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1300km road trip in MG ZS EV to meet our college friends after a decade

24th August 2023, 16:45 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

Our electric vehicle has done around 12,000 km in 5 months. The 10K km service had been done 2 weeks ago and everything was good to go for the journey.

BHPian sushanthys recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

A trip down memory lane in an 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 in 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 into 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 time, 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 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:

Long distance (nearly 650km each way)
Need to charge the car every 200 – 250 km
Sill not completely reliable EV charging infrastructure
High day temperatures of TN which could affect the car’s performance

However, there were a lot of EV Travelogues on Team-BHP. People have 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 has 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 touchscreen. This is a known bug with the 2022 MG ZS EV. So, navigation was a 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 the 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 accommodation 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 helmetless 2 wheeler riders 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 the 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 alright 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 a lot to study. The textbooks 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 in 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 on 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 for 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 a lot more reminiscing. But all good things must come to an end. With a heavy heart, we all said our goodbyes 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 ourselves. The idea was to take a break from our busy lives, spend 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 will 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.