[Fendt1050]

Evening,

My IX3 is due next week and on Friday I have to drive from Newquay (Cornwall) upto the Lake District. Then Return again a few days later

I'm genuinely concerned about range & charging anxiety so early into my 1st EV ownership. Luckily at the hotel they have 2 charge points so can charge up once at Windermere.

Can anyone recommend any chargers on the M5 North & South preferably near Tewkesbury and North of Manchester as I think I'm going to need to x2 charges.

I keep looking at zap maps but can only find 7kw at places like a council hall when I ideally want a minimum of 50kw at a service station.

Any recommendations would be appreciated or do I leave it at home and hire a car instead.

Many thanks 👍👍

[RedJon]

Saw your post on FB. Try WattsUp or Zap-Map route planners, and it helps if you have a Co-driver that can check chargers whilst on route.

[KSTR35]

I found that "a better route planner" was better than the zap map for route planning. You can filter the chargers on the route to ccs at 50+ to save you seeing all the 7 etc.

From my experience of semi long trips, albeit not in an ix3 - shell, instavolt and IONITY chargers are very reliable. BP on the other hand are very temperamental when I've tried to use them.

[Norfolkungood]

Originally Posted by Fendt1050

Evening,

My IX3 is due next week and on Friday I have to drive from Newquay (Cornwall) upto the Lake District. Then Return again a few days later

I'm genuinely concerned about range & charging anxiety so early into my 1st EV ownership. Luckily at the hotel they have 2 charge points so can charge up once at Windermere.

Can anyone recommend any chargers on the M5 North & South preferably near Tewkesbury and North of Manchester as I think I'm going to need to x2 charges.

I keep looking at zap maps but can only find 7kw at places like a council hall when I ideally want a minimum of 50kw at a service station.

Any recommendations would be appreciated or do I leave it at home and hire a car instead.

Many thanks 👍👍

Just checked on the Podpoint app. Lidl at Droitwich have 3 50kw chargers. In Kendal there are 2 22kw chargers at Ullswater garage. There are more but you need to look closer.
If you download the Podpoint app you can pre-load a sum of money to make the whole thing quicker.
Looks do-able.

[DaveCV]

It amazes me that anyone is concerned about range in a 280 mile EV. I recall my first i3 had a maximum range in summer of 80 miles and, with some careful planning and a bucket load of patience, long trips were not an issue. My advice, FWiW, is always have a Plan B to cater for blocked/in use/unserviceable chargers.

PS. The chargers in Kendal are tricky to find and traffic can be a nightmare. A number of Booths Supermarkets have Instavolt chargers.

[GDEvans]

Originally Posted by Fendt1050

Evening,

My IX3 is due next week and on Friday I have to drive from Newquay (Cornwall) upto the Lake District. Then Return again a few days later

I'm genuinely concerned about range & charging anxiety so early into my 1st EV ownership. Luckily at the hotel they have 2 charge points so can charge up once at Windermere.

Can anyone recommend any chargers on the M5 North & South preferably near Tewkesbury and North of Manchester as I think I'm going to need to x2 charges.

Just up the road in Plymouth here. Only had the car a couple of days, so no long trips yet. A friend of mine recommended A Better Route Planner. As one of the other posters her suggested, you can filter on charger speed.

When the car arrives, register it to your BMW account through the My Drive app. Then download the BMW Charge app - login with the same username and password - it will ask you to sign up to a charging plan, and will offer you the 1 year free IONITY/BP package. They will post out a smart card to use the chargers - but many of them can apparently be activated through the app.

Cullompton Services on the M5 has a number of IONITY 350kw chargers. These should give you a quick boost, and at a discounted price through the app. It is also on a junction, and hence accessible from both directions. So should give you a squirt on the run downhill back to Newquay.

[the_ape]

Yeah registered mine last night and cancelled the plan (pay) I had with the PHEV, oddly though can't re register the card I already had, they have to send me a new one? Mad bit of a waist of plastic, but whatever

[Lazy Lee]

Abetterrouteplanner is indeed a great tool.
The day after delivery of my iX3 I started a week's holiday driving from The Netherlands to Denmark (and back of course a week later).
With abetterrouteplanner it was a very easy experience. Its predictions are very close, but always a little on the pessimistic side which is great. The range prediction by the car itself is also quite pessimistic, allowing more range than it tells you in advance. I very much prefer that to having it the other way around...

My tip to you is to download that app (or use the website) and plan with it. And as said before: make sure you have a plan B in case of defective/blocked chargers.

Have a great trip!

[IX3 Vines]

Originally Posted by Lazy Lee

Abetterrouteplanner is indeed a great tool.
The day after delivery of my iX3 I started a week's holiday driving from The Netherlands to Denmark (and back of course a week later).
With abetterrouteplanner it was a very easy experience. Its predictions are very close, but always a little on the pessimistic side which is great. The range prediction by the car itself is also quite pessimistic, allowing more range than it tells you in advance. I very much prefer that to having it the other way around...

My tip to you is to download that app (or use the website) and plan with it. And as said before: make sure you have a plan B in case of defective/blocked chargers.

Have a great trip!

Great advice Lazy Lee, I have downloaded ABRP and will try it out soon.

[the_ape]

Originally Posted by IX3 Vines

Great advice Lazy Lee, I have downloaded ABRP and will try it out soon.

ABRP also works great in Android Auto, and can be set as the default mapping app if you like.

[GDEvans]

I drove from Plymouth to Bedford last night.

My registration on the BMW Charging app had been successful. Smart card dispatched, but not yet received.

The range would have allowed me to reach the IONITY charger at Chippenham. However, I stopped at the IONITY at Cullompton Services to check it out. At Cullompton, only one of the chargers was occupied, at about 5pm. The app allowed me to unlock the charger and it all went smoothly, with a 20 min boost. At Chippenham, 2 of the 4 chargers were occupied. Another 20 min boost there. Brief pause to check out the IONITY charger at Milton Keynes coach station - one of the bays occupied by a Taycan.

We stopped for a bite to eat at Peartree Services on the A34 near Oxford. A problem with the Ecotricity charger. The plug was loose and worn. When I unlocked the car it drooped in the socket and cancelled the charging session. Locked the car before starting the session and it worked well.

Very pleased with my first long trip.

[IX3 Vines]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

I drove from Plymouth to Bedford last night.

My registration on the BMW Charging app had been successful. Smart card dispatched, but not yet received.

The range would have allowed me to reach the IONITY charger at Chippenham. However, I stopped at the IONITY at Cullompton Services to check it out. At Cullompton, only one of the chargers was occupied, at about 5pm. The app allowed me to unlock the charger and it all went smoothly, with a 20 min boost. At Chippenham, 2 of the 4 chargers were occupied. Another 20 min boost there. Brief pause to check out the IONITY charger at Milton Keynes coach station - one of the bays occupied by a Taycan.

We stopped for a bite to eat at Peartree Services on the A34 near Oxford. A problem with the Ecotricity charger. The plug was loose and worn. When I unlocked the car it drooped in the socket and cancelled the charging session. Locked the car before starting the session and it worked well.

Very pleased with my first long trip.

Thanks that's encouraging information, you hear so much negative stories about chargers being few and far between and out of order when you find one.