Wow this is a great topic @ITGeek123 !

Hopefully this will get shared amongst our EV users this weekend - if not, I’ll tag some regulars to make sure it’s not missed. It would be interesting to hear if anyone suggests alternatives…. 

Thank you so much @Tim_OVO I have many more in depth topics to write for the forum which I hope will help new EV owners.

I think most EV owners have multiple apps.  You are missing NewMotion/Shell  and probably many more.

The EV payment space needs to be simplified. Simplified without increasing the cost which is what those that support multiple payment methods have chosen to do.  Use contactless and you pay more than if you were buying petrol.

FWIW I think I use ZapMap the most when I have no idea where a charger is located, Though Polar,  PodPoint, and CYC must be close seconds.

I have a number of Apps on my phone, see below, but in truth I only really use two. First is Polar because my contract with OVO provides that they pay my Polar subscription and so obviously they are the charger of choice. 
If I travel away from home I would again use Polar first  but if I judged that an area was lacking I would then use Zap-Map.

If Zap-Map provided an alternative to Polar then the chances are that I would be able to proceed using one of the other Apps. 
 

Great post for EV newbies.

I would like to add one more to your list that I use for any long journeys in my Nissan Leaf.

https://abetterrouteplanner.com/

Its a great route planning application that you can use simply or configure in depth for those that love the planning as much as the journey :-)

Wow! This is great! Thank you so much for the feedback all 

@Mikeyoung

I am sure that an App is required for route planning but it will depend on a car’s range. 
 

I am very fortunate in having a car with a massive range which does enable me to undertake long journeys without having to worry about charger locations. 
Earlier in the year I was able to travel to an holiday destination on only one charge. Once there I was able to maintain a full charge by utilising my Pod-Point card for free energy at a couple of supermarkets and the free supply at the holiday destination. 
I did work out that I could have got to and from the holiday destination with the full charge I started with but of course few EV owners can pass up a “free vend”

My cars Summer range is :

349 mi summer range is almost twice my Tesla S90D summer range. If I stay below 70mph I should get 200+ miles in summer.

@NoPoke 

If you stay below 70 mph

Nuff said :)

Nice! My leaf is fully charged and I have 108Miles 

But I do literally 3 miles a day to and from work so this will last me ages!

@ITGeek123 

The really depressing thing is that thousands of car owners could be as satisfied as you are but sadly they will not because the motor manufacturers aren’t willing to provide the marketing/education to counter the negativity associated with EVs and range. 

@Peetee that's their loss from driving incredible cars  

Think you’ll find that far from being unwilling to educate, they will be actively in partnership with the fossil fuel miners in persuading drivers that it’s impossible to switch. I’m still hearing stories about how your battery just runs out without any warning, the car will electrocute you if you drive through a puddle and the national grid will melt if you plug your car and your hoover in at the same time.  It’s quite pathetic really. Having driven electric for 4 years and around 60k miles now, I’ve still got people telling me it’s impossible to do . 

@Gif

Yes, I have heard the same stories. 
Of course we have to be realistic when condemning ICE manufacturers. 
I predict that JLR will be looking for government funding to stay afloat. They have relied, even today, on the sale of Diesel engine vehicles because the billions needed to produce a platform for a range of EVs has not been produced by their Indian owners, Tata Motors. 
Nissan are still deciding where to invest for future production of EVs. In the meantime they continue to peddle their qashqai. 
Honda have pulled up stumps in the U.K. and I would not be surprised to see BMW move production of the Mini to spare capacity in Europe. 
At the same time we have thousands of jobs dependent on motor dealership service departments, the only departments producing a real profit. 

I have joked about causing a powercut from using my kettle while charging the car. I am still yet to post on my community page when another powercut happens for me to say “I’ll go and unplug my car” 

This is a very interesting video - the savings on an EV over a petrol/diesel car 

Also realised @Peetee The regen set on your car is on 3…. Damn! That must feel like B mode on the leaf but more aggressive!

If you were a passenger in my car @ITGeek123  I would bet that you would be completely unaware of the operation of level 3 regeneration. 
However that couldn’t be said if my wife is driving. 
In my view the key to a smooth ride is a combination of being aware of road and traffic demands coupled with an accelerator feathering technique to slow the car. In over a year now I doubt that I have used the footbrake, other than to activate “auto hold” , more than dozen or so occasions. 

“However that couldn’t be said if my wife is driving. “ You brave person! haha Make sure she doesn’t see this!

In all honesty, I rarely use my brake unless I am in town of course. But Shoving the car in Eco mode and B mode slows the car down, plus regens energy back in the battery and saves money on my brake pads. But you know that anyway 

I get great satisfaction seeing an ICE car ahead of me have its brake lights activated by the driver and consider the eventual cost of  brake pad replacement, tyres, fuel and probably peace of mind.

I think the satisfaction has a particular face expression called the “smug” face haha

Yeah, that’s the one

Question I have for all EV owners. When you see another EV owner of the same model car you are driving. Do you give the good ol' wave? I tend to have the habit doing this and only sometimes get a wave back with other enthusiastic EV drivers 

@ITGeek123 

The Kona EV is rarer than hens teeth. 
If I see one on the road I would certainly flash my lights and wave, chances are that the owner would be a member of the Kona forum. 

I hope they wave back. I get funny looks or sometimes get a wave