EV Ownership in the "North"

An Electric Vehicle "state of the nation" post... this one has been a long time coming! I see consistent negative comments about EV ownership, generally from people who don't own an EV, so i thought I would share my recent experience with long distance EV driving.

I recently moved from the comfort of a Hybrid (Outlander PHEV) to a full electric (Mercedes EQC), I was supposed to go full electric 3 years ago but the supply chain issues post Covid meant an incredible wait time for a new car so I plunged for the PHEV and loved my time with it. First of all, a huge shout out to Tusker as our corporate leasing partner who have been phenomenal throughout the years I have been with them, brilliant customer service and choice of vehicles. I highly reccomend them for your personal vehicle leasing.

Here we are in 2024, with 23% of UK cars now being either battery, plug in electric or hybrid (source: Zapmap ), how easy is it to get around the UK. Here’s the kicker... the UK is more than just London, so what’s it like owning an electric car in the North of the UK?

Recently I attended the Connected North event in Manchester, I had the option to travel by train (￡300 return!), plane (￡1200, short notice!) or car. The furthest I had driven the car was less than 100 miles in a single journey, weekend football trips take me all over Scotland but generally less than 50 miles in a single trip. I decided to drive from Fife to Manchester to see what it would be like, and how cost effective it would be compared to public transport.?

I made sure the car was fully charged before I departed (no home charger yet, that’s a story for another day) and planned my route using Zapmap as well we the Mercedes Me service to see where the best chargers were along the route. I was conscious that 90% of the route was going to be either the M8, M74 and M6 motorways, I expected eye watering costs and problems finding EV bays. I was half correct.

Now my Mercedes-Benz AG is not the best when it comes to range, this car was clearly built for style rather than functionality, but I knew this in advance. Compared to smaller cars which can have a 300+ mile range, my car will sit between 210-230 miles range depending on the weather, something that every prospective EV owner needs to be aware of (especially if you live in the North!). I decided that I would make 2 stops each way to part-charge, this would be enough to keep me going and leave me with around 25% by the time I got home.

Real world performance, however, is very different. I have had range anxiety (yes, it’s a real thing!) ever since I went full electric, this is exacerbated by long distance motorway driving. Whatever range you think you have quickly dissipated when you are driving between 60-70Mph for extended periods with not a lot of regeneration. I did notice that battery drain was slightly lower on the opening journey ad the temperature increased, however the return journey showed a pretty level battery drain for the whole journey.

Home to Stop 1 – 104 Miles, 38.5Kwh/100Mile, 7.8oC

Charge 1 – 55% charge in 54 mins

Stop 1 to Stop 2 – 99 Miles, 36.8Kwh/100Mile, 9.9 oC

Charge 2 – 51% in 45 mins

Stop 2 to Destination – 47 Miles, 34.1Kwh/100Mile, 11.7 oC

?

Destination to Stop 1 – 47 Miles, 37.5Kwh/100Miles, 11.0 oC

Charge 3 – 44% in 46 mins

Stop 1 to Stop 2 – 104 Miles, 41.5Kwh/100Mile, 12.6 oC

Charge 4 – 53% in 45 mins

Stop 2 to Home – 106 Miles, 39.1kWh/100Mile, 10.9 oC

?

What I have learned very quickly is that your driving style in an EV changes considerably. I would normally make the same journey with one stop, somewhere halfway, to refuel and get a coffee. Now I find myself looking to stop and take more breaks to charge and refresh. Although this is forced, it makes the journey a bit more pleasurable and makes me realise that maybe I was pushing the limits of long-distance driving before. This usual 4.5 hour drive ended up taking almost 6 hours including stops but I arrived feeling more relaxed. Mercedes-Benz AG also operates its Eco Coach app which rewards you for more economical driving, this along with the change in long distance driving habits have changed how I drive for the better in my opinion. Im now more inclined to take breaks, drive at a more consistent pace and try and use regenerative braking rather than using the foot brake, all of which count towards a better "drive score".

Charging, the biggest element of range anxiety, was put to the test on this journey. I would usually utilise the Mercedes Me subscription service to track down the cheapest chargers, but the realisation soon set in that the majority of recent motorway charging stations were not part of the agreement, with GRIDSERVE making up most new charging bays between Glasgow and Manchester. I opted to use GRIDSERVE and just pay contactless at the point of use, but all charging stations seemed to be incredibly expensive at 79p per kWh, also noticeable is the lack of varying pricing, especially when there is a glut of energy in the National Grid (ala Octopus Agile). The four different chargers I used all worked flawlessly, fast connection to the car and fast DC charging between 44 and 84kWh. Each charge cost around ￡33 for around 50% charge each time, this would mean around ￡134 charging costs for a 415-mile round trip.

Comparing this to the same journey in the PHEV with a 300-mile range, 1 tank would cost around ￡55 with 2 stops and a tank and a half coming around ￡80.

EV bay availability was not an issue, all four locations were either completely empty or only had a handful of cars, this would obviously be a different story during holiday periods. I’ve seen the same bays during Easter holidays full, with a queue of cars waiting to charge, this needs to be considered when planning long journeys in an EV during holiday periods. On the flip side, the number of additional chargers installed in the last year along this route has more than doubled with a focus on fast charging rather than lower voltage trickle charging which is a huge bonus.

Finally, some observations. City centre charging still seems to be a huge problem, especially in Manchester. The few chargers that were available around Manchester Central were either all populated or faulty. The one charge that seemed viable in the NCP car park was eye watering, at ￡46 costs to park for the time I would be at the venue with the charging costs on top (trickle charge as well, not fast charging). Also, it is worth mentioning the state of UK roads. Not just local roads in Manchester, but Motorways and service stations all have a huge amount of potholes and surface wear. Driving a large heavy EV and hitting potholes is not a pleasant experience, but the exit roundabout at the Annandale Water services are like the surface of the moon... be aware if you are ever in the vicinity!

All in all, the journey was a breeze, the move to an EV has been so easy and having a charger at home is the key to unlocking the full befits of EV ownership. Alongside a smart energy tariff like Octopus Energy Agile, home charging can be very cost effective, but the infrastructure for longer distance journeys is adequate for now but signs of improvement make the side-step into an EV an attractive proposition. Charging an EV at public chargers is still, in my opinion, extortionate, but an increase in availability of chargers along with the introduction of more home chargers make life easier. You pay for convenience with public fast chargers, you will always get the better rates charging at home however.

Here at Liberty Global , we see the benefits that EV infrastructure brings, and our sister company Believ along with the Innovation trials we are carrying out in the world of EV charging, we are gearing up to meet the needs of the UK’s future electric fleet.

I hope this has been informative, EV’s get a lot of bad press but the perception doesn’t meet the positive experience of owning one in my opinion.