[sushanthys]

A trip down memory lane in a MG ZS EV

Hi teamBHPians, I hope you are all healthy and doing well.

I will be writing about my college reunion which was held recently and the road trip which we undertook to attend the get-together.

Myself (Sushanth) and my wife (Anitha)are doctors (both Gynaecologists – I specialize in Laparoscopic Surgery and she is a Fetal Medicine Specialist). We did our MBBS together at JIPMER, Pondicherry (now Puducherry). We joined MBBS in 1998 and hence belong to the ‘Batch of 98’. There is an alumni meeting for all MBBS batches on their 25th anniversary. Ours was scheduled this year (2023). The get-together was planned for 4th – 6th August, 2023. It could only be held at one place and that was Pondicherry (It’s still difficult for me to wrap my head around ‘Puducherry’, hence I will be using ‘Pondicherry/Pondy’ to refer to the place throughout this narrative).

JIPMER stands for ‘Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research’. The institute was established in 1956. It is one of the premier Medical Institutions in India (consistently ranked in the Top 5) and has evolved to a premier tertiary care referral centre with top notch medical facilities. JIPMER has excellent doctors who provide cutting edge healthcare and dedicated professors who ensure excellent academics. Having spent almost 10 years of our life there doing our medical studies (MBBS & MD), JIPMER holds a special place in our hearts.



The details of the itinerary were planned 6 months in advance. It was to be a 3 day programme including both informal and official programmes. During our times, each MBBS batch consisted of 75 students (the current intake is around 180 students per batch). Of the 75, more than half came for the get together in the end (the final tally was 43), which was comfortably higher than the previous record of 32 for any batch reunion.

We are based out of Kottayam, Kerala. When the plans were finalized, we initially did not worry too much about the journey as Pondy is near Chennai and just a short flight away.

We had upgraded our car to MG ZS EV in March 2023. After adjusting to e-mobility, the car had done a lot of miles and was proving to be very impressive.
Around June, a crazy idea came into our heads – Why not drive to Pondicherry in our EV?



There were a lot of obvious challenges
- the long distance (nearly 650km each way)
- the need to charge the car every 200 – 250 km
- the still not completely reliable EV charging infrastructure
- the high day temperatures of TN which could affect the car’s performance.

However, there were lot of EV Travelogues in teamBHP. People had become bold enough to explore long distance travel in EVs. The general consensus was that EV Charging infrastructure had improved by leaps and bounds. And MG ZS EV is a very comfortable car to drive. We decided to bite the bullet and attend the get together by driving to Pondy in our MG ZS EV.

There are 2 routes from Kottayam to Pondy. The first is through the mountains via Kumily, Madurai, Trichy- Pondicherry (613 km). This is the shorter route. The other route is via Muvattupuzha, Thrissur, Coimbatore, Salem- Pondicherry (636 km). The latter is 23km longer but a 4 lane highway all the way except for the initial 80km and the final 30 km. We decided to travel via Madurai for the onward journey and via Coimbatore for the return journey.



Our car had done around 12,000 km so far in the 5 months of ownership. The 10k service had been done 2 weeks ago and everything was OK. When we bought the car, Android Auto was not working on the touch screen. This is a known bug with the 2022 MG ZS EV. So, navigation was bit of a problem for us as we were not happy with ‘Map my India’ maps provided by MG. Thankfully, in July, the car got an OTA (Over the Air) update following which Android Auto started working perfectly well. But frustratingly, Google Maps was not visible on Android Auto. On doing online research, came to know that an app in deep sleep will not be visible on Android Auto. Checked the phone and sure enough, Google Maps was in deep sleep mode, despite being in frequent use. After some trial & error, changed the app settings. Finally, Google Maps started working on the touch screen. Mission accomplished, just 2 days before the trip!

The FASTAG was charged to Rs.2000 to take care of the tolls. The most important part of the journey was to find out the location of the DC Fast Chargers on the way. The Plugshare app was our go to guide. It shows the location of the chargers as well as the rating left behind by users. A higher rating points to a more reliable charger. So, we mapped out the chargers we would use. Since we could not be absolutely sure that each charger would be working till we reach its location, contingencies were planned. Backup chargers were researched and noted.



