 Poster: A snowHead
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@Orange2000 Well that’s the classic two-down-to-one conundrum: the risk of ending up with the worst of both worlds - a local run-around that’s inconveniently big, hauling around an extra 20-30kWh of batteries that are unnecessary for 99.9% of journeys, yet inconveniently limited in storage capacity and range when you do those few longer trips.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| galpinos wrote: |
| @flaming, what's your opinion on the Buzz? We have one arriving Thursday (very good deal via my wife's work). Range was the sticking point but the deal was too good to pass up. Considering a fortnight in the Alps this summer and might drive and camp as a change from our previous train and apartment efforts. |
We love the buzz, but I really hate VW's software. It's utter pants. Having now done 2 long distance trips in France, 1 alps, 1 west coast, and 1 in the Tesla (alps) I'd actually choose the Buzz out of preference, as even though the journey time is longer, due to being less efficient, it's a heap more comfortable.
We get a reliable 190 miles out of the Buzz at motorway speeds in winter. 220ish in Summer. In the UK this generally works out at roughly 3-3.5 hours of driving before needing to charge. Which to be honest is about my limit before I need a break anyway.
Last time we drove to the alps, with twin 5 year olds, we drove as far as Annecy on day 1, then finished off the trip the next morning. Hotel in Annecy had chargers, so did not need to charge between there and Val D'Isere, even going up hill. On the way back we drove straight to the tunnel, no overnight stop. Gained about 15% in the battery coming down the mountain to Bourg!
Out to Annecy we charged at the tunnel whilst waiting, then I think a further 4 times. Honestly it was a really relaxing way to travel, as the "enforced" 25 min (definitely not 40) break every 2 hours ish was a really good thing with the kids. French service stations are generally relatively pleasant places, and getting them out to run around and burn off some energy definitely reduced the boredom of a long car journey. But even then, by the time you've had a wee and bought a coffee you don't generally have a lot of time before the car is ready to carry on.
Yes, 100% the trip is a little bit slower than if you were just tanking along in an ICE car and stopping only for fuel. But I cannot get my head around people who claim that a 10 or so hour drive that you do a couple of times per year taking an hour longer is such a big deal as to rule out the other advantages that you get all year. And even when I did the solo trip in the Tesla I definitely arrived less tired and grumpy for being made to stop (and then making myself go for a 20 minute walk rather than sitting in a cafe etc) than the last time I did that in an ICE car and was just in "MUST GET THERE ASAP" mode.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Cheers @flaming, hopefully we've made a good decision, delivery in T-3 days.....
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| flaming wrote: |
| Last time we drove to the alps, with twin 5 year olds, we drove as far as Annecy on day 1, then finished off the trip the next morning. Hotel in Annecy had chargers, so did not need to charge between there and Val D'Isere, even going up hill. On the way back we drove straight to the tunnel, no overnight stop. Gained about 15% in the battery coming down the mountain to Bourg! |
Where did you stay in Annecy that had a charger? Wife loves stopping off at Annecy which we have done the last couple of years but just ended up parking in the town carparks and charged up in Alberville.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Rob_Quads wrote: |
| flaming wrote: |
| Last time we drove to the alps, with twin 5 year olds, we drove as far as Annecy on day 1, then finished off the trip the next morning. Hotel in Annecy had chargers, so did not need to charge between there and Val D'Isere, even going up hill. On the way back we drove straight to the tunnel, no overnight stop. Gained about 15% in the battery coming down the mountain to Bourg! |
Where did you stay in Annecy that had a charger? Wife loves stopping off at Annecy which we have done the last couple of years but just ended up parking in the town carparks and charged up in Alberville. |
It was the Pellican. There was a deal last year.... Not staying there this year as it's somewhat pricier! Though supposedly where we are staying is next to a car park that has chargers, so we'll see....
Going in the 1st week of the Easter holidays, same as last year. Going on a Pedalo was not on my expected list of things to do on my ski holiday, but that happened!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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For info, there were 2 or 3 chargers nearly ready in Bourg 2 weeks ago, on the main Rd near the train station. (I think, by the car park anyway)
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| MorningGory wrote: |
| For info, there were 2 or 3 chargers nearly ready in Bourg 2 weeks ago, on the main Rd near the train station. (I think, by the car park anyway) |
The high speed chargers in the SuperU car park in Bourg are a good option while you stock up on groceries, if the Tesla Superchargers in Aime aren’t convenient for you. Operated by SoWatt, but also included in the Electroverse network (including a small discount to the price).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@flaming, thanks, yeah will top up at the UK tunnel if I can!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Bit of feedback on our latest EV alps trip.
Way out, driving out on a Friday as far as Annecy was fine. No charger queues, no drama. Underground car park near the station that we parked in overnight had chargers, so got topped up and that was enough.
Way back was a slightly different story. It was a Saturday and the roads were busy with a lot of cars leaving resorts. I was using ABRP and it was showing some very busy chargers. We therefore adapted plans and only went to chargers with plenty of stalls. We did have 2 brief queues to get plugged in, but because we were at stations with at least 10 chargers these were less than 5min each, but generally this was also pretty straightforward, if not thought free. However... We did pull into one Aire when we didn't need to charge because the child who had refused to go to the toilet at the last charging stop 40 min ago was now "absolutely desperate daddy!" Figured I might as well plug in whilst we did that if I could. There were 4 chargers. 3 working. And a queue of 8 cars waiting... Ouch.
What I didn't understand was that ABRP was showing 3 more chargers within 30km of that one, with free chargers.... Were those 8 cars so empty that they didn't have 30km of range, or did those driver just blindly following their car satnav and not understand how to get the information that they need in order to make better charger choices?
It's that sort of situation that is putting people off going EV, and I absolutely get it, I'd have been upset to have been in that queue... But it also feels somewhat unnecessary...
One further tip for those with VW group EVs. I upgraded my "we charge" subscription to the top level for this month, which is about £11 a month. And saved that on the 1st charge. You can downgrade to the free subscription straight away. So easy to do for just that one alps trip. My total charging cost for the entire 1500 mile round trip was just over 230 Euros. + the £11. Which I thought was pretty good... And over 60 Euros of that was one charger that didn't offer any discount to we charge members and cost over 60 Euros!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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OMG the biggest Supercharger bill I had for my Y LR was €28, and that was maxed out at 68kwh.
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