Get inspired by Ed

The first time on holiday with your EV, what was that like?

Honestly, I was really looking forward to it. I saw it as the ultimate test for my EV. Driving within the Netherlands is no problem with a range of 330 km. This is a bit different if you go on holiday to Kaprun in Austria, which is about 1000 km away and you also drive a bit through the mountains.

How did you prepare the trip?

Because it was the first time I was going to make a long trip with my EV, I was more concerned with the trip than I normally would. I scanned the route at loading locations and looked it up on the internet. I wanted to make sure that these locations were really functional to prevent me from arriving at a charging location under construction, for example, with a low battery!

In the end, all the research turned out not to be necessary, because there were more than enough charging locations along the entire route. But the preliminary work was not for nothing, because I had now mapped out the route perfectly and had already determined in advance where I would stop to recharge. Only at the final destination, the map did not show a lot of loading options. This worried me. That’s why I brought the 220V charger just to be sure.

In addition, I have been thinking about the roof box. We wanted to take extra luggage with us, but a roof box provides more resistance while driving and in combination with the extra weight, this affects the range. To prevent extra charging, we have chosen to leave the roof box at home.

Do you feel like the trip took longer with an EV?

If I compare this “EV” trip with a “gasoline” trip, we have been on the road about two hours longer due to the charging sessions at the bottom of the line. But, I didn’t experience it that way. Fast charging the car and stretching your legs or drinking a cup of coffee for half an hour has been excellent to me. This made the trip feel even more like a holiday!

So the trip was not too bad?

Honestly when it comes to traveling abroad with an electric vehicle I thought we might encounter a few obstacles along the way.. Especially charging the car haunts your mind a lot. But it’s not too bad for me, especially the number of charging locations along the way. There were also enough charging facilities at the final destination, while these were not indicated on the map. In the end, traveling with an EV was therefore not too bad and my car passed the test 100%. What started as an exciting adventure turned out to be an “ordinary” holiday trip.

Do you have a tip for others who go on holiday with an electric car?

I personally found it very pleasant to know that there were enough charging locations along the route to our destination. Especially since it was the first time I went on a ski holiday with my electric car. So my tip is to check the number of charging locations along your route, then you drive a lot more pleasantly and you can map out exactly where you are going to stop to charge. That gives a lot of peace and quiet and then your holiday can start immediately!

Finally

Are you inspired by Ed’s story but still have doubts about whether you want to get into an electric car? ALD Automotive makes your choice a lot easier with ALD eFlex. To avoid having to choose right away, ALD eFlex is offering a trial period of at least one month (or longer, of course) at the normal lease rate. Only then will you really discover how much electric driving suits you in practice. Would you like to know more? Then check out eFlex’s webpage.