3/8/23

D day arrived. The car was slow charged overnight to 100% SOC (State of Charge). Since our daughter had classes at school, she opted out of the journey. Work commitments meant that we could start only by 3PM on Thursday. The plan was to stop at Madurai overnight and continue the journey next day.

The drive till Mundakkayam (where the mountains start) was uneventful (82% SOC). Then the ghat drive started. If there is an Achilles heel to an EV, it is the mountains. The SOC gets eaten up very fast during the climb (normally you get 3 – 4 km per 1% charge, but this drops to 1 – 2km per 1% charge during the climb). By the time we reached Kuttikkanam, the SOC had dropped to 66% (16% to cover 18km!).
After Kuttikkanam, the gradient is less steep and there are descents down the mountains. We reached Kumily with a SOC of 56%. There is a TATA Charger at Hotel Cardamom County near Thekkady, but we could not add money in the app due to software issues and hence, could not charge. So decided to continue onward. The descent towards Lower Camp gave us enough regen up to 59%. We switched off the A/c for a while. Did some Hypermiling. The wide roads and sparse traffic helped.





Theni was reached with a SOC of 50%. Had dinner just after Theni, savouring the TN cuisine. We had a full moon in the sky for company, for our drive till Madurai. Reached our hotel in Madurai with 32% SOC. The overall distance covered was 267 km with 68% charge used (which was very good).



We stayed at Hotel Amika by the Trichy Highway. Well maintained, great rooms, courteous staff, good food. Would recommend it highly.



The hotel had an in-house charger by PLUGZMART. I was not aware of this when I booked the accomodation but later found out in Plugshare. It is a 30Kw DC Fast charger and needed the Plugzmart app to be installed. There were no cars waiting. Charged to 97% SOC. Took around 1 hour 20 mins. Charging experience was smooth.



Called it a day.

4/8/23

We started the next morning at 8 o’ clock. The distance to Pondy was 373 km which meant at least one charging stop in between. The plan was to charge at Trichy which was 147 km away.
The drive was marvellous. Coming from the busy, congested roads of Kerala, it is a sheer pleasure driving on the wide, empty highways of TN. The only fly in the ointment was the helmet less 2 wheeler drivers suddenly materializing and whizzing by you on the left side. I tried to keep the speed under 80 to extract maximum range but soon realized the futility of doing so in such driver friendly conditions. Drove at 90 – 100 km all the way to Trichy.



We stopped at a Relux charger associated with an Anjappar Hotel 3 km from the highway in Trichy city. Our SOC was at 60% and we could have driven on but I wanted to finish the charging in Trichy itself. The Relux charger and app were working but our car would not charge. Called up the the customer care guy. He called back saying that particular charger had an issue with MG Cars, which they were unable to rectify at the moment. Hence proceeded to Kaveri TATA Motors showroom by the Chennai Highway, which had a Zeon 50 kw Fast charger.

The charger was working all right but a Mahindra XUV 400 was already charging there. Only one charging gun was available. We waited for 1 hour for the car to finish charging before we could commence ours. We charged to 96% SOC, which took around 30 minutes. The charger seemed quite popular as another MG was waiting by the time we finished charging. There were no amenities nearby and we had to wait in the hot sun for the charging to finish.



We started again at 12.15 PM. We stopped for lunch at Aswin’s Veg restaurant at Perambalur, which also had a Zeon 50 kw fast charger. We saw a few other chargers at BPCL pumps in between. As I mentioned before, I need not have wasted one hour at Kaveri Motors but then I wanted to finish the charging at a place which I was sure, worked.

The rest of the drive was uneventful. Driving an EV is a different experience. Very comfortable, less stressful. You do not have to worry about changing gears or power delivery. Overtaking is effortless. The Type 3 Regen (KERS) available means that brake usage is infrequent. I did not waste time trying to conserve range. Maintained a constant speed of 80 – 100km. We reached the venue of our get together which was Ocean Spray Resort on the Chennai - Pondy ECR Highway at 4.35 PM. We reached with a SOC of 29%.





We checked in and proceeded to the informal function planned for the day.

It was great to meet our classmates after such a long time. We had not met many of them in more than 10 years. A few of the guys and ladies working in Canada, USA, France, Mauritius, Dubai, Singapore, UK etc had taken the trouble to fly in just for the occasion. JIPMER had students from all over India and everybody had put in an effort to be there.

