[wocanak]

@Thilak29, thanks for sharing, well planned and executed. Pioneers like you push the boundaries and inspire others. Greats pics, an additional bonus.

Originally Posted by shyampsunder

1. Ruthlessly prioritize on charging networks. In South India, it is Zeon, Jio BP Chargezone, and sometimes Relux. For any other charger network, I simply assume they are not working. The worst offenders are Tata Power and BPCL.

All excellent points. But out of curiosity, is your Tata Power experience recent or is it based on the initial days? In last six months I have used 3 Tata power chargers en-route between Chennai-Bangalore and 2 Tata power chargers in Chennai. All worked, a few times I had to restart charging (because it ended early or did a zero unit charging), otherwise it was mostly fine.

Only once I couldn't charge as the charger was inside a Tata service center in Chennai and was blocked by other cars. It was late evening and no one was around to move the cars, so I couldn't charge. Even there the watchman was willing to find and give me the keys, to move the cars and charge! But as another charger was nearby, I decided to go there.

[shyampsunder]

Originally Posted by wocanak

@Thilak29, thanks for sharing, well planned and executed. Pioneers like you push the boundaries and inspire others. Greats pics, an additional bonus.



All excellent points. But out of curiosity, is your Tata Power experience recent or is it based on the initial days? In last six months I have used 3 Tata power chargers en-route between Chennai-Bangalore and 2 Tata power chargers in Chennai. All worked, a few times I had to restart charging (because it ended early or did a zero unit charging), otherwise it was mostly fine.

There are tons of horror stories about Tata Power chargers in the community.

in the Bangalore Chennai route, the Tata Power charger at MG Vellore is very unreliable. The Plugshare rating is always below 5.

MG Mysore is pretty much always down.

I have had only one bad experience but don't feel the need to waste time on them unless really required.

[Raghu M]

I love the thread and appreciate your patience but really don't see the whole planning of charging, time spent waiting and making calls to just move ahead anything worthwhile. It's simply not worth your precious time on a road trip. Looking at these threads, I have made up my mind to never own an EV. A distance of 590 kms covered in 16 hours is quite high. You have literally done nothing except looking for chargers and seeing if they are busy, working or not or sometimes even space occupied by an ICE car. I think the EVs have to be limited to city/town runs. I can't imagine a car dictating terms on my break timings, food timings and overall trip planning. And with family on board, it's just impossible to have a charger be the center around your entire planning.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by Raghu M

A distance of 590 kms covered in 16 hours is quite high. You have literally done nothing except looking for chargers and seeing if they are busy, working or not or sometimes even space occupied by an ICE car. I think the EVs have to be limited to city/town runs.

I don't think you read OP's post clearly. He mentioned that he covered 590 kms in 16 hrs. There was a statement after that as well adding OP's statements for context

Total Drive: 590 km
Duration: 16 hours (Google map says typical time is 14 hours, not bad, eh?)

Google maps showed a travel time of 14 hours without any stops/biobreaks. OP took two hours extra. Now had he travelled in an ICE car, he would have still stopped for breakfast and lunch so he would have spent 1.5 hours for the same. All in all he spent 30 mins extra for the distance in a car which has a lesser range and is more suited for city conditions. Also when you come to travelling with family and especially with kids, the stops increase and the duration of stops increases as well.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by ferrarirules

Google maps showed a travel time of 14 hours without any stops/biobreaks. OP took two hours extra. Now had he travelled in an ICE car, he would have still stopped for breakfast and lunch so he would have spent 1.5 hours for the same.

Have to chime in here. Google maps time estimates are pretty rubbish for highway trips.

My most recent highway trip was a drive to Spiti where we had a somewhat aggressive plan to do Bangalore to Panipat in two days and during the return drive do Dehradun to Bangalore in two days.

Now for the first leg we had a stop at Pench National Park for the night so we could go on a tiger safari in the morning and then leave. This was a distance of 1150 km. Google maps estimated I would complete this distance in 1 day 4 hours . I completed the distance in 16 hours.

