Travelling far in your electric car

Let’s put an end to the myths associated with taking long road trips in an electric vehicle (EV)! With a little planning, it’s totally possible to travel in your EV without breaking down or running into trouble. But what can you do to avoid unpleasant surprises?

Know your electric vehicle inside and out

Before embarking on a long journey, it’s essential you know your EV like the back of your hand! Are you aware of its average range? How it reacts to external factors, such as temperature and weather? What types of charging stations are compatible? And so on!

Before hitting the road, make sure your auto insurance meets your every need. Even with a new vehicle, there’s always the risk of the unknown to contend with.

Adapt your driving to optimize your range

EVs generally have a range that falls somewhere between 200 and 600 kilometres. However, many factors affect your vehicle’s energy consumption, including:

• The load your vehicle is carrying
• How you drive (sudden acceleration and braking, excessive speed, etc.)
• Using air-conditioning or heating
• Extreme outdoor temperatures

All you can control is your driving style!

Master the skill of recharging

It can be tricky to predetermine every time you’ll need to stop to charge before starting your trip. Try to remember these simple steps:

1. Charge your vehicle before leaving
2. Look for the nearest charging station as soon as you notice your battery approaching the 20% mark
3. Plug in until you reach around 80% of your car’s maximum charge

And so on until you reach your destination!

Important! Why shouldn’t you fully charge your electric car? Because the rate at which your vehicles charges is much faster at the beginning of the process. Beyond 80%, you’ll have to wait twice as long before getting back on the road.

Pro tip: to preserve your battery, it’s recommended you always keep your charge between 20 and 80%. The trick is to plug in for less time but more frequently!

Choosing a charging station

There are two types of charging options:

1. Level 2 chargers: While more common, these stations take longer to fill up your EV. This is the type you would use during extended charging stops, such as to sleep, eat or visit the sights.
2. Rapid chargers: Go for these stations when time is of the essence! It will only take between 15 and 60 minutes to fill your vehicle to 80% capacity.

Prepare your itinerary before hitting the road

Like all road trips, planning your route is the key to success! Obviously, you’ll want to effectively arrange your bags—and your itinerary as well. Think about where you’d like to stop to recharge your batteries… and your EV’s!

First of all, make a budget. Then, you can choose your departure and return dates, your destination or destinations, the transportation (besides your electric car, if necessary) needed to get there, the must-sees and must-dos, and so on. Let the fun begin!

Finally, it’s also important to have civil liability insurance when travelling abroad.

Apps to download to make driving your EV a breeze

Once you’ve set your itinerary, it’s a good idea to locate the charging stations along your route and check their availability using apps like FLO or ChargePoint.

The essentials to bring along when taking your EV on vacation

Remember, your car needs its overnight bag too. Be sure to have all the charging accessories on hand, such as an adapter, a cable to connect your EV to a household socket, a 120 V charger and even a portable charging station if you have one!