MBBS lasts for 5 and a half years. It is a tough course. There is lots to study. The text books can be intimidating. The exams are brutal. The stress is not for the faint hearted. You see your friends and classmates at the best and worst of their times. When you face such things together for such a long time, it forges a bond among you, which lasts a lifetime. I am sure it is true in other graduate courses as well, but it is especially true in MBBS. You may not stay in contact with your classmates all the time but that innate fondness and camaraderie towards each other will always be there. And when you meet everybody again, it is as if they have never been away.

The function was light hearted and pleasant. Re - Introductions were made. Myself and Anitha were the only couple of the batch and we were subject to a bit of light hearted ribbing. There were separate dances by the guys and the girls. There was a fantastic solo dance performance by the best dancer in our batch, who also happened to be the batch topper. There were songs by our batchmates and their children. It was nice to hear the long forgotten voices of our friends again. There was a Guitar solo and ‘Fur Elise’ on the Keyboard. The songs got hoarser as the food and drinks began to take effect. The function concluded with a DJ session on the dance floor, which left everyone gasping for breath (we were not youngsters anymore). After dispersal, many of us sat together in our rooms and caught up with each other. The conversations lasted well into the night.

5/8/23

We were supposed to go to the JIPMER Campus today. We were supposed to leave by 9 AM but the late night meant that the bus started almost 45 minutes late. The campus was one hour away by bus.
JIPMER is located in the outskirts of Pondicherry, the locality being called Gorimedu. Pondicherry being a small place and with rapid urban expansion, JIPMER and Gorimedu should be within town limits now.
It was nice to see JIPMER after almost 10 years. It looked completely different from our time. There were lots of new buildings. The hostel building where I used to stay (Osler House) did not exist anymore. The whole laidback vibe had changed and it was an even busier institution now.









We roamed around the old buildings for a while. Many of the departments had been moved to the new block. The old lecture halls were still around but were no longer in use. The Vesalius Square lawns, where we used to have official Graduation Day functions, had an overgrown, neglected look to it.

We spent some time in our old lecture hall (out of the 4, only Pasteur Theatre was open) and took lots of snaps. Myself and Anitha were obliged to show ourselves at the Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, having done our MD there. Some of our batchmates, who had done their post-graduation in JIPMER went to their respective departments. We met one of our Professors and some seniors and contemporaries who were now faculty in the Dept of OBGY at JIPMER. It was good to catch up.

Lunch had been arranged at the JIPMER Academic Centre (JAC) where we interacted with our seniors who were faculties in various departments. Many of them had stayed in our hostels during our MBBS tenure and their guidance had proved invaluable during our studies and our ultimate career choices. It was great meeting fellow JIPMERites. I am sure our seniors enjoyed the conversations thoroughly as well.

We returned to our resort around 3PM and rested a while. It was very hot and humid and all of us had to suffer through it. It was a relief to be back in our A/c rooms.

The batch T shirts had been given to us the previous night. A photo session was planned at 5 PM but everybody arrived only by 6PM. Some guys who could not come the previous evening had come today. We took multiple snaps and a few reels in the fading light. Still haven’t got the official snaps but it is something we will all treasure our entire lives.

The evening was set to be an interactive dinner with our senior faculty and retired professors. It was heartening to see that most of the professors remembered us individually, even after 25 years. JIPMER was a laid back place then with only 75 of us per batch which would have been a reason. The Professors may not have remembered all our names and we had forgotten some of their names as well. But the important thing was that we recognized each other and appreciated the interaction. A group snap was taken, which was followed by dinner.

By 9 PM, the professors had taken their leave and only the Batch of 98 was left. Many of us were leaving the following morning. There was an academic session planned in JIPMER the next morning but only a few of us (Myself & Anitha were not staying) were attending it. It was time for more pictures and lot more reminiscing. But all good things must come to an end. With a heavy heart, we all said our good byes to each other.

When our batch finished MBBS at the age of 23, a quarter of our lifespan had been spent in JIPMER. We joined the college as naïve youngsters and left 5 years later as confident adults. When we met again after 25 years, we did not ask each other about our work or our practice or our salary or things like that. It was accepted that all of us who had taken time to come for the reunion had done well for themselves. The idea was to take a break from our busy lives, spent some quality time together and recreate the old magic. I am sure we succeeded. And more.

