Charging Was Somehow Still The Biggest Problem With Road-Tripping My Fiat 500e – Jalopnik

You aren’t imagined to road-trip the Fiat 500e. Then once more, you additionally most likely aren’t imagined to lease a Fiat 500e should you reside in a rural space, and I already did that, so why not take it on a highway journey? I’d get to do one thing fascinating, you’d get to get pleasure from my struggling and everybody would win aside from the poor Fiat PR individual whose boss is mad I preserve calling it the worst new electrical automobile you should buy right now.

In my protection, although, I’m solely referring to the numbers after I say the 500e is the worst new EV. It has the bottom vary of any new EV in the marketplace and in addition has the bottom charging pace. It additionally has the fewest doorways, until you rely the liftgate as a door, which I don’t. If you do, technically, the Rolls-Royce Spectre takes the award for fewest doorways. It’s a little bit loopy to suppose that if you don’t need a sedan, truck or SUV, your solely choices for EVs within the U.S. are the Fiat 500e and the Rolls-Royce Spectre, however however, right here we’re.

In actuality, the Fiat 500e has been an impressive every day driver. The numbers could also be smaller than different alternate options, but it surely’s completely sized for 2 individuals, and in contrast to with my 2015 500e I barely take into consideration vary on a every day and even weekly foundation. I preserve the cabin at a pleasing 70 levels, drive wherever I have to go, speed up faster than most different drivers and have even considered autocrossing it (if I can ever justify shopping for a brand new set of tires) as a result of it is truly fairly enjoyable to drive.

Even if different EVs have higher numbers, the one time I want it had greater than roughly 150 miles of vary is when I’ve to cost on the way in which again from the airport after a piece journey. Its 85-kW DC fast-charging energy is also higher, however by the point I pop into the toilet and get some meals it is normally already at 80%, so it isn’t like I often discover myself sitting within the automobile, ready for it to cost. So, once more, why not take it on a highway journey?

Well, for some time I did not have a highway journey to take it on. Recently, although, my household celebrated my mother and father’ fortieth anniversary with per week on North Carolina’s Oak Island. That’s about 380 miles from my condo, which means all the journey can be about 760 miles if I can nonetheless do my math accurately. So whereas there are actually longer highway journeys, it is also a lot additional than my earlier journey to Charlotte on the Zero S. It’s additionally essential to notice that my girlfriend wasn’t capable of come, so I did this journey solo. If she’d come alongside, there is no method I’d have compelled her to place up with my shenanigans like that.

Since I additionally hate myself, apparently, I made a decision to begin the journey by doing zero prep. Anyone who owns an EV is aware of it’s best to plan out your stops earlier than you permit, however at the least on the way in which there, I needed to go in blind. I quickly realized that was an even bigger mistake than you would possibly assume, however oh effectively. Lesson realized. It wasn’t just like the automobile let me down — it was the charging.

That mentioned, I did begin with a full cost, so I wasn’t within the worst doable place after I set off. I’ll hate myself, however I do not hate myself that a lot. I left at about 10 A.M., and for the primary 100 miles or so, every part went swimmingly. I simply turned on a podcast, set the cruise management and cruised down the freeway.

My first actual mistake got here concerning the time I hit Augusta. I used to be paying an excessive amount of consideration to the podcast and never sufficient consideration to the visitors, which meant I missed my exit to cost. I nonetheless had loads of vary left, so I figured I’d simply preserve going and cease to cost some other place. Big mistake. I discovered a quick charger in a McDonald’s parking zone close to Aiken, SC, that appeared nice, however after spending at the least half an hour attempting to get it to work, I gave up. The charger had a hand-written signal on it promising it labored should you used the app, however I could not get the app to work.

At that time I used to be confronted with a alternative: If I saved my pace down, and the vary prediction did not drop an excessive amount of, I may perhaps make it to a charger outdoors of Columbia. Alternatively, I may drive again to Augusta to cost. Ultimately, I selected to drive again. I used to be going to be chopping it shut both method, however I actually wasn’t assured I’d make it to the Columbia charger, so again to Augusta it was.

