The air-conditioning was on all the time and most of the driving was done in the Normal Mode.
BHPian speedmiester recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
A drive to Goa and Karwar in the Lightfury.
I just completed ~1300Kms drive to Goa and back in the ZS EV. We had planned a drive to Goa and Karwar during the summer holidays, this included a couple of days stay in South Goa and a day’s stay in Karwar.
Typically on such long drives, I prefer to drive in the night time as my son sleeps off in his car seat and it’s less stressful for him. Also, the cooler night temperatures are a lot bearable if a good part of the drive is completed at night.
We left our residence at 11:52PM with a full charge. Drove non-stop to the first charging stop at a Jio BP fuel station just before Ranebennur. It’s at a distance of 304Kms and it took me 4hrs 40Mins for this stretch. This is a 60KW fast charger and the charging process and experience are very good.
SOC was down to 25% and charged to 95% in 40mins, this was sufficient to reach our resort in South Goa with 16% battery left. We reached the resort at 12:45PM which included 45mins break for breakfast, 40mins for charging and wasting about 25 minutes at 8 election checkpoints. Most of the conversations at these checkpoints were around the range of the ZS.
There are two AC chargers at the resort we stayed and I charged to 100% there. We didn’t venture out in Goa.
On the return drive, we drove to Karwar for a night’s stay there. SOC was down to 82% when we left Karwar. We stopped for lunch in Honnavar and charged at the same time at the newly opened Jio BP fast charging station. By the time we had lunch, the car was charged to 97% from 56% in about 35mins. We visited the nearby temple at Idagunji and left for Bangalore at 3:15PM. I opted to charge at the same Jio BP charging station which I used while going to Goa. Reached this charger at 6:50PM with 32% SOC left. While the car was charging, we had an early dinner. Charged to 98% in 52mins, which was sufficient for the drive back home. The final leg of the drive took about 4hrs 20mins to cover the final 312kms to reach home. SOC was at 9% when we reached home.
Few pointers
- I don’t hypermile and I drive just like ICE cars. I keep my speeds between 80-90KMPH and with occasional bursts to 110KMPH.
- Most of the drive was in normal mode with sports mode used for about 200Kms during the return drive. AC was on all the time.
- Drive was excellent. Lightfury had no problem negotiating the occasional bad stretch of roads.
- The fast-charging network is in place and there was no range anxiety at any point. There were multiple reliable chargers available. An EV with a real-world range of 300Kms can do long drives with ease.
- I always opt for chargers which can charge two cars simultaneously and ones with a high charging rate. Also, I plan for backup chargers should the preferred one is down or occupied. I avoid chargers which can be a single point of failure.
- Plan for elevation changes, this can significantly add or reduce range. The onward journey was from an elevation of 900Meters to sea level and I could do the distance on a single charging stop. But the return leg meant climbing the 900meters increasing the consumption and prompting a second charging stop.
Final stats
- Total distance driven: 1291.4Kms
- Total driving time: 22Hr 55mins
- Avg. Speed: 55KMPH
- Avg. consumption: 7.7Km/KWH
- Total charging costs: 3209.86
- Cost/Km: Rs. 2.48
At the charging station
Parting shot
Keyword: Covered 1300 km in my MG ZS EV with zero range anxiety