Public charging review: Skoda ENYAQ iV 80, Stephen

Stephen runs a Skoda ENYAQ iV 80 electric car.

What do you think of the UK public charging network in general?

Where I live and work, public charging is mostly good, a lot of choice and reasonable rates if using the right Apps. Motorway charging has been hit and miss, sometimes chargers are all full or not working. In some places there is nowhere to queue which can cause arguments if someone arrives just as a spot becomes vacant, not realising that another EV is waiting in a parking bay nearby.

What and where are your favourite UK public chargers?

IONITY at Beaconsfield Services M40 – at present I get it very cheap through my power pass app. Not sure I will continue once my year’s membership is up as it should cost 79p per kWh, currently I only pay 25p.

Pod Point at The Meadows shopping centre in Camberley as it’s free. Also nearby is ALDI with a 50kW charger which is reliable although not free.

50kW charger at Apollo Rise just behind Sarsen Stones pub – reasonable price if using Bonnet, one space seems to be permanently blocked by a DPD electric van, often not charging! Just across the way in Morrisons is another point which can also be accessed by Bonnet.

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What’s been your best experience with a UK public charger?

Lidl Blackwater using Pod Point – every time I’ve gone there, it has been free or someone is just finishing. There has been no issues with the app and the charger has worked first time. Good chat with the person who had just completed charging, comparing cars. The EV community is very helpful!

What’s been your worst experience with a UK public charger?

Driving on the motorway getting low on charge. Every place I stopped at was full with cars queuing up. Some were hybrid so could have let BEVs get on as electric is our only source of power, others were charging up to 100%. Unfortunately some drivers don’t understand that going from 80% to 100% can take as long as going from 20% to 80%. In the end, I gave up waiting and arrived at my destination with 5% having turned everything off and driving below 60mph.