Camping in the UK while attempting a 4-day, 500-plus mile round trip in an electric car. What could go posibly wrong?
Having done a 258-mile trip to the beautiful Lake District before in an EV I’m not oblivious to the potential issues of travelling long distances in a car that needs a recharge every couple of hundred miles.
But since my last leccy adventure, I had gone to an EV workshop and received the best bit of advice: throw out the idea that your holiday only starts once you’ve got to your destination. Instead, consider the moment you’ve managed to cram in that last pack of snacks and pressed the start button the true beginning of your break.
Let’s face it – you simply can’t do a 250 mile trip in one hit and you can’t just pump in £50 of petrol in a few minutes and be off again – so why fight it?
I still had this advice ringing in my ears when I was offered the chance to take VW’s fancy leccy family vehicle (don’t you dare call it a camper van, btw) the ID. Buzz for a few days away, and was looking forward to see just how it all works in reality.
The itinerary
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A big fan of the South West, my husband, James, and youngest son, Jake, 15, planned a trip to the seaside town of Ilfracombe in North Devon.
At 258 miles away from our home, it was clear we would have to stop en route. But where?
After a bit of research, we decided on Bristol, more specifically The Wave, a man-made surf pool and school with accommodation, 153 miles away.
There we would treat ourselves to a night in a safari tent and a surf lesson the next day. This was going to be pit-stop holidaying at its best.
Next we would take a couple of hours to make the 107 mile trip down to Ilfracombe, where we’d stay two nights in the Little Meadow Campsite, which had an electric hook up that we could use for overnight charging and is the most amazing little place to camp with beautiful views.
We would also be staying local, so in theory wouldn’t need much extra juice in the ID. Buzz, but little stops here and there would still make a dent, so it would be interesting to see just how much.
Our final stop would be on our way home. Usually, we would cane it back to Essex with only a quick service station stop, but this time we opted to cover 127 miles and then break in Bath for a bite to eat, before making the final 148-mile trip home.
Sounds breezy, right?
Expectation vs reality
As mentioned, preparation was key, and thanks to the OVO chargepoint app, we planned every stop to the tee. There would be no ‘let’s just see if there’s a charger at the next service station’, which was our major downfall last time.
The app, which you sync up with your card details, has locations of all its charging points across the UK — so it was brilliant in helping us plan. Of course, this does mean you have to do a lot of homework, which turned out to be essential because when we did try and go off-plan on day one, it went a bit wrong.
Deciding to make an impromptu stop for food en route, we located a charge point in Boxford, about 60 miles away from Bristol. However, when we got there… it wasn’t there. We drove around a few times to see if we could spot it, but nada. Nothing.
It was a bit of a wobble and made me wonder how accurate the rest of the map was – but then further investigation revealed that it would have been a very slow charge, so we decided to utilise the filter to only include speedy charge points and headed off to find another one, just outside a pub and Co-op in nearby Newbury, which means we were still able to grab some lunch while it charged.
I’ve also learned that OVO are constantly updating their app to remove unusable charge points, so hopefully it’s been remedied since our attempt to find it.
I wish I could say there were more problems with the EV and charge points, because I know that the anti-EV mob would love it, but I can’t.
Our main takeaway was that two years on from our lovely trip to The Lakes, the infrastructure seems to have got a lot better. In fact, with nearly 35,000 charging locations now across the UK, it’s a figure that has almost doubled public devices since last year alone.
If I could suggest anything to the EV gods it would be that motorway signs are clearer about whether they provide charge points and which brands, as if you do need to make an unplanned stop, it’s not always simple.
But overall – and maybe this is thanks to our amazing little ID. Buzz or the beautiful scenery that surrounded us – it was a memory-making road trip all three of us really enjoyed, and all the more so because we’d added in some extra stops which we wouldn’t have done otherwise.
Our trip in numbers
Stop 1 – Bristol : Total miles: 153 miles, total leccy cost: approx £13.70
Stop 2 – Ilfracombe: Total miles from stop 1: 107 miles, total leccy cost: approx £9.63
Stop 3 – Bath: Total miles from stop 2: 98 miles, total leccy cost: approx £8.80
Homeward bound: Total miles from stop 3: 145 miles, total leccy cost: £13.05
Total spent on electricity: £45.18 for 503 miles.
The car
With its dash of lime green and oh-so-familiar design, the VW ID. Buzz is is seriously eye catching.
Although inspired by the classic VW Transporter, thanks to its 21st century makeover, it’s way more than being just super-cute though, as we discovered on our break.
Of course, there was the EV element – with a fully charged battery, therange covers up to 257 miles, while the maximum charging power for fast charging (DC) is up to 170 kW – meaning that it could potentially takes around 30 minutes to charge the battery from 5% to 80%.
Although we had our accommodation sorted for the first night, we had to also pack our family tent and everything else you need for a 2-night camping trip (including the kitchen sink washing up bowl!). Plus, your usual luggage for a three-night family trip away.
We were pleased that thanks to space saving hacks, there was plenty of room for everything. Not only did we have a four-man inflatable tent, but we had chairs, windbreaker, camping table, gazebo… you name it. But everything fitted in nicely and neatly and the Buzz’s sliding doors made it so easy to get in and out of and to also get our stuff out.
However, the best bit was that you could fold down the back seat to make a really roomy place to sleep – which Jake happily did for our two nights at the campsite, while James and I took the tent.
And, it was a dream to drive thanks to all the gizmos, including driver assisted lane changes and stopping.
I’m not going to lie, it was very hard giving this car back. I think my husband even might have shed a tear.
How OVO works
There are several apps you can download to make charging on-the-go and planning your journey easier, but the one we used was OVO Charge, which gives you access to Charge Anywhere and helps save time and hassle by locating charging points available for use before stopping so you can plan your route.
It’s pretty easy to use, especially – as we learned – if you utilise the filters, such as rapid and ultra charging and connector types.
For at home charging, OVO’s Charge Anytime allows customers to charge their vehicle for 7p/kWh at home at any time of the day or night. OVO say that because the discounted charging rate allows customers to drive for just £190 per year, it is one of the UK’s most competitive charging rates.
OVO also recently launched a new type of rewards programme called OVO Beyond and also work with the Volkswagon Group, meaning anyone with a VW have the bonus of accessing ‘Charge Anytime’ add-ons, including 10,000 free miles and anniversary bonuses.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Claie.Wilson@metro.co.uk
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