Long Electric Car Journeys Don't Always Go Well. Even For Me!

This video started off with the idea of showing you the Pro's & Con's between taking an ICE car or a short range electric one (like my Leaf). Thing's didn't quite go to plan on the way back!

[@clint3519]

What a pleasure to see you and your family have a positive outlook on this whole experience. If it wasn't for people like you then the whole EV revolution wouldn't exist. I Really Enjoy your videos and your honest comments. Keep up the good work 😊👍

[@MrEV]

Your missus is a very patient lady. Mine would have been handing me divorce papers at the end.

[@justsomeguy934]

Ya got that right - I have a patient missus as well but I can tell waiting to charge is seen as a nuisance.

[@AndrewEbling]

Your wife is very patient. You are a lucky EVM.

[@thelining4078]

Either patient or walking.

[@LakesGeek]

you can certainly see the "do you see just how much I suffer with this guy?" look on her face a few times :)

[@steveosullivan6861]

Dude! You drive electric AND have a lovely family! Lucky, lucky man.... 👍🏻✌🏻👏🏻🚗

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

Big schlong!

[@ghost70]

Think ecotricity really need to allow competion in the electric highway and not monopolise it, especially if not repairing units quickly. Another reason to do the tesla stretch and have best of both worlds. :)

[@anahatamelodeon]

What I've noticed on a couple of EV motorway trips recently is that the Ecotricity chargers are more frequently in use, and having to wait for another user to finish charging is more likely than a faulty charger. Ecotricity tell me more chargers are planned, but in some locations they have to get the site electricity supply beefed up first. The thing that Tesla got right is putting 8 chargers on one site. Then you can arrive to find 5 in use and two broken but still get a charge!

[@inkpen1999]

@@anahatamelodeon Then the Tesla Superchargers are rarely out of order.

[@chrisabbott683]

Why is the non Tesla charging network so unreliable? It’s absolutely hopeless.

[@brybish]

The other manufacturers are being told to go electric grudgingly, Tesla was setup for 100% electric from day one their sells depend on a reliable charging infrastructure. An infrastructure that could be more profitable than the cars very clever.

[@jaysoncrichton-stuart9727]

What a great video and and honest experiment! Thanks for sharing your experience! Legoland is a definite plus.

[@usaverageguy]

A marriage counselor once said that strong family groups shared one thing in common. They went camping. The reason being that adversity and hardships unite you as a group.

[@1981therealfury]

I'm about to do almost exactly the same journey as you in my 22kwh zoe lol. 220 miles each way... Stopping at Legoland too haha. I must be mad 😂

[@MarkLLawrence]

Nice, I just did a trip like that (Legoland California) with my Leaf just a couple months before getting my Model 3. Going to go again with the Tesla.

[@jameschapman4824]

One of the things that does need to be addressed is destination charging. If Legoland had had chargers (even 3kw versions) that would have helped a lot. I know that Warner Brothers Studios have just had 20 chargers installed which is a start. Even seaside places don't seem to have them and these are the places that do need them. By the way good video.

[@solentbum]

There are six destination chargers, 7Kw pod point, at Swanage. Four in the main carpark , two in the short stay park. Worth a visit.

[@jameschapman4824]

Hi Barry, Yes your right about Swanage was there a little while back and it does have pod points which I used. Being lazy I used the one near the fun Park (short Stay)However if you look at other places they are very sparse. A case in point is Minehead. Big seaside town with a massive Butlins serviced by two chargers attached to the Premier Inn, which by the way weren't working on the day I went there. What we have now is not so much range anxiety as charger anxiety and when the car manufactures get their act together and start to produce numbers it can only get worse.worse..

[@solentbum]

@@jameschapman4824 When I discovered the points in Swanage last year I wrote to the Local council applauding their efforts. I have tried writing to my own local council about Hayling Island Seafront but to no avail. Havant has though installed three rapid chargers recently.

[@hamshackleton]

Expensive pizza! :-) This vid demonstrates you have to have a different mind-set when planning a longer trip, and be prepared to change the plans in mid-journey.

[@simonpark1797]

hamshackleton yes , your convince means nothing in your short 50years of animated life.