Unfortunately for me, the primary charger I ended at ended up being at a dealership, which wasn’t superb, however at the least it could cost my automobile. Except I could not get that charger to work, both. That meant heading to a close-by gradual charger to get better sufficient vary to get me to a quick charger. Eventually, I made it to the quick charger, and fortunately nobody was utilizing it. Thankfully it was additionally near a Kroger, so at the least I had someplace to hang around and use the toilet whereas my automobile charged.

Once the Fiat received again as much as 80%, I hit the highway once more. I’d had sufficient of charger shenanigans, so I made certain I had a very good fast-charging choice lined up in Columbia earlier than leaving, which was good. This time the charger truly labored on the primary strive, and one other half-hour later I used to be off to Florence, the place I discovered some fast-chargers in a Walmart parking zone. Had I deliberate my journey higher, I’d have stopped on the Buc-ee’s, however on the time, I missed the truth that the Buc-ee’s existed. I used to be additionally fairly burned out on charging at that time and knew I’d be getting in late.

What I did not know on the time was simply how rather more depressing charging issues would make me.

In order to truly make it to the seaside, I solely needed to cost yet another time within the little city of Hallsboro, NC. But a storm kicked up on my method there, and the wind completely killed my vary. That meant by the point I pulled into city I solely had a handful of miles remaining, however that they had a fast-charger, so what may go flawed? As it turned out, an excessive amount of.

It wasn’t raining after I arrived on the charger, however the retailer was closed, it was already darkish, and the parking zone wasn’t precisely well-lit. I additionally actually needed to pee, however I may determine that out after I received my automobile charging. Except the charger did not work. And concerning the time I figured that out, it began to rain. Or extra precisely, it began to pour. Just a little water isn’t any large deal, however after I moved to the second charger, that one additionally did not work. Nor did I’ve sufficient vary to get to a distinct charger. There additionally are no lodges in Hallsboro, at the least that I may discover, in order the parking zone began to flood, I spotted my solely choice was mainly to determine easy methods to get the charger working. Plugshare mentioned it ought to work, so at the least there was that.

After doing a little bit investigating, it appeared like the issue was that the charger thought the cable was in use when it wasn’t. So I simply began messing with every part I may to hopefully make the charger notice it wasn’t truly in use. I additionally broke down and snuck behind a darkish constructing to pee as a result of I used to be that determined and already soaked. Eventually, although, the charger that supposedly labored stopped not working, and I used to be capable of begin charging my automobile.

Temporarily. About midway by means of my cost, the charger stopped charging, forcing me to get again out within the rain and mess with the cable once more till it determined to play alongside. Once I had about 100 miles of vary, although, I figured that was sufficient and hit the highway but once more.

At that time, it was about 10 P.M., and it was nonetheless pouring. In reality, I’m fairly certain it began raining tougher simply because I used to be leaving, as I mainly could not see. The final thing I needed to do was crash within the rain in spite of everything that, so I drove about as quick as situations allowed. If there was one benefit of driving slowly, it is that I did not have to fret about vary. The drawback was that not everybody has an astigmatism, and different drivers actually did not like me driving beneath the posted pace restrict.

Considering how exhausting it was raining, I half anticipated to search out at the least one of many automobiles that handed me the other way up in a ditch. Instead, I ended up catching as much as one in every of them, presumably after they realized how reckless they have been being and slowed all the way down to, you understand, truly see the highway. I did lastly make it, and I did not even crash as soon as. About 13 hours after leaving on what would have been a six-hour drive with none stops, certain, however at the least I made it.

The factor about highway journeys, although, is that finally, it’s a must to go dwelling, which implies making the very same drive once more. Well, perhaps not the actual similar drive. At that time I knew the place the dependable chargers have been, and with a full cost I may additionally skip Hallsboro. To get that full cost, although, I wanted electrical energy, and the home we stayed in did not have any outside shops. So I did what any enterprising EV proprietor would do and ran my cost cable by means of a window and plugged it in that method. It wasn’t superb, however I checked on it often for the primary couple hours to verify my automobile did not throw a breaker. It did not, which meant the subsequent day, I’d be absolutely charged.

