NOTES ON DRIVING AN ID3 ACROSS EUROPE

[ajf]

I wrote these notes for my VW garage who were interested in how I got on when I recently went away with my wife for 3 weeks around Europe., in our 6-month-old iD3.

I post them here for interest of forum users. I am sure that my approach is not the only way to do it!!

NOTES ON DRIVING AN ID3 ACROSS EUROPE – INCLUDING STRATEGY TO BEST MANAGE AVAILABLE RANGE, BEST RECHARGE OPTIONS AND MINIMISE COSTS

Introduction. A journey of around 2,200 miles on the European mainland was completed between 12 November and 2 December 2022, using an iD3 Pro Tour S. The Pro Tour S has a 77kW battery and a stated max range (in ideal driving and climatic conditions) of 340 miles. It is understood that this stated max range will never be achieved in “real life conditions” but a key part of pre-journey preparation was to understood what might realistically be achieved, and what associated driving limitations were presented. During pre-journey preparation, it became apparent that economy would fall away when driving above 65mph (105kph) on motorways. It was also understood that, during autumnal/winter temperature conditions, range could be maximised by pre-conditioning the car (which means heating both the battery pack and the car interior), using grid electricity, before starting out.

Route. The route was Wiltshire to Coulommiers (60km east of Paris) via the Channel Tunnel, Coulommiers to Zell Am Zee, Austria, and the return journey from Zell Am Zee to Wiltshire via Channel Tunnel. We aimed not to drive longer than 6 hours each day (though appreciated that might be longer when traffic delays were encountered). The 2,200 mile total includes some local driving as well as the main journeys. Note: local driving was achieved using free electricity, through plugging the car into the 230V supply at our accommodation (in agreement with our landlord).

Identifying Charge Options and Paying for Charges. The underlying aim was to drive the route as cheaply as possible, so free or cheap overnight recharge options were pursued when available; paid options were often selected by price (eg using supermarket chargers in preference to motorway chargers) as far as practical. The method to find chargers in all countries visited/transited was through the CHARGEMAP app. Payment was made via the CHARGEMAP PASS (an RFID Charge Card, which cost €19.99, purchased before the journey started) – this was a major convenience benefit. The car would be charged up to 100% before long journeys, but to only 80% for local driving.

Performance: specifically comparison between stated range and range achieved. At first 100% charge in UK, the car “claimed” a range of 277 miles (445 km) – at subsequent 100% charges, the “claimed” ranges available were 420km, 421km, 456km and 439km. On this basis, with some confidence we were able to plan initial legs of 300+km before recharge, leaving a second leg of 200km or less before stopping for the night. Providing we had a plan A, with plan B as back-up, for the recharge stop, this was a good model for us. Interestingly, when we stopped the car to recharge, by adding the remaining km “claimed” by the car to the actual amount driven, it could be calculated that the actual driveable range was, on average, around 400km. Overnight charges were normally at hotels that offered reasonably priced car chargers; on one occasion a hotel was chosen specifically because it offered free recharge and, on arrival, that is what we found and took advantage of.

Comments & Conclusions. The journey was successful, with no range anxiety moments. Primary observations are:

a. We decided to drive max legs of 500km in a day, which suited us as we did not want to spend long days behind the wheel and we enjoy the occasional hotel overnight stay. This meant that only one recharge was required on each leg.

b. Each days’ driving was planned ahead, using the CHARGEMAPS App or website and recharge options identified. Where possible, cheaper priced chargers were used (mostly under 60 cents/kWh).

c. We drove at an average speed of 65mph/105kph on motorways, to maintain better economy. Possibly as a result of this (and by maximising free or cheap chargers /charging opportunities and avoiding expensive ones) we were pleased to complete the journey at an average cost of 6p/mile. If we add in the initial purchase cost of the Charge card (€19.99) that average increases to 7p/mile.

d. The CHARGEMAPS App and Charge Card were invaluable.

[Fergus]

Nice to see reviews like this - thanks AJF. I enjoy these "living with my id3" stories. Well penned. Hope you had a nice trip.

Out of interest what miles/kw did you achieve and what was your guess at the av ambient temperature?

[ajf]

Hi Fergus,

Good question about miles/kW. Interestingly, to achieve the VW stated 340 miles would require 4.4mi/kW. In reality, I tend to think we can achieve 3.5 on local driving but on a long journey including a chunk of motorway driving, its about 3.2 (which is what we achieved on the journey I describe). In September I put a roof box on the car (a slim one) and it went down to 2.8 which was pretty brutal!

