We have two options for route-planning in the car. We can use the built-in Google Maps (which I have had success with), or we can download ABRP from the PlayStore onto our Home Screen. I have found both lacking, however, but in different ways.

I was looking into the possibility to use our ZDX to travel from Austin to South Padre Island so I hopped in the car (which is only at 70% battery now) and tried to plan it. I have done this a few times for other trips, but for this trip I am not impressed. It has me at two stops, which is very believable. But says one of those stops will be for over an hour! Is it trying to get me to like 95% before I leave that charger? It will tell me how much battery I have upon arrival at the charger, and how long I will be charging. What it does not say is what charge state I am targeting. In other words, "leave when you hit 74%". As we know, charging by time is unreliable, because you simply don't know if a charger is throttling delivery for some reason. You need to know how much SOC you need to make it to the next stop. And built-in Google Maps won't show me that.

Now to ABRP. I ike this tool on the desktop. It will show me SOC upon arrival at the charger, how much time I will charge for, and what SOC I need to hit before I leave. Great, right? But the version on the car's Home Screen shows me none of that. Ugh. Really?

This is so disappointing. Screen shots attached.



NOTE: On that Google Maps route. Austin to Kennedy is about 100 miles. Believable when starting at 70% of charge. However, Kennedy to Harlingen is 200 miles! That is a stretch, would be hard to do on a normal 80-20% trip. Notice it has me arriving at 13% of battery, which worries me as well.

ABRP on the desktop has me stopping in Kennedy as well, arriving at 18%, charging to 60%, in 18 minutes. Then go to Kingsville, 20-74% in 27 minutes. Believeable, reasonable. But I don't get those details on the car's version, only on my desktop or phone.

 

Bill, have you checked the versions of ABRP? Perhaps a delete of the one in the car with a reinstall will help. Also note that a subscription to ABRP allows the app to communicate with your vehicle making it more precise, but perhaps you're already aware.
I've also recently learned that the Google maps on the vehicle capabilities have been or will be updated with better connections with the car. Maybe that will help, but sorry I don't have more/better details.
John

 

Good point. Now I'm wondering if I had a paid subscription to ABRP if the in-car version would be more feature rich. Hmmm...

 

I think Gmap shows time instead of SoC because novice EV owners understand time and range more than SoC and kW. At least, that is what I learned talking to people during my charging stops.

An alternative that costs you nothing is to install Chrome, and open ABRP from there. Sure, you don't get the realtime update, but if you just use ABRP as a backup/reference, then maybe it will work.

Regarding the route planning, I think the weird arrangement from Gmap is due to the desired SoC at the destination. I forget how low you can set it in Gmap, but ABRP shows me this trip can be done with just one charging stop if you start with a higher starting SoC.

If I were you, I would set the arrival SoC first, go with 100% starting SoC to get a general idea of how the charging stops look like. Then if I only want to do one charging stop, I would fine-tune the location, aiming for 20-35% SoC at the charging stop. Personally, I rather charge longer at a place with at least two of the big three networks (EVgo/EA/Tesla) nearby, than push my luck on the smaller ones (EV connect for example).

 

Agreed, if you route plan assuming you are starting at 100% you can make it in one stop. What got me with the above wasn't that it needed two stops (if you start at only 70%, yes, you need two stops). It's that the first planned stop was going to be for a full hour. That is just insane. If you look at the route, you could charge much less in Kenedy, then charge again at Robstown. The total time would be less. The only way they think you need to charge an hour is Kenedy is if they are taking you well beyond 80% SOC, where charging speed plummets. But we are left to merely assume this, because it doesn't tell us how high we are charging to. It's a good assumption though. And poor route planning.

I'm going to try a paid subscription to ABRP (you can cancel after a month) and see if the in-car options change any.

 

I had a few minutes in my car today and checked the Google Maps with a request to travel from home in northern Virginia to Pittsburgh, PA. My starting SOC is 56% and based on that and the route, G-maps has me charging for 35 minutes about an hour from home at 30% SOC and then again near the destination for 16 min at 12% SOC, with an arrival at 30% SOC. I didn't check, but I believe I have the minimum SOC for recharging at 15%. Not the route I would take, but I am impressed with what I'm seeing as it's quite an improvement!

 

I did a one-month premium subscription to ABRP and then went back to the car the next day. Same behavior in the car -- will not tell me any details about charging stops, just where the stops will be. It's not like the desktop or the phone, where you get the SOC you arrive at and leave at, along with how long you will be at the charger. That is very disappointing. The in-car ABRP is nearly useless.

Now the built-in Google Maps, one problem is I'm finding it route me to stations with one 12% left, and there is no way to adjust that. You can adjust how much SOC you want upon arrival at your ultimate destination, but not to a charging station. My wife gets anxiety on trips. What if there is a traffic jam due to a bad accident? (it's happened to us a few times). What if we get redirected? (again, happened twice). And in those situations, especially in Texas, you can end up in a vast EV desert with no clear way out. Things ARE changing. There are NEVI stations that are set to be bid upon starting in May that will REALLY HELP if they get built. But for now, if you are not on the major interstates, it can be a bit stressful.

 

Well. What do you know. This morning Google Maps built-in is now displaying what I want. Arrival SOC, target SOC, and charging time. . Now, if it would let me stipulate a minimum SOC before it stops to charge...

 

I like that!
John

 

Another thing of note in that above. In Hillsboro is a Buc-ee's with both Tesla and Mercedes-Benz chargers. Across the street is a Travel Center with BP Pulse. The BP Pulse is the cheapest option and that is where it routed me to. Smart.