EV Car Sharing

Yesterday I drove an EV from Nyon to Boudry and back. The journey took about 40 percent charge for each direction for a total of 80 percent charge. Keep in mind that this is a fiat 500 with a small battery rather than a large one.

I routed the journey from Nyon to a 150w charging station and within 14 minutes I had gone from 56 percent or so to 86 percent. I then drove to the train station where the group was scheduled to meet and waited.

Slow and Steady

For the drive up I didn’t drive at 120 km/h, but tried to drive at 100-110 and I kept an eye on the amount of power I was using. I drove conservatively and “slowly” according to some people. The aim wasn’t about getting from A to B fast. It was about seeing whether the car could be driven 97 kilometres. The answer is yes.

If I wanted to I could have taken a risk, by not charging before the journey back but as I used about 84 percent of the charge it was rational, and wise to charge when I got to my destination.

Gentle Uphill

If I had charged to 80 percent before doing the trip then I could have made it to my destination, but I charged to 100 percent for that leg. If you drive from Nyon to Lausanne and from Lausanne to Boudry the motorway is on a slight incline for the entire journey. This means that you use more power than on a flat landscape.

On the drive back I was conservative with acceleration and speed. It’s only once I passed Morges that I took liberties and drove normally.

No Cruise Control

For the entire journey I used the limiter rather than cruise control, and without assisted driving. Assisted driving has a tendency to accelerate fast, rather than efficiently. If you accelerate too fast you lose range. If you’re gentle you gain in range.

And Finally

Yesterday I budgeted an extra hour for charging during the drive. I was happy to find that within 14 minutes I was back to eighty percent and ready to continue with the day. I find it easy to ask someone to be patient for 15-30 minutes while waiting for an EV to charge.

Yesterday we waited 20 minutes for a train so waiting the same amount of time for an EV to charge is perfectly reasonable.

In theory I could have gone from A to B, and back to A on a single charge but that would have been taking a pointless risk. Arriving home with 14 percent battery would have been silly, and stressful.

Yesterday was a success and I will seriously consider driving the EV for future activities, and car share. I don’t want to waste people’s time while experimenting, but now that the experimenting is finished I can range, and car share again.