Having been talking, presenting and writing about climate change for 30 years, and also pushing a net zero agenda for the last few, I thought it was time that I experienced first-hand a drive in an electric vehicle (EV). Yes, I know I had to fly to Marseille to get one, but I planted 10 trees and assorted plants over the weekend to offset my CO2 emissions, for a trip that I only booked 2 days before I left, such was the urgency of the journey. I’ll write about the impossibility of managing anything involving suppliers and people who say they will do something on a given date and then fail to appear (thanks Orange!) another time.
Electric Vehicle Renting Challenges
No, for this trip, I had multiple errands and things to accomplish over a 4-day weekend, and I needed mobility and none of the public transport options could work. The joys of living en pleine campagne! Besides, I just needed a rental vehicle to get me from the airport, to my abode, (where my 24-year-old Renault Scénic continues to loyally serve), and back again. I usually hire a group A/B car, flashing my free Avis Preferred badge, (https://www.avis.co.uk/your-avis/avis-preferred-drive) hoping to get a free upgrade. Except this time, the price differential (already 5 times what you used to pay thanks in part to increased airport taxes) for diesel and EV was so close, I thought why not? Let’s make the jump. I’d been in a few EV’s – and my brother-in-law, who’s doubly damned as he owned a BMW (Bloody-Minded Whatsit?) and now sports a Tesla, refuses to believe there’s a flaw in the infrastructure that makes driving an EV more normal than one that spews hydrocarbons.
I did indeed get an upgrade, to a two-ton battery lugger – an e2008 Peugeot – amusingly in poo brown, like so many French cars! How exciting though! How do you start it? Where’s the gear lever? Well, a few moments were all it took to determine that sliding a knob forward and back allows you to silently drift towards my destination. 310kms of « autonomie » remaining, and let the thrill begin! How fun that if you accelerate quickly (faster than you can gear change as the acceleration is linear), you can then coast back to the speed limit, while charging the car! At times, I was sure that the range actually increased, but I was always conscious that I would comfortably get to my destination (around 100km) and could worry about charging over the weekend, prior to my return on Sunday evening.
EV Range Anxiety
Well, let the worries begin. I arrived, with the range finder giving me around 140km left – so I had consumed more than the actual distance driven. I’d be a terrible insurance risk if I had one of those onboard “safe driver black boxes”, clearly! As it happened, I needed to venture out to get some urgent DIY stuff to repair something that was broken. Ha-ha, I thought, I’m sure my favourite shop (Leroy Merlin) has charging stations outside – why not take the EV, and charge it while I’m there?! So, I did. The trouble was, I found what I was looking for relatively quickly, and already had bought something else I didn’t plan on or need, so left after 20 minutes. I think my range went up about 10kms in that time – but it was a 15km drive each way! So now I was down below 135km of range left. And for some reason THERE WAS NO CHARGING CABLE IN THE BOOT included for a house! (Or so I thought!)
Public Charging Stations
My wonderful friends who live in the same village said, no problem, come over (we’re away) but help yourself to the cable outside the house. This was such a kind offer, but I was reluctant to « borrow » something else, especially when they weren’t there, and felt I had to find a solution in town. And the good news, the local town has LIDL, Intermarché and some charging points outside La Poste. It will be easy, plenty of options and loads of time. Except it wasn’t.
Can you believe that each EV charger requires a different app? Yes, you could pay using a credit/debit card, but it was contactless, those that had screens showing amounts had been vandalised, and either the apps said the machines were in use (they weren’t!) or the contactless system kept being declined. (One of the reasons for the trip was to collect a new bank card – which was activated and worked perfectly using contactless payments in various shops over the weekend). So, what to do?
EV Charging Issues
I went home. And did loads of research to try and figure out the best option. The good news is that all of the apps were happy for you to sign up. They even show which EV chargers are nearby, what capacity they are and whether they are working or busy. But that’s where their utility ends. You can’t use the apps to make payments! You need to apply for a « charge card – remember those??! » which they can send in the post. It only takes a few days too! But for me, completely useless!