The very next day Google maps estimated the 1300 odd km distance time to Panipat via bundelkhand expressway as 1 day 9 hours. I completed this distance in 18 hours.

Needless to say the same repeated on the return leg as well.

Both of these were done with lunch breaks where we spent quite a bit of time and bio/tea breaks at regular intervals.

Now if I were in an EV, I don't know where I would have been stranded. EVs are great for urban mobility - in fact I plan to replace my polo with an EV. But for long distance trips, there are way too many things you will have to care about and spend too long on the highway looking for charging points.

[SKC-auto]

Guys, calm down, OP has done the trip of 2000km in a city EV with small 24kwh battery.

Had this been on a Nexon EV max the trip can be completed in much less time which equals time on an ICE car.

Had this been done on Ioniq5, the first 590kms needs no charging stop.

Without the slightest pain, how would you be an enthusiast. I know many petrolheads don't know how to change tires during punctures and need to wait for RSA.

I just checked Bangalore to Tirupati(250km) on GMaps, it shows a time of 4hr 34 mins, which is what it takes to drive 250km with 40mins driving in Bangalore city. Gmaps is not completely wrong.

[Malyaj]

Disclaimer: I am not claiming to speak for the OP. Here are my 2 paises:

In 2016, the solar powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 completed flight around the globe, taking 14 months (of which 550 hours in the air). It involved 17 legs, hence an equal number of stopovers. Now this was entirely an experiment, emerging from a deep desire to achieve a seemingly impossible feat. I am sure the accompanying adventure was equally an incentive. I am not for a moment comparing the enormity and adventure of this exercise with a person taking an EV out on highway runs, but sometimes people want to do that planning and execute it. Not everyone can execute a solar powered flight, but people may want to be happy with their own small projects. After all, most of us soft city dwellers treat Ladakh as some kind of extreme adventure, when it is not. We like to make big deals out of small things. We do go karting to get a feel of the track, we will slum it out for a few days in a tent and believe we have got the taste of what some legendary explorer must have got. We will undertake some jungle adventure for a few days to feel like we are army commandos. This is what we city people do. Try to cut slices from here and there and eat, because we cannot (and often do not want to) do the whole thing.

I don’t know if people treat their EVs as their primary vehicles, so the point about regularly putting yourself through the planning (which will admittedly get repetitive after a point), does not hold true. Also, the OP was travelling alone, hence the inconveniences, if any, are entirely his and not thrust upon family members who often just ‘go along’ with any plan. A few years back this trip would have been very challenging. A few years down the line it will become much easier. We must thank people like the OP who keep undertaking such trips, because collectively they are the ones who incentivize and encourage EV infra players to keep pushing forward.

I had read about someone doing a trip from India to Europe in a car. We all know that such a journey can be accomplished. The biggest planning is about the visas, not about the capability of the vehicle. The roads for the most part are fantastic too. Why does one do it? A nine hour flight will take you to London. Therefore the 5 min stop for fuel vs 45 min stop for EV charging are ultimately relative, especially if the person is mentally prepared for it.

Let’s admit it, there is something satisfying, however little, about planning getting executed without much fuss. We have annual plans in office, we do it for long trips as well. Like the waiting time at an EV charging station, the threshold of what constitutes ‘enough planning’ is also relative. Relative to individuals, relative to the times we live in. The mere availability of a faster alternative does not necessarily invalidate the logic behind using a slower alternative. A person using an EV on a highway trip isn’t competing with an ICE car over run times. He knows he is going to be slower. He is doing it despite that.

My only fear with respect of EVs is not the technology itself, but how our over eager government will one day, without consultation, steamroll some rule that will force the shift to EVs, without the ecosystem being mature enough. They have done so with E20 petrol, unapologetically (even boasting about it).

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by SKC-auto

Guys, calm down, OP has done the trip of 2000km in a city EV with small 24kwh battery.