Traditionally, there is also a reunion in the 50th year of joining MBBS. For us, it will happen in the year 2048. Most of the batch will be 68 years old by then. There is no guarantee that any of us will be alive in 2048. An interesting fact remains that the attendance for the 50th year reunion is generally higher than the 25th year reunion. This is because by then your children would have become adults and moved on, professional commitments will be very few, you will have plenty of free time and the opportunity to meet your friends may not come too often anymore.

How many of my friends of the Batch of 98 I will meet again, I do not know. I am practical enough to know that I will not see all of them again. But the idea is not to wait another 25 years to meet everybody one more time. Hopefully, we will meet more often and recreate the magic again and again. And if I am alive and healthy and in control of my body and my mind in 2048, I will definitely make the trip to Pondicherry again. Anitha will agree with me. So will the Batch of 1998.



Need we say more!

[sushanthys]

Contd..

6/8/23

It was time to go back home.

The resort had a Relux 30 kw charger. Again, I did not know this at the time of booking but found out later during my research through Plugshare. The previous evening, I had charged the car to 99%. Charging experience was smooth, through the Relux app. The resort had frequent power outages and possibly due to this, the charging had cut off automatically at 66%. Initiated charging again and had no issues this time.



The distance from Ocean Spray resort to our home was 636 km. Our plan was to halt at Coimbatore for the day (406 km away) but we decided to drive further if we reached well in time. The plan was to charge at Attur, near Salem (191 km from the resort).



We started at 8 AM. Driving conditions were perfect. Sunny day, Clear skies with wide & empty highways.






We made good time. Reached the A2B Complex at Attur at 11.10 AM.
This is a restaurant complex on the Attur Byepass right by the highway. There are plenty of restaurant options, both vegetarian and nonvegetarian. More importantly, the place has two working Zeon 50 kw DC Fast chargers.



We reached with a SoC of 39%. Charging was a very smooth experience. We took refreshments, did some walking around. We charged to 96% which took about 50 minutes. Started by 12 PM.

We had enough juice to reach Coimbatore. At Avinashi (40km from Coimbatore), there was a Sree Annapoorna Restaurant with Zeon 50 kw & 24kw fast chargers. We set that as our next target.

The drive again was fun. MG ZS EV can silently cruise the highway at triple digit speeds all day long. The music system is very good and Spotify kept us engaged with excellent English & Hindi songs and podcasts. The noon heat though was blistering the tarmac. We crossed the mighty Kaveri river near Erode. Majestic as ever.



We stopped for lunch around 2 PM at Sri Kumki Restaurant, near Erode. Had Biriyani, Naan and Mutton Curry. Food was lipsmackingly good. Gave a Google rating of 5* and continued driving.

We reached Avinashi around 3 PM. The SOC was at 41%. No cars were waiting at the chargers. Lucky us (or so we thought).

Now the fun started. It had to happen. Things had gone a bit too smoothly, till then. Murphy’s law was bound to kick in, sooner or later.

Both the Zeon chargers were not working. This was rather unusual, as Zeon is generally a very reliable brand. No matter, we thought. There was a Relux charger at a Haribhavanam Restaurant, 2km back. We went there to find a BMW i7 charging there with a Citroen eC3 in queue. Sticking around was a waste of time, so decided to drive to Coimbatore. The nearest charger was another Relux charger opposite Kovai Medical Centre, around 33km from Avinashi. Started for the place.

We reached the charger with a SOC of 31%. The arrival time in Coimbatore was 4.30 PM. We had reached well ahead of our estimate. There was a Tata Ez Fast Charger at a MG Dealership 3 km before the hospital, but that had been dead for a while by the looks of it. The Relux Charger was a 30kw charger at another Haribhavanam restaurant, opposite to the hospital. Rather unsurprisingly, a BYD Atto 3 was attached to it, with its SOC at 30%. The owner was not around but he had left his contact details with the security. Called him up. Found out that he was driving to Alappuzha, Kerala and wanted to charge up to 100%. The charging time as shown in the charger was 90 mins. Anitha wanted to stay there and finish the charging but that would mean staying there for at least 3 hours. Not a feasible plan.
The last 2 chargers on the list were at Brookfield Mall and Taj Vivanta respectively. We chose Brookfield Mall, another 13km drive. It was a Sunday evening and the mall was packed to capacity. It took 20 mins to get into the parking area. The mall has 2 Zeon 24 kw chargers in B1 Parking and a VEEV 30kw charger in B2 parking. I wanted to go to B1 but got diverted to B2. The VEEV Charger was unoccupied. Our luck had changed!