[@hamshackleton]

@@simonpark1797 - what is that supposed to mean? You got the time span wrong too! :-)

[@xtermin8]

I managed a 500 mile journey from Grimsby to the Keswick and back in my 30KW Leaf. Stayed in a hotel with no EV chargers for a week but relied on Public Charging in the Lakes. All performed amazing. No queues, all chargers worked. I was impressed. I try and travel via LIDL as their chargers are free :)

[@stuartburns8657]

A fellow Grimbarian lol. Can't say I've ever noticed EV charging points here but then with my ICE not inclined to look and obviously notice. What's the infrastructure like in Grimsby and surrounding areas if I may ask?

[@xtermin8]

@@stuartburns8657 Its not bad, geting better all the time. Rapids in Immingham and Humberston and Grimsby and free posts in Tesco. Even a rapid charger in Caistor now.

[@stuartburns8657]

@@xtermin8 Ha, things you learn. I'm actually Immingham based so will keep an eye out, and I'll have a scout around Tesco next time. Currently rocking a humble Nissan Qashqai (16 plate ICE diesel) with a few years of repayments left. With us both nearly 100% wfh jobs, the mileage we do is predominantly school and shopping runs. Vehicle was just under 12k, and with loan + fuel is costing between £275-300pm (nothing really) Road tax £20pa. Insurance £230pa. Service and Mot ~250pa. So difficult at the moment to justify an EV, and with an SUV equivalent while our family of 4, just not a realistic cost wise. Think ill have to sweat it until 2025-26 and see how things are then. Quite like the Kia E-Niro, but at about 3 times the amount I've ever historically spent on a main vehicle it just doesn't stack up. How / why did you make the leap if I may ask, and sorry for the life story lol !!

[@xtermin8]

@@stuartburns8657 yeah I guess it wouldn't work for you moneywise at the moment. I swapped my vauxhall ampera which did 40 miles on a charge, but did 300 miles on petrol for a 30kw Nissan leaf. I travel 44 miles a day so it worked out great for me. Electric vehicles are high priced at the moment and I think need to come down to make it worthwhile. It cost me £30 a month in electric to use the leaf which is a lot cheaper than petrol. I still got a diesel car though to do the longer journeys.

[@AdamJermaneJones]

3 chargers out of order and you STILL didn't run out of electricity. That's how difficult running out is

[@gethinrees1]

I've just bought a 30kWh leaf, thanks in a small part to your videos. Thank you. Your family are lovely too

[@slartybartfarst9737]

At last real world reviews. I have the greatest respect for you and your family persevering with what is regarded as infrastructure, lets face it it takes a certain frame of mind and you guys have it in spades. Your experience of non Tesla chargers on this trip matches my experience over the last 5 years 80K miles, they often dont work, maybe I was just unlucky? Once you have a Tesla you can forget these problems they dont happen end of. I know not everyone wants a Tesla or has the budget but it must be understood most of the value is not in the car its in the charging system that is just about everywhere and always seems to be where you need it (except for Wales, come on Tesla fill that gap). You can go all over Europe / USA with complete confidence. supercharge.info/map I happened to be on the M1 going north last week and Im so blase about charging now i left for a longish trip and didnt fill my Model S from home overnight. I ended up at Leicester Forest East Northbound as the car suggested i drive at 60 mph to get home and I thought i need to stop anyway ill just top up. I half expected what I was greeted with , a que of Leafs ( im not denigrating Leafs they are brilliant but the most common car around public charging points) with people on the phones to Ecotricity who had been trying to resolve duff charge points for the last hour. Again these guys were all cheerful, resolute and no doubt used to getting everything up and running but it was a shock for me at just how big the gulf between Teslas system and everything else still is. I have never had a Tesla station not work and Ive never had to que, needless to say i just jumped back in the Model S drove back home at 60mph to plug in (mental note refresh never to count on the public charging ). I recently bought a electric motorbike that uses the public system and on that ill have no option, ill be back in there travelling with backup plan B mentality again......should be fun we will see!

[@Pining_for_the_fjords]

I'm planning to drive my 30kwh Leaf from Suffolk to the south of Poland in the summer. Does anyone have experience of the charging networks in Europe? Any tips or tricks?

