Quote:
Originally Posted by BroadHopper
My experience was a disaster! It's fine if you stay close to home.
Audi lent me an e-tron to showcase at last year's Longroof Rally. Picked up vehicle in Hartford CT and drove to Lime Rock CT. to start the rally. Lime Rock has charging stations. We had a slow start as the rally was waiting for the e-Tron to fully charge for the trip to Stratton VT. I told the rally to head out without me as I had to recharge at the closest station I could find near Stratton in Bennington VT.
Arrive in Stratton a couple of hours late due to charging. The rally was staying overnight so it's really not a big deal. The e-Tron was a nice vehicle for travel but I miss the engine noise and the stick. I'm a stick fanatic.
Spent a half hour online trying to find charging stations between Stratton and Jay Peak. Burlington VT was my best bet. I would have to fully charge in Burlington so I can get to Jay Peak and return to Burlington. The rally would need to continue without me. I met up an hour later at Jay Peak. Again an overnighter before heading out to Saddleback Me.
This is where I had to turn back. No charging stations between Jay Peak and Saddleback. The rally continues on without me.
During this transition from gas to electric, I'm going to stick with gas until there are enough charging stations for a meaningful trip. Also, the time to fully charge a vehicle needs to be addressed. An electric vehicle would never win a rally!
BTW the missus won the rally in my 2005 MB wagon. MBs are bulletproof!
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Bummer. I agree that an EV owner needs to understand the charging situation for his particular car. Every owner should get a home charger for their garage or driveway. Tesla has "Superchargers" every 50 miles or so, pretty much everywhere, they will add range at a super fast rate (up to 400 miles/hour), and they are located next to food, so on the occasions when your trip is hundreds of miles, you can get what you need while eating lunch or drinking a cup of coffee. Road trips are easy, and I definitely spend less time charging than I spent buying gas every week or two. But I do not know about highway charging for other brands.
Also a bummer about the stick situation. My last of several sticks was 2001, could not find one after that...