EV Vehicle charging point

[BeachLife]

At last we have one being installed in GA (by the Library) - judging by the size of it I am not sure if it will be a 50KW charger but it's progress

Always promised that now I have a EV I would do a roadtrip with my brother so I can have someone to share the driving. But Spain is really sketchy on rolling out a charger strategy and getting charged around Santa Pola / GA was impossible.

But might still give it a go when this madness is all over as its really cheap. The most popular EV routeplanner app says total cost from a fully charged car at home to GA (arriving on 11%) is £150 approx each way

[DaveG]

Hi BL,

Is that £150 just for the charging or is something else in there?

My last one way back from GA to Manchester in November cost me just shy of £120 for diesel. Then there was £112 tolls, £190 accommodation (2 stops) and £180 Eurotunnel.

[Tony Gillam]

£600 one way    It';d be cheaper to buy a surplus plane off Ryanair.

[BeachLife]

Hi BL,

Is that £150 just for the charging or is something else in there?

My last one way back from GA to Manchester in November cost me just shy of £120 for diesel. Then there was £112 tolls, £190 accommodation (2 stops) and £180 Eurotunnel.

Thats just the EV charge Dave. The Ionity chargers in France are pretty expensive. Just shows, there is still life in diesel if you were getting over 60mpg down the motorways to GA

[Blue and white stripes]

I'd priced a return trip last April at just over £1000 including a couple of stops each way. £350 was fuel. It's something we will do in the future and make the drive part of the holiday.
The last time I went to GA it cost me £33 rtn with Ryanair + £25 for a hotel at BHX as the flight was 06.25.

[DaveG]

Hi all,

The first time I drove the exchange rate was €1.40 / £ and the trip was around £450 one way; now it's around the £600 mark. I get around 65+ mpg, we don't skimp on accommodation and the tunnel crossing includes pets so there are savings to made on that £600 depending on personal circumstances. We drive mainly because of the pets but also as we (used to) stay for long periods - 10 months once -  we had the use of the car whilst we were there and you can get a lot more in an estate car than you can in two suitcases. Diesel when I left GA was €0.979/l @ the Low Cost next to Mercadona, €0.92/l in northern Spain and €1.16/l off Mway in France which is a massive drop since September when it was €1.36/l.

Going back to your original point it seems that in the right car at the moment fossil fuel is the way to go but as charging facilities reach economies of scale and battery technology gets better then electric is the future - and it will be forced on us anyway.

Now all I have to do is wait for these interminable negotiations to conclude and (Covid-19 notwithstanding) see what hand has been dealt to me regarding future trips. I'm not too optimistic at the moment but I'll make the most of whatever happens.

 

[BeachLife]

My EV (Ipace) is very cheap to run when using my wall charger at home. With Octopus energy "Go" tariff its only 5p a Kwh - so a full charge of my car at home is £4.50 for 240 / 250 miles.

The Ionity chargers on the French motorway are €40 for a 90% charge. Admittedly its a rapid charger (100kw) so you dont have to wait long but that's one hell of a markup and will kill the adoption of longer range travel in EV's

Thats why "fossil" is still cheaper for a drive to GA

[Blue and white stripes]

In theory as you don't need a test to enter Spain via its land border with France the drive down from Eurotunnel for two people would be subsidized by £200-300.
As long as you avoid the French curfew and Spain allows you to cross its internal borders.

[DaveG]

When I left GA in late November I fully intended to leave UK on the 27thDec and be back in Spain on the 30th i.e. before Brexit.

Now although I've travelled back twice to the UK (legally, non resident returning to main residence) during lockdown and not even seen any police I wouldn't risk trying going the other way now. As well as crossing Spain being illegal imagine getting to the end of the A23 at Sagunt and getting turned back.