New website and a trip report

[Bobu]

After many trips to Iceland, Namibia, Australia, Patagonia, etc. with standard 4x4s, I got curious to try out what’s possible with an electric vehicle. I’ve built a new website about overlanding trips with EVs, mainly to document my experiences (and hopefully in the future not only mine but of other people as well):

EV Overlanding

overland travel to remote destinations with electric vehicles

ev-overlanding.com

I just finished my first trip report about traveling 7500 km with an e-tron to the Nordkapp:

Nordkapp Road Trip with Audi e-tron – Part I

Due to Covid19, it was a difficult decision about what to do in the summer of 2020. We wanted to do a 4-week road trip with our Audi e-tron 55. But many borders were closed and a lot of countries w…

ev-overlanding.com

For the next years, I've already planned some very interesting EV overlanding trips in and outside of Europe (hoping that Covid 19 will allow this).

I will for sure regularly look into this subforum here and I’m really interested in the exchange with other people with similar ideas.

Boris

 

[Christian P.]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Christian P.]

When it's time to replace my wife BMW 340, we will most likely get an electric car. Or perhaps an hybrid. The new X5 xDrive45e looks pretty impressive with 75 miles of pure electric.

 

[Bobu]

A hybrid would be the easy option but then you would on overlanding trips probably use mainly the combustion engine. 75 miles is just not enough for road trips. In my opinion, it is a totally valid concept of using the e-drive/battery close to home or in cities and the combustion engine on longer trips. Personally I find it challenge interesting to use a BEV instead of a hydrid even for overlanding trips. But of course, with the current technology you need a bit more planning, time, and patience compared to a hybrid.

 

[life_w_vagabonds]

When it's time to replace my wife BMW 340, we will most likely get an electric car. Or perhaps an hybrid. The new X5 xDrive45e looks pretty impressive with 75 miles of pure electric.

75 miles AER? More like 30 from what I understand.

 

[Christian P.]

75 miles AER? More like 30 from what I understand.

yep you are correct.

2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e Gets Official EPA Range Rating Of 31 Miles On Electric

According to the fresh EPA range and energy efficiency rating, the 2021 BMW X5 xDrive45e will go up to 31 miles (50 km) in all-electric mode.

insideevs.com

 

[Lovetheworld]

Hi Boris, nice trip.

I live in Netherlands and also looking into EV overlanding. Within western Europe it is fairly easy, although still not as easy as filling up the tank.
I still own a diesel powered 4x4, however, next to that we have a regular electric car (with similar or slighly better range than the E-tron). I also have trips in mind, just for the fun of a challenge. Such as taking it to Dakar for example. I researched that already somewhat.
But yes, now it is hard to organize anything and I have to finish other stuff first.

Or just wait and save money for Rivian to be sold in Europe

 

[Bobu]

Hi Boris, nice trip.

I live in Netherlands and also looking into EV overlanding. Within western Europe it is fairly easy, although still not as easy as filling up the tank.
I still own a diesel powered 4x4, however, next to that we have a regular electric car (with similar or slighly better range than the E-tron). I also have trips in mind, just for the fun of a challenge. Such as taking it to Dakar for example. I researched that already somewhat.
But yes, now it is hard to organize anything and I have to finish other stuff first.

Or just wait and save money for Rivian to be sold in Europe

Dakar sounds interesting. Please write a travel report about this trip. I'm thinking about traveling to Morocco next year with an EV, not as challenging as Dakar but definitely a level above Karelia and the Nordkapp. Another interesting challenge from Europe could be travelling via Albania and Greece to the eastern border of Turkey (or even further east).

The biggest problem regarding Rivian outside of North America is probably their non-exsiting service-network. I'm waiting for the VW ID. Buzz.

 

[Lovetheworld]

Morocco has some chargers in the big cities. But outside that there is nothing of course. Just sockets
Especially hard to reach dunes and back, but possible if you have time

There has been a swiss couple through Central Asia with a Model S, and a Polish guy took a Nissan Leaf with only 30kwh from South Africa to Europe! That took some effort and driving really slow, the cars we have now are already much easier to do.

Rivian will also sell here officially, and once you are in Albania or further away from home, I don't think it will matter which EV you brought, they will not be able to service it that well anyway.
But EVs are simple and reliable for the most part, so that is a good thing.

At this moment we have a full on 4x4 campervan. It is already quite unique to have a campervan that is capable of going anywhere, it will take a while for that is available in electric form. So it will be hard to make that switch.

