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EV public charging review – is it really that bad? | What Car?

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Comments

44 responses to “EV public charging review – is it really that bad? | What Car?”

  1. @srbs73 Avatar
    @srbs73

    If the car battery was above 50%, it’s more likely down to the cars charge curve and not the chargers ability to hit its claimed rate. I’ve only used Zapmap once and found the zap-pay unreliable.

    Reply
  2. @rubenhart7317 Avatar
    @rubenhart7317

    As soon as you mentioned Geniepoint i just laughed. Do any of chargers at Morrisons work anymore?! 😂
    If I have a choice, I’ll aim for an ionity, osprey or gridserve as they tend to be more reliable (in my local area anyway).
    Equally and unfortunately, all are too expensive to run your car if you do not have off street parking/charging. 😢

    Reply
    1. @pjbell007 Avatar
      @pjbell007

      GeniePoint have given up. We have one next to us that has been out of service since 2021. Never use them!

      Reply
    2. @steveharvey2001 Avatar
      @steveharvey2001

      Geniepoint rapids should be deleted from Zapmap at they are taking the pi$$

      Reply
  3. @Antiguan_Dart Avatar
    @Antiguan_Dart

    Would be interesting to know the car’s state of charge at the start of each charging session. As this can impact peak charge rate.

    Reply
    1. @loneskullkid Avatar
      @loneskullkid

      This

      Reply
    2. @rickmoz Avatar
      @rickmoz

      I was thinking that with the fast chargers. If the car was already around 70% the speeds will be slower

      Reply
    3. @djtaylorutube Avatar
      @djtaylorutube

      Yes at one point he said “70 to 80%” and at that state, the Enyaq charge curve is 65kWh.

      Reply
    4. @michaelridley2864 Avatar
      @michaelridley2864

      And battery temperature of course. Disappointed that whatcar aren’t really helping to educate prospective EV drivers on the basics.

      Reply
    5. @mirceamihoc Avatar
      @mirceamihoc

      I was wondering the same…why blaming chargers when the car is the limiting factor?

      Reply
  4. @wendyhopkins2902 Avatar
    @wendyhopkins2902

    The charging companies need to be more accountable in keeping these charging stations up and running all the time !!

    Reply
    1. @mrmawson2438 Avatar
      @mrmawson2438

      Just like Tesla do

      Reply
    2. @mdshovel Avatar
      @mdshovel

      To be fair, BP and Ionity are spot on with this in my area

      Reply
    3. @salibaba Avatar
      @salibaba

      The public chargepoint regulations 2023 should help with that.
      Whilst not perfect there is provision to fine if minimum uptimes are not adhered to.
      There is also stipulation on ease of payment and transparency on pricing.

      Reply
    4. @peterjones6640 Avatar
      @peterjones6640

      @@salibabaThe problem with the “up time regulations” are who will monitor and enforce them? If there is no accountability and no fines for those operators then it is just so much hot air. Local councils certainly don’t have the manpower to enforce or monitor and if we leave it to self regulation we have seen how successful that has been with the water companies.

      Reply
  5. @GF-ep1pf Avatar
    @GF-ep1pf

    Do most of my charging at home but on the road I normally set zapmap to 2+ or 3+ chargers to increase the chances of having one free and functioning (in two and a half years I don’t think I’ve ever had to wait for a charger).

    Reply
  6. @djtaylorutube Avatar
    @djtaylorutube

    You said it yourself, “the high state of charge of the battery probably had something to do with it”. This is one of the nuances of an EV that if the charge curve isn’t understood, then the results will be misleading. If i’m not mistaken, the max charge rate of the Enyaq there is 125kWh until 37% and then drops linearly until 67%, thereafter it’s 65kWh until 82% and then drops again.
    So, if as you said the battery had a high state of charge of between 70 to 80%, all you’re going to get is 65kWh anyway.
    Therefore speed was never going to be “as advertised” if the only figure taken is the headline figure of “maximum charging speed”.
    Public charging (non Tesla) remains a mish mash of ridiculous pricing and variable experience.
    The issue for transition is that every ICE car from a cheap sh*tbox to something super expensive delivers the same refuelling experience, consistently and for someone who just wants to use their car and not plan or can’t plan then that’s difficult when flipping to an EV where they now have to battle:-
    Chargers with different charge rates
    Where’s the car on the charge curve?
    How do they queue if they’re all busy?
    Which app to find them and are they available and working?
    What authorisation/payment method is required? (They’re not all contactless bank card)
    Simple rule though, if you can’t charge at home – don’t get an EV with prices like these.