[@williamlorimer060867]

Wouldn’t use my ev for long journeys for the simple reason is charging network and as for new evs as you have found out are so expensive new corsa ev I was quoted a eye watering £30000 I could get a corsa griffin for half that back to ice for me it was good while it lasted

[@workonesabs]

Thanks, think I'll leave electric cars for now, but stick to fossel fuels. I know several people whove come stuck, no chargers available, not working, people parked in front of charge points.

[@ACMaster360]

Yeah, I can understand that point of view, it seems right now, Tesla’s are the only reliable EVs for range and ability to charge, because of the well maintained and Tesla exclusive Superchargers, but obviously there’s a cost to that being the high cost of Tesla’s, but I think the coming years 2020/21 may be quite revolutionary for EVs in terms of competition and affordability.

[@bbbf09]

300 mile round trip to Fully Charged Live last week certainly made me re-evaluate my plans to make my other car electric also . Only got to it thanks to my range extender on my i3. Basically drove past 3 non functioning Electric Highway 'pumps' in a row (Stafford, Norton Canes, Corley). It's a crying shame that these chargers are so flaky and unreliable. My charger at home has 100% reliability record and Tesla have shown it possible for public chargers to be near enough the same. Need to campaign hard to make the companies that run this dire network more accountable. I'm writing off bunch of letters to MP, climate commission, and shareholders of these companies this weekend.

[@richardoakley8800]

Wow.. 300 miles... can do 650 with my little old diesel car

[@geraldjohnston1154]

The woes of having only 15% and meeting broken chargers could still happen in an EV with a 500 mile range. Also petrol cars run out of fuel also.

[@richardoakley8800]

True.. but a 5 litre fuel can can put 60 miles in my car in 40 second. Any rac..aa ..breakdown company can provide 5 liters of fuel.. As for the broken chargers .. I have over 90000 petrol pumps at my disposal.. so if 2 dont work I'll just move a few feet

[@jeffreyfearn5662]

@@richardoakley8800 I've had it before going to get fuel to find no pumps were working!!!

[@richardoakley8800]

@@jeffreyfearn5662 so 8 out the 96000 pumps in the uk wasnt working.. still 95992 to go.

[@jeffreyfearn5662]

@@richardoakley8800 if you have no fuel in the car then what? What you're forgetting is that car charging today is like filling up a car was a century ago, not many places to go to and journeys had to be planned. But then more places to plug into as many places have electricity so could charge up in many places!!!

[@dg115]

As a 24kw leaf owner the longest trip I did without stopping was 72 miles in the middle of winter with a car full. I turned up at my relatives house showing nothing just like you. Although it's possible to go long distances it's abit stressful at times. However the savings I make in running costs far outweigh the negetives. Plus it's a very easy and comfortable car to drive.

[@rkovacs86]

Me and 3 other friends took a journey to the Netherlands in a 40kwh Zoe. Managed to do 200 miles on a charge following lorries at about 57mph - used them as wind breakers at a relative safe distance. Bad experiences in Belgium as many fast chargers were either behind barriers or not working (they were around construction sites so we assumed they were not on). The Nederlands have great charging infrastructure - 10 chargers in a village of 3000 people.

[@TheCoopsvids]

I do a 400 mile round trip most weeks down to work and back to Scotland in my 22kwh Zoe 6 hours each way with driving Eco lots of stops saves me a fortune in fuel but lots of hours wasted charging

[@adsheff]

Doesn't have to be wasted - you could do a workout at each stop and get super-fit. Or take a laptop and do some work!

[@TheCoopsvids]

AdSheff tbh that's how I kill time doing laps of the car park get those steps in lol

[@ianhollands1641]

Until an electric car can do two hundred miles at motorway speed with the lights and heater on, I'll stick with petrol.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

They can now, quite a few actually.

