Lake Bled in Slovenia is not an obvious starting point for an extreme electric-car road trip. From the puttering hire boats to the gorgeous Alpine backdrop and appealingly tacky casino, it’s hard to imagine that in a little more than 24 hours I will have eaten up 1009 miles, 10 countries, seven rapid charging stops, and more coffee and crisps than I care to think about.
But that’s the plan, and the Audi e-Tron is the car for this marathon drive – one designed to illustrate how far the electric car and the fast charging infrastructure have come. After all, long-haul electric motoring used to be reserved for Tesla, thanks to its Supercharger network.
For the past year, a joint venture called Ionity (formed by Audi, BMW, Daimler, Porsche, Volkswagen and Ford and joined, in recent weeks, by Hyundai and Kia) has been rolling out super rapid 350kW charging stations. That’s 100kW faster than Tesla’s latest V3 Supercharger, and Porsche’s Taycan can take full advantage of it, adding 100 miles of range in less time than it takes your barista to misspell your name.
The e-tron’s 150kW maximum charging rate is more typical of most premium electric cars, and we were about to find out what that charging speed – good for around 100 miles in less than 15 minutes – did for cross-continental travel.
Numbers are one thing, though. Actually covering such a huge distance without getting stranded courtesy of a plug-less autoroute is a far better and more colourful test of where the electric car and its charging lifeblood stands.
We left the heady holiday shores of Lake Bled at 8.30am with a full battery and 211 miles of range showing. One effortless, a short hop across the mountainous Austrian border, and we were one country down.
Denne historien er fra October 16, 2019-utgaven av Auto Express.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 16, 2019-utgaven av Auto Express.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
PEUGEOT E-2008 GT
Our Peugeot EV and classic BMW may be the perfect two-car garage
SHOW 'N' TELL
Our 2024 Performance Car of the Year, Hyundai's Ioniq 5 N EV, takes on the revamped Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
F1 EXHIBITION IS GO GO GO
Former F1 World Champion Damon Hill shows us around a celebration of the greatest sport on Earth
BYD Dolphin Active
Lower power means a more affordable price, but the new entry-level Dolphin is left wanting in other areas
Mercedes-AMG CLE Coupé
FIRST DRIVE We get behind the wheel of new CLE that aims to offer both comfort and a scincillating driving experience
Volkswagen Golf GTI
Ergonomic improvements are a welcome enhancement to VW's iconic hot hatch, but there's still no manual version
Toyota Prius
FIRST UK DRIVE Toyota's hybrid pioneer finally returns to these shores in fifth-generation guise and exclusively as a plug-in hybrid
INSURANCE SCAMS AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
INSURANCE FRAUD BUREAU EXPERT GIVES US THE LOWDOWN ON THE LATEST SWINDLES
Honda's updated HR-V sports sharp new look
Brand's best-selling model in Europe has also received some interior revisions and extra safety kit
Audi sets £70k start price for new A6 EV
ORDER books for the new Audi A6 e-tron are open now, with prices from just under £70,000 and deliveries starting next February.