I was worried that the charger area might have been usurped by other vehicles. But the charger was cordoned off and there was a staff member present to guide me to the charging space. Good initiative on behalf of the mall.

Our SOC was at 25%. The VEEV Charger had to be managed via the Statiq app. Interface was not smooth but manageable. Added money, connected the charger and Eureka! We thought charging would be over in 1 hour. Went to the mall for some refreshments.

The charging took a whopping 2 hours!! The starting SOC on the charger was being shown as 10%. Maybe we had consumed more charge than we had thought. Or the machine was reading it wrongly.

At 97%, I cut off the charging on the app. However, the charging continued. There was a customer care number written on the machine. I called them up. The service guy said that due to the subterranean location of the charger, software issues due to connectivity are common. He advised to wait till 100% when automatic cutoff would happen. But the machine continued charging for a while even after reaching 100%. Finally, I switched off the power panel next to the charger (on the advice of the customer care guy). The charging stopped and we could disconnect the charging gun. Thanked the customer care guy and hung up. Made sure to reboot the charger.

All these fracas meant that the time was now 7.30 PM. We had spent 3 hours in the charging process. We had enough of Coimbatore for the moment. Decided to drive to Palakkad and call it a day. The traffic out of Coimbatore was nightmarish and took some time. But once we reached the highway, the drive was smooth. Some repair work was going on and there were no lights or reflectors on the highway for a while, near Walayar. Driving on a wide unmarked blacktop on a black night with just red tail lights for company is an eerie experience. But once we reached the well-marked stretches with streetlights, things became much better.



We reached Palakkad within 45 minutes. Since we were not so tired, decided to press on. The Palakkad – Thrissur highway is a pleasure to drive on. 6 lanes, not much traffic. I was going through the Kuthiran tunnel for the first time and it was a sight to behold. Reached Thrissur by 9.30 PM.









We were 150 km from home. Google maps was showing arrival time as 12.30 AM. Neither of us wanted to sleep in a hotel. So just kept on driving for home.

Thrissur – Angamaly stretch was difficult. There was so much truck traffic. Couldn’t believe the congested roads at such a late hour. The truck traffic continued till Perumbavoor. Stopped for dinner at a wayside eatery (Thattukada) around 11 PM. The fare was nothing fancy but it was delicious. Sometimes the simplest food tastes the best.

The final stretch was uneventful. Even in our tired state, the sheer driving comfort of the car deserves special mention. We reached home at 12.45 AM with a SOC of 47%.



Now, for some number crunching.

We had together driven 650 km in 17 hours, comfortably the highest ever in a day. Again, it should mentioned that this had been done in an electric car. We got an efficiency of 8.9 km/kwh during the 229 km drive from Coimbatore, which was sensational (Anything above 7 is a very good figure). The efficiency for the entire trip was 7.5 km/kwh.



Total distance covered – 1287 km
Toll expenses – Rs.1575
DC Fast Charging expenses – Rs.4377

Need We Say More!!

Points worth Discussing

- Long drives are possible in Electric cars. It requires some planning, a good car and a bit of luck. But isn’t that the case with all road trips?

- There is a way to drive an EV. You get the best efficiency when you maintain a constant speed without sudden accelerations or braking. Since single pedal driving is possible due to presence of regenerative braking in EVs, brake usage can be reduced. If you keep revving and breaking incessantly, range will come down. EVs don’t like bumper to bumper traffic, for the same reason. Using automatic climate control can also reduce range. Use Eco Mode and reduce A/c blower settings once the cabin has cooled down. Although our car had cruise control, we forgot to use it during the drive, hence can’t comment on its effect on range.

- Climbing mountains is not an EV’s cup of tea. The climb will throw your calculations out of the window. It is always better to shut off the A/c during the climb as it will save some battery consumption. But what goes up must come down. You will definitely get regen during your descent. What you lost on the way up, you will gain on the way down.