[@leslierhodes5467]

But isn’t the problems that you have experienced on this trip the same problems the first motorists of petrol cars years ago when there was next to no petrol stations available it can only get better

[@leslierhodes5467]

Trips will have to be more organised like the old days taking flask blanket case of breakdown

[@stevenbalekic5683]

Personally I value piece of mind more than saving some money from the cost of using an ev. Many petrol cars can just about make the entire journey on one tank and you can fill it at the many (usually always working) petrol stations that are around nearly every corner. Another thing is the charging stations seem to be tucked in strange places where they can probably be easily vandalised. Also if you were alone at night, would you really want to be sitting there charging your car in a secluded place in the dark? Yes fuels are expensive, but piece of mind and the ability to not have to always plan ahead and strategise a trip, personally, is still more preferable. On another note, the charging stops wouldn't really be a positive in most peoples eyes. I'd much rather stop somewhere that we chose that's more interesting to take a break, eat lunch and/or explore than sit in a carpark somewhere waiting for the charging to complete. To me an ev is an alternative energy source vehicle that is supposed to be modern and of today. But even with the technology it has, it still feels a little backward than a traditional vehicle. When an ev becomes just as good if not better than a traditional vehicle, with the piece of mind and not having to think every time you want to go somewhere, and can charge at every charging station in around five minutes I would personally be happy to own one. But we're not there quite yet. + a hybrid seems to be a bit more predictable on the easy use sense. Just fill up, get big distance with smaller amount of fuel.

[@dieseldavey]

Excellent video Thanks but try and keep still when the video starts 👍👍

[@MyASMaRk]

This is such a helpful video. Thanks again for another informative ‘real world’ video EVM.

[@StuartLomas]

If your total milage was 600 miles-ish (having lost count) you stopped to put 'extra charge in your car 4 times? I am a disabled driver with a petrol car who has approximately 330 miles range from a full tank so that means at most, stop twice to 'fill up'. In the borough where I live there are 7 public chargers & I have NO access to on street parking as it is too far to stretch a cable from my home to where I have to park & my landlord has NO PLANS to install chargers for tenants. A/My car is owned to make life less stressful & with respect, your video has made my decision NOT to have a full EV as we in the UK do not have the infrastructure in place to give me the peace of mind a petrol car does & I am willing (as a low mileage driver) to pay the extra for petrol (as compared to electric charging) for that peace of mind. I am delighted it works for you but as a man who has gone thru having a family & done driving holidays (the furthest UK to Spain) I think it is going to be at least 5 years until there is a reliable charging system in the UK & even then, I don't want to be stopping 4,5 or 6 times to 'fuel it up' . Keep the videos coming as although I am not a subscriber you keep me informed about current & upcoming vehicles plus the 'development' of charging infrastructure. Cheers from an ex You Tuber Stuart.

[@mwolstencroft]

I was on the northbound M1 last Saturday. Got to Tibshelf and yes wouldn’t start charge ( on free vend) just wouldn’t initialise. I didn’t have enough to get to next one so used service road to go over motorway to southbound Tibshelf services charged up 20 mins then back over service road to continue journey. To be fair PlugShare does show the north as not working. The only slight hiccup Gloucester to Chesterfield sat/sun

[@danwiddon3854]

The algorithm brought me back 3 years of channel growth later to enjoy EVW and EVK helping you build the brand long before you sold out to Tesla! We still have 24kWh Visia (Leaf), but haven't seen --- since lockdown, when it went through low power output and stopped on a hill. This early EVM product is ageing beautifully.😛

[@missiontent111]

My 1974 Buick Electra 225 is powered by a 7.5 litre V8 petrol engine which easily achieves ten miles per gallon. I cannot afford to visit Legoland ........Oh bugger !!

[@russellgilchrist3951]

Sorry, please STAND STILL you are making me sea sick

[@jasskurn2173]

That's probably your boat, Try watching it again when your on dry land.

[@theden0minat0r]

Another fantastic video with the family. The rest of the family should be in every video. Both your wife and daughter are great on camera.

[@Brightstarlivesteam]

There is a report in Australia that a 5 year old Nissan Leaf, had a dead (almost) battery pack and the owner was quoted 33,000A$ replacement cost. Which meant that the car was virtually a write off, as is was only worth 12000A$ is it had a working battery pack. See: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpCZmKOuZpWEqq8

[@newbeginnings8566]

Of course EV = no tow bar... So camping holidays will be only with what you can carry in the car. Really at this point in time EVs have too many drawbacks.. Overpriced Legoland - waste of time.. Time not spent enjoying your holiday whilst charging the car.. That's time you'll never get back..

