Planning a Mercedes EQC roadtrip to Madrid

What to consider when planning an electric roadtrip to Spain [I]

This is part one of my guide how to plan a roadtrip with an electric car to Spain (departure: Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Part II (Poitiers-Madrid) is just a click away.

The 17th of February I will take control of the wheel of the Mercedes EQC. Just a couple of days later the team of Ajax will play against Getafe (Madrid). At least one good friend will be joining my adventure. Of course there will be a huge story to tell about the trip itself. But that’s not all. The fun is about to start right now. Planning*.

*Not everybody likes planning as much as I do. That’s why I’m offering personalised EV travel advice in combination with with my travel guides (find my free example of France by EV here). You can sign up for a membership of electricfelix at the Dutch website Petje.af - like Patreon but more popular in the Dutch e-marketplace. I just launched a Patreon for international fans, become a patron right now!

Friends

On our way to Spain we have the possiblity to visit some friends. In Paris and Toulouse at least, Montpellier also an option. One thing I love about a good roadtrip is that I will try my best to meet friends on the road or make new ones! Since we have a lot of ground to cover, I actually have to make tactical decisions. To start I will look at the ultimate way to drive to Madrid in the EQC.

The perfect EQC drive to Madrid

With a departure in Amsterdam. 17th of February, from stadium to stadium! I use abetterrouteplanner.com for the following journey creation.

Yeah, quite the ride! And then we need to be very careful with the Sodetrel charger (#2 above) in France for example.

Ouch, where to even begin! A proper challenge. As soon as you leave the German-speaking-world the amount of HPC’s* is dwindling rapidly.

*High Power Chargers, anything charging your vehicle above 100kW+ speeds. Proper preperation needed because Spain and France don’t have a widespread network yet.

It’s important to check my guide to France. If you are thinking about a French EV roadtrip yourself. In the guide you will find out more about all charging cards and apps that could be useful or even necessary to complete your mission!

A look at the individual fast chargers

1) Snowball [EV-Box] since Mercedes is handing out an EVBox charging card this is a fun charger to start at. Less fun: there are two chargers at this parking lot. And one is broken. We’re lucky enough to have Ionity near, that’s the best backup to have. Wait. I just checked on Ionity Froyennes and what I’m reading isn’t very convincing.

I’ll take small detour here to promote my Ionity long read. I wrote an in-depth essay about past experience(s) with Ionity and why I think the ‘price change’ that you probably read about was at least weirdly timed. This is just more proof of that, it’s a very important charger for anyone on their way to Paris. A highly popular route.

Before even arriving to France, at the Belgian border with the Netherlands we can also do a toiletbreak with Fastned top-up. If there’s one thing you have to know when driving electric: toilet break means charging break! #alwaysbecharging

2) Another exciting break is at Ressons-sur-Matz, this charger has not been functional in 2020. Skip! Instead we can probably make it to Vemars-Ouest but depending on how range calculations fly on the trip we might just pass Paris instead. Hypermiling time!

The harsh reality is that in France ABRP is just not reliable enough. The website goingelectric.de doesn’t have a lot of info on chargers in France and their status. This is mainly what’s powering ABRP charging recommendations. I’m looking forward to test the Mercedes NAVI. (hopefully with HUD). If MBUX (the Mercedes infotainment) knows which French charger(s) cannot be trusted, that would help fluidity of the travels a lot. This will be super exciting!

3) This is where I will need to make a new overview. Because we’re not going to stick to the plan at all. Flying high! Flying Air Ionity! Last summer with the Jaguar I went into hypermiling mode when a Parisian charger didn’t work. From Chartres to the Belgian border. That’s 310km, I just checked:

Not following orders, creating my own journey Ionity (BE) to Ionity (FR).

Not everything will change because after charging up just before Chartres, we will head out to the local roads. I’ve been here before with the Jaguar I-Pace last year. It’s 20 minutes extra drive, but at the same time it’s a huge shortcut. And you know what that means. Less charging! And less tolls!

As you can see, taking the ‘middle road’ means a significant cut in kilometers, important!

Near Tours we will have to decide if we dare to continue down to Poitiers. Maybe it’s been past dinnertime and everybody feels uncomfortable by now. Somehow I doubt it. It’s still a Mercedes. If there’s any comparison with the S-class I used to rent in my better Diesel days then this will be a breeze! It also depends on how many friends join the ride. If we are four it might be better to pre book something, but I’d like for us to be free.

Poitiers is not far though. And there is a Ionity station nearby.

Day 1 will look a bit like this.

The night will fall

Which means the car has to be connected to a charger, we cannot make it to Madrid on day two if we don’t start early with a full battery! I predict we will make it to Poitiers even though it might be late. Let’s see in which neighbourhood we should find some sleep.

Chargemap shows a lot of free charging in the centre. Now we just need to work out if we can stay somewhere in the neighbourhood. Also 7kW charging might just cut it, need to not arrive empty here! I just realised I don’t know about the AC charging capabilities of the Mercedes yet. Time to watch some YouTube.

By taking a closer look at Chargemap around Poitiers I noticed something has changed compared to last year.

Do you see the purple one hiding a bit on the east side of town?

The local energy company put up a double 100kW charger (free of charge)! Now this is what I like the most about these roadtrips. Keep doing them and the local situation can only improve. France keeps progressing! (It wasn’t there last year).

There is also a 50kW charger next to the Intermarche (west). I used it last year before heading to bed. We were coming all the way from Madrid then. What a day on the road it was. Pretty serious. Especially with all the 50kW (and slower!) charging back then.

Today we will use the Izivia-pass if we end up charging at the French highway and there is no Ionity in sight. We might use KiWhi or Chargemap when we arrive in Poitiers. More info on French charging cards in my France by EV travel guide. If you’re interested in all my guides (Germany, the UK, Spain) you can become a patron of electricfelix. You can then also use my personal advice module on here.

We will try to use Mercedes Me at Ionity. We might use the EVBox card in the beginning of the day at Fastned. I’ll keep you posted on the socials, find me on facebook, Twitter & Instagram.

Be sure to check back next week for Part II, The Road to Madrid. Starting in Poitiers.

#EQC2Madrid

UPDATE: Part II (Poitiers-Madrid) is up for your reading pleasure.

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#EQC2Madrid incoming!