Page 3 | Anyone taken an electric car down to Penzance for a week

Springsnowdrops · 2025-03-31T10:11:53+00:00

Booked in over Easter No chargers at property Can only see 4 rapid chargers in whole area on zap map The rest are 6 hour chargers ,but in supermarket car parks ,where if it's anything like home ,you can only stay for 2 hours .. Starting to think this is going to be a disaster Anyone successfully done a week in Penzance in an electric car

TizerorFizz · 19/04/2025 22:26

@LondonPapa What difference does make of car make? The op is telling you what happened driving her car - not yours or mine.

Older EVs didn’t get very far. Mine is meant to be 300 miles and it’s less then 1 year old: It isn’t. I drive fairly quickly. I’d say my confidence level is nearer 200. MG4 standard is 185. Volvo ex30 single motor 170. Ford puma gen e 170. Peugeot e2008 165. Skoda Elroq 150 is 190 but none of those will do the advertised miles on fast roads.

As for planning. Such an annoying faff. The chargers are in use or broken. Pretty often. Then it’s plan B or C or even D. It’s not planning though - it’s crap infrastructure.

LondonPapa · 19/04/2025 17:28

Springsnowdrops · 19/04/2025 15:35

We were motorway from Bodmin onwards
And the services only had 3 or so chargers at the opposite ones we stopped at on the way down
Without coming off at various towns trying to find chargers the motorway services were just to busy .
On the way down there was lots of chargers
There really wasn't as many on the way back

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Having done both ways, numerous times, you’ve got poor planning to blame. There are multiple sites with multiple chargers on both A30 and motorway routes. And, you’ve still not said what car it is, only 170 mile range which is meaningless.

TizerorFizz · 19/04/2025 16:17

@Springsnowdrops Yes. Don’t believe the hype!

Springsnowdrops · 19/04/2025 16:06

This reply has been deleted

Deleted at OP's request

TizerorFizz · 19/04/2025 15:57

@Springsnowdrops Near the start of this thread I think I told you about the problems. There are not enough chargers! Yes people park non EVs in EV charging spaces. Yes, they are often not working. As there are few car park chargers in Cornwall, Bodmin lures them in! It’s not easy unless you can find overnight charging. It’s very stressful. Retired folk can take all day. Singles are probably working and don’t own the car.

I agree about EV buying costs. Too low a range is a disaster. Not sure if you ever looked at second hand EVs? You might get a better deal and a bigger battery. If this is your only car, it’s not been a great choice. Who needs a stressful holiday?

Unfortunately the pro Ev lobby is noisy but the practicalities of ownership don’t suit longer journeys. Don’t think we are taking our EV to Cornwall. Fine with 200 miles but we would need 1 full charge to complete the journey. Motorways seem to use a lot of battery power.

Original poster

Springsnowdrops · 19/04/2025 15:40

Maybe the problem is our range ,it's 170 miles ,as I said for more range it would of cost an extra £4000 for the same car
More range would of meant less stops and a less stressful journey
We didn't have the extra £4000 at the time
We certainly won't be using it long distance again,it's only good for round town where I can charge at home and know there won't be anyone parked in the charging space and the charger will actually work .
So we either sell the car and go back to petrol
Or we keep it for round town and buy another that's petrol
Either way
An expensive mistake

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Original poster

Springsnowdrops · 19/04/2025 15:35

LondonPapa · 18/04/2025 20:21

But, there are loads of chargers and options as you head back up. Once you’re beyond Truro, it gets a lot better. And then from Devon, lots all the way up.

What car do you have?

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We were motorway from Bodmin onwards
And the services only had 3 or so chargers at the opposite ones we stopped at on the way down
Without coming off at various towns trying to find chargers the motorway services were just to busy .
On the way down there was lots of chargers
There really wasn't as many on the way back

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Confusedformer · 18/04/2025 20:34

Can’t actually believe people are suggesting you run a cable into the holiday let. Pretty sure that’s (a) very expensive for whoever is paying the bill (b) unlikely to be included in the rental and (c) a fire hazard. Incredibly selfish - if you’re driving an EV, surely you can make provision for it without risking a property that belongs to somebody else.

NewNewForest · 18/04/2025 20:28

Springsnowdrops · 01/04/2025 09:21

We are coming from Oxfordshire
The zap map says we need 4 stops .
Tbh
I don't what possessed me to book the holiday or buy the car .
I'm thinking cancel the holiday as it wasn't expensive and we might get some money back

we’ve done it in a Volkswagen ID, from Wiltshire/Ox border - we fast charge right to the brim on the way down with the fast ones at Darts Farm then we can get away with mini charges of 30/40 mins to add a few miles, then a full charge again on way back.

LondonPapa · 18/04/2025 20:21

Springsnowdrops · 18/04/2025 19:56

The drive down was fine ,no issues
The drive back ,there are a lot less chargers ..a lot less

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But, there are loads of chargers and options as you head back up. Once you’re beyond Truro, it gets a lot better. And then from Devon, lots all the way up.

What car do you have?

Original poster

Springsnowdrops · 18/04/2025 19:58

Our car hasn't got a huge range ,so we need three stops each way .
As I said earlier,a longer range was an extra £4000 we didn't have

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Original poster

Springsnowdrops · 18/04/2025 19:56

LondonPapa · 18/04/2025 19:10

@Springsnowdrops I drove down to Cornwall yesterday. I had zero issues with charging. Plenty of spaces, including a minor top-up charge at Cornwall Services Victoria.

I would suggest your issue is more planning related than anything. Especially as there is a massive InstaVolt charging location in Bodmin at Homebase / Halfords, avoiding the shopping centre experience.