Had this been on a Nexon EV max the trip can be completed in much less time which equals time on an ICE car.

Had this been done on Ioniq5, the first 590kms needs no charging stop.

Without the slightest pain, how would you be an enthusiast. I know many petrolheads don't know how to change tires during punctures and need to wait for RSA.

I just checked Bangalore to Tirupati(250km) on GMaps, it shows a time of 4hr 34 mins, which is what it takes to drive 250km with 40mins driving in Bangalore city. Gmaps is not completely wrong.

Are you sure range numbers on those are accurate and not inflated? Last I read the version sold in India has an EPA range of 220 miles - i.e around 350km. Manufacturer disclosed range numbers are a total joke!

[vvivek85]

First of all, I really appreciate the effort that you have taken to share your experience, it will be very useful for people like me who are sitting on the fence in making EV buying decisions.

Originally Posted by Thilak29

- The Relux charger continuously appears busy.
- A BYD Atto was plugged in and there were 5 Nexons in the queue for this charger. That sight made me realise, ‘What if’ is now a harsher reality to reckon.
- By entering Palani and exiting it, I clearly lost some range. Now I had to drive conservatively, stay frugal for the next sixty-five kms to avoid limp mode on a highway.

Having said that, the above experience isn't confidence-inspiring. I take my vehicle for highway trips frequently and I will always go with my family. In that scenario, these kinds of hiccups will increase the anxiety not only for me but for my family as well. I totally understand we as a country are evolving big time in EV, but I am not sure about the number of years it would take for someone to drive their EV car peacefully like an ICE. I am planning to buy a car early next year, I am contemplating big-time if I should go with Petrol / Hybrid / EV. I want to go for EV, but long-distance peaceful drives is a big concern in EV as we speak now.

[ashokabs]

I read with interest, as we will all be under pressure to buy an EV, the problems facing a journey using a small EV like the Tiago. It gives us a good idea of what we need to do and the problems we should plan to overcome in case of using an EV to travel on long journeys.

I for one am saddened by the unnecessary discussion that is getting personal. Please do ask a question about the journey that is relevant to it rather than about the motives of the person who has posted the thread. I know we are very inured to asking 'why' all the time. It is a very confrontational question unlike what and where. I hope that on forums like this one can curb the desire to ask 'Why'.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Now for the first leg we had a stop at Pench National Park for the night so we could go on a tiger safari in the morning and then leave. This was a distance of 1150 km. Google maps estimated I would complete this distance in 1 day 4 hours . I completed the distance in 16 hours.

The very next day Google maps estimated the 1300 odd km distance time to Panipat via bundelkhand expressway as 1 day 9 hours. I completed this distance in 18 hours.

Sorry to say but the quoted google map times are wrong. Google maps shows travel time from Bangalore to Pench as 20 hours 40 mins and 19 hr 30 mins from Pench to Panipat.

Now you covered 1150 kms of Bangalore to Pench in 16 hours with breaks. Assuming 2 hours of break time, 14 hours to travel 1150 kms imputes 80+ kmph average speed which is quite high for a National highway.

Also for everyone's benefit, OP was travelling in Kerala on the day 1. Most of the Kerala highways are two lane which doesn't allow for high speeds due to mixed traffic. So doing 590 kms in 14 hrs as per google is palatable. It imputes a 40-45 kmph average speed.

Originally Posted by vvivek85

I am planning to buy a car early next year, I am contemplating big-time if I should go with Petrol / Hybrid / EV. I want to go for EV, but long-distance peaceful drives is a big concern in EV as we speak now.

2024 is going to a big year from an EV standpoint for India. There are big launches lined up by Tata, Tata Cruvv is one of them and Mahindra also has XUV.e8 lined up. There may be launches from Hyundai/Kia as well.

