Long journey

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neilgall
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2023 3:45 pm

Post by neilgall »

Thinking of visiting my brother in Suffolk next month. It's about 400 miles each way from Edinburgh. ABRP suggests M74, M6, A66, A1(M), A14 with two charge stops, and that's generally the route I take anyway. Any tips for making a long trip in the Mégane go smoothly, or for painless charging along this route?

We'll have the dog with us. So recommendations for charging stops with dog walking would be a bonus 😀

Phorridge
Posts: 160
Joined: Fri Dec 23, 2022 5:32 pm

Post by Phorridge »

Only the obvious. Charge to 100% before you leave. Charge around 20-30% (but with enough spare to make the next charging station on route just in case)
Only charge to 80% as it slows down after that.
neilgall
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2023 3:45 pm

Post by neilgall »

Well we made it. 850 mile round trip from Edinburgh to Suffolk and back. Couple of charges each way, but no more time spent than we needed to stop anyway. 3.3mpkWh average.

The Mégane is easily as comfortable as the Volvo XC40 I used to have but I feel less tired this time as it didn't have automatic cruise or lane keeping assist.
Thermal runaway
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2024 8:14 am

Post by Thermal runaway »

Nice one neilgall!
3.3m/kW is okay.
I find that my Megane reports a lower m/kWh than it actually achieves.

Best!
Hoseman50
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2024 9:18 pm

Post by Hoseman50 »

We did a relatively long journey yesterday, for us anyway.
It was about 95 miles each way to pick up a car for our son who’s just past his test.
So this was the first real motorway driving in the Megane.
First impressions are good, adaptive cruise control worked well.
I thought I would drive how I would normally in my previous diesel motor, normally set cruise control to 80 if the road is quiet.
Now I’m trying to eke out as much mileage from a charge as I can so was in Eco mode.
Is quite undriveable to be honest, it was like there was a restriction on the throttle pedal.
The car would lurch forward if you pressed your foot to the floor, and the cruise control was limited to 71 mph.
Switched to comfort mode and it transformed.
Behaved impeccably, so in comfort it will remain for future motorway trips.
Topped the battery up at GRIDSERVE charging point at Weatherby services, took about 1/2 hour to add about 50% back to the battery.
Still learning the best way to use google maps as well as Electroverse app to incorporate charging stops.
MY 22 Launch Edition Ceramic Grey with Black Roof
neilgall
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2023 3:45 pm

Post by neilgall »

Yeah, eco mode for motorway driving is asking for frustration. Comfort works well, Sport mode if you're late for band practice (I only did this once!)

I found planning charging stops via software pretty unhelpful, tbh. We just drove until WE needed to stop and charged the car while we stretched our legs or grabbed some food. Charging was a doddle with no queues, no broken chargers, no weird payment issues and really good charging rates up to 110kW.
Thermal runaway
Posts: 18
Joined: Thu Apr 04, 2024 8:14 am

Post by Thermal runaway »

Hi Hoseman50,
Yes that all sounds correct: ECO restricts speed, but does allow you to get out of trouble if you floor it.👍

If you use google maps to navigate to a particular charger, I believe it then pre-conditions the battery as you near it, in readiness of a quicker charge👍
neilgall
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Aug 09, 2023 3:45 pm

Post by neilgall »

Yes that's true. Half an hour before we wanted to stop I'd look for a motorway sign telling me where was 30-odd miles away and say "hey Google add a charging stop near X", which worked well.
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