2600 km trip from Bhubaneswar to Sikkim in a Tata Nexon EV Max

Had a lot of fun driving the EV. Gave me confidence that making long trips on the EV is enjoyable by planning ahead, being flexible, and enjoying the adventure, quirks and all!

BHPian rogues recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

At the end of April 2024, I took my Nexon EV Max on an 1100 km journey from Bhubaneswar, Odisha to Kalimpong, West Bengal. This was followed by a drive to Yuksom, Sikkim, and back to Kalimpong, and then eventually Bhubaneswar towards the end of June 2024.

Purpose? I wanted to get away from Bhubaneswar's hot weather and enjoy cooler places in West Bengal and Sikkim. Luckily, my job lets me work from anywhere.

Drive to Kalimpong:

• April 26, 2024: Started early at 5 AM, but had trouble with chargers in places like Balasore and Dhamtore. Stayed overnight in Kolkata at an Airbnb near Chinar Park after dealing with traffic.
• April 27, 2024: Started at 5 AM to avoid Kolkata’s traffic, but unfortunately still got stuck. Had issues with chargers, especially at places like Golden Park Hotel & Resort. Stopped at Miramar Resort, Bidhannagar
• April 28, 2024: Made it to Kalimpong by noon, navigating hilly roads and gaining a lot of elevation.

Other Trips:

• Kalimpong to Yuksom, Sikkim: It was tough with narrow, bumpy roads and lots of uphill driving. As per locals, ours was the first EV to reach Yuksom!

• Kalimpong to Bhubaneswar (the way back): Had to take a different route because of flooding. The charging situation was much smoother but had extremely long delays due to Eid-related traffic jams. Started from Kalimpong at 6 AM on a Saturday, and drove through the night to make it back to Bhubaneswar by 6 PM on Sunday.

Key Lessons:

• Weather matters! Charging in cooler times helped a lot. If on a long trip, fast charge during early morning or evening times.
• Learned the hard way: Always check the specific charger app, not just general ones like Plugshare, to avoid problems with power cuts.
• TATA Power chargers were the best compared to Adani EV and BPCL - they were more reliable and worked better.
• Note to self: Car settings reset every time I restart, which was annoying. And those wide A-pillars made driving on twisty mountain roads feel like a rally!

I did a total of 2600+ kms. Had a lot of fun driving the EV. Gave me confidence that making long trips on the EV is enjoyable by planning ahead, being flexible, and enjoying the adventure, quirks, and all!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.