Every year, the share of electric vehicles in our country is only growing, which is why the development of intercity charging infrastructure is an important component of a successful trip with an electric vehicle.. Experts from the “First Electric Train” channel decided to check the charging stations on the route from Kyiv to Ivano-Frankivsk – a popular route among tourists who go on vacation to Bukovel.
The trip, according to tradition, was carried out on a Volkswagen ID.4 – an electric car that in our country can safely be called “people's”. Although the electric crossover is not officially sold in our country, there are now a number of dealers who import new or used cars from China.
The presenters chose the following route: Kyiv – Zhitomir – Rivne – Ternopil – Ivano-Frankivsk. The car was moving at a normal pace, with a cruising speed of 100-130 km/h. According to experts who have long been familiar with the ID.4 model, one charge is enough for about 400 km, that is, to Rivne, but electric car owners still stopped for additional charging to test various charging locations and hubs.
The first stop on the way was the FLASH 175 charging station, located in the village of Berezovka, Zhytomyr region. Typically, this is an unpopular place among electric vehicle drivers, because not far from Zhytomyr there is a large FLASH charging hub, which the authors showed in their reviews earlier. It is also worth noting that the trip took place under fairly bad weather conditions, so the car’s expenses were quite significant: on average 19-20 kW-hours.
The second station where car owners can charge their cars is the ABB station from Yasno, which is located on the bypass near the town of Zvyagel. The charger is located in a convenient place and can be useful for those who do not have enough range to Rivne. It can charge vehicles with CCS or CHAdeMO chargers.
The authors put their VW ID.4 on charge in Rivne. The car arrived at the charging station, which is located next to the Sofia hotel and restaurant complex, with 3% battery charge. At the start of the route in Kyiv, the car had 93% battery charge. That is, on 90% battery charge the ID.4 drove 343 km. Average consumption when driving in rainy conditions was 18 kW-hours.
The authors have repeatedly checked the operation of the Ionity station, which is located next to the Sofia Hotel, and have assured that it works normally, although it is not the most powerful, because it has a maximum power of 50 kW. The car was charged to 80%, which with the power reserve of the ID.4 will definitely be enough to reach Ivano-Frankivsk. The cost of charging was 750 hryvnia.
So, the total cost of travel from Kyiv to Ivano-Frankivsk amounted to 950 hryvnia, considering that in Kyiv the car was charged at home tariff for 200 hryvnia. So, in the end, 600 km of travel on an ID.4 costs an average of 1,000 hryvnia. However, due to the fact that the authors of the review constantly recharged their Volkswagen ID.4 at various stations, the cost of a trip to Ivano-Frankivsk was 1,550 hryvnia, which is also not an absolutely critical indicator.
There are enough places in Ternopil where you can recharge, but experts examined the TOKA charging station, which is located near the Podolyany shopping center.. On the way back to Kyiv, the authors also took advantage of this exercise. The station is located in a good location, next to a large shopping center, where you can spend time while your car is charging.
The Go To-U charging station near the Ema Veles shopping center in Ivano-Frankivsk became the final point of the trip. The station has a service for reserving a charging port in advance, which is also a fairly convenient option. It has a Gb\T connector that produces 80 kW. During the trip back, the presenters charged their car at the same stations that were shown in the review.
To sum up, long-distance driving in an electric vehicle is possible, but it's worth familiarizing yourself with the available charging stations and planning your route carefully. If you don't own an ID.4 and have a car with a shorter range, the additional charging stations that experts showed may come in handy.