[wocanak]

Originally Posted by vvivek85

Having said that, the above experience isn't confidence-inspiring. I take my vehicle for highway trips frequently and I will always go with my family. In that scenario, these kinds of hiccups will increase the anxiety not only for me but for my family as well. I totally understand we as a country are evolving big time in EV, but I am not sure about the number of years it would take for someone to drive their EV car peacefully like an ICE. I am planning to buy a car early next year, I am contemplating big-time if I should go with Petrol / Hybrid / EV. I want to go for EV, but long-distance peaceful drives is a big concern in EV as we speak now.

These are very valid concerns, let me add my views to this:

1) Near term it depends on the route(s) you are likely to take. For example, on Chennai Bangalore route there are 20+ chargers. A car with highway range of ~240 kms, will need only one charging stop. There are ~7 chargers midway and any one of them would suffice for the single charging stop. If you can combine it with a food break, then the extra time on EV will be as low as 15 minutes, if you can't, worst case can be 45 minutes. Check the chargers on the routes you are likely to take on Plugshare.

2) Currently you need to check the availability status of the chargers on the specific providers app. This is best done by a smartphone savvy co-passenger or you have to manage it by stopping or making use of the toll queue. In countries with better EV infra, this is often integrated into the car. This could come soon here, say a year or two, but until then figure out if you can mange this as this is key to not wasting time with busy/not working chargers.

3) Are you likely to travel only during peak days, i.e. long weekends and major holidays? Then congestion in EV chargers will be an issue for long. But many of us in major cities already avoid such days, as there will be congestion and queues everywhere. If you can plan to travel mostly on non-peak days then this may not be such an issue and will keep improving as more chargers get added.

4) What cruise speed do you typically maintain on highways, 80 kmph or below is best for range, 80 to 100 is manageable, 100 to 120 will be significant impact on range and anything above will be substantial hit on range. Aerodynamic EVs may do somewhat better here.

If after considering the above, you decide to buy an EV, then make sure it can charge at least at 50 KW in real life. FYI, Nexon Max is only 50 KW on paper, real life it is only ~30 KW. There are many 50 KW and 60 KW chargers, and it makes sense to buy a car which takes advantage of them. Finally real life range, at the speed you want, should be such that most of your routes can be done with one charging stop.

[Kkumar]

Congratulations to you on undertaking this meticulously planned trip. Whether one likes or not EV is the future and in times to come it’s going to be the mainstay. Irrespective of an ICE or an EV every trip involves planning, the better one does the planning the more enjoyable the trip is going to be. So these real life experiences will help a person to make realistic plans and execute it.

There’s a saying in Army, “The first casualty in a war is THE PLAN”.

All the best.

[Aakarsh Gupta]

Originally Posted by GTE

Sorry to disagree, but having just completed one, I believe that it can cause a major amount of stress unless you are very lucky. A lot of the chargers listed don't work & the owners are not really bothered to get them fixed as maybe the remuneration is not incentive enough. Also the 'fuel costs' are only about 20 % lower than an efficient diesel when fast chargers are used. There is also a probability of having to wait while someone else is charging as the number of chargers are not sufficient.

I am completely in agreement. With the infrastructure available today, the journey is going to be a complete mental harassment instead of a gratifying road trip. One missed or faulty charger, and you're stranded in the middle of nowhere. I am the kind of guy who simply goes places without much planning, and in my case travelling with an EV would be a complete nightmare.

[rsidd]

Thanks for the writeup, I read this and similar threads because I decided 2 years ago that the next car will be an EV, but still haven't bought one; the current car is 13 years old and is now facing its first major out-of-action time (nothing mechanical: immobilizer acting up!) and maybe I will buy one soon. Out-of-station trips are the biggest concern. Sounds like it will be substantially slower than an ICE vehicle (you say google estimated 14 hours and you did it in 16, but I would likely do it in 12 in current car!) but also substantially cheaper, and from your description, charging en route is not that much of a worry with proper planning. The big worry is your Palani/Dindigul dilemma. What if you didn't have quite enough charge to get to Dindigul, or the Dindigul charger too had issues? I am guessing the queue of Nexons at Palani were owners with similar worries...