My wife and I recently drove in our 2020 Tesla Model 3 SR+ from Yeppoon, near Rockhampton in Queensland, to Sydney and back again to visit family and to attend the EVerything Electric expo. During the trip, we travelled 3,892 km and our five-year-old car passed the 100,000 km mark. After purchasing our car, we added the optional Full Self Driving software and, although Navigation on Autopilot is not yet operational in Australia, the car will respond to traffic lights and stop signs. For most of the trip, we used cruise control and autopilot with the car controlling the speed and steering, with minimal use of the brakes.
We had three routes to choose from – the longest, coastal route (1,565 km) which now includes motorway conditions from Gympie to Sydney and plenty of charger locations. the inland New England Highway (1,500 km) or the shortest, western route via Goondiwindi (1,316 km) with chargers widely-spaced. We decided to drive down the New England Highway because we wanted visit friends en route and approach Sydney via the Putty Road from Singleton to East Kurrajong to stay with family. We planned to return via the coastal route which offered comfortable, mostly high-speed driving.
We left early on a Monday morning with the battery at 95% and 307 km range and made good time to cover 157 km to the Tesla Supercharger at Calliope where we were the only car. We topped up to 95% again and covered 160 km to the sole Chargefox 50 kW charger at Gin Gin. The updated Chargefox app now shows, before arriving, if a charger is occupied and, while charging, it shows to all users how much time the current user will be charging. The charger was unoccupied when we arrived and we had lunch while the battery was topped up to 87%.
South of Gin Gin, we turned off towards Nanango via Goomeri. Due to a slight navigation error, we missed the sign for our B&B accommodation and drove a couple of kilometres before we realized our mistake and backtracked. We arrived at the B&B outside Nanango for our overnight stay with only 3 km of range left. However, the owners had a 240-volt, 10-amp power point in the car port and we charged at 2 kW there. Later, we used an NRMA 165 kW charger in the town to complete the charge.
Charging at Calliope supercharger
Car opposite historic Goomeri Emporium
Car charging at The Block B&B, Nanango
We know that EVs can calculate, but can they read? Drivers of EVs and some other modern cars have come to appreciate their ability to calculate helpful information when using the GPS navigation system. When a destination is entered in the GPS system, our car will quickly calculate the distance to be travelled, the time of arrival (ETA) and the state of charge (SOC) remaining on arrival. When performing these calculations, our car will also take account of headwinds and changes in elevation which affect energy consumption.
However, couple of incidents made us wonder if the car can actually read. We are used to the car recognizing speed limit signs so that the autopilot automatically adjusts the speed when a different speed sign is passed. The car has no problem adjusting the speed to 40, 50, 60. 70. 80, 90. 100 or 110 kilometres per hour. However, I suspect that this is because the computer has been programmed to recognise those images, with the number inside a red circle. It ignores other numbers that are seen.
But can the car read words? We encountered some road works where traffic lights were used to control the traffic. The lights were preceded by a sign that read “STOP HERE ON RED SIGNAL”. On a couple of occasions, while the car was set on cruise control and autopilot. we were the first car to reach a red light. The car stopped exactly adjacent to the sign and did not continue to the red light. It seemed as though the car could read the sign. However, I suspect that this is another case where the car has been programmed to react to a standard image. There are many words on other signs along the road that the car ignores because it has not been programmed to recognise them.
Car stopped automatically at sign
The next day we drove 138 km to Toowoomba and topped up to 96% at the Tesla supercharger at the Golf Club while we had coffee. We then headed down the New England Highway but took an interesting back road from Warwick to Tenterfield, crossing the border into New South Wales along the way. While we had lunch at the café in the historic Council Chamber where, in 1889, Sir Henry Parkes advocated the federation of the Australian States, the car was charged to 90% at the Tesla supercharger. We continued down the highway to Glen Innes where we turned west on a detour to Inverell. We did not need the two NRMA chargers in Inverell as we were staying with friends and charged overnight from an external power point, using our mobile charger.
Next morning we left with the battery at 86% and headed to Armidale where we met friends and. After rejoining the New England Highway, then headed on down the New England Highway to Tamworth. The battery got a boost as we descended about 800 metres on the Moonbi Range and we arrived at the Tesla supercharger at the West Tamworth Leagues Club with 15 km of range remaining in the battery. While the car charged to 86%, we had lunch with a friend and then headed down the highway to overnight accommodation in a motel at Denman, near Singleton. We had hoped to charge there, but the manager was obviously not keen on helping EV drivers.
The next morning, we drove only 20 km, to the Hollydene Winery which, in contrast to the motel, welcomes EV drivers. There was a bank of six Tesla superchargers but we were the only occupants early in the morning.
