How bad REALLY is the electric car charging network? | What Car?

#WhatCar #EVCharging #EVChargingTest

How bad really is the public electric car charging network? Will Nightingale spends a day with a Skoda Enyaq to find out.




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[johnevans]

Seems strange to have the vehicle at 70/80% no wonder charging speeds were so slow.

[Antiguan_Dart]

Would be interesting to know the car’s state of charge at the start of each charging session. As this can impact peak charge rate.

[chrisdaniels]

Agree that State of Charge makes a huge difference. What Car should know and highlight this. They should be encouraging people to use rapid chargers properly and try not to charge over 80%. This happens automatically with Tesla and means many more vehicles can charge as the speed of charging is rapid.

[djtaylorutube]

You said it yourself, "the high state of charge of the battery probably had something to do with it". This is one of the nuances of an EV that if the charge curve isn't understood, then the results will be misleading. If i'm not mistaken, the max charge rate of the Enyaq there is 125kWh until 37% and then drops linearly until 67%, thereafter it's 65kWh until 82% and then drops again.
So, if as you said the battery had a high state of charge of between 70 to 80%, all you're going to get is 65kWh anyway.
Therefore speed was never going to be "as advertised" if the only figure taken is the headline figure of "maximum charging speed".
Public charging (non Tesla) remains a mish mash of ridiculous pricing and variable experience.
The issue for transition is that every ICE car from a cheap sh*tbox to something super expensive delivers the same refuelling experience, consistently and for someone who just wants to use their car and not plan or can't plan then that's difficult when flipping to an EV where they now have to battle:-
Chargers with different charge rates
Where's the car on the charge curve?
How do they queue if they're all busy?
Which app to find them and are they available and working?
What authorisation/payment method is required? (They're not all contactless bank card)
Simple rule though, if you can't charge at home - don't get an EV with prices like these.

[Thereishope]

Shockingly expensive. BP pulse charge 83p kwh. To charge my I-Pace would cost nearly £75. That equates to £10 per gallon. Using 30mpg as the average.

[DonkeyDalek]

The prices ranged from 65p to 86p per kWh. My recent use of Tesla Superchargers ranged from 39p to 51p plus you don't have to have all of those different apps and RFID cards.

[bluesmartroadster]

Would love it if there were signs on the motorways showing live status and availability of chargers at services.

[rubenh]

As soon as you mentioned Geniepoint i just laughed. Do any of chargers at Morrisons work anymore?! 😂
If I have a choice, I'll aim for an ionity, osprey or gridserve as they tend to be more reliable (in my local area anyway).
Equally and unfortunately, all are too expensive to run your car if you do not have off street parking/charging. 😢

[bricktop]

The cost of charging using public chargers is extortionate.
What is not mentioned on this vid is the money the charging company takes out of your bank account. They take anything from £10 to £30 in advance before you can use the charger.
The cost of charging an EV is criminal. No surprise there is little take up with EV's and it is the affordability of charging. There used to be free charging, NOT any more.

I have only done 400 miles in my EV and it has cost me £150. The cost of public chargers, usually 70p/Kw.

If Tesla can charge 34p/kw (44p/kw for non-Telsa cars on V4 chargers) that price is more affordable.
Hopefully Tesla roll out more V4 chargers to cater for every EV. That will force other companies to compete.

I am still waiting on getting my home charger fitted, which will make it affordable.

But currently -EV charging is a rip-off.

[brabbysmarty]

17 minute wait? I’d have filled my petrol car up in half that time and then have 450 miles range! 🤔

[GeekaWhat]

I have to say this video is a bit of a disappointment. Only 1 was a motorway based hub (the place the vast majority of hefty chargers take place), and in that you noted that there were only 6 Ionity chargers. There have been 18 Ionity chargers at Cobham since mid-December, three weeks before this video was released. Additionally, the speed comparison is totally pointless when the car is already at 70 or 80%. A publication like Whatcar should surely know you only get the top top speeds when the state of charge is lower.

I agree that lots of the local chargers have a disappointing level of downtime, but half the video was Geniepoint and BP Polar, both rated as two of the worst networks. This video is useful for the people of Esher, but not overly representative of anything else.

[KeithFLOOK-wduw]

Instead of doing this type of thing down the South near London come up here and try a similar thing in County Durham for someone that doesn't have home charging available.

[Mountain-Man-]

Do this test again starting in Exeter. Or York. Or Norwich. I bet it'll be a very different experience.

[fyank]

As an EV driver you quickly learn to ignore any GeniePoint chargers!

[GF-eppf]

Do most of my charging at home but on the road I normally set zapmap to 2+ or 3+ chargers to increase the chances of having one free and functioning (in two and a half years I don't think I've ever had to wait for a charger).

[forferdeilig]

Would be nice if the cost per mile could at least be kept as low as service station fuel for public chargers... At the moment it's about 25p per mile if it's 80 pence per kwh.... Vs diesel being about 15p per mile

[dannywiltshire]

The cost of charging in the uk is disgusting. Luckily I have a Tesla. 34 p per kilowatt. Not sure how the government expect the public to jump into a EV with these charging costs

[EssentialTA]

You started the test with too much battery. Charging speed is related to the percentage of the battery. The lower, the better for charging speed. Doesn't really matter how much the charger can provide when it is the car itself which is the limiting factor...

[grahamcastle]

My personal experience of ev charging in the Highlands of Scotland is excellent even at peak holiday times you can find chargers every 20 to 30 miles even in the remotest of areas. We holidayed in the Outer Hebridies recently and charging was effortless. Charge Place Scotland has good courntry wide provision.

[bshah]

I never go to a charging point with less than 4 units as one is usually faulty and one or two are usually in use. I would never unplug from someone else's EV even if 100% charged. Chobham services now has 16 Ionity charging units.