mean the driver will eat/dine/go to WC/take a nap/etc, vs smaller coffee/snack + WC stops in a EV. Lastly, I think Europe and SEA are ideal use cases for EVs regarding to urban/charging infrastructure. Everything seems to be at arm's length and for some people it will be crazy to travel several countries away with a car. More scattered countries like US, Brazil, Russia, India, Australia, Argentina may produce a different experience since the inter-urban and travel stop distances are still defined mostly by ICE vehicle ranges. This limits routing and stop choices for EV/PHEV users a lot IMO

[@PaulRBinding]

Entertaining & informative as usual - enjoyed it. Currently planning an eNiro trip through France to Spain using ABRP & wonder if you have any tips/app for finding hotels that have chargers please?

[@MrEV]

Look out for the next video (on the weekend hopefully). For the moment, go to hotels.com and filter by Electric Vehicle Charging Station.

[@tobytroubs]

We used to drive to the South of France regularly back in the 80's, the thing that's striking is the number of stops you have to make , overnight charging seems to mitigate this somewhat

[@SJP7752]

Hi Andrew, just rewatching this, as we are taking delivery of the e208 shortly. We are travelling to France in the summer and I was wondering did you have to add headlamp deflector? Great video and always.

[@MrEV]

Thank you! I couldn’t find a definitive answer to that simple question but as far as I’m aware, modern LED headlights negate the need for deflectors.

[@riccardomarinoni6733]

I'm italian, i have a Kona Electric that Is fantastic. You are a Hero, a very long trip with the 208. Also thanks to free to x, becase they install a lot of new charger in the service stations in the highway. Without them took long trip, with an electric car, was almost impossible

[@MrEV]

We may be getting a Kona soon!

[@riccardomarinoni6733]

@@MrEV very efficient car with a stunning range

[@matteosemino9072]

Great video! I am Planning to come to London with my Opel mokka e by the end of the year. Which app do you suggest for charging in the uk?

[@francodellamura7471]

Hello Andrew, I hope you and your family are well. Have you driven over the new Morandi bridge in Genova? Talking about the state of the roads, I once had to drive to Rome on business and drove through a village called Mentana (the worst road I have ever been on).

[@GF-ep1pf]

Share your bridge fear. Haven’t taken my 500 out of the UK (though tempted to take it home to Turin) but am looking forward to some road trips when our polestar arrives.

[@stuart_thomas]

Hi Andrew, great vid as always - just a tip on this car, it has x2 12 volt batteries. One is for starting car/traction battery and the other for everything else. Bizarre, I know! 😊

[@MrEV]

🤯

[@stuart_thomas]

@@MrEVsales guy was showing me in the Peugeot showroom with the alternator for it too!! And there’s me thinking, we need less parts to replace not more!!! 😂

[@salipander6570]

Your video watches like a storybook. Very relaxing! What do you think its actual, practical range is on a full charge?

[@MrEV]

Thank you! I was getting about 160 miles on average, doing European motorway speeds in summer. Around town it's closer to 180.

[@trevorlarwood6118]

Love the video. I can'y imagine how long it takes just to edit all the footage! Would love to see get to 10% state of charge before charging. Although you probably would be very stressed! he he

[@MrEV]

Thank you! Yes, editing takes absolutely ages. Since why I've still not finished the Model 3 road trip video from last year! I'd have been fine with 10% really. There are enough chargers around to make it less nerve-wracking than it used to be.

[@egregs]

I also use an onto car and got an OBD port splitter from amazon, haven't really tried it yet but should get around the issue you described.

[@MrEV]

Let me know how it goes! I was tempted to get one too but thought I’d give Tronity a shot.

[@QALibrary]

46.08 that a very interesting film affect - it looks like you driving backwards when you look at the crash barrier

[@pxidr]

The charging network in France got better really fast.

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

Wow Ivrea !! see that mentioned very rarely. I worked there for a number of weeks for Olivetti way back in the mid to late 80s on their computers post their typewriter phase. there used to be a hotel in the main square that was externally modelled on a typewriter due to Ivrea being the main site of Olivetti offices and software/hardware development factories.

[@MrEV]

Amazing! That must have been such an exciting time! A bit like going from ICE to EV perhaps?!

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

@@MrEV They had their own PCs until they dropped it for MS PCs and various Windows server boxes and other multiuser boxes running the dreaded SCO unix. it was fun going away to work for periods of time to Olivetti's home town :)

[@_moto_marc3854]

Just bought a 72 plate GT model e208. Get it next week. Our first EV, been stressing about range but if you can get to Italy, I can get to work 😂

[@MrEV]

Congratulations! It's a great car. Even my wife likes it!

