I want charging points in beautiful places!
We have just returned after more than 3,100 km through Europe with our Tesla Model Y LR. Since we got it in April we have driven just over 10,000 km. Of those there are many short trips around our home, 15 to 40 km. We can charge the car in our garage even though JM undersized the charging stations. When I asked why charging is limited to 3.3 kW, an employee at JM told me, "It allows for normal charging, for example, that after 12 hours of charging you can drive about 200 km with a regular electric car. And that this is the standard to be installed in new buildings." It's like the story of the older man who didn't think gas was getting expensive; he was still filling up for 10 euros. Time to upgrade the standard JM! Consider load sharing and differentiated tariffs if you only can solve reasonable capacity for some.
Tesla Model Y LR at a Tesla Supercharger
Ok, enough about JM and their lack of insight. In addition to these short trips to and from work, the store and the children's activities, there have been some longer trips. A couple of trips to Gothenburg and the surrounding area, Hamburg and most recently, Lake Garda. So I have some experience with our Tesla and before that we had an AUDI e-tron 55 for three years that we managed to drive over 80,000 km with. With it, I have great experience in driving on electricity. If you count the AUDI, we have gone to the mountains on skiing holidays, summer holidays on small roads in Sweden, and many kilometers along Swedish and foreign highways.
A few weeks after we picked up our AUDI, we went on a summer trip through Sweden. It was 5,000 km on highways and major roads to the center of Sweden and back on minor roads past the Swedish mountains. Initially, there was some range anxiety with a heavily loaded car and plenty of rain. Still, it declined significantly at the second charging stop north of Gothenburg. In 2020, there were not many chargers with a capacity over 50 kW along the E45 up to Karlstad and then to Laxsjö 100 km north of Östersund. A distance of almost 900 km. In a fully loaded car with a roof box, 2 adults, three children of 11, 13 and 16 years, a Dobermann, it worked fine with planning, a flexible mind and no stress, and a Trangia storm kitchen. The rest of our 4,000 km worked just as well; after that, one was a convinced electric car owner. Of course, there were times when we had to be creative, using Google and the community to get a car charger going or our Thermacell to scare away some mosquitoes on a mountain hike. But all in all, it was not the electric car, range anxiety or charging queues that became our lasting memories, but completely different things, fun things.
AUDI e-tron 55 2020
Tesla Model Y LR 2023
Fast-forward to the summer of 2023 and back home after a trip through Germany, Salzburg in Austria, on to Torri del Benaco on Lake Garda, over the Alps and the autobahn up to Hamburg to come home to Lomma via Denmark with 10% left in the battery. How does it feel then? Even a little better actually. The same keys to success, planning and no stress. 3,100 km where the availability of charging points was far more than we could ever need. We could choose between Tesla's Supercharger, IONITY and other local options at several stops. We could choose based on availability, service or price without compromising on time. Both in Austria and Italy we made some day trips. Visiting small villages by beautiful lakes, vineyards in Valpolicella and winding mountain roads from the past around Lake Garda. Even then, plenty of kilowatt hours to get and no charging queues.
What about AUDI compared to Tesla? They are good at different things, as they usually are when comparing cars. The apparent pluses for the Audi are:
AUDI e-tron 55 2020
Suspension comfort.
The parking system.
Adaptive cruise control.
Charging speed.
Self-steering.
Climate control.
Tesla Model Y LR 2023
“Please note that the thoughts and experiences shared here are personal and do not represent scientific truths. Your own thoughts and feelings may differ, and what applies to me may not necessarily apply to you.”
Tesla clearly wins regarding interior space and load capacity, efficiency and range, one-pedal driving and the infotainment system. But there are some bad things, even lousy to be honest. The parking system is a joke. Relying on cameras alone was a big mistake. Not having accurate distance sensors and a 360-degree camera is not worthy of a modern car. Then the autopilot is like riding with someone practicing driving. It is less competent and trustworthy than the one in AUDI. Again, relying on the camera alone is a mistake; half a mosquito in front of the camera and you are left with two choices. Either drive with the windshield wipers on constantly under blue rainless skies or don't use the system. But what's really bad, and actually a traffic hazard, is that in one week across Europe the car managed to panic-brake in the middle of the autobahn more times than the AUDI did in three years. Sometimes because it was blinded by the sun, sometimes because reflections from the roadside worried it and sometimes just because, well, who knows!
The mobile app and communication with the car is a dream compared to AUDI, which has gone from completely rubbish and unusable to just bad in three years.
Am I satisfied with the Tesla Model Y LR? Yes, it has some pluses against the AUDI. Compared to all other electric cars within a reasonable price range, it has a slight advantage in my book. Will I buy a new Tesla again in a few years? As it stands now, no!
Back to living with an electric car and especially on European vacation trips. Something that I have on my wish list. The vast majority of fast chargers are located along major roads, at truck stops and fast food chains, in dull areas along the autobahn or in locations outside the cities alongside hauliers and light industry.
I wish for urban parking garages full of charging spots and fast charging outside a vineyard in Valpolicella or at the lookout point where you can witness magical sunsets. I want a charger at the best ice cream parlor in Skåne and the start of the mountain trail in Dalarna. I want charging points in beautiful places where you want to be, where you can eat something other than Big Mac number 19 in 7 days. Is that too much to ask for?
Nothing of this is a big deal compared to what is happening around us. It's no problem at all!
Be safe!
