[EV-Travellers]

We will soon start our 5 month EV road trip from Italy to Germany, The Netherlands, Northern England, Scotland, all Scottish Islands (like Orkney, Shetland etc.), Northern Ireland, Wales and Ireland. And back.

8000 miles. 10 countries. 192 photo spots. All electrical with the Fiat 500e.

We are very excited!
We already did a tour from Italy to the UK for a month last year (everything went very well) and this year we want to top that.
We want to show - the 500e is more than a shopping car!

But of course an EV driver on a road trip needs so much more preparation than with a conventional car. That's why I've opened a travel journal and although we're not on the road yet, I'm already posting important steps, tips and advice for preparation. How to plan, where to charge, which apps in which country etc.
Read/follow if interested:
EV PHOTO TOUR 2023 | FindPenguins

I can't wait to start the journey!
What are your experiences? Do you already have a long EV road trip behind you?

Joana

 

[AndyBowden]

... Do you already have a long EV road trip behind you?

Sorry, no. I'm very happy with my La Prima, but I've very rarely taken it more than 50miles/80km from home and never abroad.
I use my other Italian car, a Giulia Quadrifoglio, for my long journeys, including many trips to Italy.
You may have difficulty locating many charging points in the far North of Scotland. Any Scottish subscribers to this forum may be able to advise.

Buon viaggio!

 

[EV-Travellers]

Hi Andy,
as far as I am informed - in Scotland the ChargePlace Scotland RFID card is essential. They have quite a few stations, also in remote places. Let's see...
We will keep you informed in our travel journal (which is with live tracking) when we are stranded without power in the Highlands

EV PHOTO TOUR 2023 | FindPenguins

 

[Ninja]

I wish you every success on your epic journey. Like Andy I have only used mine as a second car, the longest journey being an 80 mile round trip. Scotland, I believe, at least has a single payment system but from some motoring journalist reviews/journeys there appear to be few charging stations in isolated regions. Current weather forecast in Scotland and North England shows snow and very cold temperatures so range should prove interesting - good luck.

 

[EV-Travellers]

I wish you every success on your epic journey. Like Andy I have only used mine as a second car, the longest journey being an 80 mile round trip. Scotland, I believe, at least has a single payment system but from some motoring journalist reviews/journeys there appear to be few charging stations in isolated regions. Current weather forecast in Scotland and North England shows snow and very cold temperatures so range should prove interesting - good luck.

Thank you so much, Ninja!
We will be from May onwards up North, so snow shouldn't be an issue.

I think Scotland is not too bad regarding charging stations (according to zap-map). UK is quite good anyway.
A challenge will be for sure Rep. of Ireland. The charging spots are scarse (at least those I found listed on zap-map).
But - it has to be an adventure, hasn't it?!? It's part of the fun!

 

[MickPerry]

Joana,

I wish you well with your expedition. I will be following you on your blog.

I’ve got just two suggestions for you.
1). Google Maps now has an option for EV drivers to find charging points. I haven’t used it yet, I’m happy with ZapMap.

2). The mains electricity charger, often called “Granny Charger” could be helpful to you from time to time If you can’t find a faster charger. You will need to remember that in the UK we have different electric plugs and sockets. It might be that the equipment supplied with your car works here with an adaptor. I’d suggest checking with FIAT before you set off.

Best wishes

 

[EV-Travellers]

Thank you very much, Mick!

Yes - all sorts of adapters will be in the boot. But the Typ 2 works well in both UK and Europe. And we are hoping that some cottages where we will stay are letting us charge overnight, so we have the adapter for the UK sockets.

One thing I cannot understand is - I obviously are going to pay for the charged kW, but still some cottage owners in UK didn't let us charge last year, they react almost hysterically when I asked them.
I charge at home all the time with a normal socket and have no issues at all (and we have a troublesome Italian wiring...)

Let's hope the Scots are nicer.

Regarding Google Maps - they are not (yet) complete, I prefer ZapMap (at least in the UK). Different countries = different apps.
Also a topic for my journal soon...

Joana

 

[Thunderbolt]

Very cool! Looking forward to reading more blog posts.

 

[EV-Travellers]

Thank you Thunderbolt!
I'll keep you updated!

 

[Banners]

Sounds great – all the best and safe journey to you!

What are your experiences? Do you already have a long EV road trip behind you?

The longest we've done is from Crewe to London and back, which took four charges (two each there and back) using the high-speed Ionity chargers at Stafford and Milton Keynes. One thing we didn't realise before then is that chargers throttle you once they hit 80% and the charging speed drops massively, making it not worthwhile to wait for 100% – something you may wish to consider in your planning.

