Electric Car Performance in Summer: How to Enjoy the Summertime Electric Revolution
As Will Smith once famously rapped, ‘Summertime is a time to sit back and unwind’, and we get it. After all, inspired by this, Will was one of the first adopters of the Tesla Roadster! He could sit back and relax without engine noise and unwind with the top down without fear of inhaling all the world’s pollutants in a ten-minute drive (as long as he avoided other road users). As we enter a heatwave, how do electric cars perform in summer?
Let’s Talk Practicalities
We all know you can’t do road trips in electric cars, right? Except, of course, you can. Just 2 months ago, our founder (and this piece’s author) went on a snowboarding road trip in his EV, but this is nothing new – you can read about his other road trip around Scotland in the summer here! Yes, you need a little bit of planning, but show me a family that can drive for more than 3 hours without a break and I’ll show you a set of waterproof, wipe-clean seat covers – you WILL need them!
Talking Charge Points
It’s a mistake to assume you have to schedule daytime stops. It’s an option, but whether you book via a hotel portal or Airbnb, you can book accommodation with charge points! As you recharge overnight, the car does the same. In the last month alone, I’ve been charged at the Esplanade Hotel in Cornwall (for free!), a holiday park in Somerset, and a hotel in Southend; next month, we holiday in a house in Tenby, again with free charging!
If you want to travel further afield, Eurotunnel has chargers, and once on the continent toll roads are incredibly well served. A trip to the Southern Alps recently took me just 40 minutes longer than another family of 5 in a diesel. However, it cost me £300 less! Check out our guide on EV charging hubs in the UK here.
Range
Everyone gets hung up about rage anxiety, but the typical motorist does 99% of their charging at home. My wife has an Enyaq and she has publicly charged twice in 2 years. The last time was at the Somerset holiday park while she and the family slept.
I make it to Newquay from just outside Derby in about 5 hours. I’ll make a quick stop at Ionity charge points on the M5, north of Exeter. Or, if I’m feeling peckish, I might head over to Exeter to charge up on one of the 20 (give or take) charge points and get myself a cheeky Krispy Kreme. Then, onto Newquay and the Esplanade Hotel! You can even charge at the beach from Porthcuthno in Cornwall to Lossiemouth in Moray! Or at tourist attractions from Brighton Pier to Loch Ness! I’ve personally used the Lock Ness ones along with Loch Lomond and the Cairngorms and had no issues.2
When we travel we want to enjoy the beauty, beautiful views, experiences, and sounds – and electricity makes all this possible! No pollution, no smog, and little motor noise. Nothing worse than stopping at Windermere and choking when you get to the car park from all the diesel fumes. Electric cars also have the latest tech, so map updates are slick, can show you nearby chargers, and use little energy, so ideal if you’re unfortunate enough to be caught in a jam.
However, my favourite feature is pre-cooling the car! That’s right, you can pre-heat in winter and pre-cool in summer – how cool is that? Activate the aircon from your phone when you’re on your way back and your car will be nice and cool when you get there! Hot kids can have hot heads, and none of you needs that in a confined environment. You just need to sit back and unwind! If you’re looking to road trip in your EV but still want some more guidance, have a read of our blog on it! It’s like we planned this.
Tags : charge point, charge points, Diesel, electric car, electric cars, EV, Range anxiety, summer