This is a significant saving compared to driving my Hyundai Verna 1.5 Turbo, which would have required a full tank of fuel.
BHPian ram7077 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
I began my journey with a 100% charged battery and drove 51 km from Mahe to Iritty, where I stopped at Skypenta Hotel with 84% charge remaining. This indicates a 16% drop in battery charge for the 51 km stretch.
I charged my vehicle using the 30kW EVOQ Charger from GOEC, paying ₹166.12 to reach 100% charge. With ghat roads ahead, I prioritized caution and opted for a full charge. The charging process took approximately 27 minutes to charge from 84% to 100%.
I drove directly from Skypenta Hotel in Iritty to Kodagu Planter’s Club in Gonikoppa, Coorg, as a precautionary measure to charge my car again as it was declared a bandh in Karnataka that day. I didn’t want to risk getting stranded on NH275 without a charge.
Kodagu Planter’s Club had a 60kW JIO Pulse charger with dual charging guns and I used this to top up my battery. After my drive from Iritty to Coorg of 48 km through ghat roads, my charge had dropped to 70%. I charged my vehicle from 70% to 99% in approximately 29 minutes, incurring a cost of ₹286.27.
Then, started driving all guns blazing through the scorching sun towards Bangalore. After covering 156 km on the Mysore-Bangalore expressway, I spotted a Burger King with a Zeon Charger. And that’s when I decided to take a lunch break and charge my car simultaneously which would reduce the time of travel and help me with ease of travel. The convenient stop reinforced the value of planning, making the journey even smoother.
After traveling 151 km from Kodagu Planter’s Club at Gonikkopa at Coorg to Zeon Charger at Ramanagara near Bangalore, my battery level dropped to 41%. Fortunately, the 60kW Zeon Charger at Burger King was a boon, which fully charged my vehicle to 100% in just 50 minutes while I had lunch. The charging session consumed 25.92 units, costing approximately ₹608.66.
I ended my journey with a 68% battery level after traveling the last 74 km to my hotel. This represented a 32% decrease, which works out to approximately 2.3 km per 1% of battery charge.
My final day began with a journey from Bangalore to a charging station on the Bangalore-Mysore expressway (NH275), where I found a 60kW Statiq charger. After a 72 km drive, my battery level dropped from 67% to 47%, a 20% decrease, which translates to approximately 3.6 km per percentage point of charge. Conveniently, a Cafe Coffee Day outlet was nearby, allowing me to combine charging with breakfast. The charging session took around 45-50 minutes and cost ₹405.
I had planned to drive 166 km directly to Kodagu Planter’s Club, expecting to arrive with 40-45% battery charge. However, upon arrival, I had only 38% charge left. This was because I drove most of the NH 275 stretch in Normal mode instead of ECO+ mode, which would have limited my speed to 80-83 kmph and helped conserve more battery charge.
Next up, there was a twist in the tale. When I arrived at Kodagu Planter’s club, the Jio Pulse charger was not functioning. Another EV owner, who was also struggling to charge his Nexon EV, shared the same experience. With only 38% charge and 117 km range, I was concerned about making it back home, which was 95 km away. Range anxiety started to set in. Fortunately, the other EV owner kindly directed me to a nearby Tata Showroom, which had a 24kW Zeon Charger. Although it was slower than the 60kW Jio Pulse charger, I was relieved to have an alternative option.
My relief was short-lived, as I arrived at the Tata Showroom, only to discover that the 24kW Zeon Charger was also out of order. I met another EV owner, who was about to leave after trying to charge his Punch EV. He informed me that a power outage in the area had rendered both charging stations – Jio Pulse and Zeon Charger – unusable, leaving me with no immediate charging options.
This is where nerves started to jangle and now the charge dropped to 35% and next charger was at SkyPenta Hotel at Iritty which was 47 kms away and around 1:30 hrs – 2 hrs drive. However, I chose to trust my vehicle and proceed confidently, relying on regeneration to help. As I navigated the challenging Coorg Ghat roads, filled with potholes and ongoing roadwork, I relied heavily on braking and regeneration, which surprisingly boosted my charge to 38% and increased my range to 125 km by the time I exited the ghat section.
Kerala roads are always unpredictable and well-known for traffic jams, I headed directly to Skypenta Hotel in Iritty to recharge my car. While charging, I took a break to refresh myself, as the combination of range anxiety and early morning long-distance driving had taken a toll on my energy levels. I decided to have lunch at the hotel, enjoying some food and fresh juice to recharge myself. Meanwhile, the EVOQ charger stopped at 72% due to insufficient funds (Rs 315) in my EVOQ app wallet.
I had 72% charge remaining and only 51 km to cover to reach home, so I indulged in some enthusiastic driving. I arrived home in under an hour and still had 55% charge left.
Despite some minor confusion about charge and range, my Windsor reliably guided me to the next charging station. Moreover, the ride was extremely comfortable both to and from Bangalore, making the journey a pleasant experience.
My calculations show that the total charging cost for the 700 km trip was ₹1780, with 55% charge still remaining, enough for another 100-150 km. This is a significant saving compared to driving my Verna 1.5 Turbo, which would have required a full tank costing around ₹5000, plus an additional ₹1000 for a safety refill on the return journey, considering the poor mileage for petrol vehicles on ghat roads.
Hope my thread is interesting and will be back with another one while I plan my next trip. Until then, kudos mates.
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