With an electric vehicle to Tuscany… Without too many worries and in all comfort, is it possible yet?
Yes! At least with a Tesla…
With a maximum range of 350 km on our car, now very outdated, and a little confidence in the navigation and, more specifically, in the communication between that navigation and the superchargers, it is a pleasure. As always, in the knowledge that you cannot (yet) charge as fast as you can refuel.
I'll spare you the numbers and statistics, but we left with a full battery in Rekkem, at four thirty in the morning, to have our first glass of Champagne around eight o'clock in Reims. Excuse me: first coffee. Strangely, it was the first supercharger we visited at a motorway service station. So a Starbucks vending machine, instead of the usual service we are used to in, for example, Bruges or Lokeren.
But the rule remains: a coffee, or something stronger, a visit to the toilet and you can continue. And that every two to three hours. If I'm right, that's about the advice to travel safely anyway?
Anyway, on to Nancy! There we first noticed a small shortcoming in the otherwise spotless machine that the Tesla Supercharger network is: you are on site, but you cannot find the charging stations…
One advice: look at the navi with the supercharger logo on it (on the big screen) and not at the indications where to drive on the dashboard. Because they sometimes contradict each other and then you are in the parking lot of the Ibis Budget, while the chargers are next to it in the parking lot of the "regular" Ibis. And the charging cables are too short for that! (just kidding…)
However, a nice bar in the Ibis and a nice coffee. Must be said.
Next stop could have been Colmar, but Tesla gives excellent advice. Namely there are only three chargers where our "older" car can charge and two of these devices are out of use.
For those who are not familiar with the system: you enter your destination in the navi, and it proposes the route including the charging stations. You can of course adjust according to your planning or the charge on the battery (a constant 150 km/h or three hours of traffic…), but you always see how many chargers are available.
In Zeeland, for example, a while ago, we were surprised that there was a supercharger in Middelburg with only two chargers, but those were only the old systems. There were also at least ten others that our car does not include, because it is of no use to us.
So we continued to Basel, because the constant speed allowed us to cover those extra kilometers. And once again... The navigation sent us around the building, but the one way street was going in the wrong direction…. So we took a gamble on the other side. Piece of cake.
Those superchargers at hotels are of course often located somewhere at the back or on a far side and if there is a minor point of criticism it would be that an indication to those chargers should be either clearer or simply present. Elon, if you are reading this…
It was a very stylish hotel there in Basel, but it's such a location that doesn't really take advantage of the Tesla opportunities and so you get a not very enthusiastic answer when you ask for the toilet, and the bar is not open or not manned. We've seen it before and certainly if there are about sixteen chargers, ten of which are occupied, that should offer possibilities for the location.
No problem for us and after going to the toilet, we sat in the car, took a drink from our cooling box and watched Arjen Lubach's Evening Show on YouTube. Yes, you also have that in a Tesla: you can watch video on a large screen. Or a fire-place, depending on the mood. You can even play a whole range of video games while you are charging. No, not while driving…
We then drove from Basel to Beckenried where we had booked a hotel with a supercharger. Because that's possible too! Superchargers are usually located at a hotel, not always, and other hotels offer a “destination charger”: a Tesla charger with a limited capacity, where you can charge all night and leave with a full battery in the morning.
For those who need figures: we left at five thirty in the morning and were at Lake Lucerne at two thirty in the afternoon. About eight hundred kilometers at ease. It could be more, but during the holidays you would rather divide the distance neatly and enjoy a late afternoon on site during the stopover.
To get back on track at eight o'clock after a nice breakfast. To Modena! Yes, we are going to charge our electric car in Ferrari's hometown! We drank a cappuccino on the terrace of the local tennis club, near the supercharger. Enjoyable.
We drove from Modena to Firenze in one go, because that's another little thing you have to take into account: the system looks at the displacement you specify. It's a computer and they don't think that you might not be able to charge immediately on site and may want to be able to drive around. So top up in Firenze and then the last thirty kilometers to Montespertoli where our holiday home Borgo Filicardo is located.
That was still about six hundred kilometers and we did it between eight and four thirty, because of some traffic jam at the Gotthard tunnel and in front of Milan.