[@markcornwall8132]

A good example for new owners. Had to laugh having watched your video about giving your garage a makeover for your car, it looked great, and now its full of junk like everyone elses!!

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

That’s a different garage.

[@Richnetm]

Glad i live in The Netherlands, small country with LOADS of fastchargers

[@newbeginnings8566]

Small, flat, crowded country but you can charge your EV - great...

[@kevfquinn]

Interesting to see that with a Leaf - very unusual to have two points down in a row like that. I'm on CCS, which makes the EH largely a write-off before you start, but there's usually multiple chargers for Leaf users on each service station. I say write-off re. CCS on the Electric Highway because (1) a good number of sites don't have CCS, (2) when they have CCS do it's only one unit so chance of being in-use and blocked is high, and (3) far too often showing unavailable in the app (EH tried to tell me that's ok because it often means "free vend" - but that's no good for planning). I use Polar by preference these days.

[@frankguest1168]

Shame that the new (2018) Leaf does not have a spectacle holder in the roof like the previous model! The USA has one fitted so UK Nissan have saved £2 per car & turned their loyal customers into customers that will be looking at alternatives when the time comes (1-2 years) to change vehicles again? I am flabbergasted by the stupid decisions that are taken by managements sometimes!

[@AdrianMcDaid]

This is why I love my i3 Rex. The 85-90% my mileage done on Electric. Odd time I have to dip into petrol. If I had e niro etc. Not be a issue.

[@davidy7004]

As a current ICE driver who occasionally makes long journeys (or has days with journey segments but no charging opportunities at stops), I actually wonder if the Rex approach is better? An e niro still wouldn't quite have the range for me to be safe for those few days but would still be lugging round all that extra battery weight all the time, and most days it would just be deadweight I wouldn't be using. Whereas a Rex with say 100 mile range would cover most days from electric but could do 250+ miles on those long days. Admittedly there's weight in the ICE gubbins for a Rex but my suspicion is that 100+miles of battery range is heavier?

[@AnonYmous-rw6un]

@@davidy7004Extra battery is never dead weight. More capacity allows for more power, faster charging, and easier work for the battery.

[@RichardButlerUK]

A few times you say the problem is with a "short range EVs" but is it the problem with the short range of the car, or the unreliable charging network, or the combination? I've just got back from a camping weekend at Le Mans it was 390 miles to get there on Thursday and 390 miles to get back today and I used a total of 314kWh My Tesla can do about 200 miles on a full charge, so because of the spacing of the chargers, I did 1 stop to charge in the UK, took the Ferry, then 3 charges going across France and a similar pattern on the way back. Part of my choice of where to stop was based on a new French motorway service that now has a StarBucks Would you be more comfortable doing that sort of journey in a Leaf 60 or an eNiro? where you are still depending on single Polar at hotels or a couple of Ecotricity on the motorway, but only one has a CCS? and what about France? How much better would the journey have been in a Jaguar iPace or Audi eTron or Mercedes EQC?

[@thelastpilot4582]

I do not own a EV and at my age probably never will but I like watching your videos, Very informative ( I mean how would I have found out hoe expensive the cornettoes are down there) :-) and very entertaining.

[@davidsworld5837]

really you need to have 3 charger sites in range of a safe distance you are happy to take the number down too but you have to say its not good to have the charge points not working when you are paying in some cases a lot per a kwh. may be its best to stop or think about a stop at 50% and keep it topped up when ever you come to a charge station. but having a silly car with a 100 miles range was poor decision by nissan and may be the main reason why they now have bigger batteries as most drives would not accept a petrol car thats range is 100 miles even with 1000s of petrol stations. but i have to say when ever charging videos come out the person either eats or gets a costa coffee other coffee companies are available. we dont seem to get we stopped here to look at the shops and if we brought our petrol car we stop here when we are near anyway i started with a lpg car with a 100 miles range size tank and i never ran out ever

[@iannixey8779]

I’m considering my first ev, what are the best apps/tools to help planning journeys with charge stops that work well please?good vid EVM!

