http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2548116/Car-driven-London-Edinburgh-FREE-thanks-new-network-electric-charging-points.html Car driven from London to Edinburgh for FREE thanks to new network of electric charging points (but it did take 12 hours and needed recharging nine times) By Mark Duell 29 January 2014
[images http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/29/article-0-1B0D59C100000578-415_634x475.jpg Journey: Red Dwarf actor Robert Llewellyn (right) set off from Marble Arch with friend David Peilow (left) and made nine stops along way to charge the battery in their all-electric Nissan Leaf http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/29/article-2548116-1B0D59B600000578-666_634x413.jpg Completed trip in 12 hours: Each charge took 30 minutes and gave the £16,000 car a range of 55 miles http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/29/article-2548116-1B0D59DA00000578-684_634x475.jpg Inside: The pair completed the trip in 12 hours - three-and-a-half days quicker than it took a BBC crew in an electric car in 2011 http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/29/article-2548116-1B0EC68000000578-824_634x570.jpg map - London to Edinbugh by electric car http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/29/article-2548116-1B0D59D600000578-66_634x475.jpg Getting around: A standard diesel car which does 50mpg would have used around £50 of fuel - but it was free in the Nissan Leaf thanks to the growing network of complementary charging spots http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/29/article-2548116-1B0D59CA00000578-804_634x475.jpg (Kryten face) - Driving: The effort by Mr Llewellyn (pictured) and his friend was hailed as a milestone in electric motoring http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/29/article-2548116-0330C20F000005DC-935_634x383.jpg Comedy: Mr Llewellyn played robotic servant Kryten (left) in the long-running series. Also pictured are Danny John-Jules (centre left) as Cat, Craig Charles (centre right) as Lister and Chris Barrie (right) as Rimmer ] Red Dwarf actor Robert Llewellyn completed the challenge with his friend Nissan Leaf becomes first car to complete 400-mile journey for no fuel cost They set off from Marble Arch and made nine stops to charge the battery A milestone in electric motoring was hailed today after a car was driven from London to Edinburgh for free. The all-electric Nissan Leaf became the first car to complete the 400-mile journey without spending a penny on fuel or power thanks to a newly-opened network of charging points. Red Dwarf actor Robert Llewellyn, who played robotic servant Kryten in the comedy series, set off from Marble Arch with friend David Peilow and made nine stops along way to charge the battery. Each charge took 30 minutes and gave the £16,000 car a range of 55 miles. The pair completed the trip in 12 hours - three-and-a-half days quicker than it took a BBC crew in an electric car in 2011. A standard diesel car which does 50mpg would have used around £50 of fuel - but it was free in the Nissan Leaf thanks to the growing network of complementary charging spots. Mr Peilow, 36, a satellite communications engineer from Southampton, said: ‘We wanted to drive to Edinburgh to put to bed the BBC’s four day trip of 2011. ‘Of course the point is that if you will have a Leaf as your daily driver, but the odd trip to see granny in Manchester is a piece of cake now. ‘The furthest we went between charges was 53 miles, but the Leaf will happily do 80 miles. We had absolutely no drama and no range anxiety. ‘Everything worked so well, I described the trip as mundane. We would stop for around 30 minutes each time, which gave the car an 85 per cent charge and that is good for more than 50 miles. ‘The BBC set the benchmark when they did it in four days, but I think electric cars are now a genuine alternative to combustion cars.’ WHERE DID THEY STOP EN ROUTE? Robert Llewellyn and David Peilow stopped at the following service stations after setting off from Marble Arch: Newport Pagnell, Leicester Forest East, Tibshelf, Woolley Edge, Wetherby, Scotch Corner (quick test of new charger), Aston Hotel Darlington (a media stop), Hexham, Newton St Boswells and Edinburgh Castle, which was the final destination. If they were going to do the trip in 11 hours, they would have stopped only at Watford Gap, Tibshelf, Wetherby, Scotch Corner, Hexham and Newton St Boswells, before reaching Edinburgh. The Nissan Leaf, which is built in Sunderland, now costs from £16,000 with government subsidies. It has a range of 80 miles and, like other electric cars, it is Congestion Charge and tax-exempt. Mr Peilow now believes that with improving infrastructure and prices dropping, owning an electric car is becoming more sensible by the day. He added: ‘I have a plug-in hybrid and I do about 300 miles a week on electric only and it saves me £3,000 a year. ‘Robert has done over 36,000 miles in his Leaf and we met a chap in Newcastle who has done more than 50,000 miles. ‘An electric car now makes sense for a lot of people, it’s only sales reps and road warriors who do a lot of miles that it won’t suit, but I don’t mind stopping for a coffee.’ The charge spots were put in by Ecotricity and Charge Your Car and are free to use. Ecotricity now has charging spots at service stations on the M4, M1 and in a number of Ikea car parks. [© dailymail.co.uk] ... http://www.reddwarf.co.uk Red Dwarf ... http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Llewellyn-s-L3-EV-trip-from-London-to-Edinburgh-in-just-10-hrs-tp4667612.html EVLN: Llewellyn's L3 EV trip from London to Edinburgh in just 10 hrs For all EVLN posts use: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date Here are today's archive-only EV posts: EVLN: BYD supplying EVs for London e-taxis EVLN: Quebec's BYD Electric Bus trials, report EVLN: Tork FZ Electric is India’s Battery Powered Brutality EVLN: Drivers' "Charge Rage" over unplugged vehicles EVLN: Seen a Tesla EV today? + EVLN: Why you can’t buy Honda’s 2014 Fit EV in North America {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Llewellyn-L3-s-his-Leaf-9-times-on-London-to-Edinburgh-trip-tp4667843.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