    Reply
    1. @ianackery6106 Avatar
      @ianackery6106

      Yep, as an EV driver totally agree with this and having driven one for 15 months there’s just no way I’d get one without home charging yet (unless I can afford a Tesla!). We love our EV as a car and for smaller journeys it’s fantastic, but there’s a lot of work to do to make them more convenient away from home – faster charging, more range and much more infrastructure are all needed to move us closer to the fossil fuel fill up experience.

      Reply
  7. @EssentialTA Avatar
    @EssentialTA

    You started the test with too much battery. Charging speed is related to the percentage of the battery. The lower, the better for charging speed. Doesn’t really matter how much the charger can provide when it is the car itself which is the limiting factor…

    Reply
    1. @davidfarrell1062 Avatar
      @davidfarrell1062

      That’s fine for high speed but getting 26kw off a 50kw is a disaster. All evs should be able to take 50kw at all stages of charge. If its not technically possible then evs will never go main stream. The 150kw plus references are a joke if you have to stand on one leg, on a Wednesday when the sun shines and the wind is coming from the east 😂 to get 5 mins of fast charger speed before it drops to the floor.

      Reply
  8. @user-tc5sl6bu8l Avatar
    @user-tc5sl6bu8l

    My biggest issue with public charging is the huge variation of price. People understand mpg and litre pricing but not kwh. People will be ripped off by profiteering energy companies even more than oil companies. And this is before the government inevitably starts to tax it to compensate for the loss of its current fuel tax income

    Reply
    1. @LiveMyJourneyTom Avatar
      @LiveMyJourneyTom

      The government has to regulate this and definitely decrease the 20% vat to the level of 5% vat of domestic electricity.

      Reply
    2. @user-tc5sl6bu8l Avatar
      @user-tc5sl6bu8l

      @@LiveMyJourneyTom never going to happen. The government cannot afford to lose a penny. Though I dont see why there should be any greater price variation with electric as we do with petrol or diesel. We need people with a profile to raise this issue as its a huge potential problem.
      So bottom line DONT go electric unless you can do 95% of charging at home. Ill keep my gas guzzling jaguar for long journeys

      Reply
  9. @grahamcastle8189 Avatar
    @grahamcastle8189

    My personal experience of ev charging in the Highlands of Scotland is excellent even at peak holiday times you can find chargers every 20 to 30 miles even in the remotest of areas. We holidayed in the Outer Hebridies recently and charging was effortless. Charge Place Scotland has good courntry wide provision.

    Reply
  10. @dannywiltshire6545 Avatar
    @dannywiltshire6545

    The cost of charging in the uk is disgusting. Luckily I have a Tesla. 34 p per kilowatt. Not sure how the government expect the public to jump into a EV with these charging costs

    Reply
    1. @jasonallatt5410 Avatar
      @jasonallatt5410

      Luckily most people do there charging at home

      Reply
    2. @si0664 Avatar
      @si0664

      @dannywiltshire6545 I totally agree there should be 1 set price from energy providers for each of the charging types, ie slow, fast, rapid & ultra rapid. There are 22kW chargers near me run by the council at £1.00 per kWh and 2 mins down the road a 50kWh charger at £0.69p perkWh & another 2 mins up the road at services gridserve 350kWh chargers at £0.79p per kWh (used to be £0.69p). Pricing needs to sorted if they want mass adoption of EVs

      Reply
  11. @ChrisdyMD Avatar
    @ChrisdyMD

    In July, we drove from Dorset to the Scottish Highlands, spent two weeks in Scotland and then drove back to Dorset. We covered 1460 miles, and used public chargers 11 times in the two weeks, mostly when driving up and back on the motorways. We only had to wait once, at Gretna Green services, on the way back, which was absolutely packed for some reason. At all the others we drove up, connected, and the car was charged by the time we finished our coffees. Very painless indeed.

    Reply
    1. @JamesSmith-qs4hx Avatar
      @JamesSmith-qs4hx

      Is this Morag?

      Reply
    2. @salibaba Avatar
      @salibaba

      Gretna is always mobbed, regardless of ICE or EV. I try to avoid it. Abington now has new applegreen units and Annandale is getting some new Gridserves- they’re nearly done. New v4 superchargers too apparently but they’ve not been started yet.