[@MartynDews]

Good video. The Electric Highway. What a joke. Which is not that funny. When will this shambles ever end.

[@KeithJenkinsvideos]

1. Having dc charge port great advantage, I do not have that. 2. Same problems here in USA, this is why tesla is really worth it. 3. Why don't charging companies have 220 volt outlets on the side of their chargers for emergency use ?

[@ianmathieson65]

Keith Jenkins: They do in France.

[@decimal1815]

Wow that brings back memories.. Legoland and camping trips. 😂

[@onlineo2263]

I think it's fair to say we would not be doing a long drive in a 30kw leaf. Our youngest still likes a 2 hour nap. So it is good to do a 2h30mins drive. If you stop to charge you will wake him up tired, cross and not able to go back to sleep.

[@adsheff]

I don't get why they are putting Rapid Chargers in hotels. Surely if you're at a hotel you are there for a long time, so a bank of slow chargers on multiple spaces would be much better suited. If you were staying the night, you'd have to plug in, then go back out and move the car to make sure you weren't blocking the spot all night.

[@super-sim1665]

They need to put at least 5 chargers in and back up three pin free charge chargers. They spent 775 thousands on chargers in dorset and 1 or the 14 did not work for months.

[@Jonathantuba]

A big advantage of Tesla’s, as there are usually several charging points at Tesla Superchargers, so it is very rare to have to wait to charge

[@TassieEV]

That is where the charge companies could eventually get a class action court challenge for not having reliable charging infrastructure and possibly government regulation to force them having reliable charging infrastructure.

[@urbanfireblade]

I think the dependence and prioritising finding places to charge up at, then be sat waiting for it to charge when you should be enjoying holiday time is a huge downer. Adds too much stress when the holiday should be reducing the stress.

[@MO-hq4iz]

Well any range less than e-niro is not for me, I would stand for crap like that. Free Legoland or not, for some of us a car is for easy transportation without worry, otherwise, I could just take the train.

[@tlvision1478]

I think I'll wait for hydrogen infrastructure and quick fill ups. That much planning for long trips looks tedious.

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

You’ll be waiting a long time then. This is with a short range EV. In anything modern like an eNiro it wouldn’t be an issue.

[@peterowen4456]

Good honest video. I think Alice has a future in Nissan's PR Department!

[@richardsgameplay6537]

Great video! I'm waiting for my Nissan e-nv200 tekna edition. I have to wait for another 5 months. And I'm going to test the car on a longer journey.

[@SvikDK]

Great video, lots of fun, and some god points on the EV driving ;)

[@UnipornFrumm]

conclusion,we need cars with bigger batteries and a lot more chargers

[@jantkrokowski9201]

What was on that pizza? Gold flakes? 14£. Bloody hell

[@RWBHere]

There's a free diamond with every fourth slice...

[@joeking1823]

So he never vented his anger at the guy blocking the power point

[@BaarTube5]

Thank you for a great video! I was expecting a really bad journey, but it wasn’t that bad at all. As you all say on the video, it was more of an adventure (but of course, it must have felt hair raising to get from one bad charging point to the next). All the best to you and your absolutely lovely family!

[@SayedI313]

That's why you need to get a Tesla, if you can afford it

[@dindu42]

I was totally expecting your daughter to shove the ice cream cone in the car charging socket :-)

[@anahatamelodeon]

She's a much brighter young lady than that!

[@s8yme84]

2:30. Stop being " that person" Maybe given the constraints of the car park this was the best position to leave his truck (for him and sod everyone else )

[@ElectricVehicleMan]

I appreciate the extra angry views you’re giving me. 😄

[@chooselife3000]

Wife Win. Looks and personality.

[@dorsetengineering]

I’ll Stick with my ampera for now...

[@kaazruo]

I always have a plan b and sometimes a plan c as far as chargers on a long distance trip, and that is driving a 238 mile range Chevy Bolt...

[@SteveBirkett]

All these troubles with the Electric Highway network in the UK make me appreciate the Bolt and EVgo/Electrify America all the more!