- During both the times that I drove in the night, the EV gave superb efficiency. Maybe it has got something to do with the cooler temperatures. Don’t know if it is a documented phenomenon. Just my observation.

- Many hotels have DC Fast Chargers installed. The numbers can only go up. When doing trips, planning your stay in hotels that have a DC Fast charger will make your life much easier.

- When you are going on a long drive, plan a charging stop every 200 – 250 km to avoid significant range anxiety( the distance may change depending on the battery capacity of your EV)

- Fast chargers are generally unmanned. As I mentioned in my previous article on EVs, you need to be tech savvy to operate a fast charger. The entire procedure should be done via the respective app on the phone. Although the chargers have a touchscreen interface, the mobile phone is the intermediary. You have to install the app, add enough money, connect the charging gun and start the charging. Some apps have an easy interface, some difficult. You cannot pay cash for charging. And you should have multiple digital payment options at hand. At Coimbatore, my UPI app was not working as the bank server was down. My preferred internet banking (SBI) was not available on the app. Finally, I was forced to use my ATM Debit card for the online transaction, which I had not done in ages.

- Indians retain a remnant of our colonial past, where we expect somebody around to help us with a task. This is unlike the west, where people are more comfortable doing things independently in public spaces. When you go to a fuel station in India, all you have to do is park in front of the fuel pump and the attender will do the rest. When you do the same in a western country, you have to get out, open the fuel cap and fill the fuel yourself. DC Fast charging is a totally different experience. When you are alone with your car, your phone and a machine, depending solely on software & hardware & code, all subject to working in the presence of a proper internet connection (each of these factors being beyond your control) with nobody around to help, it can initially be an unnerving experience. But the system generally works well. Most chargers have customer care numbers installed and the response is generally prompt & helpful.

- There is another way to do DC Fast charging. These machines can be operated with a RFID card which you can tap to start the charging. You have to make sure that there is enough money in your app wallet. The RFID card is necessary to terminate the charging session as well. At Attur, there was a staff person who had the RFID card with him who was helping with the machine operation, but he was not around when we reached. In the present scenario, you cannot leave the RFID card by the machine as it may get misplaced or stolen. Zeon gives the option of buying RFID cards for use at their chargers. The RFID card costs Rs.330 and can be ordered via the app.



- DC Fast chargers charge around Rs.22 – 26/ Unit of electricity. Relux and VEEV charged the least (Rs.22/kwh) while PLUGZMART charged the most (Rs.26/kwh). A charging session will generally cost close to Rs.1000. So always add a minimum of Rs.1000 to your app wallet before you start charging. Otherwise, the charging may automatically cut off before you reach your target.

- Since DC Fast chargers are a digital life form, they undergo periodic server maintenance. This maintenance generally happens between midnight and 6 AM. It doesn’t happen every day nor through the entire night but it is difficult to predict the frequency. I became aware of this due to the notifications I used to receive from the ChargeMOD app (used for some chargers in Kerala). When the server maintenance is going on, the chargers are unavailable for charging. I do not know if the situation is the same with chargers of other companies. So, try to avoid a scenario where you have to do DC Fast charging late at night.

- DC Fast chargers come in various capacities, generally ranging from 24 to 50 kw. There are higher capacity ones around, up to 150 kw, but they are like unicorns at the moment - very difficult to find. Now 50 kw chargers will charge faster, while 30 kw chargers will take almost double that time. My observation is that most of the newer installed chargers are of 30 kw capacity. Cost may be a factor as to why institutions are going for lower capacity chargers. The only 50 kw chargers I saw were that of Zeon. 30 kw chargers increase the time required for charging. Hopefully, more 50kw chargers get installed in the future which will make life easier for EV owners.

- We have road signs for fuel pumps, truck laybyes, hotels and so many other things. But there is still no road sign for an electric charging station on our streets. In western countries, you can see those signs on the highways. In India, even the places which have chargers don’t advertise it and you have to find them on Plugshare. It is high time that dedicated road signs for DC Fast chargers were installed by our streets and highways.



