Continental Trip 450+

[ABitterman]

Off to France soon and wondered if anybody’s has ventured abroad and bothered to charge the car whilst on a long trip or just filled it with petrol and use as a standard hybrid. 

[WhiteHart]

Good question, thanks I do not have the answer but will be interested in the answers. 

[Scotlex]

I would charge when possible, if it was available and easy to do.

Great that you have the option to run as normal hybrid 😀

[ABitterman]

I only charge at home as when out and about in the UK, the costs seem extortionate and dearer than petrol. Looking at charging in France, it seems even more of a minefield. 

[Ken R]

I have been away from home recently albeit within the UK but didn't bother with charging. Still returned c55mpg. Charging away from home can be expensive.

[Harrier Man]

4 hours ago, Ken R said:

I have been away from home recently albeit within the UK but didn't bother with charging. Still returned c55mpg. Charging away from home can be expensive.

Same experience and decision for me. I did charge successfully at one B&B but the owner asked me not to do it again because his insurance wouldn't cover it (assured me it wasn't a cost issue). Seems a shame not to make more use of electric charging (recent BBC programme was showing 69p/kWh, more than twice the cost of a home charge) but I'm glad I bought the PHEV rather than having to worry - which would be currently the case if I'd gone all EV .

[Stumpyuk]

19 hours ago, ABitterman said:

Off to France soon and wondered if anybody’s has ventured abroad and bothered to charge the car whilst on a long trip or just filled it with petrol and use as a standard hybrid. 

I bought a mains charging cable with a french plug on it and charged it with no problem from the mains in France.   Charging at a charging station with the standard cable was a bit like playing roulette; being charged anything from £20 to £60 on one occasion.   TBH, I find I don't generally need to charge at home or charging stations.   The in-journey charging is so efficient I don't need to charge from chargers.   If I drive down to London, the Battery gets fully charged after about 70 miles, so I switch to pure electric when I get into London.    I generally travel sufficient distances to fully charge the Battery before I need to use the electric motor in my home town.  

Before you go, make sure you know where to find the setting to change from MPH to KPH in the infotainment system.   I mistakenly thought that the vehicle auto-sensed when it was in a new country and automatically changed the settings...it doesn't!   It is a bit of a faff to find the right menu so make sure you have found it before you go.

The biggest issue I found when touring in France is the autodipping of headlights.   I occasionally get flashed by other users in the UK when using the autodipping, but in rural France a night it was happening A LOT.   Not sure if it was a software issue or what but it became quite stressful.   I took the vehicle into the dealer as soon as I got back, but they told me the system was working as expected. I'd be very interested to hear your experience.

[Philbo64]

I drove to Belgium in May this year and even though I took the cables with me, I didn't bother charging due to the high costs when compared to petrol and simply left it in HV mode.

I agree with @Stumpyuk, find out how to switch to KPH. I never found it and was very conscious about speeding while I was there. @Stumpyuk, would be great if you could share the knowledge as to where it is in the menu of the infotainment

[Stumpyuk]

@Philbo64 - to change the units to KMH; on the infotainment unit go to: Settings - General - Language & Units.  Set the set the "Trip Info.unit" setting to KM/h.   Distances and speed will then be set to KMh in both the dashboard and HUD.  

[ABitterman]

Always thought that charging the car using the engine was less efficient than petrol alone. I’ve never used the inbuilt charger. Have checked changing to KMH so all good. Concerning about the lights though, had the same issue with my previous Volvo which claimed to auto dim. 

[Stumpyuk]

31 minutes ago, ABitterman said:

Always thought that charging the car using the engine was less efficient than petrol alone. I’ve never used the inbuilt charger. Have checked changing to KMH so all good. Concerning about the lights though, had the same issue with my previous Volvo which claimed to auto dim. 

Whilst using the inbuilt charger you will be running as pure ICE, however charging is so efficient (especially on rural roads) that it will be much cheaper than using a home charger or charging station, IMHO.  Yes, your mpg will go down during charging, but not catastrophically so. In Once you leave an urban area, just hold the EV/HV toggle (below the gear shift) for several seconds to put it in charge mode - I think you will be surprised how quickly it charges.

[Ken R]

7 hours ago, Stumpyuk said:

Whilst using the inbuilt charger you will be running as pure ICE, however charging is so efficient (especially on rural roads) that it will be much cheaper than using a home charger or charging station, IMHO.  Yes, your mpg will go down during charging, but not catastrophically so. In Once you leave an urban area, just hold the EV/HV toggle (below the gear shift) for several seconds to put it in charge mode - I think you will be surprised how quickly it charges.

I agree it charges quite quickly however it feels and sounds a different vehicle in this mode. Engine note rises dramatically and the performance of the car in terms of acceleration markedly deteriorates. Have only used it a couple of times (gained 6 miles of charge in a 13 mile journey) but not rushing to do so again.

[Hayzee]

3 hours ago, Ken R said:

I agree it charges quite quickly however it feels and sounds a different vehicle in this mode. Engine note rises dramatically and the performance of the car in terms of acceleration markedly deteriorates. Have only used it a couple of times (gained 6 miles of charge in a 13 mile journey) but not rushing to do so again.

Completely agree with you. When I switched it on I thought the engine had developed a fault such was the noise it made.

[Ken R]

Fuel consumption suffers too!

[BonzoSPB]

18 hours ago, Ken R said:

Fuel consumption suffers too!

Has anyone worked out if the cycle of:

- fully point charged EV - recharge mode- full EV - recharge mode etc

is more fuel\electricity efficient than:

- fully point charged EV - HV mode - fully point charged EV - HV mode etc

Over a long journey.

[ABitterman]

I’m going to try the self charge system and see how it goes. Much prefer the car when it’s electric only. Will have to see if it’s costs me more than a fiver in petrol to fully charge it. I’m sure someone must have done the maths!