The drive down was fine ,no issues
The drive back ,there are a lot less chargers ..a lot less

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lissie123 · 18/04/2025 19:38

Yes travelled to Cornwall for work and holidays. Stopped at Exeter moto services on the way and on return. But also topped up at Fraddon which might be out of action now but Summercourt might be an alternative

LondonPapa · 18/04/2025 19:30

PaintDecisions · 18/04/2025 19:27

You do know Bodmin is about an hour away from Penzance? Not exactly suitable for a daily charge...

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Did you read the post about how they drove to an out of town shopping centre to charge, on the way back?

PaintDecisions · 18/04/2025 19:27

LondonPapa · 18/04/2025 19:10

@Springsnowdrops I drove down to Cornwall yesterday. I had zero issues with charging. Plenty of spaces, including a minor top-up charge at Cornwall Services Victoria.

I would suggest your issue is more planning related than anything. Especially as there is a massive InstaVolt charging location in Bodmin at Homebase / Halfords, avoiding the shopping centre experience.

You do know Bodmin is about an hour away from Penzance? Not exactly suitable for a daily charge...

LondonPapa · 18/04/2025 19:10

@Springsnowdrops I drove down to Cornwall yesterday. I had zero issues with charging. Plenty of spaces, including a minor top-up charge at Cornwall Services Victoria.

I would suggest your issue is more planning related than anything. Especially as there is a massive InstaVolt charging location in Bodmin at Homebase / Halfords, avoiding the shopping centre experience.

Original poster

Springsnowdrops · 18/04/2025 07:34

Actually it was very frustrating trying to find chargers and seeing none EV vehicles parked in their spaces ,one bloke strolled back to his car next to us ,not a care in the world,nor bothered he had taken a space not meant for him .
And it didn't occur to me that the whole of Cornwall services could be down .we have an app that tells us when chargers are free and working,but it wasn't updating quickly enough and frequently wasn't accurate.
And basically there's nothing you can do if someone is parked in an EV space not actually needing it ...that never occurred to me that people would do that ,,like why ,when you know the space is not meant for you .
It cost us £1000 to have the charger fitted at home ,And for around town it's definitely saving us pounds ..but never will I take an EV on a long journey again.
Which means either having two family cars ( who can afford that ) or we sell the car we have and maybe buy one that's combination of electricity and petrol..but that's another £4000.
Sort of feeling we have made an expensive mistake really

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MissGeist · 18/04/2025 07:20

Thank you for the update. The problem with charging points is that so many seem to be broken or any old car can take the space.
Petrol stations are rarely closed and they certainly don't allow random cars to park at the pumps.

ITurnedMyCollarToTheColdAndDamp · 18/04/2025 07:09

That does sound stressful op. I'm glad you made it back ok (by the skin of your teeth!). You live and you learn!

I hope you had a great holiday and your lasting memories are of beautiful Cornwall, not of car-dramas.

Original poster

Springsnowdrops · 17/04/2025 20:56

Journey back wasn't great.
Cornwall services electric chargers were all down ,
no explanation,no one there trying to fix it
..we didn't have huge amount of range to get elsewhere
,3 other cars there had less range than us ,..that was quite stressful,being new to this .
So drove to Bodmin to an outdoor of town shopping centre with chargers
,that also had cars parked that were not EV , people just using the spaces to go shopping ..
Anyway,45 minutes charging and we were on our way
Then a second charge of an hour at Exeter services,
Then planned the third charge ,and we rolled in to that charging place on 0 miles left .the car went from 9 miles to 0 ,so the last 5 minutes was very stressful..
The services on the way home on the motorway only had 2 or 3 charging points that were all in use so we ended up at a garden centre way of our route home

So we worked out the cost was the same as petrol,but the journey took an extra 2 hours 45 minutes longer with charging and extra driving to find chargers that took us away from our route .
Interestingly ...I like to people watch a bit
And I didn't see any families charging their cars ,seemed to be single people,couples and retired people..
having young children with us today ,would definitely of added an extra layer of stress to the situation

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LondonPapa · 17/04/2025 12:48

Chersfrozenface · 16/04/2025 19:21

Let's hope so.

According to the Competition and Markets Authority the UK will need between 280,000 and 480,000 public charge points by then (2030).

Currently we have 75,000.

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It is increasing significantly, and at pace but I don’t believe the infrastructure will be fully in place by 2030 as per CMA requirements. And the CMA is likely underestimating!

ThatWriterInTheCorner · 16/04/2025 19:41

Journey down - we regularly travel down from Hull to Falmouth (just under 400 miles) and generally we only need to stop and charge twice. All the big services have fast chargers, including Cornwall Services. I'd be amazed if you needed four stops.

While in Penzance - if you're self-catering will you be doing a supermarket shop? There is a big (hideously ugly) complex of loads of supermarkets just outside the town where I'm sure there will be chargers. Just plug in as you do the shopping.

Enjoy your holiday, Penzance is lovely! (Apart from the hideous supermarket complex 😄)

Chersfrozenface · 16/04/2025 19:21

soupyspoon · 16/04/2025 19:16

Well it can only get better, imagine in 5 years time it will probably be completely different

Let's hope so.

According to the Competition and Markets Authority the UK will need between 280,000 and 480,000 public charge points by then (2030).

Currently we have 75,000.

soupyspoon · 16/04/2025 19:16

Well it can only get better, imagine in 5 years time it will probably be completely different

Original poster

Springsnowdrops · 16/04/2025 17:33

soupyspoon · 15/04/2025 19:23

Good on you for trying but theres no way Id be putting up with that shit, it sounds like an endurance test rather than a relaxing holiday.

Yes ,I have to be honest it has added an extra Level of anxiety to the holiday

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