So I went back to LIDL, and parked next to a Tesla [bastard! :)] behind which, the mesmerising blue LED lights were twinkling to assure the owner that juice was flowing. But could I get the app to work? Do me a favour! So following the prompt, I scanned the QR reader, which asked me to enter the EVSE-ID, as clearly the QR code was not linking correctly in the app. The curt note (This is a valid EVSE-ID, but we are not able to find a charging station). Well thank you, Schneider Electric. It’s this metal box with a red light on it. And it’s not working.
EV Charging Apps
So, I went to Intermarché instead. Tucked round the back, probably ashamed of itself, was a pole with two charging points, numbers written in indelible ink, belonging to a company marketing as ZEborne (the borne de recharge is the French for charging point). Except the app kept saying « this charger is actually in use ». Well apart from the odd pigeon looking for a roost, it actually wasn’t! And that was particularly ZEbugging.
Ah, but there’s a couple at La Poste. So, off I went – barely touching the accelerator – and there were all 4 bays free. It’s right outside of some social housing, so someone clearly has a warped sense of humour. No one in this neighbourhood is going to be buying an EV anytime soon. Leave your vehicle at your peril. Which explains why all the payment panels had been vandalised. Suffice to say I tried 3 different payment cards, none of which worked, so I gingerly left and went home again.
Up early, I thought, I have to give this another try, so started in reverse order. After 5 minutes of waving my cards aimlessly, I suddenly heard a clunk, and the magic door opened, allowing me to attach the cable to the charging point. The gentle hum of current, some beautiful graphic on the dashboard, AND I’M REFUELLING!!
“Your charge time remaining is 14hours. Battery charge level 45%.” Range now 125km. Oh for goodness sake! Well, I thought, given the early hour, it might be OK to leave the car for a bit. I’d worked out that both the cable attached to the car and that in the box could not be removed without force (or a wire cutter), so it was safe to pop round and say hello to Jean-Pierre at the café. An hour later, I came back. And saw I was up to 57%, with a range of 155km and I thought good enough, I’m done.
EV Charging is Expensive!
I then spent a few hours trying to work out how much it had cost – convinced it was my French card that had been used (as I had certainly used it to end the charge and open la boite.) I was horrified to find out it had cost £43.90. Thank you very much FreshMile – or is it then FreshSmiling at me??
When I got back in the car the following morning, it said my range was less than 150km – and that hour’s charge had effectively cost me about £1 a km!! It would normally only cost £20 to do the airport and back using diesel! I was fuming!
And then the stress started. How much time should I leave to get to the airport. Well, I always allow 1 hour for the drive, plus two-hour pre-take off, which is always too much, but probably sensible. This time, I would need to allow an extra hour or more in case I had to stop (at one of only two service stations on the way back). The first one was 20km – the next around 70km…. I made a decision. If my range was below 1/4 battery, I would stop at the second one. If it was above, I would risk the last 30 kms.
How to spot an Electric Vehicle on a motorway
You know those people who drive at 20/30 km/h below the speed limit on a motorway? Well, they are probably all EV drivers with a low range. Well, that was me today. Every opportunity to coast down hills I did. I passed the first service station thinking it would be OK.
2km short of the next one, suddenly a warning sound. OMG this is it, I thought! But no, it was something else entirely, something had fallen off the car earlier in the weekend, and it was alerting me to the fact that the automatic crash sensor in front wasn’t working! And then the service station came and went. I was going all the way!
EV Travel Tip – check the boot!
Long story short – I arrived with 10km range spare. To then be told by Avis about the hidden compartment (where a spare tyre would go), which is where the house charger was stored!!
But I’m sorry, this EV malarkey is not for me. It’s a con. I want a hydrogen car. Quick to fill up. Longer range. Except they have even less infrastructure, dammit.
And the finale? Climate change was causing unprecedented rain back in the UK, so my flight ended up being delayed by 5 hours!! You couldn’t make this up!