[@MrOrbion]

UK guy driving a French car to Italy Perfect!

[@swanvictor887]

fascinating video. For me, what I like is wondering how we will look upon videos like this in say, ten years? Already, today, travelling across Europe in an EV is now possible with little inconvenience...imagine in a decade: every petrol station will have been converted, route planners and Ai will have improved the software systems greatly...hopefully, paying for charging will be much simpler than it is now and hopefully, much much cheaper than it is now thanks to more green energy. These videos might become rather like those old Cine films your grandparents shot in the 1960s...! lol Looking forward to watching part two. By the way...these were only in my feed this week, they were not recommended to me when you uploaded them!

[@MrEV]

That’s an interesting thought. We’ll probably look back at journeys like this and wonder how we managed! To be honest, Tesla drivers already have a taste of the future since the route planning and charging provision is so brilliant.

[@sandylund833]

I enjoy the vids. Would be good to know what gadgets on the car you used / what you didn't / what you tired and didn't work as advertised i.e. cruise control, lane assist etc....

[@MrEV]

Hopefully I mention that in the next video, but I actually didn't use cruise control very much. I like systems like that when they regulate the distance with the car in front (as it did in the Niro/IONIQ 5/Megane and many others), but it didn't do that on the e-208. At least not the Allure Premium spec I had anyway - I'm unsure about other trim levels and newer models.

[@moragkerr9577]

I'm semi-seriously looking at equipping my MG4 so I can sleep in it if I want to on journeys like this. With the front seats as far forward as they'll go there is 1.8 metres from the seat backs to the tailgate. I'm five feet seven. A lilo or single airbed, a sleeping bag, figuring out how to keep the car awake with the HVAC system on all night without the 12v giving up the ghost. Maybe basic supplies for breakfast/bedtime snacks, basic washing facilities - but service stations might eliminate the need for that. VtL would boil a kettle or even run a microwave, though I'm not sure I'd want to go that far. Might not be practical, but there have been times I'd have been glad of the possibility. Like trying to find accommodation in a town in Champagne when there was a wine festival I didn't know about. (I got what seemed like the last hotel room in town.) Same thing in Donegal when everyone seemed to be heading for the same place. I got lucky again, but that won't always happen. Or the time I spent over £100 for a hotel room I arrived in at 11.15 at night and had to get up and leave again at 8.30 am to catch a ferry. Expensive sleep.

[@johnroberts118]

Good video. Surprised at efficiency. Less than 4 miles per kwh seems low. We have a niro and would expect more than 4 this time of year? Had ours 4 and half years and still love it (except the weird radio!)

[@MrEV]

e-Niro is certainly more efficient in my experience, although not by very much when going European motorway speeds as it's not very streamline. The old Hyundai Ioniq would be more efficient, for instance.

[@Knott1701]

Did the trip back from Dole (about half the trip you did). Was hot, over 30 degrees most of the way (air con full on), motorway speed (81mph), and still managed 3.7 miles per kw. Had a wait at Eutotunnel so charged up, but didn't need to to get home, and still only cost me £38 to get home with 60% charge.

[@MrEV]

Impressive! What were you driving?

[@Knott1701]

@@MrEV 2022 Model 3 Long Range (dual motors) with the 18" Aero wheels and hub caps

[@UloPe]

I’m about to leave for a ~650 km road trip as a brand new (4 weeks) EV owner (Volvo XC40). Very much looking forward to how longish trips will be. Your channel really has been quite a positive influence on getting an EV now.

[@LEgoiste.]

Great car, I’ve had my B4 5wks thoroughly impressed. It’s so quiet and smooth it feels like an ev! Vapour Grey looks lovely too. Enjoy, oh and aren’t the headlights amazing?!

[@MrEV]

Thanks so much! Have a great trip! You should be fine in the Volvo as it has route planning all built-in I believe.

[@mrmidland_traveller936]

I can confirm that the Google Maps that’s built into the Volvo XC40 does it all for you. And it is a great car !

[@UloPe]

​@@MrEVFirst leg done, it was a total breeze with the built in charge planning via google maps. The charge estimation was a bit overly pessimistic though. I arrived at both planned charge stops with ~8% more than was predicted so I might have actually gotten away with even shorter charging stops. I'll try to come up with a more aggressive plan via ABRP for the way back.

