This year for World EV Day we decided to chat with our wonderful community to get the inside scoop on everything they love about driving electric! Each day this week we will be spotlighting a different community member and finding out what made them jump from ICE to EV!
Today we are chatting to David Martin, long time EV driver and avid roadtripper.
Let's get plugged in...
For over five years now!
In 2016 finding a charger was a huge challenge, then you had to get it to work as plan B was a 3 pin socket. By 2021 it was possible to start travelling Europe. Not easy, but possible. Now, in most countries you don't even need to plan, you simply use an EV route planner.
I was driving an old diesel. It was costing a lot to maintain, stressful to drive and I coughed a lot driving it. I did the maths and I could run an EV for the same cost, so I took the plunge and switched!
Check out our blog 'Common EV Misconceptions' where we bust common EV myths- including that they are more expensive to run!
So easy to drive. In an old ICE car by the time you hit 500 miles in one day you're tired but I got out of my EV after 625 miles totally relaxed, amazing!
Also, sitting in your car with climate control on in extreme weather - knowing you're fine for hours whilst legacy cars run out of fuel or fail- is brilliant. Just recently I was on a ferry in 33°C heat with the air conditioning on, I couldn’t help but notice that other cars around me had their windows down and passengers sweating.
I've now done 5 EV road trips around Europe so far visiting 15 countries.
In 2021 I did 625 miles from the Pyrenees to Portugal in a day.
Last summer I braved the 44°C heat in Seville, my aircon kept me cool while waiting to leave Gibraltar though!
Last year at Christmas and over the New Year I drove around Portugal, 1367 miles in winter each way.
This year, having enjoyed the mountain passes to Andorra previously, I decided to holiday in the Alps. EVs love mountain passes so doing the Stelvio was very easy. Of course on the way back we hit some Swiss alpine passes too!
I have many more trips planned!
Most funny stories relate to those who don't like electric vehicles or think they're town runabouts. The shocked faces and questions about how an EV could drive all the way to Europe from England.
A key standout is overtaking an Italian Audi RS on a high mountain pass and being asked by the driver at the top what 'engine 'it has.
Normally I just plug into Zappi and let Octopus IO sort the charging and use the solar. When I travel, enjoying a variety of charging locations is great. I hate petrol stations and I'm thankful that they're a distant memory.
Octopus IO is an EV tariff available in the UK that means you can automatically charge your car when it's cheapest and get super low smart charging rates plus 6h of cheap energy for your whole home every night.
Feeling enlightened, or do you think something was missing? Let us know by sharing your feedback.
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