 

[EV-Travellers]

One thing we didn't realise before then is that chargers throttle you once they hit 80% and the charging speed drops massively, making it not worthwhile – something you may wish to consider in your planning.

Thank you very much, Banners!

Yes, depending on the provider, they slow down between 80 - 90%.
As a rule of thumb I have heard, that it takes as long to charge from 0 - 80% as it takes from 80 - 100%.
It's to protect the batter life.
So if you are not having your meal in the meantime and time is not an issue - for pure charging stops one should charge never over 80%.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

depending on the provider, they slow down between 80 - 90%

I believe it's the car, not the provider, that slows the charge to protect the battery.

for pure charging stops one should charge never over 80%.

Ya, especially when the fee is charged per minute instead of per kW.

 

[EV-Travellers]

I believe it's the car, not the provider, that slows the charge to protect the battery.

Hmmm....
I just realised that with some charging stations it slows down after 80% and some are faster until 90%.
Some slow down really massively - like from 60kW to 5 - and some are a bit more gentle and give you still 12kW at 80%.
But I don't know the technical stuff behind it - just an experience.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

Supposedly cars' software slows the charge based on battery temperature, which can vary depending on things like ambient temperature, how hard/long you were accelerating & braking right before plugging in, & the battery level when you plugged in: It won't get as hot charging from 70% to 90 as it does charging from 0 to 80.

For a long trip, here's something that surprised me recently, even though it has been my only car for over 7 years: My FIRST gen 500e gets better range at 55mph on the highway than it does in city traffic averaging 25mph! I only discovered it by accident because I rarely drive that slow on the highway. Your 2nd-gen is likely different, but it's worth testing. No matter what though, the best range is at slow STEADY speeds.

 

[EV-Travellers]

55mph is like on a rural road in Italy (well - 50, but nobody does it here) - and that is where the fortee of the 500e lies. When we are on a photo trip without motorway - we drive the whole day for many hours without charging and in the evening we still have plenty of juice left.

I always use the Range mode. Italy is very hilly - and it is a bliss to see how the 500e is charging itself while driving downhill! You can get 40-50 miles per day on top!

And yes, you are right - I also realised that stop-and-go is not to the liking of the 500e.
But even worse is going motorway faster than 65mph - better only 60.

 

[Electric Tire Shredder]

Yes, absolutely. Even 60mph is much worse for me than the low range of 25mph stop-&-go.

The car charges itself while driving downhill in any mode. The brake pedal doesn't activate the brakes*. It only activates regen. You can see that yourself by watching the power meter go negative when you lift your right foot AND when you press the brake pedal.


* except for a complete stop or panic braking

 

[Polygonwood]

A typical off-highway trip on a spring day (no AC,no heating required), max speed around 80 km/h.
10.5 KWh/ 100 km or the energetic equivalent of 1 liter/100 km if it would have been an ICE car (for the left side of the road drivers : 5.92 Miles/KWh or 235 Miles/Gallon). That yields a range of 350 km, above the WLTP of 320 in these conditions. At the resulting average speed, you could keep on driving for 7 hours ... time for a rest.
Good luck with your adventure, we will follow you on the blog.

 

[EV-Travellers]

Thank you Polygonwood! I must admit - my Fiat 500e is not as good in range as yours. Mine is now almost 2,5 years and it seems that the battery capacity is going downhill... But still it is very good off-motorway, that is true. Especially in the Range mode which we love - no breaks in the bends or in the mountains. And it really does charge a lot using the Range mode. But motorway - it really consumes a lot, even if you drive moderately. So we only use motorway if we need to go quickly from one place to the next. Otherwise we always try to avoid motorway, thankfully you can adjust this option in both Google Maps and ABRP.

 

[Polygonwood]

Thank you Polygonwood! I must admit - my Fiat 500e is not as good in range as yours. Mine is now almost 2,5 years and it seems that the battery capacity is going downhill... But still it is very good off-motorway, that is true. Especially in the Range mode which we love - no breaks in the bends or in the mountains. And it really does charge a lot using the Range mode. But motorway - it really consumes a lot, even if you drive moderately. So we only use motorway if we need to go quickly from one place to the next. Otherwise we always try to avoid motorway, thankfully you can adjust this option in both Google Maps and ABRP.

My region is mostly 'flat' (it's called The Lowlands for a reason), that might be a factor. On the hightway, consumption goes up to 18-19 KWh/100 km. My average over 19,000 km now is 14.8 KWh/100 km.

 

[EV-Travellers]

I had a look at my board computer now. (I must admit I never use it, I rather should I suppose). It says overall I use 1 kWh per 7 km. Which means I have a range of 294 km which is realistic.