      Reply
    3. @Pesmog Avatar
      @Pesmog

      Eleven visits to the charger on a two week holiday would have completely ruined my holiday trip. 😱 However, I admit I am spoiled as my ICE car does 950-1020 miles on each tank, so a driving holiday usually means only one stop for fuel. It does sound though that it can be a relatively painless experience if a driver will accept the shorter range with an EV 👍

      Reply
    4. @ChrisdyMD Avatar
      @ChrisdyMD

      @pesmog, yes, but you can’t drive 950 miles without stopping. The car didn’t need to stop 11 times, but I did. The fact is that apart from the wait at Gretna, I never needed any ‘extra’ time to refuel the car – it all happened while I was doing other essential things like having lunch or just a comfort break and a coffee. ICE car fuel ranges are a fallacy, you, the driver, need to stop, and should stop, at regular intervals for safety. That’s when my car recharges itself, at the same time as I recharge my batteries.

      Reply
    5. @ChrisdyMD Avatar
      @ChrisdyMD

      @salibaba – Gretna wasn’t an issue on the way up. We got on a charger immediately, no waiting involved.

      Reply
  12. @johnevans6399 Avatar
    @johnevans6399

    Seems strange to have the vehicle at 70/80% no wonder charging speeds were so slow.

    Reply
  13. @bluesmartroadster Avatar
    @bluesmartroadster

    Would love it if there were signs on the motorways showing live status and availability of chargers at services.

    Reply
    1. @enyaq_gorm Avatar
      @enyaq_gorm

      It’s easier having it on the dash. The enyaq can do that. Why what car decided not to show that is a mystery. Green light beside the charger on the car screen means it’s available. Red means it’s in use.

      Reply
  14. @fyank1 Avatar
    @fyank1

    As an EV driver you quickly learn to ignore any GeniePoint chargers!

    Reply
  15. @CanariesExplorer Avatar
    @CanariesExplorer

    The biggest downside is that if you have no home charger or want to travel longer distances then it is inconvenient to waste so much time looking for available chargers and actually charging, particularly in cold, wet and dark conditions. The availability of charging points is simply tiny in comparison to potential demand.

    Reply
    1. @enyaq_gorm Avatar
      @enyaq_gorm

      You don’t look, other than looking at the dash of the car. The enyaq, like the tesla, shows you what chargers are available around you. The shortcoming here is of zap map not the car

      Reply
  16. @chrisdaniels1767 Avatar
    @chrisdaniels1767

    Agree that State of Charge makes a huge difference. What Car should know and highlight this. They should be encouraging people to use rapid chargers properly and try not to charge over 80%. This happens automatically with Tesla and means many more vehicles can charge as the speed of charging is rapid.

    Reply
  17. @nsweeney3970 Avatar
    @nsweeney3970

    Have to say, I find it utterly hilarious that you described the first wait at Lidl as “relatively painless”. If i had to wait the best part of 20 minutes to get on a fuel pump and fill my car I think I would have a brain aneurysm… Clearly people who own EV’s must be men and women of complete leisure as they’re clearly not in a hurry to get anywhere if they think that kind of time loss for the task of refuelling is acceptable…

    Reply
  18. @jools2323 Avatar
    @jools2323

    Charging power isn’t just dependent on the charger – it depends on the car’s charge.
    If your car’s at 90% it will accept a lot less power than if it was at 20%.

    Reply
  19. @salibaba Avatar
    @salibaba

    A good coverage of what is obviously local to them. But unrealistic is the expectation of getting peak charge speeds when the battery is almost full.
    At the Ionity charger, it was blamed for not providing 150kW.
    The car is only 125 max capable, and at that high state of charge would only pull about. 50-60kW.
    A random selection of AC charges would have been handy to highlight too. That would be how most people would opt to charge locally to them when they’re not using the car anyway. Much cheaper but the units tend to get neglected by the bigger networks. Though are simpler, so unless driven into tend to be more reliable.

    Reply
  20. @JoshuaStringfellow1 Avatar
    @JoshuaStringfellow1

    This appears to have been filmed in the summer, the Cobham Ionity now has 18x 350kW chargers!

    Also, as plenty of other comments have already noted, doing this with a 70/80% full battery and looking at the peak rate is a bit of a no-no, What Car? should understand this, it’s 101!

    Reply

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