[@kaazruo]

Still waiting for a number of Electrify America sites to open on a couple of our usual long distance routes. After they updated their pricing structure, they sound like a better option than EVgo that has been a staple for me over the last 5 months of ownership.

[@parthasarathyvenkatadri]

If the range was like 250+ miles .. i dont think stopping for charge would be a con.

[@pixiepie3774]

Question is would the public just allow you to cHarge your car for 15 mins , bearing in mind the cost of bills and the General lack of trust in people today ? Also a quick note went on a recent trip to Cornwall stopped at Exeter services only òne ev point occupied by an electric ldv minibus on trade plates boasting 100 miles per charge on side guess it's more for city's but if you had to stop for 40 mins to cHarge a van many couriers would go out of business as meeting delivery targets is the main aim of couriers targets oh and 62000 to buy too.

[@fivish]

Stick a Honda generator in the boot so you can charge up anytime anywhere! Or better still, but a petrol car!

[@mddah01]

Mate - I used to think like that. I owned BMWs, fast Audis and raced a track modified R35 GTR. But after 9 months driving an EV, charged off rooftop solar, I have covered around 20000 km at zero cost with zero problems. I have put air in the tyres, water in the windscreen washers and that's all. I still have a track car but 95% of my driving is EV. You should try it!

[@kevinn1158]

And this is why I'm going to buy a hybrid. 90% of my driving is city driving. The 50km EV range on the hybrids are enough and then when I drive a long distance I'll use the ICE. I enjoy your realistic views of EVs. It's refreshing to not listen to all of those Tesla fanatics go on and on.

[@alaneasthope2357]

I had a similar experience a few months back, but it was my own fault for not doing a top up charge when I could. But journeys from hell are not confined to EV's. ICE, coach, rail, and even air travel can be disasters that you laugh about afterwards and retell the story for years.

[@audigex]

Things definitely seem easier in the South - infrastructure in the North isn't anywhere close. A charger has recently opened ~10 miles from me, but prior to that the closest was 50+ miles away at a motorway services

[@ronallen8828]

For my circumstances, I would not even have entertained the possibility of thinking e.v, until meandering through your very helpful video library. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share your experiences in what comes across as a no-bull fashion.

[@jeffreyfearn5662]

This is the reason why I didn't get rid of my internal combustion car, just to make sure long journeys are ok but pleased with my EV car... not charged up away from home yet.

[@markparker5585]

If you think that part of the M1 is bad in a LEAF, you should try it in something which has CCS. I'm assuming, from Henley, you went back home on M40, A43, M1. That's my normal route to visit my parents. It's abysmal, and hardly improved since I got my i3 over 3 years ago (thank goodness for the REx). It's great that EH did what they did initially, but they need to either invest, or let someone else in who will. At least install CCS at Northampton Services, and replace the one/s at Leicester East Services, with something reliable.

[@PaulMansfield]

EVs - good for family togetherness

[@otleybull]

Keswick via the pencil museum would have been a better option.

[@RojCowles]

Love the pencil museum!

[@kevintaylor-haynes4333]

Mrs EV man looks like the wonderful kind of woman that would want you to have what you want. Get the model 3. I really can’t wait to watch you drooling when you pick it up.

[@EvLifeUK]

Completely agree, we as a family used to love the adventure in our 24kwh Leaf only thing we use to do slightly different is only aim to stop at locations with multiple chargers knowing the odds of one or two not working spec with Ecotricity lol was quite high. Doesnt matter as much in the Kona as normally stop with 30-40 miles left. Although if we’re stopping were there is only one rapid we will only do that with Instavolt.

[@davidbeaulieu4815]

Mental note leafs suck get tesla.

[@robsmith1a]

Good point about not jumping to conclusions when you are iced. A lady parked her Honda Jazz in an ev space at a garden centre that has twelve EV spaces. She immediately said to me she knew that she shouldn't be there but was disabled as the disabled spaces were full. Amusing video and your family look fun, great job.

