Family road trips in the Q4

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Hi all,

Great forum. Hope we can get some more activity on here!

Picking up an s-line 50 next week but getting angst about charging, espec with family in tow when we are on our travels and reading quite a few negative comments around the internet regarding charging points either not working or related apps not working that allow chargers to be used.

What are people's experiences with nav and generally topping up the battery when doing long trips?

For example we're currently on a staycation in our ICE vehicle which can get about 350 from a tank. This will easily cover the entire journey there and back + excursions whilst away but we'd definitely need to charge an EV during the holiday to get enough range.

What are people's strategies for dealing with this when there is no charging point at the place of stay? Is the audi navigation useful enough to find local charging points?
Does battery charge level drop much when the car is parked (have heard some negative stories from Tesla owners on this matter)
Does preheating cabin on cold days (assuming possible) eat much battery? What about cooling the cabin on hot days?

Hope it's not too much of a ramble. Thank you for any and all thoughts!

[Lighting]

Welcome to the forum.

What I have learnt in the last year of driving a EV (Q4 etron 50) it is essential you plan ahead . I personally don't use the Audi MMI charging stations as a reference. Instead i use the upload apps on my phone to check availability.
ZapMap is a good starting point . I also carry RFID cards incase of poor signal.
Electroverse / Geniepoint / Shellrecharge / Audi
and if you are traveling abroad Chargemap

Before you set of on a journey check first where you are going to charge . Have the app already downloaded on your phone and a payment card attached.
I have travelled all over UK and to France and "touch wood " never come unstuck.

As for the battery level dropping? I have left my car standing for two weeks and have never witnessed a drop in charge.

[ScottyQ4]

I would say PLAN - PLAN - PLAN your journey. I try to book hotels with a destination charger so you can charge overnight (generally free). Failing that I have used the granny charger to charge if you can find a plug. ZapMap is a good tool for planning a journey as is A Better Route Planner. The Audi app is ok but I generally use it only to back up what other route planning apps are telling you. Aim to charge when you can. I tend to charge when I reach 20% SOC. areas where chargers are like hens teeth include north wales, North Yorkshire and the Cotswolds. I always aim to get at least 80% into the battery before venturing into these areas. Charger reliability is the big one for me, not so much range anxiety. Reliable chargers in my experience include InstaVolt and Gridserve. Also Tesla if the site allows you.
I would suggest assume the max range of the car in summer is 260 miles. Curtail your motorway speeds so that you aim for a consumption figure of 3.5m/kWh during the summer. In winter that figure could drop to 2m/kWh and less???
The cost of charging varies across companies. Osprey an InstaVolt tend to be the most expensive with Podpoint slightly cheaper.
Apps I use include the following

[hugodoodle]

I’ve got a Q4 50 Quattro and achieve maximum 3.2/3.3 m/kWh at motorway speeds of 70 mph in the summer with aircon on, on a good day. From 100% SOC, I can achieve max 250 miles - but that is getting close to 0% at destination.

I usually aim to stop for a charge at 20-30% and plan three or four charger locations close to each other, so I don’t have to wait.

Pre-heating or pre-cooling the cabin (if plugged in) can save a little range, but not that much. It seems to be a 2 kW power draw - so a 30 minute pre-journey event would only save 1 kWh.

[hugodoodle]

I did a 250 mile drive yesterday and could have managed that on a single charge from 100%, though I had two quick breaks and added 5 kWh each time. Without the charging, I would have got to my destination with approximately 5% SOC, instead of the 19%.

It was 25C and I mostly had the air-con off and windows ajar - averaging 3.7/3.8 m/kWh mostly at 70 mph.