EV touring in France
Discussion
I’m poised to take my first steps into EV ownership. My short list is Tesla 3, Polestar 2 or possibly a used IPace.
I am pretty confident that an EV will fit in with my normal usage at home but my concern is driving in France. We have a holiday booked in August (God willing...) which involves a 500 mile autoroute blast and a fair few miles around rural SW France.
Has anyone any experience of charging facilities on French autoroutes ? And any other potential advice please.
Plan B might be to wimp out on full EV and go for an Evoque/ EPace PHEV...
I am pretty confident that an EV will fit in with my normal usage at home but my concern is driving in France. We have a holiday booked in August (God willing...) which involves a 500 mile autoroute blast and a fair few miles around rural SW France.
Has anyone any experience of charging facilities on French autoroutes ? And any other potential advice please.
Plan B might be to wimp out on full EV and go for an Evoque/ EPace PHEV...
Tesla was no problem at all where the French people live.
Couple of bigger gaps in Spain and Portugal where extra chargers are ‘planned for 2020’ which meant longer supercharger times but overall exactly as you’d expect.
France seemed as good as the UK if not better - seemed to be a really good ‘mesh’ of chargers right across the country.
A few Tesla stops had other charge systems in place, but most supercharger sites in Europe seemed to be posh hotels and the like rather than mway services etc.
We (me) did take a wrong turn in Bordeaux when we were low on charge and had to loop back on an autoroute for a junction and were searching (desperately) for non-Tesla chargers - none came up but I’d be amazed if they weren’t at least on a par with the UK.
Try a better route planner with your planned make of ev to see how it fares.
Couple of bigger gaps in Spain and Portugal where extra chargers are ‘planned for 2020’ which meant longer supercharger times but overall exactly as you’d expect.
France seemed as good as the UK if not better - seemed to be a really good ‘mesh’ of chargers right across the country.
A few Tesla stops had other charge systems in place, but most supercharger sites in Europe seemed to be posh hotels and the like rather than mway services etc.
We (me) did take a wrong turn in Bordeaux when we were low on charge and had to loop back on an autoroute for a junction and were searching (desperately) for non-Tesla chargers - none came up but I’d be amazed if they weren’t at least on a par with the UK.
Try a better route planner with your planned make of ev to see how it fares.
Yep, https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ - although make sure it's not assumed you're doing a trip now - go into settings / road conditions and set the temperature a bit higher.
Ionity network is pretty good now, no more than 150 miles apart on the major routes through France - although expensive. Outside of that plenty of chargers about in aires or in towns but they tend to be 50kW so longer stops.
In a Tesla you have the advantage of Superchargers *and* being able to use Ionity and anything else.
Ionity network is pretty good now, no more than 150 miles apart on the major routes through France - although expensive. Outside of that plenty of chargers about in aires or in towns but they tend to be 50kW so longer stops.
In a Tesla you have the advantage of Superchargers *and* being able to use Ionity and anything else.
I live in Switzerland and drive regularly in France (have a weekend place 150km away in Burgundy.) Superchargers seem pretty well spread out across France, though I rarely use them as I can charge both in Geneva and in Louhans.
But I bought a Model 3 a few months ago safe in the knowledge that the occasional (post-Covid) trip back to UK or down to family in Italy would be fairly easy.
Hybrid? Worse of both worlds, small battery = short electric range + ICE engine and all its pollution, maintenance and fuel issues.
But I bought a Model 3 a few months ago safe in the knowledge that the occasional (post-Covid) trip back to UK or down to family in Italy would be fairly easy.
Hybrid? Worse of both worlds, small battery = short electric range + ICE engine and all its pollution, maintenance and fuel issues.
Any of those will be no problem in France. Ignore all the Tesla fanboys, pick the car that meets your needs best.
Here's a real world trip made from the UK down to Italy in an e-Niro: https://youtu.be/vSg5EYFk1I8
Your experience in the Polestar or an iPace will be similar. No real issues with charging at all, main concern is things like comfort level and cargo capacity.
Here's a real world trip made from the UK down to Italy in an e-Niro: https://youtu.be/vSg5EYFk1I8
Your experience in the Polestar or an iPace will be similar. No real issues with charging at all, main concern is things like comfort level and cargo capacity.
Thanks all for taking the trouble to respond. Very useful.
I watched the video of the Italy trip and several of the subsequent ones by the same guy. Very useful and highly entertaining.
I wouldn’t agree that a PHEV is the worst of both worlds. In many ways it would be the best of both for me. The EV range is adequate for the vast majority of my domestic usage and the ICE capability means no range anxiety. However I just think it’s delaying the inevitable.
I watched the video of the Italy trip and several of the subsequent ones by the same guy. Very useful and highly entertaining.
I wouldn’t agree that a PHEV is the worst of both worlds. In many ways it would be the best of both for me. The EV range is adequate for the vast majority of my domestic usage and the ICE capability means no range anxiety. However I just think it’s delaying the inevitable.
aestetix1 said:
Any of those will be no problem in France. Ignore all the Tesla fanboys, pick the car that meets your needs best.
Usually I'd say ignore the perpetual Tesla haters, but he's right this time.I've been travelling through France for years and a couple of years ago your only option would have been a Tesla. Other networks have caught up now though, but just use a better route planner to get a good idea of what's possible. In reality it will be less of an issue with a Tesla but I don't think you'd have a problem getting anywhere with any decent BEV.
critical mass said:
I wouldn’t agree that a PHEV is the worst of both worlds. In many ways it would be the best of both for me. The EV range is adequate for the vast majority of my domestic usage and the ICE capability means no range anxiety. However I just think it’s delaying the inevitable.
There is a very select use case for them, but these days I'd say the cons vastly outweigh the pros. Don't forget you've got an ICE, gearbox, fuel tank, batteries, electric motor and everything that makes both work together. It's a recipe for disaster in terms of complexity. If anything, I'd stay away from the Germans.Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff