I just completed a 21-day road trip in my 2021 VW ID.4 from Florida to Canada and 7 states in between, in which I attempted to use as many "free" Electrify America Chargers as possible. Total trip was 4,048 miles.
- The car performed flawlessly.
- Electrify America worked well - we were NEVER "stranded" at a charging site, and we NEVER had to "wait in line" behind anyone else who was completing a charge.
LEG 1: Florida to Sault Ste. Marie Ontario. Overnight stops in Ooltewah TN, Bowling Green and Sault Ste. Marie MI. The northernmost Electrify America Charger was in Gaylord MI but with a full charge there, we passed through Canadian customs and on to our final destination at Thessalon Ontario. For this leg, our out-of-pocket fuel expense was ZERO.
LEG 2: Spent a week in Ontario. Approximately 454 miles and we paid for all of the charging. We used 200 KwH DC fast chargers at Petro Canada (which never got past 70 KwH even though the ID.4 will accept up to 125 KwH), Shell Canada (which had UNRELIABLE DC fast Chargers) and 110Volt using the VW-supplied charging plug). We were on the island for several days so I just stayed plugged in to 110V and got to 80 percent charge. My comments about Leg 2:
- Out-of-Pocket fuel cost worked out to about 5 cents (U.S.) per mile.
- The Canadian charging infrastructure is SADLY LACKING compared to Electrify America.
LEG 3: Sault Ste. Marie MI to Green Bay WI. The night before we launched on this trip, we stayed at a Hampton which had a FREE LEVEL 2 CHARGER, which we used to top off before departure. The upper Penninsula of Michigan is relatively "SPARSE" when it comes to DC fast chargers, but we made it to a Shell DC Fast Charger in Escanba, MI where we topped off before completing our day in Green Bay.
- Green Bay was also sparse on DC Fast Chargers. Fortunately, the Green Bay VW dealership was less than one mile from our hotel. We went over, introduced ourselves, and OFFERED TO PAY for charging at their dealership. They would not hear of it . . . they said, "You're a VW CUSTOMER" and offered their charger to us TWICE (without cost) during our 3-day stay in Green Bay.
LEG 4: Green Bay WI to Clearwater FL. 4 Days, with overnight stops in Salem IL, Alabaster AL, Tallahassee FL and home on the 4th day. For all those legs we used E.A. Chargers, so ZERO out-of-pocket fuel cost.
For the last 20 years I've been driving a 2000 Porsche 986 Boxster. After 7 months in my ID.4, I have NO INTEREST in EVER owning a car with an internal combustion engine.
