Sourdough Josh

Finally had a chance to take the 2021 eTron SUV on it’s first camping trip. A few impressions:

Positives:
• Favorite vehicle to date for taking the family camping. Sufficient room to take wife and 2 kids in the seats, 2 dogs and a cooler in the trunk (all secured in), luggage in a Thule box on the roof.
• Great ride there, both on the road and driving around the national forest with the Drive Select options where even driving through a small stream was effortless.
• Love the massage chairs on the drive home after sleeping on the ground.

Pain Points:
• RANGE ANXIETY. On the way up, stopped at an Audi Dealership with a 30kW fast charger to top off (was at about 72% just before heading into the hills). Charger wouldn’t start. Dealer rep even came out to reset it and try to help, and eventually gave up, saying he noted the charger often wouldn’t engage if the battery was “too full”. WTF? But okay, I had done the math and knew I could make it there and back to the EA station.
• RANGE ANXIETY. While camping we wanted to drive a couple miles for a hike with the family. Checking battery and doing quick math in head to see if this was allowed was stressful. Would not have come up in an ICE vehicle with 250-300 miles and gas stations everywhere.
• RANGE ANXIETY. I did my math well. Coasted into the EA station with 6 miles of range remaining.
• RANGE ANXIETY. Plugged the car in and went to lunch with the family. Took 3 tries to get the stupid charger to start, and after 30 minutes of checking the app, the charger never exceeded 36kW. So instead of a nearly full battery I was at 40%. I moved the car (after lunch) to a different charger at the same station and there it was - 146kW. Reported the bad charger to EA, but I guess next time I’ll know to either call them ASAP for a reset or switch units. Still, that’s *two* charging issues at different locations on one trip.
• RANGE ANXIETY. Total actual range, starting with a 100% battery from home was 181miles. This was in Efficiency Mode but with a full car and box on the roof. So it seems within spec, but still frustrating.

In summary: This is *almost* exactly the car I’ve been waiting years for, but the range issues for these family trips are still present. Even with the EA network and careful planning, there is not the level of freedom to just enjoy (for example, to just drive around a national forest for a bit) if max range is only 180 for said trips. I’m hopeful in 3 years when this lease is up, whatever replaces this car (Q6?) will have the range issue ironed out.

skaven81

Were you using ABRP / A Better Route Planner to calculate your range? If not, start using that. It will cure your range anxiety right away.

You can't trust the "guess-o-meter" range estimator in the dash. And you will drive yourself nuts trying to constantly second-guess your "guesstimate" when you left the last charging station. ABRP lets you plan the entire trip, and accounts for weather, temperature, speed, elevation changes, and even wind speed (in the premium paid version).

Lucken2

For many people, until we get to 350-400 miles, range anxiety will be a concern.

Sourdough Josh

Yes, I used ABRP. Like I said in my post, all my estimates were spot-on, which created range anxiety due to the lack of sufficiently placed charging stations.

Until we either have: 1) 300+ *actual* miles/charge for a camping trip (i.e., loaded car), or 2) HPC chargers right at the entrance of all major federal parks and camp sites, I don't see the range anxiety issue going away. Unfortunately there just isn't the charging infrastructure needed for many trips. For example: planning a Sequoia trip right now, and even the closest slow-charge stations can be 80+ miles away from some camp sites -- this means round-trip of 160 miles leaves only about a 10% battery margin for taking day trips inside the park.

skaven81

Noted. I agree that this can be anxiety-inducing. When my wife and I go "camping" it's with an RV, so while the "on the road" range can be challenging to work out, the upside is that once we arrive, I can always top up my car at the RV park on their 50 amp circuit.

I disagree that DC charging is necessary at the parks -- I think it would be sufficient (and far more achievable) to ensure that there are a number of spots in each campsite that have a 14-50 plug. Then you can charge overnight, no need for expensive DC infrastructure or the need for park rangers to maintain a finnicky charger. Campers just bring their chargers with them and charge at the campsite.

I recently did a Sequoia / Kings Canyon trip and stayed at an RV park just outside the park. I was able to leave the RV park to explore Sequoia and Kings Canyon with a full battery, and didn't have to worry about making it "home" -- just back to the RV park. Then overnight charged back to 100% for towing the trailer home.

Definitely always bring your charger with you on long trips -- don't depend on DC charging alone. And you might consider buying a TeslaTap so you can use Tesla destination chargers in a pinch.

Dave_

For me, range anxiety is my number 1 concern, should I get a current model of etron. They really have to get well over 300 miles/charge for me to relax a bit. And I mean REAL range; not just advertised.

Sourdough Josh

Yes, agreed 100% - we often look for sites with plugs, but so far most do not (other than the RV park like you mentioned). If they started adding them I'd be over the moon happy and the range would not be an issue. I always carry the Audi charger in my frunk, along with two 240v adapters (RV and Dryer) just in case (haven't had to use them yet, though!).

Although the RV park outside is an option, this still leaves me with the issue of not being free to just go to a "regular" campsite still, so until they add plugs this is a big pain point for me (we like going to all the camp sites with the kids!).

I'll look into the TeslaTap -- didn't realize that was available yet (last I read, I thought this was a "coming soon" option not yet available). Thanks for the tip!

JNealCox

Just be aware that the TeslaTap does not work on their Superchargers.

Having HVDC chargers is not a simple task! This is one big reason EA has teamed up with Walmart, because those locations generally have the power structure to support the chargers. As the power capability goes up, so does the complexity--liquid cooled cables. So don't expect a little independently franchised McDonalds, or a State Park camp ground, to jump into the fray.

cwedge411

Same boat, love the car, Range anxiety is terrible. i dont go places because i dont want to deal with calculations

Lucken2

Cwedge, when you bought the car, were you anticipating a greater range or did you think you’d never use it for longer trips?