Or, if you don’t have an alternative, renting is a good solution. That way you can have a vehicle that is more suited to a holiday trip than to a daily commute.
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We got all the way to Nice last September with no problems at all. Charging infrastructure in France is very good and the power is far cheaper than in the U.K. We found a local charging point that cost only €0.28 per kWh. This year we are taking the ferry to Bilbao and will then drive up through France to Calais to come back on the tunnel. We use the Electroverse app to find chargers. We rarely drive for more than 100 miles without stopping for a wee or coffee break so we tend to plug in each time we stop. As it’s a holiday there is plenty of time too.
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Drove the Hybrid and Electric versions of the new Fiat Grande Panda on Monday as I have an urge to change our old diesel car.
What a fun and simple (by todays car standards) machine it is.
The reviews all say the hybrid is the one to go for in terms of how it performs, however we prefered the electric, more planted and quiet (not that the hybrid was noisy).
Was really tempted to go for it, but then at £24k for highest spec, it was £9k more than our used Mazda CX30 and that was the most expensive car we’ve ever brought. Just can’t justify spending that much money.
However, after trying BMWi3, Renault Zoe, Mazda MX30, Dacia Spring and now the Panda I’m convinced that for pootling around locally and distance up to 100 mile return….electric is the way to go.
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I’ve recently shown an interest in the charging infrastructure in France and find that is great on the motorways with loads of chargers. The issue is when off piste, I checked out Normandy/Brittany on the D roads and chargers are available but they only tend to be in groups of 2 or 3 and are not the fastest. Once I’ve built up confidence in the UK we’ll probably give it a go next year.
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We found that too, but almost every small town seemed to have a 22kW charger (usually outside the Town Hall) so we could usefully top up over lunch or if we stopped for a walk/cycle. Nobody else seemed to be using them, and they were pretty reliable. You’ll need your cable though.
The key is to plug in whenever you stop even if you don’t really ‘need’ to charge and maybe also to just plan ahead for longer stops in interesting places where you can charge. The best app we found for France was ChargeMap. ABRP and Electroverse seem pretty accurate too. We used a ChargeMap acount RFID card too, although not everywhere takes it.
As for the long distance major routes; just fantastic. We had no issue driving St Malo to the Lot and then back to Cherbourg.
Bruce
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Paul - what’s the range of the MX5 between fill-ups ? Other than recharging taking a bit longer in the Lexus, I wonder if there’s actually that much difference in the number of stops you’ll need ?
To put that comment into context - I drove from Rye to Grasmere yesterday (360 miles). I could have easily done it with just the one stop at Banbury. As it was, I needed a break at Kendal, so it was a two stop strategy.
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Hi, I think about 400miles for the MX5, the RZ range is about 300+ with the 20” wheels but I would expect at motorway speeds it to be short of 200miles so I would expect twice as many top ups. Need to remember that the RZ will only fast charge to 80% so need to take that into account. I reckon that with t he MX5 only one stop (10mins) would be required between home nd Dover whereas I would plan at least two stops (30mins) in the RZ. Once in France away from motorways it’s not so easy so I would probably top up the RZ whenever it got lower than 40% but with slower chargers so no guarantee of an 80% charge each stop but doable.
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I don’t think this will make any difference.
346miles is quoted for 18” wheels, 301 with the 20”. Of course we don’t believe quoted range anyway 
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A journey within about a 300mls with an EV is very ok. Anything above, even with a Tesla, and even along main routes easily becomes annoying, especially towards the end of a driving day, and a right pain for extra extended journeys be it in the UK or e.g. across France or Germany etc. where charging is relatively well taken care of.
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It’s a load of guff anyway. You’d be better off with 18s for the ride quality and lower chance of pothole damage.
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We’ll be taking our EV6 for its first journey outside the island of Ireland.
Journeys likely to be Holyhead to Scunthorpe, Scunthorpe to Great Yarmouth and then Great Yarmouth to Manchester.
Are there enough charging stations en route that I don’t have to plan too much i.e. pee stops will cover for charging stops or do I need a military grade plan for when and where to charge?
I have an Electroverse card so am I best to use their app? I see I can get 40% off IONITY for €12. Probably pay for itself in one charge. Are IONITY chargers common enough and decent enough?
Anything else I should be aware of?
Thanks
.sjb
Potholes?
Willy.
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Zapmap is great. You may find some chargers visible on there that are not on Electroverse. I tend to plan a journey with both if it is off the major routes. You’ll find every Motorway service station has chargers, some now in large numbers. Not cheap, but tend to be reliable. Ionity are around, but not the most numerous.
ABRP is a great journey planner if you want. However over our (7+) years of EV ownership I have become more relaxed and confident of finding chargers as I need them and don’t plan half as much as I used to.
If your car software is up to date I find it is almost enough to trust the search function etc on that.
Bruce
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You can plan routes in the Electro verse app ……
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It’s also good for disaster preparedness. Being able to plug stuff into your car for a few days after some event causes a regional blackout. Being able to get connected, or boil water, is not to be sneezed at.
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A month ago, at the peak of the fuel scare here down under, we decided to go and try out a couple of EVs, especially since we have a robust solar system that would offset 100% of the charging costs.
We’ve tested the Subaru Solterra, the Tesla Y long range, a Nissan something and even a Mazda CX60 Phev. We’ve stayed clear of any Chinese brands, wouldn’t get one if they were given for free.
So we got back home with a brand new Subaru Outback XT Touring, an estate with a snappy 2.4l turbo boxer for my better half. 
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Why? American consumers and the US media highly regard Chinese brands, yet Americans are prohibited from purchasing them, while you can buy them but don’t want them?
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Nobody highly regards anything engineered in China but those who cannot afford anything better.
I’m not sure if you have access to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), but here’s one of many instances where Americans admire Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). It’s worth noting that WSJ is not typically considered a tabloid newspaper.