Charging at Hollydene Winery
It was a quick stop and we then headed past the open pit Hunter Valley coal mines to the winding Putty Road. We appreciated the Tesla on that road because there were extensive delays due to road works but we could use the air conditioning while we waited with no motor running and very little drain on the battery. We finally arrived at East Kurrajong with 24 % of battery charge and were able to use a power point to slowly recharge. On two occasions while staying in Sydney, we used the Tesla supercharger at the Macquarie Centre near Macquarie University, where the bank of 10 chargers had two vacant the first time and a short queue the second time.
I enjoyed the opportunity to attend the EVerything Electric Expo at the Sydney Showground. This was a massive three-day event attended by over 31,000 people. Thirty-five vehicle brands were on display and 6,402 test drives were conducted. There were continuous information sessions about EVs and sustainable homes. Some new brands from China such as Chery, Deepal, Xpeng and Zeekr were present as well as established brands such as BYD, GWM and MG. European brands such as Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Cupra Born, Fiat. Mercedes Benz, Polestar, Renault, Skoda and VW were present. America was represented by Cadillac, Jeep and Ford. Tesla displayed the Cybertruck which it is not yet available in Australia and the new Model Y and the Model 3. The Expo also included numerous displays of EV charging equipment, including integrated rooftop solar systems and batteries. Commercial transport vehicles, including light trucks. an electric bus and electric diggers, were on display and I had the chance to sit in a massive Volvo electric semi prime mover.
For one afternoon at the Expo, I volunteered on the Australian Electric Vehicle Association (AEVA) stand, answering questions about EVs and encouraging membership of the Association. There were serious questions from EV owners experiencing problems with charging EVs in apartment buildings. The Owners Corporation Network (OCN) is the premier consumer advocate which can assist with this problem. A number of AEVA members displayed older vehicles which had been converted to electric drive.
Zeekr 7X
Polestar 2 display
Xpeng flying car
Arthur Hunt in Volvo prime mover
Our plan to return home up the coast was stymied by Cyclone Alfred which was dumping heavy rain over about 500 km of northern NSW and southern Queensland, so we decided to try the Goondiwindi route, despite the chargers being far apart. We left with the battery at 96% and the first part, driving at 110 km/h up the Pacific Motorway was easy. We turned west and detoured to the friendly Hollydene Winery and enjoyed coffee while the car was charged to 90%.
We continued to retrace our track to the supercharger at Tamworth where we had lunch while the car was charged to 95%. We then headed on an unfamiliar route west to Gunnedah and then north to Narrabri. We had expected a single charger there, but were pleasantly surprised to find a bank of four Tesla superchargers with only one occupied. Again, we found a coffee shop while the car was charged to 90%. We had hoped to reach Goondiwindi that day, but called a halt at Moree where we found a motel that had a 5 kW charger. However, I reckoned we had enough charge to reach Goondiwindi so we passed on the opportunity to charge.
The next morning, we left with 50% battery charge remaining and headed north. There was some rain and we were using the windscreen wipers which use some energy so we had to slow down to reach Goondiwindi, just across the border in Queensland, arriving with 7 km of range remaining and my wife saying “I told you so!” Another Tesla car pulled away from the single 50 kW Chargefox charger as we arrived and we were able to quickly connect. While we had coffee, the car was charged to 89%.
After a quick stop at the Goondiwindi Cotton clothing store, we pressed on to Miles. The highway passed through black soil, brigalow scrub country and is very lumpy. This seemed to require more energy so again it was a stretch to cover the 224 km, so we slowed down on this section. The single 75 kW Chargefox charger at Miles was vacant so we quickly connected and found the bakery for some lunch while the car charged to 96%.
Charging at Narrabri
We headed north again using autopilot to control the steering which we relied on in various situations. It kept us on track in heavy rain and when, on the two-lane road, B-double semis carrying cattle approached from the opposite direction at 100 km/h and passed about three metres away. Even on newly-resurfaced road sections where the lane markings had been covered and there were only small reflectors marking the centre line, autopilot kept is in our lane.
Our next stop was Theodore, 224 km away, but there is no public charger there so we relied on using a power point at the Theodore Hotel where we stayed. We backed the car up to the wall of the motel unit and passed the mobile charger cable through the window, avoiding the use of an extension cord which would reduce the voltage and charge rate. Theodore badly needs a public charger and the Hotel would attract customers with a 5kW charger.
By 9am the next morning, we had only charged to 71% and 231 km range with 229 km left to travel to reach Rockhampton. We cut the speed to 80 km/h and considered an emergency stop at Mount Morgan. However, at that town we still had 40 km of range left in the battery with 40 km to reach Rockhampton and a downhill run most of the way (a 300 metre descent).
We reached the Chargefox charger behind the Council building with 7 km of range remaining but the car still performing well. During a quick toilet stop in the library and a chat with a friend, we added 80 km of range which was plenty to reach home, 45 km away. So, the adventure was successfully completed.