[ajf]

I didn't answer your question about ambient temperature because ...... well, I'm not real;ly sure I know how to (and it wasn't a factor I took into account)

[OB1CCFC]

We drove from Yorkshire to the Switzerland border then holidayed in Germany about 18 months ago on our 58kw first edition.
No problems at all. Used Ionity for all but a couple of charges.
We felt on 130kph motorways that 110kph was the minimum that was safely comfortable, else we felt a bit too slow relatively. On reflection given the plentiful chargers on that run we could have easily done 115kph.
Interesting read. Thanks.

[duckworthsj]

Thanks for the story Fergus. Interesting. We will do a trip from the Alsace to the North West UK in a few weeks, so I will compare.

I agree that the Chargemap app is very valuable for planning journeys. It is much more reliable than the WeCharge/ Connect app that has let me down on several occasions. Also if you want to find cheap charging off the main autoroutes it is useful, because some of the chargers do not accept the VW card. This is particularly the case with the Freshmile network wish is prevalent in some areas of France. Chargers in supermarkets Lidl, Leclerc and IKEA are quite often free, but need a 'loyalty card', have relatively low output, are time limited, and are usually well occupied.
However to note: charging using the Chargemap RFID card is often more expensive than the VW card., so worth to plan ahead and check the cost in the App.

[simonmaskell]

Mine was a totally different experience. Drove from London to Disneyland Paris on 14Dec returning 17Dec. Temperature was -5c here and -10c in northern France. Driving 58kw id3 max. Four passengers boot fully loaded. Left at 4.00pm uk time major hold ups on M25 missed 8.20 crossing and was rescheduled to crossing at 00.20. Due to the traffic and the traffic and the temp charged at clacket lane services.( 2 of 4 xchargers not working had to wait for vehicle to move off). Charged to 100% at charger in channel tunnel terminal no queue). When we hit France and headed down the A1 there were no chargers on the motorway for at least 200km finally found one at auto grille services 3 cars queuing, second charge at junction 15 on A1 again three cars queuing the. On to Disney hotel where there were. About 20 7kw chargers. Total travel time was 10hrs
Key issues were this. The extreme temperature really impacted the overall mileage and it was so cold it was not practical not to use the heating. The biggest issue is the availability of fast chargers in France. Everyone we spoke to said queuing was the norm for fast chargers due to their being so few. There are however lots of 7kw and 22kw just off the motorways if you were desperate. Having said that they are building them many of the service stations have nearly completed banks of faster chargers that looked to me that are close to opening as many of the chargers were lit but still fenced off.Key message is to plan better than I did, I did not expect there to be a lack of chargers on the motorways but I was wrong.

[sidehaas]

Mine was a totally different experience. Drove from London to Disneyland Paris on 14Dec returning 17Dec. Temperature was -5c here and -10c in northern France. Driving 58kw id3 max. Four passengers boot fully loaded. Left at 4.00pm uk time major hold ups on M25 missed 8.20 crossing and was rescheduled to crossing at 00.20. Due to the traffic and the traffic and the temp charged at clacket lane services.( 2 of 4 xchargers not working had to wait for vehicle to move off). Charged to 100% at charger in channel tunnel terminal no queue). When we hit France and headed down the A1 there were no chargers on the motorway for at least 200km finally found one at auto grille services 3 cars queuing, second charge at junction 15 on A1 again three cars queuing the. On to Disney hotel where there were. About 20 7kw chargers. Total travel time was 10hrs
Key issues were this. The extreme temperature really impacted the overall mileage and it was so cold it was not practical not to use the heating. The biggest issue is the availability of fast chargers in France. Everyone we spoke to said queuing was the norm for fast chargers due to their being so few. There are however lots of 7kw and 22kw just off the motorways if you were desperate. Having said that they are building them many of the service stations have nearly completed banks of faster chargers that looked to me that are close to opening as many of the chargers were lit but still fenced off.Key message is to plan better than I did, I did not expect there to be a lack of chargers on the motorways but I was wrong.

There is a bit of a gap in Ionity sites between Aire de Rely (A26) and Saint Witz (A1 near Charles de Gaulle). I could imagine that being problematic in winter. Going home it's worse because the chargers at Rely are only accessible travelling south. From Saint Witz to Calais is too far in a 58kwh unless you drive really slow on the Autoroute.
Apparently Fastned are building some sites on the A1 should help fill the gap. At the moment it's better to go via the A16, which is only 5-10 minutes longer to Paris. The Aire de la Baie de Somme Ionity site is a better intermediate point than Rely for getting to Saint Witz. It's also a nicer services and is available both ways, which Rely isn't.
Agree about the much reduced numbers of off-motorway rapids when compared to the UK.