electric car to France ??

[stooz]

I want to get an electric car, but one of my journeys per year is a trip to south France. This will require a recharge either on route or at my place of stay.

Has anyone had experience of charging in France? my research is websites in French with no English version, or what little I can glean is, I need a pre paid (monthly) account and physical card to use the many stations, assuming the card is for the right station, and different cards if its not!

This seems very restrictive and not very 'single trip' minded.

Are all electric charging points in the UK like this too? or can you just use a credit card contactless like I would for good ol' Petrol?

[airbus330]

You might find the motoring journalist, Quinten Wilson's, video helpful.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHV1Bi ... tinWillson
There are plenty of other videos of people's experience of long travels in Europe.

From what I see in the press and specialist press, the EV recharge infrastructure in the UK is a patchwork of different operators requiring different methods of payment. Tesla superchargers excepted.

[AF62]

Are all electric charging points in the UK like this too? or can you just use a credit card contactless like I would for good ol' Petrol?

Charging infrastructure in the UK is a hodgepodge mess, because the government just let businesses get on with it and the result is awful.

The only sensible system is the Tesla Supercharger network, that until recently was restricted only to Tesla’s. Much as I dislike Musk this did actually work.

For all the others then for charging company X’s chargers you need this app and company Y needs that app and company Z needs that app, ad infinitum. Literally. I have lost count of how many damn charging apps I have on my phone.

Some chargers may take contactless cards, but most don’t. Some require you to have pre-ordered and paid for an RFID card and don’t even offer an app.

Then there is the pricing - all over the place from free to “how much!”.

And that’s before you get to whether the charger is actually working or not, as most of the networks don’t give a damn whether they are or not, and their apps show they are when they have been broken for months.

There is an app for the UK, zap-map, that theoretically shows where the chargers are, but as the information is mostly crowdsourced it’s only ‘sort-of’ accurate.

However… (deep breath)… if you have a charger at home and a car with sufficient range then you rarely have to trouble yourself with this mess.

As for taking a trip to the south of France - good luck! This post on an EV forum describes a person who took the ferry to Spain and drove to Malaga, and that didn’t look to be too straightforward with many of the same problems as in the UK. -

https://www.speakev.com/threads/trip-re ... -62.172965

[BullDog]

Personally, I wouldn't even try it.

[Dod101]

I am so glad that I have a petrol car.

Dod

[pje16]

I am so glad that I have a petrol car.

Dod

Likewise but diesel

[88V8]

I want to get an electric car, but one of my journeys per year is a trip to south France. This will require a recharge either on route or at my place of stay.

You'll be fine.
Just make sure it has a towing point on the front.
Oh, and a neutral in the gearbox so it can actually be towed.
Neutrals are like spare wheels nowadays... not all cars have them.

V8

[AF62]

I am so glad that I have a petrol car

I am so glad I have both an electric car and a petrol car.

And as for driving to the south of France - nah, fly and rent one there.

[pje16]

And as for driving to the south of France - nah, fly and rent one there.

I have driven to the south of France a couple of times
stay off the motorways where it is practical
some of the scenery on the alternate routes is fantastic

[AF62]

And as for driving to the south of France - nah, fly and rent one there.

I have driven to the south of France a couple of times
stay off the motorways where it is practical
some of the scenery on the alternate routes is fantastic

It’s still 1,000+ miles there and 1,000+ miles back and endless hours that could be better spent in the south of France.

[pje16]

And as for driving to the south of France - nah, fly and rent one there.

I have driven to the south of France a couple of times
stay off the motorways where it is practical
some of the scenery on the alternate routes is fantastic

It’s still 1,000+ miles there and 1,000+ miles back and endless hours that could be better spent in the south of France.

you can't have seen some of the places I have then

[AF62]

And as for driving to the south of France - nah, fly and rent one there.

I have driven to the south of France a couple of times
stay off the motorways where it is practical
some of the scenery on the alternate routes is fantastic

It’s still 1,000+ miles there and 1,000+ miles back and endless hours that could be better spent in the south of France.

you can't have seen some of the places I have then

We’re those nice bits worth the thousands of non-interesting miles?

[Tedx]

....not to mention the hours at Customs these days.

I've seen on you tube folk taking the ferry to Northern Spain, which seems quite relaxing, although long and expensive from what I can gather. Dunno how far that is away from your eventual destination though.

[pje16]

We’re those nice bits worth the thousands of non-interesting miles?

I enjoy driving
each to their own

[Arborbridge]

Seems like mixed opinions all round. For example, on the VW group I joined, there are quite a few who have journeyed across Europe and down to Italy, even Sardinia - or was it Sicily. They haven't reported problems but on the contrary related how easy it's been.

