Is a roadtrip in an EV as painless as we say?

Friday, 21 January 2022

Spoilers: road-tripping in an EV is indeed possible, and surprisingly stress-free.

We’ve often talked about how long-distance trips in an EV are absolutely possible, they just require more planning beforehand. But it’s one thing to say it online and a whole other thing to actually do it. So, I did.

For my annual pilgrimage from Auckland to the Hawkes Bay over the New Years period, I wanted to see if an EV can do a multi-stop road trip without much stress. I know most modern EVs have ranges over 300km, so I wanted to test New Zealand’s charging infrastructure as much as the car (and my own anxiety levels).

The range of new EVs available in New Zealand is increasing all the time - here is everything as of January 2022.

The drive is around 430km each way, which means at least one stop is in order. Thankfully, ChargeNet is working hard on expanding its hypercharger network, each station of which can charge at up to 300kW of power, with up to three vehicles sharing that output at any given time.

So far, there are two hyperchargers at the Bombay hills (servicing up to six EVs at once) and another pair at Taupo and Kaiwaka. More are being built as we speak at the North Shore, Waikato, Tauranga, Rotorua, Bulls, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown, and Dunedin. Aside from these, there are more than 256 publicly available rapid chargers.

**READ MORE:

The hypercharger at the Bombay Hills. These 300kW fast chargers are powered entirely by renewable energy.

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* New Zealand's EV charging network continues to expand

The e-tron SUV can charge at up to 150kW, but others can use as much as 270kW.

I should also mention that the six existing hyperchargers are entirely powered by renewable energy, so don’t start up about coal-fired powerplants just yet, please.

Audi graciously lent me an e-tron SUV for the trip, which was spacious and comfortable and entirely appropriate. I did consider angling for the GT, but ringing up roadside assistance in the deadzone between Christmas and New Years to get me and my three passengers to the nearest charger because I used all the charge taking the curvy long way around did not sound very appealing.

The hypercharger in Taupo is right next to the Buger King and about a minute away from the main strip of eateries.

In 55 trim, Audi claims the e-tron to have a total range of about 417km, but after a full charge the in-car estimate tends to read closer to 340km. That’s down to testing – carmakers tend to quote the best looking figure, which with EVS means no air-con, no music, no headwind, Eco mode and using regen as much as possible.

That means it is technically possible to hit 417km, but if you like being comfy, you probably won’t. I wanted to make a more normal roadtrip, not a fully hypermiled one, so I kept the air-conditioning on and the music loud.

Charging in Hastings, with a generous 60-minute time limit.

I’ll be honest, I was sweating a bit about range. Knowing the distance to Taupo is just under 300km, and also knowing that EV ranges can change quite a bit depending on driving style and how much regeneration you can use, the drive from Auckland to Taupo would be pushing the realistic range of the e-tron.

Like I said, at worst I can turn everything off and recoup ten twenty kilometers, but I wanted to make it as close to a petrol-powered road trip as possible.

Thankfully, I needn’t have worried.

Cruising to Taupo was as uneventful as usual, arriving at the lakefront after roughly two and a half hours with around 19 per cent of a charge left thanks to minimal “look how fast an EV launches” moments and using the regenerative braking function. The e-tron is particularly good at this, able to regenerate up to 30 per cent of its total range.

Funnily enough, 30 per cent of 340 is 102, which means, if you can exploit the regen system fully, you’re well in excess of Audi’s range claim.

The hypercharger here is next to the Burger King, and about a minute from the main strip of restaurants, making it perfect for a meal stop. We usually stop for a break here as well, so adding a charge to the equation wasn’t actually changing the schedule at all.

As for charge queues – well, there weren’t any. The hypercharger said a full charge should be done in about 45 minutes (the e-tron charges at a maximum rate of 150kW), so we went and grabbed a bit. It didn’t take any longer than a usual meal stop.

Bearing in mind we were driving down on the 28th of December, I was preparing for an awkward conversation where I admit to my passengers that we need to wait longer in Taupo because all the chargers were in use. The fact that only one of the eight available chargers was in use when we arrived is brilliant – if a bit of a relief.

Fully fed, watered, and charged, it was on to Hastings.

Hastings itself doesn’t have many chargers – there’s a Tesla Supercharger, a Leaf-only charger at the Nissan dealership, one at the local Warehouse, and a 50kW public charger in the middle of the city. There are more dotted around at various locations as well, check the ChargeNet or Plugshare apps to find them.

I stopped at the public charger while doing a bit of New Years shopping, it took a bit over an hour on the slower 50kW channel to bring the Audi up to full. Good thing too, because this particular charger has a generous time limit of an hour. Most ask EV owners to move on after 30 minutes, to keep things moving and stop people hogging the chargers.

After the bleariness from the party had worn off, we made the same return trip on 2 January. And lo, it was the same situation on the way back. A stop in Taupo for an early lunch and re-caffeination to juice up the car, then on to Auckland, clean sailing.

And after the whole thing, I can pretty safely say you can do a multi-stop road-trip in an EV. Even with concessions like Audi’s superb regeneration, all it takes is a bit of extra planning. Places like Taupo are easy wins, with great cafes and restaurants, and a massive hole in the ground filled with water to cool off in.

Of course, you have to factor in more time for recharging, and that might be a dealbreaker for some. And that’s okay. But with the number of public chargers approaching 300, it’s getting easier and easier to justify an EV.

Oh, and for what it’s worth, it’s way cheaper to charge an EV than refuel a car. The three charges (19 to 100 per cent; 54 to 100 per cent; 47 to 99 per cent) cost a grand total of $89.60. Maybe a diesel machine could match those figures, but good luck finding a petrol-powered vehicle that frugal.