I rang the helpful customer assistance who got it working, but at this time an hour had gone by, and I now faced a one mile walk back to the hotel in -5☌ before getting ready for the game. Unfortunately, my ChargePoint account, which I needed to add a credit card to, wouldn’t work. On arrival we did a loop around the building and found the Level 2 ChargePoint charger, which was available. The next was at a Mitsubishi dealership another half mile away. “There are still some very large infrastructure gaps for EVs” James Carter, Vision Mobility However, due to a unique app sign-up and an ominous warning about non-registered visitor vehicles being liable to towing, we decided to move on. With some looking, we found one about a half mile away, outside a condo. This meant consulting PlugShare for nearby destination chargers, and with only 30 km remaining, it had to be close. My wife’s family had arranged the hotel and hadn’t considered our EV, so there’s no charger on site. Once we had arrived at the Ottawa hotel, we had to figure out charging – which had to be sorted before the big hockey game. The Model 3 is also pretty close to its direct competitors in cruising comfort – it’s a quiet, relaxing place to be, with perhaps the biggest issue being a slightly fidgety ride from the 19” sport rims with winter tires. These two parts of Model 3 cruising are particularly good, if not industry leading. I can’t emphasize how important this is in EV ownership. Supercharger network: It is an absolute understatement to say that using this is completely seamless and hassle free.Ours does not have FSD (Full Self-Driving Capability), and I can see one touch lane change from that being a real help. Even though you’re still actively engaged in driving, reducing the focus in always ensuring that the car is properly aligned in the lane is a seriously big help, in much the same way normal cruise control alleviates constant throttle inputs to maintain a constant speed, and therefore reduces fatigue. Autopilot: Though we all know it is completely mis-named, the self-steer/active cruise control is a huge benefit in reducing driver fatigue.It also predicted a five-hour trip, which is one hour longer than normal. Upon leaving we entered the Ottawa address in the Model 3’s navigation, and it suggested that two charging stops, one in Port Hope for 20 minutes, the other in Kingston for 30 minutes, meaning we’d arrive with 10 per cent charge remaining – not much of a buffer. We left Toronto with an indicated 280 km range from a 75 per cent charge. General cruising comfort and long-distance autopilot usage.Accuracy of cold weather range and Tesla energy usage predictions.The trip is 400 kilometres each way, which is theoretically possible without stopping, but given that the car isn’t fully charged (it’s currently at about 75 per cent) and it’s cold (-5☌), we’ll have to stop and charge at least once, maybe twice. We’re now almost ready for our first family electric road trip in our Tesla Model 3 SR+, from Toronto to Ottawa and back for the long weekend to see the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Ottawa Senators. A winter drive from Toronto to Ottawa and back showed James Carter and his family how, with the current state of destination charging, EV road trips require planning and precision.
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