Yes, I am very pro-electric and no, not everyone has to make the switch now, because we are not equipped for that. Not in any area! But Tesla is, and it is an absolute pleasure to travel in such a car, with some preparation and a little flexibility.
I have already made the same journey with an A6, a fantastic A5 Coupé 2.7 diesel with multitronic (a stepless automatic gearbox), a Golf and a Passat DSG. And that was all very nice. But I wouldn't trade for any money the peace and comfort of electric driving, the instant power of a sports car (if needed…), the ridiculously comfortable AutoPilot, the intelligent media and communication system, the Google-based navigation which already finds your hotel based on its name and in the meantime also thinks about your consumption and your range…
Also worth mentioning: decided where you want to charge around noon? Then you can also immediately sweep up and view the eateries around the charging station (perhaps a job for the co-pilot?). I didn't know this was available before...
It's just hard to choose between a nice regional radio station (especially in Central Switzerland, always good fun!) and the entire Spotify library. Luxury problem!
And then you should know, or you already know: the range of those cars is constantly increasing and ours would in the meantime drive for six hundred and fifty kilometers without a (charging) stop… Irresponsible!
And what about other brands? That is a different story… It concerns different charging systems, providers, subscriptions… Already a soup in Belgium and the Netherlands, so in Italy by definition drama…
Meanwhile, providers are working hard on uniformity and the various players will, sooner or later, also have to offer promotions to attract customers. So that will get interesting.
We saw someone in Modena, with an extremely beautiful Audi e-tron GT quattro, struggling with a charging card that was not accepted by the charging station… That takes away some of the exceptional sensation of such a car.
At Tesla, you take the charging cable from the pole, connect it to the car, it recognizes your car and starts the charging process. No messing around with cards or entering yet another code… Electric charging for people like me, who probably have the wrong cards with them and are also guaranteed to miss a code.
I must admit, I'm writing this while I'm in Montespertoli and so Imust get back soon too. So it might actually still turn into a disaster… I don’t think so, but if it does, I'll write something about that too. Promise!
mb
PS: if another brand wants a comparison test, we are available.
Yes! At least with a Tesla…
With a maximum range of 350 km on our car, now very outdated, and a little confidence in the navigation and, more specifically, in the communication between that navigation and the superchargers, it is a pleasure. As always, in the knowledge that you cannot (yet) charge as fast as you can refuel.
I'll spare you the numbers and statistics, but we left with a full battery in Rekkem, at four thirty in the morning, to have our first glass of Champagne around eight o'clock in Reims. Excuse me: first coffee. Strangely, it was the first supercharger we visited at a motorway service station. So a Starbucks vending machine, instead of the usual service we are used to in, for example, Bruges or Lokeren.
But the rule remains: a coffee, or something stronger, a visit to the toilet and you can continue. And that every two to three hours. If I'm right, that's about the advice to travel safely anyway?
Anyway, on to Nancy! There we first noticed a small shortcoming in the otherwise spotless machine that the Tesla Supercharger network is: you are on site, but you cannot find the charging stations…
One advice: look at the navi with the supercharger logo on it (on the big screen) and not at the indications where to drive on the dashboard. Because they sometimes contradict each other and then you are in the parking lot of the Ibis Budget, while the chargers are next to it in the parking lot of the "regular" Ibis. And the charging cables are too short for that! (just kidding…)
However, a nice bar in the Ibis and a nice coffee. Must be said.
Next stop could have been Colmar, but Tesla gives excellent advice. Namely there are only three chargers where our "older" car can charge and two of these devices are out of use.
For those who are not familiar with the system: you enter your destination in the navi, and it proposes the route including the charging stations. You can of course adjust according to your planning or the charge on the battery (a constant 150 km/h or three hours of traffic…), but you always see how many chargers are available.
In Zeeland, for example, a while ago, we were surprised that there was a supercharger in Middelburg with only two chargers, but those were only the old systems. There were also at least ten others that our car does not include, because it is of no use to us.
So we continued to Basel, because the constant speed allowed us to cover those extra kilometers. And once again... The navigation sent us around the building, but the one way street was going in the wrong direction…. So we took a gamble on the other side. Piece of cake.
