Jaguar I-Pace EV400 Forum banner

Jaguar Charging Solution

5K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  Golflaw 
#1 ·
I don't know if JLR ever reads these, and maybe this idea is old news...but here's what I think:

I enjoy my i-Pace, and I think it's a great car. But charging on the road is genuinely a pain, and it severely limits my use of the car. Chargers aren't available, or they're broken, or they are godawful slow. You all know the drill. I basically never take my car outside a 100 mile radius of home, which sucks, cuz I like the car.

My buddy has a Tesla and, say what you will about Tesla, they at least put some money and thought into making charging palatable. His experience was kind of what I had in mind when I bought the i-pace, and I've been sorely disappointed in that regard.

So this is one small part of the solution, but I think JLR should take it seriously. Every, and I mean EVERY, JLR dealer in America should be required to install at least two working fast-charger stations. Not Level II chargers--FAST chargers.

Then, they should be tapped into an on-line system whereby any i-pace owner can RESERVE, in advance, time on the charger. So if I know I'm driving to someplace on a given day, and I can find a dealer along the route, I can go online, enter my VIN, and reserve 90 minutes (or whatever) on the charger to top off.

During un-reserved times, they could be made available to non-jag owners. But i-pace owners always get dibs.

This would not solve everything, obviously, as there is not a JLR dealer on every corner. But at least it would be something...and it would show a commitment by Jag to support those of us who took a risk on early adoption.

There you have it. Glad I could get this off my chest.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I agree. My dealer had no fast chargers and I scolded them for selling cars that needed an overnight charge before that could leave the lot. They didn't even charge mine during a warranty service, despite knowing I lived 300 kms away.
But they have now installed two fast chargers,
 
#3 ·
My dealer has two chargers, one a level 2 and one a level 3. ChargePoints. The level 3 has never worked since the time of its install and since I have been going there for the last 5 or 6 months.

Sadly we early adopters are suffering until there is the infrastructure in place, the chicken and the egg maybe. Of course Elon knew he had to invest in the infrastructure to sell his cars and he is a sole BEV manufacture. On the flip side, IEC manufactures are selling BEVs to get the gas guzzling credits and have little incentive to invest in an infrastructure. JLR, BMW, Audi, etc. all have stated they will not put an infrastructure in place leaving it to a third party. Third parties are having trouble making a profit on super fast level 3 chargers due to transmission charges I believe. So until there are, lets say changes, a charging infrastructure maybe slow in rolling out.

Elon reached out to vehicle manufactures to come together in rolling out an infrastructure but I don't believe anyone took him up on it. Would be nice if Elon made his infrastructure available to non-Tesla's but...
 
#4 ·
The closest dealers to me have 1 6.6 kW and 1 11kW "fast" Chargerpoint brand chargers. Those are not fast by the standards of other Chargepoint brand chargers available short distances away. It doesn't really show that the JLR vehicles (I-pace and future models) can charge at the highest advertised rates.

Nearby chargers go up to 50 kW. My car has taken about 2.5 hours to go from 2% to 100% at these 50 kW chargers. It would take much longer at the dealers' chargers. The good thing is that they are all free. :smile2: A new Chargepoint charger close to 20 miles away from me is reported to be a 62.5 kW charger but isn't free. It's a $.25/min with $5 minimum rate.

Farther away I can get to an Electrify America site and charge at a faster rate (at least for part of the charge) but it cost$. EVgo sites aren't the cheapest way to charge either.

All the major branded chargers have apps, plus apps like Plugshare, help to let you know if the chargers are available and working/not working. I've found them to be very helpful in solving the where-to-charge dilemma.

Most of the other car brands selling EVs have chargers at their sites. Most do not allow the public to charge, have their cars plugged in all the time, have the chargers only inside their service areas, etc. At least the JLR dealers don't have them where you can't get to them and usually they are not ICEd.

This state actually has a law requiring public entities to install charging facilities. They've been slow to comply, minimally complied with, and results have varied from the 3.3 kW to the 62.5 kW chargers. I'd like to see rest stops along interstates providing charging capabilities. Not many do.

Demand will drive the infrastructure build just like it did for gasoline and diesel stations. They didn't come before the horseless carriage started to get popular.
 
#6 ·
You bought a 80k EV and you don't have a second car? You bought an EV as your only car and you drive long distances regularly? I had a Spark EV with a fast charger and for three years we didn't fast charge once. We L2 charged sometimes because, well, we could. It was never useful or necessary.
 
#10 ·
I am all with you. I really like this car in most respects, but it is an extreme understatement that almost everything about the charging seems poorly thought out. I suspect that in the coming years higher speed charging for non-Teslas will become more readily available. BUT, for now, it is horrid.

I just completed a 600-mile roundtrip "test drive" to see how it would be, and if it would be practical to take this car on future road trips. It's not. I chose a very well-traveled and populated area (Silicon Vally to Santa Barbara) on a highly traveled road (101). I have made this trip before in my Tesla Model S, so I fully understand just how the trip SHOULD be in an electric car. I am aware that we can't keep comparing the I Pace to Tesla on every little thing, but for travel charging, there is just no comparison. First off, it was a hassle just FINDING "high speed" (they are not) chargers. Every one was miles off the main road. Once found, there was usually only one charger available for an I Pace. This can be a BIG problem when, as happened to me, late at night you get to the sole charger available for miles around, and another car has just begun a 40-minute session.

Second, the cost seemed a little bit high. I admit, though, I really am unsure of what to expect in this regard, and I am supremely spoiled by free Super Charging with the Tesla. Using the chargers had a bit of a learning curve, but I suspect that was due to my own incompetence. Although I knew in advance what to expect, it was still frustrating taking 60+ minutes to charge rather than the 20-30 minutes I had experienced in the past.

So, factoring in the more frequent stops, the time driving off the main road to the chargers, and the longer charging sessions, I estimated it added over 2 hours to the trip over past trips. And the frustration factor was even greater.

This has to affect sales. I have friends who LOVE my car and are in the market for an electric car. My advice to them, don't buy an I Pace as your first electric car, it will turn you off of electric. I'm fine with this car, and absolutely wouldn't exchange it for a Tesla. Even though I know how easy things should be in an electric car, I can adjust to the problems I find with the I Pace and not get too discouraged.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top