- Although Plugshare is the go-to app for locating DC Fast Chargers, it should be remembered that all chargers are not shown on Plugshare. We saw many chargers in BPCL pumps and one or two in Jio BP pumps which were not there on Plugshare. The apps used for fast charging also show charger locations of those particular companies, so it will be a good idea to check them as well, prior to a long drive.

- There is something called ‘EV charging etiquette’. Basically, when doing fast charging, it is advisable to stop the charging at 80-85%. This is because once the battery reaches 80%, the charging slows down and the last 20% consumes much more time & money, with the added risk of overheating the battery. This is especially applicable, when somebody else is waiting in line. At Trichy, the XUV400 charging before us was aiming for 100% while we waited for 1 hour. The charging automatically cut off at 97% and the owner looked sort of disappointed. You are supposed to leave your contact number nearby but the owner only returned after the charging had reached 95%. Neither us nor the nearby showroom people had any idea as to his whereabouts. Our charging infrastructure still does not have the coverage of the west, so can’t blame EV owners for not stopping at 80%. But continuing charging to 100% when others are waiting around is just not right.



- After you have finished charging, leave an online review. This will help EV owners and future users understand how good the charging experience is at that place. You can leave a Google review or a Plugshare review or both. Higher the rating, more reliable is the charger (For us, the only exception was the Zeon Charger at Avinashi which had a 10 rating on Plugshare).

- On the way to Pondicherry, the only EVs we saw were the 2 cars waiting at the Trichy Zeon charger. We did not see a single one on the highway. On the way back, we saw a BYD Atto and a Tata Nexon EV during the day and another MG ZS EV at night. The EV revolution on the highways is still some way off.

- Finally, the car has to be given its share of the credit. The MG ZS EV performed superbly. To put it simply, in my 5 months of ownership, the only anxiety I have had about the car has been about its range.

Final Thoughts

How do you rate a trip experience? You may have had a fantastic time at your destination but the travel may not have been up to the mark. It can also happen vice versa. It is not often that both the travel and the destination completely exceeds your expectations and turns out to be an outstanding experience. To quote the Mastercard ad, our road trip may have cost us a few pennies and the Silver Jubilee Reunion did cost us a few pounds. But the entire experience – Simply Priceless!

Need I say more!

Dedicated to the JIPMER MBBS ‘Batch of 1998’

[HappyRider]

Awesome write-up. One question..I believe Zeon has an option to set-up plug-in charging for MG cars. This means you can just plug in and charging will start . You shouldn't need App or even RF ID. Did you get a chance to try that?

[speedmiester]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Few pointers that might help in your future long drives
- Plugshare is the most important app for an EV user. Please spare 30mins before any long drive on it to map out the best chargers on your route.
- Install the necessary charging apps on that particular route. This will help in identifying whether the charger is available/in-use. Saves
- Keep a buffer of 50-100kms range between charging, this will help in reducing range anxiety and avoid wasting time.
- Request the hotels that you stay overnight for a plug point, this will help in slow charging which is good for the battery.
- MG ZS can do 300-350kms on a single charge with AC even at good speeds, keep this into consideration while identifying the best charging stops.
- If possible, try to plan your rest/meal stops with charging. This will help in reducing overall travel time.

I believe Zeon has an option to set-up plug-in charging for MG cars. This means you can just plug in and charging will start . You shouldn't need App or even RF ID. Did you get a chance to try that?

That will work only if your car is registered with Zeon's backend. Might not work with all cars.

[rajeshrajan]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

Awesome write-up. One question..I believe Zeon has an option to set-up plug-in charging for MG cars. This means you can just plug in and charging will start . You shouldn't need App or even RF ID. Did you get a chance to try that?

Yep that is correct. I have been using it since late feb or early march 2023. Its super convenient. You just need to have balance in your wallet. Plug your car in and press start on the screen. That's it. It will auto stop once its full or you can stop it when you choose from the screen on the charger.

[HappyRider]

How do we register? How does the charger identify the user the first time?

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by sushanthys

The charger was working all right but a Mahindra XUV 400 was already charging there. Only one charging gun was available. We waited for 1 hour for the car to finish charging before we could commence ours. We charged to 96% SOC, which took around 30 minutes. The charger seemed quite popular as another MG was waiting by the time we finished charging. There were no amenities nearby and we had to wait in the hot sun for the charging to finish.
Need we say more!