On the return journey I made certain to not miss the Buc-ee’s, however whereas I made it with perhaps 20 miles to spare, I additionally wasn’t ready for simply how crowded that specific Buc-ee’s would truly be. I may’ve sworn a church bus had dropped off a number of hundred individuals suddenly, however no. It was simply that busy. Still, that they had unsweet tea, brisket sandwiches, clear bogs and a looking part that the gang did not appear thinking about for some purpose. I checked out flashlights till it was time to go.

From that time on it was truly fairly clean crusing, or at the least as clean as issues get in a 150-mile EV. I charged in Columbia once more, then Augusta and eventually, all that stood between me and my girlfriend’s home was about 100 miles of open highway. I minimize it shut range-wise, however nonetheless, I made it. In reality, I made it practically 4 hours quicker than it had taken me to drive out per week earlier. Not as a result of the Fiat magically gained extra vary, or I drove quicker on the freeway, however as a result of that point, I did not have any charging points.

Ultimately, that is the largest situation with EV highway journeys. The good quick chargers are sometimes clustered in cities as a substitute of alongside the freeway, and when one thing goes flawed, it could possibly add a number of hours to your drive time. In my case, charger points greater than doubled how lengthy it took to get there in comparison with driving a gasoline automobile, and once more, I minimize practically 4 hours off my return journey by merely stopping at chargers I knew labored.

Of course, if I’d pushed an EV with extra vary, that drive would have passed by even quicker, and actually each single different new EV has extra vary than the Fiat 500e. It is, in spite of everything, a metropolis automobile that I insisted on utilizing for the precise reverse of its supposed objective, and the automobile itself did simply positive. I will not faux the seat supplied Mercedes ranges of help, but it surely wasn’t practically as uncomfortable as you might need guessed. My again undoubtedly harm the subsequent day, however I’ve undoubtedly road-tripped automobiles that have been much less comfy earlier than.

The greatest draw back of road-tripping the Fiat is that the navigation system’s charger-finder sucks. I imply, it does work, but it surely would not work effectively, forcing me to depend on Plugshare to search out fast-chargers. I can not think about anybody else goes to take their 500e on a 760-mile highway journey, so it is most likely adequate for everybody else presently leasing one in every of these automobiles, however I really feel like I should not need to rely upon a separate app to search out the quick chargers after I want them.

Really, as dangerous because the charger points have been on the drive to the seaside, I believe my greatest downside was simply what number of apps you want to take an EV on a highway journey. By my rely, that drive required utilizing 5 completely different charging networks, which meant utilizing 5 completely different apps, plus Plugshare, which is mainly an EV highway journey necessity. It’s ridiculous, obnoxious, irritating, and utterly pointless, and anybody who comes up with a common charging app can have my cash, even when it prices $25 or requires a subscription. I do not care. I simply need one app that does all of it, just so I haven’t got to cope with the headache of downloading a brand new app simply to make use of a charger which will or could not work.

That mentioned, whereas I would not advocate highway tripping a 150-mile EV, there is one thing to be mentioned about the truth that it is presently doable, even with none planning. The dudes who tow trains from Miami to Anchorage twice per week nonetheless will not be comfortable, however they’re going to by no means be comfortable, so who cares? As for normal individuals who highway journey a couple of occasions a 12 months and do not have in depth information of which exterior catheter is greatest, it is exhausting to see how mainly another new EV would have an issue doing what you want it to do.

Sure, you will need to plan your route forward of time, simply to be secure, and you will most likely have to obtain a couple of apps, which is annoying, however I’d nonetheless guess your first EV highway journey will go way more easily than you would possibly assume. And, you understand, should you actually do need to compete within the Iron Bladder Olympics, you’ll be able to all the time purchase a Lucid and see the place greater than 400 miles of vary and far quicker charging can take you. As for me, that one journey put about seven weeks’ price of miles on my automobile, so I’ll be sticking near dwelling for some time. Ideally, a really lengthy whereas.