An electric road trip in Canada?!
When we had been riding our Whike for some two months it was time for a change. We exchanged our two battery powered tricycles and the electric bicycles of Age & Evelien for a 4 wheeled electric beast: the Tesla Model 3! All four of us do not own a car in the Netherlands which surprises a lot of North Americans we meet. A combination of a good public transport network (which is much more dense and affordable and is used not only by homeless people); the occasional ridesharing apps and car sharing apps; and the bicycle for shorter distances go a long way. Although of course the distances in Canada and the US are much vaster than in our humble tiny country. So, can you do a good road trip with an electric car in Canada, the second largest country in the world with only twice as much people as the Netherlands? Spoiler alert: Hell yes!
The machine
Our aim is for our first car to be electric, but the Model 3 for the ‘common man’ is still not cheap. The suggested retail price of our rental is 79,000 CAD (60k USD/52k EUR), with some extra features like the extended 499km EPA range. We expected buttock-clenching moments with almost no juice in the battery, desperately driving behind trucks to make the last miles to a charger. And how would the battery hold up in the cold Canadian fall nights?
Our Tesla was immaculately white and comfortable to fit the four of us on long drives. It is a great feeling to glide past other cars with a push of the pedal, without making a noise. The dashboard and console are neatly done and very intuitive. The transparent roof is well placed for gazing at the amazing fall colours and snowy peaks along the road.
Of course we put the Tesla through some rigorous testing. The steering passed the test in the narrow winding roads up to Whistler. The break speed was put through the test when a couple of deer were caught in the headlights while crossing the road. And the luggage compartments were tested by fitting two people in (see photo below). You never know when you might need that.
However, there are some complaints. Our Vancouver hosts are doubting to buy one as it would be difficult to fit a kayak on the roof. Canadian problems, eh. Also the music system plays one of your songs and then turns into radio mode, so you cannot play your favourite album. To be able to drive, a key card needs to be placed on the centre console, but it kept sliding next to the seat, so we had to dive in head first to retrieve it. Lastly, the self-drive option does not work yet, which is pretty annoying for at least one person if you are doing a wine tasting trip.
The route
Our starting point was Vancouver, and the guys from EVrentals brought the car right to the doorstep of our great hosts Liz & Norbert. Liz took it for a spin around the block and uttered: ‘I NEED ONE!’
In total we drove about 1100kms. From Vancouver we went east towards Osoyoos on the Trans Canada (Hwy 1) and Crowsnest (Hwy 3) highway. From there we went up the Okanagan Valley on highway 97 to Kelowna and Kamloops. And after that we took Highway 1 and the Sea-to-Sky corridor (Hwy 99) through Whistler to return to Vancouver. It is amazing to see so much the scenery changes on a 4-day road trip. From beautiful fall colours, to sandy desert areas, to rolling hills with wineries and fruit orchards, to the snowy peaks of classy Whistler.
The charge
Finding a charging station was easy as you can insert their location into your current route, and the console shows how full your battery will be when you reach. In Hope we got a coffee and sweets. In Osoyoos and Whistler we charged while we were having dinner and in Kelowna and Kamloops we charged while doing groceries. No time lost there. An availability fee is charged when the majority of the chargers are occupied and your battery is full, but that was not the case anywhere. In 20 minutes the Model 3 was at least 80% charged again. By the way, we learned that the cost to install a Supercharger station with 10 slots costs about USD400k, which makes it much cheaper than a regular gas station.
How clean is the generation of electricity? British Columbia generates about 88% of its power via hydro, with biomass as a distant second (9%) and some small natural gas, wind and solar. So it makes a lot of sense to drive your electric car here as its source is mostly renewable.
The trip
Besides taking turns to enjoy riding the Tesla, the trip was also a ton of fun. We explored Canada’s wine making area, which was unknown territory for us. We visited everything from posher wine estates to small hippie vineyards with colourful VW vans in front. Around Kelowna we hiked part of the Myra Canyon trail, high up in the hills walking over the old Kettle Valley Railway with lots of restored wooden trestles. It is certainly bohemian chic to drive up your Tesla to a patch of grass and start putting up your tent. And what better feeling than making your own fire and roasting your meal next to it? Even in Whistler we were camping during a cold night, setting up our tent after a few beers in the town. We were surprised about the off-season activity here, mostly downhill mountain biking. Riding passed the snowy mountain peaks here was just amazing. The Sea-to-sky highway topped our journey off on our way back to Vancouver, where we had to part ways with the Tesla again, unfortnately!
All in all it was great to own a Tesla for a couple of days, but we are not ready to trade in our Whikes just yet!