[@UloPe]

@@LEgoiste. Yeah I'm really enjoying mine :) The pixel lights are indeed amazing!

[@mdshovel]

Enjoyable as ever Andrew. Most reviews say the Citroen eC4 is much more comfortable than the Peugot. I have the Volvo XC40 Twin which is very comfortable for long journeys and runs on Android Automotive - so has Google Maps built in with EV route planning and SOC etc ... I reckon that is the best after Tesla. Also has Plugshare on screen that integrates with the Google Maps. Then the voice control is the best ever.

[@MrEV]

Funny enough, we have the e-C4 at the moment. It is certainly a bit more comfortable. If I was buying a new car, I'd be very tempted to go for Megane/Volvo/Polestar simply due to it using Android. It really is brilliant!

[@mdshovel]

@@MrEV The wife likes the look of the Polestar but banged her head getting in - so agrees the XC40 is much better for access and higher view 😀

[@mozzaev]

This is why I love my Polestar 2, as put in the destination and let the car plan the stops... ABRP I find is buggy as hell at times

[@MrEV]

Baffling that more EVs don't use Google's OS as it's clearly so good in the Megane/Volvo/Polestar.

[@iHugoF]

Great trip! Trying to plan myself a trip from Portugal to Paris and back...😅 No problem with the GoPro overheating?

[@MrEV]

It did once!

[@killgroup]

The charging prices seem cheap in France. Over here Ionity seems to be around £0.75/kw. The lowest fast charge I've seen in a while was around £0.60/kw from other chargers. It's unfortunate really because at these sort of prices, unless you charge at home, you're on parity with petrol. I live in the North of England and we regularly travel up to Edinburgh, they still have some free 11kwh chargers which I use (but I'll keep a secret haha)

[@alecporter1784]

Did a trip to Pompeii in 2017 in a motorhome and also found the whole drink v food at service stations frustrating and so inefficient

[@Jeddin]

A running theme seems to have been that you would’ve been better off getting your destinations from ABRP but actually navigating with Apple Maps or Google maps. The share function in ABRB will allow you o share your next destination or your entre itinerary, with all the charging stops to either maps with one click so it’s hardly an inconvenience. Select the next charging distilnation or select the final destination in ABRP then click share You only need to refer back to ABRP for how long to charge for.

[@MrEV]

I've done that before and it works very well, but I do like getting the live info about charger availability in ABRP. Also I hope it made for a more interesting video!

[@bazbexchashan7075]

I know its not always possible but if you get the chance, visit Langres next time.

[@MrEV]

Thanks for the tip!

[@rabidpb]

Those new chargers at Folkestone have been under construction for about a year now, don't hold your breath for them... but the Tesla chargers there are available to non-Tesla cars so maybe it doesn't matter too much.

[@niccox1738]

Another great video Andrew. Anyone on here done any long trips through France and down to the south of Spain? Wondering if anyone has any tips for Spain - We have a 62 kwh Leaf so would be Chademo chargers

[@Alban_Gaultier]

Hello Andrew, the 208 is definitly a good looking car, but the battery size is really too small. With my eNiro (same version as you had) I no longer planned trip in France, there are enough charging points actually, and it made me discovered "Electra" which is the same charging device as Fastned but cheaper. In France Ionity reduce their price, is it the same in England ?

[@lookoutleo]

That's so exciting , would love to do trip like that ...ooohhh . Is it in your leaf getting flat 12v ? Mine goes flat tons , its so bad I have a trickle charge solar panel connected all the time :)

[@MrEV]

No - actually it’s still in pretty good health. My Leaf does have the solar panel in the spoiler so perhaps that helps a bit! What year Leaf do you have?

[@lookoutleo]

@@MrEV yes my 12v battery is good but seems to go flat randomly , prob mainly because the car can be sitting days without being used

[@csmdrivingsolutions]

Great video! I'm planning on doing a similar drive in August. Do you mind me asking why you didn't drive through Switzerland?

[@MrEV]

Thank you! I don't know to be honest! I just did whatever A Better Route Planner recommended to get down to Marina di Cerveteri. It seems to be a slightly faster route?!

[@csmdrivingsolutions]

@@MrEV Ah thank you. I'm planning on doing a similar drive in our 2020 Renault Zoe R135. Not sure if it's pushing the car too much but it has great range and we will be stopping every two hours anyway.

[@SandroAntonucci87]

try power cruise control as well