Taking the family on holiday can be quite stressful, especially if you’re going on a long-distance road trip to a European destination. And if you add range anxiety to the mix, it becomes even more challenging. However, electric car sales are growing rapidly, indicating that more and more people are using EVs for long trips. But is it practical for petrolheads who are used to traditional engines?
Paul Barker, the managing editor at car sales website carwow, has been a journalist in the automotive industry for over two decades and has driven every car with a petrol or diesel engine during that time. So when he got the chance to take a £123,000 BMW iX EV to France for a two-week family vacation, he was understandably apprehensive. In this account, he shares his experience to shed light on the realities of using battery power to reach a holiday destination.
Is it practical to take an electric car on a European road trip with the family? That’s what Paul Barker, managing editor at Carwow, set out to find. This is his account of the trip.
The last time I was this nervous about a car journey was when I was a new driver getting my license more than 25 years ago. But for some reason, I thought it would be the perfect time to embark on my first European electric car road trip. And not just any trip, but a 572-mile journey to the west coast of France with a fully loaded car, including a roof box, four bikes, and my family who may not be forgiving if things go wrong. What’s the worst that could happen?
I chose the BMW iX SUV for this trip. It has a starting price of £122,775 and comes with a 112kWh battery and two electric motors. With a maximum power output of 611bhp, it’s a high-performance electric vehicle. The claimed range is 348 miles according to WLTP testing, and it can charge at a maximum speed of 195kW.
Day 1
1:30 am: The ferry is booked for 5:05 am. Waking up so early with reluctant yet excited kids is not easy, but we were prepared for the journey. However, as we checked the BMW iX’s range, we realized that the battery was dropping faster than we anticipated. So we quickly adjusted our plans and stopped at an Ionity charger at Folkestone to ensure we had enough charge for a significant distance before our breakfast stop in Calais. However, our initial plan hit a snag when we discovered that the charger was out of order at 4 am. We had to quickly find an alternative charging point, and luckily, we managed to charge the car. Reliability remains an issue with the UK’s charging network.
10:08 am: It’s morning, and we’re driving on semi-empty French autoroutes, about 130 miles from Calais. The battery level is around 20%, which is what we expected. Thankfully, during our pre-trip research, we found out that many French supermarkets have high-powered chargers. So we stopped at a Carrefour in Rouen, which had the necessary charger. The supermarket turned out to be cheaper than motorway service stations, and we even found a few things to buy, including flip flops for my 12-year-old and a wedding anniversary card. After charging for 30 minutes, we reached 80% charge, which is the optimal charging level for EVs.
1:35 pm: After covering another 130 miles, the battery is down to 20% again. We located another Carrefour supermarket near Le Mans with a 150kW charger. Despite driving at a controlled 65 mph on the autoroute, we were only getting around 120 miles before needing to charge. We took this opportunity to have crepes for lunch while the car charged for 30 minutes. Leaving the town, we drove on a public road section of the famous Le Mans 24 Hour endurance race track.
3:51 pm: After more than 12 hours of travel, we still have a couple of hours to go. We decided to take a quick top-up at a motorway service station instead of searching for another charger. We assumed that motorway chargers would be fast and reliable. However, after plugging in at a service station outside Poitiers, we realized that the car was only charging at 8kW, which is slower than expected. We moved to a neighboring charge point, and the charging speed increased to 43kW. Although it wasn’t ideal, we had enough charge to complete the final 115-mile stretch of our journey. We made it to our destination, Camping de Logis du Breuille, with some charge remaining to handle our local driving needs.
Days 2-14:
After arriving, we settled into our holiday routine, with the BMW iX easily handling our daily activities without needing frequent top-ups. We found charging points at supermarkets, which allowed us to charge the car while doing our shopping. This way, the car was fully charged when we returned from the store. We repeated this process multiple times, ensuring we had enough battery for trips to the beach and other excursions.
During our two-week vacation in France, I only… [the content ends here]

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