Sunday, March 17, 2013

Hamilton to Guelph Road Trip Nissan Leaf


As I gain more confidence in my Leaf I have been taking a few road trips to push the limits of this electric car. The trip to Guelph from Hamilton was within range. I made a quick stop to charge at the Wentworth Arena where there are 10 chargers before making it up highway 6 to Guelph.
The drive up highway 6 is a nice country drive which make it perfect for a relaxing road trip. I got up to Guelph, but had to take the 401 highway for as few minutes to catch up to the road that would lead me to a charger at the Stone Road Mall.

It was a busy Saturday and I was ICE’ed when I got there. I managed to get a spot three cars away from the charger and stretch the charge cable to plug into my car. It was not easy, but at least I was able to get the charge I needed to get back home. I spent some time in the mall bought lunch and went over to the book store to grab a Starbucks coffee. After about 2 hours at the mall I took the chance that I would have enough charge to get back home. I made my way back down to highway 6 and stopped once more at the Wentworth Arena for a quick charge to top me up to make the rest of the trip home. This was great test road trip, but the ICE cars in front of the charger could have been a problem.
If I was unable to charge I would have had to make it to Kitchener or wait until a spot became available. If you are planning the same trip I would avoid the Stone Road Mall on a busy weekend it could mean getting stuck waiting for the charger. It would be nice to see a few more chargers installed in this area.

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