Charging ahead
With an increase in new and used EVs and PHEVs on sale comes a need for more public charging stations but there are some loose connections ( pun intended).
I drove the new facelift Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV over Easter and, instead of charging it overnight at my home, I tested Auckland’s public charging stations.
I was already familiar with Sylvia Park’s two spots ( three hours to top up to full) plus Vector’s fast charging spot in Newmarket ( that has a 30- minute limit).
Instead I tried my mobile, while mobile, to seek a charging spot around West Auckland.
Mitsubishi NZ had an account with ChargeNet, where you pay to top up your EV’s battery at stations.
But using my mobile to access the company’s website, I struggled to find a station near me, so instead checked Vector’s website. It asked for my location using Google maps, found and directed me to the nearest station.
The two charging spots were on the Lynnmall roof carpark ( approximately 3hr40min for a full charge). Unfortunately it was Easter Sunday so the mall wasn’t open, but kudos to Vector to having charging stations near shops.
The next day I trialled ChargeNet again, and again struggled with the website ( via my mobile I had to “pinch” the map to close in on Auckland, and then find a suitable spot, unlike the helpful Vector site). I drove to the company’s North Shore headquarters, thinking it would have a charging station onsite. Nope. Instead my closest spot was Beach Rd’s Z service station in downtown Auckland.
While it took 15 minutes to charge the battery up to 70 per cent ( costing $ 5.58 rather than $ 1 overnight at home) my only “entertainment” was eating a sausage roll from the service station.
For EVs to be a success, charging stations need to be easily located in places that you are happy to spend at least 30 minutes at. ABOUT US Editor Tony Verdon Editor at Large Liz Dobson Contributors Cameron Officer, David Kavermann, Matthew Hansen, Bob McMurray, Donna McIntyre, Ted Baghurst, Drew Thompson Cover design Jennifer Adams Cover photo Matthew Hansen Driven advertising Todd Fuller ( 021 986027) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ferrari placed a go- kart track on top of? AAcruise ship B A skyscraper C A Ferrari dealership Record for longest line- up of EVs set in? AAuckland B Whangarei C Gore Most stolen car in Canterbury? A Honda Civic B Nissan March C Mazda Demio Michael Schumacher's son competes in? AFormula 3 B GP3 C WRC2 What game is used to test driverless cars? AForza B Gran Turismo C Grand Theft Auto Fast & Furious is based on a true story of underground street racing? A True B False Price of David Brown revamped Mini? A $ 70,000 B $ 100,000 C $ 130,000 Fernando Alonso's Indy 500 car’s paintwork? A Black and silver B Orange and black C Papaya orange Audi’s first full EV is arriving in? A 2018 B 2019 C2020 1985 BMWM635CSi sold in the UK for? A$ 136,000 B $ 183,000 C $ 204,000