Instead of the 2020 Tour of Europe we were hoping for in the Model S, we took a week’s holiday in North Wales. Although we could have made the journey without charging, that would have left us nearly empty. There are fewer chargers in Wales than in England, and no EV charger where we were staying. So, we stopped at a Tesla supercharger on the way and arrived with about 50% charge.
Most EVs come with a charger to enable charging from a standard plug socket. In the UK we’re fortunate to have 230V, 13A as standard, meaning 2kW is no problem. For a large EV like the Model S, that only adds about 7 miles per hour plugged in. A 12 hour overnight charge adds about 85 miles. We kept a note of our electricity usage and paid the owner when we left.
The best charger locally was a Polar 32A 3-phase post at Rhyl promenade. Fortunately our Model S has the optional dual AC charger, so we were able to charge at ~22kW there, adding 71 miles per hour. Ironically we stayed very close to a planned Tesla Supercharger site at a service area on the A55- maybe next time?
Even on some narrow roads the width of the Model S was never a problem. The car performed superbly- especially on the faster sweeping roads and the Horseshoe pass to Llangollen where the roads are rarely straight. Driving the Model S here reminded me of riding motorbikes through the smooth, sweeping roads of Wales – a real treat.
I was tempted to make the 175 mile journey home without a charge, but traffic was heavy and it was over 30C, we were using air-con heavily, so didn’t risk it. We had a quick top-up at the Supercharger on the M54 and then we could drive as fast as the roads allowed, getting home with ~60 miles left.
simonselectriccar 