[@BRI535D]

Dale Vince agrees.....plan for many stops😀

[@brucekennedy5274]

Great video. Your real world honesty is refreshing. As an ev owner myself I know there are compromises to long journeys and generally avoid them. Due to our lifestyle we have a second car which is petrol and that solves the problem. I look forward to a time when we only have one, affordable electric car that can do well over 200 miles and a bigger better public charging network. We’re basically nearly there with the new cars coming out, I’m hoping the network will be ‘good enough’ to rely on in the next couple of years.

[@macduff1964a]

Oh the three dashes of doom...we’ve hit this several times and still made it home or to a charge point....didn’t stop the buttock-clenching though 😜

[@williamfence566]

I run a hybrid and won't buy an electric until the network is as good as the fossil fuel version we have now . Happy to support the changes but range anxiety in case the destination charger isn't working is no way to "enjoy" the journey.

[@Umski]

Haha, we were at Legoland last week - the stress of just driving there (detour down M11 due to Duxford airshow) added 30 min to the journey as it was - think I'd have a nervous breakdown to add charging into the mix! Although on that occasion I'd spank the cash on fuel rather than at Legoland :D Your family took it all in their stride :)

[@kiwitrains]

No,No,no not on your life.

[@kloparen7376]

Just a reminder from the dark side. (Can’t afford electric yet) Been at gas stations not working. Bought more expensive ice cream at other gas stations.

[@limbsflailing4479]

I couldn't do it in a 30kwh. I have the SL plus 62kwh. Good vid.

[@solentbum]

Were the Ecotricity chargers not working , or were they in the default mode where they go to free vend? Last time I went Tibshelf that was the case. As were a couple of others. The biggest problem I had on the M1 was that the builders had fenced off the chargers. Toddington South bound.

[@joakimmelander]

I just did a 1000 km weekend roundtrip in my Zoe 22kWh in Sweden. 500km in12h is the double time of my gas car. The savings and the fun makes it worth it.

[@ncbhtc]

The Pickup and Trailer were at the NEC Holiday Inn a few days after you posted the photo on Twitter when I visited, however it was parked to the side of the charger blocking the way into the car park but out of the way, The charger was working fine, like many Polar chargers that one can play up, the touchscreens freeze on hot days and they need restarting. Usually sorted with a phone call.

[@AndrewHelgeCox]

What do you do for a living? You seem made for presenting. Apologies if you actually are a famous person I should recognise like Robert Llewellyn as your main gig.

[@alanrenwick1652]

Nice honest video and things only getting better. Cant wait to try and buy a Kia Nero or Hyundai 2nd hand in about 5 years time and see how things are by then. Till then I will keep watching. One new subscriber.

[@ClassicTrialsChannel]

You surprised me saying tibshelf im just down the road from there

[@christill]

It’s sad to see that this can still happen. It happened to me with my Zoe in 2017 but I assumed that even with a short range car these days it would be incredibly unlikely to happen. But it happened. Obviously even in a short range car it’s still rare, and in a long range car it’s impossible really, unless you leave it until you have 10% left to start looking for a charger.

[@DorsetSaferRoads]

Ecotricity really need to up their game. more chargers at sites, upgrading the chargers that are there. we have just gone from a 24 to a 40 leaf. We have done bournemouth to hull in the 24, i was certainly well relaxed after the 7 stops it took to get there. I picked up the 40 the friday before FCL, stopped at cherwell on the way there for breakfast and harvester at didcot on the way home for dinner. the extra range makes these things so much easier it really is almost down to when you want to stop rather than the car making you stop the main decision comes down to cost (ecotricity vrs polar) and the facilities that are at the charger. my gripe now (other than the number of chargers at services) is destination chargers. Soon we are doing Bournemouth to redditch, severn valley railway and back again. If either the hotel or the railway had destination chargers we again could do one stop on the way there for lunch and one stop on the way back for dinner. but there arent so im having to do a 3rd rapid charge at redditch. one other thing, chargers on petrol station forecourts.... WHY?! there are zero facilities at most of them, most don't even have a toilet never mind a nice cafe to sit down and have a coffee in whilst you charge.

[@terryjimfletcher]

They need to have their monopoly removed AND punitive fines. :-) It's the only thing that some commercial companies react to.