I guess the secret is in the planning, to be adaptable and not expect the same as you would in an ICE.

I'm keeping my diesel when the EV comes - just in case!*

*we run two cars in any case, so the EV is by way of experiment.

Arb.

[stooz]

It seems so ridiculous the EV fraternity have managed to make a worse system and learnt nothing from the betamax Vs VHS war.

They must be spending millions to risk it being left behind for the sake of an agreement between each other.

[Hallucigenia]

It’s still 1,000+ miles there and 1,000+ miles back and endless hours that could be better spent in the south of France.

Google reckons it's 771 miles from Trafalgar Square to Marseille. I used to do a slightly shorter distance semi-regularly to a relative just short of the Med, used to take me a tad under 11 hours of travelling time. But I would stop off and do a bit of shopping in Champagne, Chablis, Burgundy, the Maconnais, the Rhone, you get the idea - frankly I prefer the middle of France to the south. It's a slog - but travelling to the airport, hanging around, squeezing into a seat with no legroom, waiting for baggage, finding a hire car and then driving from the destination airport to the place you actually want to go - is all downside with no vineyards to take your mind off things.

Each to their own.

Going back on topic, the first Tesla I ever saw was a Roadster some time around 2010 on the A9 between Perth and Inverness - with Italian plates. So it had presumably gone from Italy to the Highlands at a time when the charging network was essentially non-existent, it must have been relying on charging overnight at hotels etc. So if it was possible then, it must be far more possible now.

[redsturgeon]

It’s still 1,000+ miles there and 1,000+ miles back and endless hours that could be better spent in the south of France.

Google reckons it's 771 miles from Trafalgar Square to Marseille. I used to do a slightly shorter distance semi-regularly to a relative just short of the Med, used to take me a tad under 11 hours of travelling time. But I would stop off and do a bit of shopping in Champagne, Chablis, Burgundy, the Maconnais, the Rhone, you get the idea - frankly I prefer the middle of France to the south. It's a slog - but travelling to the airport, hanging around, squeezing into a seat with no legroom, waiting for baggage, finding a hire car and then driving from the destination airport to the place you actually want to go - is all downside with no vineyards to take your mind off things.

Each to their own.

Going back on topic, the first Tesla I ever saw was a Roadster some time around 2010 on the A9 between Perth and Inverness - with Italian plates. So it had presumably gone from Italy to the Highlands at a time when the charging network was essentially non-existent, it must have been relying on charging overnight at hotels etc. So if it was possible then, it must be far more possible now.

Next month I will be driving to see my daughter in Arles, Provence, it is 795 miles according to Google maps, door to door is 13 hours 18 mins driving time. I am driving since I have a few items to deliver to her, including a bicycle. I am there for four days so will be driving down in one day since I do not have the time for overnight stops. I will be taking my trusty Honda Accord, 2.2 litre diesel which can deliver mid 50s mpg on a long run like this and almost 700 miles per tank. I could not imagine doing the same trip by EV due to time constraints but i'm sure it will be relatively straightforward if time allows, I guess a stop every 2 or three hours and a hour top up at each stop will do it although that suggests one day for the journey would not be feasible.

[Arborbridge]

Next month I will be driving to see my daughter in Arles, Provence, it is 795 miles according to Google maps, door to door is 13 hours 18 mins driving time. I am driving since I have a few items to deliver to her, including a bicycle. I am there for four days so will be driving down in one day since I do not have the time for overnight stops. I will be taking my trusty Honda Accord, 2.2 litre diesel which can deliver mid 50s mpg on a long run like this and almost 700 miles per tank. I could not imagine doing the same trip by EV due to time constraints but i'm sure it will be relatively straightforward if time allows, I guess a stop every 2 or three hours and a hour top up at each stop will do it although that suggests one day for the journey would not be feasible.

And if you cannot do it in a day and need to stop in some hotel - bang goes any supposed cost advantage.

Actually, I'll "second thought" that: with the necessity for public charging, a diesel car is cheaper anyway.


Arb.

[moorfield]

And as for driving to the south of France - nah, fly and rent one there.

I have driven to the south of France a couple of times
stay off the motorways where it is practical
some of the scenery on the alternate routes is fantastic

But you can't beat French Autoroutes. The only roads I can use the cruise control on properly for long stretches of time. And not a pot hole in sight.
Love the little aires, the big ones can be a nightmare for fuel stops. A7 south of Lyon is busy but never much more so than our M25.