The roadie is a classic New Zealand holiday. We load up the car with all the outdoor gear, and hit the road.
But as we increasingly electrify our cars, is the future of the road trip electric?
Richard Edwards is an EV road trip veteran and managing editor of EVs and Beyond, he believes the electric-powered roadie is with us now.
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Range anxiety is largely a thing of the past, he told Afternoons, and EVs are suitable for most road trips, within reason.
“These days the modern EVs that are coming into the country, they're pretty much really capable when it comes to traveling long distances.
“There are these things they potentially can't do as easily as other vehicles. If you're going to load up for three weeks camping with a two-and-a-half-ton boat on the back, then potentially, an EV is not for you yet.
“But for most other purposes, they are a great way of traveling with a huge range of positives.”
The average EV sold in New Zealand today will do between 300 and 400kms on the open road, which is five to six hours of driving, he says.
Over 300kms you will pass plenty of charging stations, he says.
“I'm doing a road trip next week, I'm driving Auckland to Christchurch, and I'm only probably going to charge twice on that entire trip.
“I'll actually pass you know, 30 to 40, great high speed charging options on that trip that I just don't simply won't need to use.”
A longer roadie requires rest breaks anyway, he says, so combine the two.
“I find you probably need to rest more often than the car needs to be charged.”
There are apps such as Plugshare, Power Trip and a Better Route planner that will tell you where charge points are, he says.
If you're carrying a heavy load, allow for more charge stops, he says.
Another tip is to book into hotels or campgrounds that have charge facilities.
"I make a big policy of that when I'm traveling, I always try and stay at a hotel with charging, or a motel with charging, or these campgrounds that do have charging as well.
“And the reasons behind that multiple one, when you're fast charging during the day, you're generally only getting at good efficient speeds up to about 80 percent.
“But if you charge overnight at a hotel, then you're leaving to start the day with 100 percent.
“So you're always going to end up with the best possible range for that day.”
Many booking engines will allow you to add charging points to your search filters, he says.
The cost of an electric road trip is cheaper than petrol, even allowing for planned introduction of road user charges for EVs, he says. And EVs make for a more comfortable ride, he believes.
“One thing I will say, travelling in an electric vehicle I have found is nicer than travelling in a petrol vehicle for a couple of reasons.
“You have less noise; you have less vibration. And I personally feel it’s more relaxed way of traveling. The other aspect too is a lot of these electric vehicles now have modern driver assistance technologies like adaptive cruise and lane keep.”