 

[Bobu]

Morocco has some chargers in the big cities. But outside that there is nothing of course. Just sockets
Especially hard to reach dunes and back, but possible if you have time

I already did some rough planning on how to reach the edge of the Sahara. I think from Ouarzazate via Tinghir to Rissani should be possible without serious problems. From there I could make a day trip to the Erg Chebbi.
My biggest problem is timing: I could either go in summer for 4 weeks with 40-50°C in the Sahara. Or in spring/atumn/winter for 2 weeks, which is not enough time. Both options won't really work. Therefore my idea is to just go to Ouarzazate and postpone my Sahara visit to a future trip with more available time in winter.
But there is a high risk that even this won't be possible next year due to Covid 19.

There has been a swiss couple through Central Asia with a Model S, and a Polish guy took a Nissan Leaf with only 30kwh from South Africa to Europe! That took some effort and driving really slow, the cars we have now are already much easier to do.

I read both reports in the past. Both were fascinating trips. But I'm not sure if modern cars would really help with this kind of trips, especially on the Trans-Africa. In most African countries, you have to use single-phase wall plugs and charge with a maximum of 1kW. This means with my e-tron it takes 4 days to charge from 0 to 100%. Possible, but you would need a lot of time. Therefore for this kind of trips efficiency is much more important than battery size. And larger batteries lead to higher weight which leads to lower efficiency. For Trans-Africa the Nissan Leaf is likely the better option than an e-tron.

Rivian will also sell here officially, and once you are in Albania or further away from home, I don't think it will matter which EV you brought, they will not be able to service it that well anyway.
But EVs are simple and reliable for the most part, so that is a good thing.

I think even in countries like Albania, Turkey, Morocco etc. you will find some VW, Audi, Mercedes, Nissan, Renault etc. service points. They are probably not really qualified for EVs but they can order order parts and do many things. And doesn't always have to be a problem with the EV part of the vehicle. Just think about a problem with the driveshaft or suspension. The parts (and how to install them) in an e-tron are very similar to a Q7 or Q8. They should be able to fix these problem. With a Rivian this would be more complicated. I really like the Rivian idea. It would probably be my first choice for exploring the highlands of Iceland in an EV, but I'm not sure I would take it on longer overlanding trips outside of Central/Western Europe (or North America).

 

[Lovetheworld]

Yes that is the problem with big electric SUVs/4x4s. The power required means that you require fast chargers.
Any vehicle that uses 150wh to 200wh per kilometer combined with charging from a socket at 2kw or perhaps higher already gives you a decent mileage per day. Just like the Polish Leaf driver you go slower to do more mileage in a day and I think you might enjoy the surroundings more.
But the Etron is quite thirsty, a Rivian is probably comparible or worse.
Same goes for campervans. Mercedes has the new eqv van with 90kwh, but since it is a van it will probably do 250 to 300wh.

It is nice to have a vehicle which you can use everyday and on holiday. Just buying a new electric vehicle (van or 4x4) for holiday usage is not so economical and does not serve the environment much.
Also, the rest of the year you are driving around a bigger vehicle, consuming more energy, when you don't really need it. But that is the same with driving a Landcruiser to work everyday.

So it will take a long time to switch to electric for that, even though I am already very happy with our regular electric car.

 

[Lovetheworld]

What I gather from your trip and looking at charging info online, is that once you reach territory with less charging infrastructure (such as the Northern half of Scandinavia and other parts), if you find anything it will be a 50KW charger at max.
My car can only charge at 50KW, but pretty soon that doesn't seem to matter anymore.
Where the difference does matter, is in the easy parts where there are plenty chargers and it just takes a bit longer.

 

[Bobu]

What I gather from your trip and looking at charging info online, is that once you reach territory with less charging infrastructure (such as the Northern half of Scandinavia and other parts), if you find anything it will be a 50KW charger at max.
My car can only charge at 50KW, but pretty soon that doesn't seem to matter anymore.
Where the difference does matter, is in the easy parts where there are plenty chargers and it just takes a bit longer.

Yes, that's absolutely true. 50 kW DC is sufficient for any overlanding trips to interesting/remote places. What would sometimes help is the option to charge 22 kW AC. My current car can max 11 kW AC and there were some AC chargers along the way which were able of 22 kW. That's the difference between an overnight charge and a long break. The 22 kW AC is now an option for the e-tron. And I would definitely choose it next time.

 

[Lovetheworld]

Yes our car is even worse at AC charging, it is single phase. At home this isn't a problem. But when you only find those chargers it is quite a difference.
Single phase means at a 22kw it will charge at 7.2 kw. At 11kw charger it depends on the implementation but could be 3.6kW. Anyway, that is still enough for a night but rather have more.

 

[Bobu]

I've now edited a short video of my road trip with the Audi e-tron. I hope you enjoy it.