Thanks for a detailed travelogue of your 600 kms journey showing that EVs are made for long highway trips as well.

Quick question - When you charged at Kaveri Tata Motors - Zeon charger why did you have to wait in the sun?
- Did Tata not allow you to sit in their showroom?
- Why didn't you sit in the car and switch on the AC?

[sushanthys]

Originally Posted by ferrarirules

Thanks for a detailed travelogue of your 600 kms journey showing that EVs are made for long highway trips as well.

Quick question - When you charged at Kaveri Tata Motors - Zeon charger why did you have to wait in the sun?
- Did Tata not allow you to sit in their showroom?
- Why didn't you sit in the car and switch on the AC?

Thank you.

The Zeon Charger is located in the Kaveri Tata Motors building yard. There is no shade or any amenities nearby.

We used the showroom restrooms but did not ask the staff as to whether we could sit inside. Was not sure if it was allowed.

As for not sitting in the car while charging, we were told that you should not start the car when it is charging. The MG car owner who was waiting for us to start charging told us that it is all right to start the car while charging but I did not want to take the risk.

[wocanak]

Originally Posted by HappyRider

How do we register? How does the charger identify the user the first time?

Easiest way is to call their customer care when your car is charging at a Zeon charger and tell them to capture the ID and request for it to be registered for auto-charging. They will ask you to confirm exactly which charger you are using, the car make etc and raise a request. It takes about 1 day for it to be activated and you will get a notification on app/SMS/email that it has been activated.

I heard you can also call customer care after you have completed at least one charging, you may have to share the invoice details/charging log for them to correctly identify the charging session and the car ID. Better to do it within few days after a charging session as they may not hold the details for long.

Once setup, it is so convenient, just plug in and it starts charging as long as you have some minimum balance. You can also top up after charging starts. I cannot understand why others have not enabled this feature. This is part of the CCS2 protocol, so pretty much all cars and chargers are capable of doing it.

[nidhikapoor]

There is something called ‘EV charging etiquette’. Basically, when doing fast charging, it is advisable to stop the charging at 80-85%. This is because once the battery reaches 80%, the charging slows down and the last 20% consumes much more time & money,

How is the last 20% more 'expensive'? Isn't the charge per KW?

[Chukash]

I'm yet to plan for long trip with my 2 month old ZS.It is sure inspiring to read your write up.

Just my mind voice, I also have Honda wrv diesel. It gives a whopping mileage Of 24KMPL. So the fuel charge for this distance is costlier by 1000k, but it is worth if I don't have to wait for a charging station. Any number of planning can still not avoid the eventuality. Mind voice stop.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by sushanthys

Thank you.

The Zeon Charger is located in the Kaveri Tata Motors building yard. There is no shade or any amenities nearby.

We used the showroom restrooms but did not ask the staff as to whether we could sit inside. Was not sure if it was allowed.

As for not sitting in the car while charging, we were told that you should not start the car when it is charging. The MG car owner who was waiting for us to start charging told us that it is all right to start the car while charging but I did not want to take the risk.

I would say you should have sat inside the showroom. They would have served you tea or coffee as well

As for running the AC while charging. It is not a problem. You can start the car in acc mode and sit in the car.

[sushanthys]

Originally Posted by ferrarirules

I would say you should have sat inside the showroom. They would have served you tea or coffee as well

As for running the AC while charging. It is not a problem. You can start the car in acc mode and sit in the car.

will remember it next time.

But will a/c work in the acc mode?

[sushanthys]

Originally Posted by nidhikapoor

How is the last 20% more 'expensive'? Isn't the charge per KW?

Will have to look that up. Thanks for the heads up.

[sushanthys]

Originally Posted by Chukash

I'm yet to plan for long trip with my 2 month old ZS.It is sure inspiring to read your write up.

Just my mind voice, I also have Honda wrv diesel. It gives a whopping mileage Of 24KMPL. So the fuel charge for this distance is costlier by 1000k, but it is worth if I don't have to wait for a charging station. Any number of planning can still not avoid the eventuality. Mind voice stop.

Yes. If you are an EV owner, waiting at a charging station is a compromise you will have to make.
But MG ZS EV is as reliable and much more fun to drive than a WRV.i owned a Jazz Diesel before, so believe me, I know.