Those superchargers at hotels are of course often located somewhere at the back or on a far side and if there is a minor point of criticism it would be that an indication to those chargers should be either clearer or simply present. Elon, if you are reading this…
It was a very stylish hotel there in Basel, but it's such a location that doesn't really take advantage of the Tesla opportunities and so you get a not very enthusiastic answer when you ask for the toilet, and the bar is not open or not manned. We've seen it before and certainly if there are about sixteen chargers, ten of which are occupied, that should offer possibilities for the location.
No problem for us and after going to the toilet, we sat in the car, took a drink from our cooling box and watched Arjen Lubach's Evening Show on YouTube. Yes, you also have that in a Tesla: you can watch video on a large screen. Or a fire-place, depending on the mood. You can even play a whole range of video games while you are charging. No, not while driving…
We then drove from Basel to Beckenried where we had booked a hotel with a supercharger. Because that's possible too! Superchargers are usually located at a hotel, not always, and other hotels offer a “destination charger”: a Tesla charger with a limited capacity, where you can charge all night and leave with a full battery in the morning.
For those who need figures: we left at five thirty in the morning and were at Lake Lucerne at two thirty in the afternoon. About eight hundred kilometers at ease. It could be more, but during the holidays you would rather divide the distance neatly and enjoy a late afternoon on site during the stopover.
To get back on track at eight o'clock after a nice breakfast. To Modena! Yes, we are going to charge our electric car in Ferrari's hometown! We drank a cappuccino on the terrace of the local tennis club, near the supercharger. Enjoyable.
We drove from Modena to Firenze in one go, because that's another little thing you have to take into account: the system looks at the displacement you specify. It's a computer and they don't think that you might not be able to charge immediately on site and may want to be able to drive around. So top up in Firenze and then the last thirty kilometers to Montespertoli where our holiday home Borgo Filicardo is located.
That was still about six hundred kilometers and we did it between eight and four thirty, because of some traffic jam at the Gotthard tunnel and in front of Milan.
Yes, I am very pro-electric and no, not everyone has to make the switch now, because we are not equipped for that. Not in any area! But Tesla is, and it is an absolute pleasure to travel in such a car, with some preparation and a little flexibility.
I have already made the same journey with an A6, a fantastic A5 Coupé 2.7 diesel with multitronic (a stepless automatic gearbox), a Golf and a Passat DSG. And that was all very nice. But I wouldn't trade for any money the peace and comfort of electric driving, the instant power of a sports car (if needed…), the ridiculously comfortable AutoPilot, the intelligent media and communication system, the Google-based navigation which already finds your hotel based on its name and in the meantime also thinks about your consumption and your range…
Also worth mentioning: decided where you want to charge around noon? Then you can also immediately sweep up and view the eateries around the charging station (perhaps a job for the co-pilot?). I didn't know this was available before...
It's just hard to choose between a nice regional radio station (especially in Central Switzerland, always good fun!) and the entire Spotify library. Luxury problem!
And then you should know, or you already know: the range of those cars is constantly increasing and ours would in the meantime drive for six hundred and fifty kilometers without a (charging) stop… Irresponsible!
And what about other brands? That is a different story… It concerns different charging systems, providers, subscriptions… Already a soup in Belgium and the Netherlands, so in Italy by definition drama…
Meanwhile, providers are working hard on uniformity and the various players will, sooner or later, also have to offer promotions to attract customers. So that will get interesting.
We saw someone in Modena, with an extremely beautiful Audi e-tron GT quattro, struggling with a charging card that was not accepted by the charging station… That takes away some of the exceptional sensation of such a car.
At Tesla, you take the charging cable from the pole, connect it to the car, it recognizes your car and starts the charging process. No messing around with cards or entering yet another code… Electric charging for people like me, who probably have the wrong cards with them and are also guaranteed to miss a code.
I must admit, I'm writing this while I'm in Montespertoli and so Imust get back soon too. So it might actually still turn into a disaster… I don’t think so, but if it does, I'll write something about that too. Promise!
mb
PS: if another brand wants a comparison test, we are available.