We’ve had our 2021 Kona for 2 ½ years and just took our first real road trip. Thought I’d set out a few thoughts for those who haven’t done something like this yet. We left Vancouver Island on December 21 (first day of winter) and drove mainly the coast (Hwy 101) to Santa Cruz, California and back, returning January 2. Temperatures were warmer than average for the time of year, reaching at least 10C (50F) during the day. I chose the coast for non-EV reasons like avoiding possible snow inland and the mind-numbing boredom of I5, but it probably helped our range because of the slower speeds. Total distance was 3,840 km (2,386 mi) and we averaged 16.6 kw/100 km (.27 kw/mile). Charging costs totaled $520 CDN (~$375 USD). Random observations: 1. Whoheee, there’s a lot of math involved converting kilometres, miles, currency, temperatures, and gallon sizes to do comparisons. 2. There’s lots of chargers going down the coast – I had thought we would need to stick to the freeway. 3. Planning is critical. This will be obvious to those who have done long trips. I based my math on charging from 20% to 80%. 20% to avoid the fear factor of running out, and 80% because charging is so slow after that. So, that’s only using 60% of the battery. Figuring it would be colder than it turned out to be, I guessed I would get somewhere between 18 and 20 kw/100 km, giving a range between 190 and 210 km (118 and 131 miles). So, using Plugshare, I targeted chargers at the low end of the range and a backup a little further, and the strategy worked perfectly. 4. We ran the heater all the time (wife grew up in Hawaii, so ….) and probably could have improved the range a bit by just using heated seats (however, happy wife ….) 5. Don’t trust the GOM (the distance remaining the car shows you). It’s based on an average of your recent driving history. Most of our driving is local, so I get a high number. First day out, trying to get to the hotel for the night, I saw the GOM said I had over 100 km more than what GPS told me I needed to get to the charger. So, I skipped the first charger and drove fast to get to the second. The “spread” between GOM and reality kept shrinking quickly and I got to the charger with about 5% charge left. It took about 3 days for the GOM to start showing more realistic numbers, now based more on my highway driving. 6. It’s expensive to use public chargers! Especially compared to my charging at home in BC with cheap electricity. My total charging cost for the trip was approximately $520 CDN ($375 USD). We did the same trip in our Elantra in 2015 and paid $312 CDN. Using current average gas prices from the Web, the Elantra would have cost us $436 CDN this year. So it cost more to use the EV. I had heard I wouldn’t save anything, but hadn’t expected it to be that much more. But we save so much charging at home and driving locally, that I can accept this trade-off. In a perfect world I would own a hybrid for a trip like this ... but I don't. 7. All the chargers charged based on KWH and not time (nice). 8. I downloaded a crapload of apps for various chargers, but most common were Electrify America, Shell Recharge, EVCS and Chargepoint. I used two Tesla magic docks: Forks, Washington and Scotts Valley, California and they worked great. All of them worked from their app on the phone. Charging speeds varied, but most stops were well under an hour. 9. Only encountered one non-functioning charger and only had to wait once for about 15 minutes – but I imagine in the summer it would be a different story. 10. I would have preferred to take Hwy 1 right along the coast north of San Francisco, but zero chargers there. Hope this is of some use to other noobs contemplating a first road trip. Happy New Year!
Nice write up. Yeah, the cost savings is almost out the window when charging on the road, during long trips imo. With my 19 Kona during say a 500km return trip in the cold winter , my other PHEV veh costs approx more but I don't have to stop for long charging times and l can blast the heat hehe
On road trips I get about half my charging free or very cheap: Stay at hotels that offer free L2 charging. I think plugshare has a filter for finding hotels with L2 charging. A Tesla to J1772 adapter is useful for hotels. Or find a hotel nearby a free L2 charger. Nice to start the day with a free refill to 100%. I also find my L1 charger useful on road trips. It can give you the last 20% (from 80-100) overnight, or if you are sticking around for a while it can provide a full charge. I have never had anyone refuse me the use of a regular outlet or charge me money to use it. I use a padlock to lock the L1 cord to the door handle or wheel so no one rips me off. Get a rubber coated padlock or use some shrink wrap or gorilla tape on the padlock so it won't scratch anything. Some fast chargers are free or very cheap. Again, plugshare has the answers - read recent user reviews. I wouldn't add hours to my trip to find them but if you are in an area with enough fast chargers to give you choices it can be an option.
Good points. I live right near a hotel with L2 chargers but it wasn’t showing up using the Plugshare hotel filter so I figured this wasn’t reliable. Just realized I had my Plugshare filters set for 50kw+ and if I change that lower, the hotel shows up. I’ll be using this on the next trip for sure.
Yes, Plugshare shows multiple L2 chargers along Highway 1 north of San Francisco, including at least a couple at hotels. You could make a trip along there work with a little planning if you stay at hotels with chargers and don't insist on trying to do 500 miles in one day (which would be an insane way to travel that section of coast anyway).
