Mit der ZOE nach Rumänien

Dass auch längere Urlaubsreisen mit der ZOE nicht nur in West-Europa oder im Ladeparadies Norwegen möglich sind, beweist Miti in seinem Urlaubsbericht vom vergangenen Sommer. Er und seine Familie reiste mit seiner ZOE mit kleinem Akku (22kWh) von Wien bis Brasov (Rumänien) über die Karpaten und zurück. Fast 2500km legten sie „slow and relaxed“ auf den Weg. Bis auf eine einzelne Lade-Eskapade lief offenbar alles perfekt – Aufladen beim Supermarkt bewährt sich auch in Ost-Europa. Ich finde es bezeichnend und spannend, dass es offenbar nicht etwa Energie-Versorger, Tankstellen-Unternehmen, Automobilhersteller oder Verkehrsunternehmen sind, die die Infrastruktur für Elektroautos aufstellen, sondern der Lebensmittelhandel… aber das ist wohl ein anderes Thema – den besten Eindruck der Reise der Familie erlangt ihr wohl auf dem Youtube-Video, dass Miti online gestellt hat.

Und was sind eure Urlaubspläne für 2019? Wir freuen uns über eure Kommentare!

Miti’s Reisebericht

ZoE goes to Romania

„In August 2018, we drove our new electric car, a Renault ZoE (Zero Emission), from Vienna to Romania and back. We covered 2,500 km and crossed the Carpathian Mountains twice.

I researched our trip extensively and planned where we would stop and charge. ZoE has a range of around 150-160 km and this needs to be considered. It is a different way of travelling – slow and relaxed – and the goal is not reaching the destination but the journey itself. By travelling at a speed of around 100km/h, with the air conditioning at level 1, we were able to make up kilometres as we drove. This is achieved by taking your foot off the accelerator when driving downhill and by braking.

We left the VIC on a Friday afternoon, charged at Parndorf and continued to Tatabanya, Hungary. This is where we had our first (and last!) problem. The charging station had an electrical fault and ZoE immediately displayed an error message, switched off and wouldn’t charge (this is built-in protection). I spent a sleepless night watching YouTube videos to find a solution, posted by other ZoE owners. I even called Renault Assistance at midnight and was reassured that they would come and fetch us, if necessary. The next morning, I drove ZoE to a different charging station. By switching the car on and off while locking and unlocking the charging, I managed to clear the error and ZoE charged again.

From here on it was smooth running all the way. We reached Romania on Saturday evening and charged ZoE at one of the many Kaufland stores across the country. Charging is free at Kaufland and each store has a coffee shop which sells delicious cake and pastries. After three days, my wife and son had eaten enough cake and were reluctant to go to Kaufland! We visited castles, swam in salt lakes, rode on a Ferris wheel in a huge salt mine, travelled up a mountain by cable car and even visited Castle Bran to see Dracula. He wasn’t home that day!

We are hooked on driving electric and enjoy the lack of engine noise and smell. We are now planning our trip for next summer – this time we want to drive all the way from Vienna to Constanţa at the Black Sea, via the Transfăgărășan Highway, Romania’s most spectacular and best-known road.“