funky cat Archives - Tech Stuff

May 22, 2026

170 once more

I do realise that the predicted range is based on my previous driving, and that will vary depending on which roads I am driving, use of heating and air-conditioning, acceleration and regenerative braking. However, after charging to 100% I was pleasantly surprised to see a 170 mile predicted range.

The lease for the Funky Cat comes to an end in a couple of months and I have been looking at replacements. Not that I would get a new Ora 03 to replace the Funky Cat (it isn’t available as an option anyhow) I would like to get a car with a significantly longer range than the Funky Cat.

May 17, 2026

80% or bust

The Funky Cat has a WLTP range of 193 miles, real life experiences when I first got the car was in the 185 mile range. These days with the car approaching its third birthday, is close to 165. For 90% of my driving this isn’t really an issue. However, it does or can become frustrating on longer journeys.

On those trips that are significantly longer than the range I obviously have to stop on the way to charge the car. My preference is to stop at Tesla charging stations, in the main as they are significantly cheaper than chargers such as InstaVolt or GridServe, but also some of the charging stations are in locations other that motorway services (though I do use those Tesla charger as well).

What I like to do is to charge to at least 90% and if I can even 100%. However I have noted that there can be an issue with Tesla chargers when the chargers are busy.

On one recent journey back from York to Weston-super-Mare (around 240 miles) I had planned to stop at a National Trust property and charge there. The night before I had been to the Tesla chargers at the Designer Outlet York, where I had eaten, and then post 8pm had put the Funky Cat on charge until I had reached a 100% charge without issue.

My first stop on the way was Hardwick Hall, according to the website they had EV chargers, in fact they did not. I left charging to another time and went to explore the house.

After visiting the house, and looking at the route home, knowing I had about a 40% charge left, I saw that the Designer Outlet East Midlands, which was about ten miles away, had a bank of Tesla Chargers. So, I drove there and plugged in.

Now the M5 Gloucester Services (Southbound) are 120 miles from the Designer Outlet East Midlands. WIth a 100% charge that wouldn’t be an issue, even with a 90% charge, I would still have around 145 miles range. With just a 80% charge that would give me just a 128 mile predicted range, with motorway driving, probably not enough range to get to the Gloucester Services.

The problem I had with the Tesla chargers is that they charge congestion fees. When I was charging at Designer Outlet East Midlands I was charged an extra £2 for charging an extra four minutes over my 80% charge.

Supercharger congestion fees are fleet-wide initiatives to ensure a frustration-free charging experience for all Tesla drivers. Superchargers are designed for fast charging and therefore, should only be used for as long as it takes to charge a vehicle.

Congestion fees accrue when a Supercharger site is busy and your vehicle’s battery is already at or above the congestion fee level of 80% battery charge; or your charging session has ended. Fees are waived for the first five minutes, and then billed until the vehicle is moved.

They have a congestion charge of 50p per minute, which starts once you have reached a 80% charge. Now with a Tesla Model 3 with a WLPT range of 332 miles then an 80% charge would give you around 267 miles. However, my Funky Cat with an 80% charge would get just a 128 mile predicted range. I knew this would be pushing it to get to Gloucester services, so I headed on home down the M42 and stopped at the Solihull Retail Park. Once again I was limited to an 80% charge, but I was only 103 miles from home, so it was enough to get me back.

When I got the Funky Cat three years ago there was an EV charging infrastructure in place, but in some places it was limited. In Weston-super-Mare back in August 2023 there were just two rapid chargers available, since then another twenty or so chargers have been installed. In addition more fast (22kWh) chargers have been installed in various other locations as well.

Back in September 2023 I wrote about another journey back from York which was challenging as there were limited chargers at the different motorway services I went to and often they were busy. Back then there were only a couple of chargers at Hopwood and Strensham services, today there are many more. The services down in Exeter has nearly a hundred EV chargers installed.

The lease for the Funky Cat is coming to an end, I have decided whatever I replace it with, that EV will have a bigger range than the cat.

May 15, 2026

Charging once more at Stourhead

Back in February I visited Stourhead and did a behind closed doors tour, however the house’s state rooms weren’t open, since I had always planned a repeat visit to see these rooms.

On that visit I did make use of the EV charging facilities. Though I had a few issues with the ChargePoint app and my bank card, in the end I used ApplePay and all was fine.

So, on a recent return visit to the property I was able to easily plug the Funky Cat into the chargers, and again I used ApplePay to set the charge going.

Stourhead also had some rapid chargers which looked like they could deliver more charge (so faster charging). The last time I was there they weren’t available as there had been a cable theft. This time they were working. After my visit I disconnected from the fast (11kWh) chargers and decided I would top off my charge using the rapid chargers. I was at about a 70% charge, so wasn’t expecting miracles, but the actual charge rate was very slow, so I didn’t connect for long.

There was an issue which may be just me, but on the fast charger ChargePoint put a £15 hold on my card, I spent just under £10, but the remaining hold was still there five days later! The rapid charger took a whopping £35 hold and likewise it was still being held five days later.

I don’t think I had this issue at other National Trust properties recently as I have spent more than the £15 held. This time though there was a £50 hold on my bank card and I only spent £13.

Didn’t put me off, and I do appreciate the fact that chargers are available at some National Trust properties.

May 10, 2026

Lidl EV Charging

After some problems with the Tesla chargers and not getting a charge, I headed off to Lidl close to Cribbs but towards the A38, to get some shopping done. When I got there, I saw they had an EV charger. Using the Lidl app, I could get charged for 62p a kWh. A little more than the Tesla chargers but still a reasonable price.

The only time I have used Lidl EV charging before was in France where it worked really well and was significantly cheaper at €0.39 per kWh (that’s about 34p). Though I set up the Lidl app in France, that was the French Lidl, so I had to repeat the process for setting up the app and being able to charge the car. Once this was sorted, I put the Funky Cat on charge and went and did some shopping. I took my time. I only had the car on charge for thirty minutes, but that had put on nearly an additional 50% charge, taking me to 71%. I was impressed with the speed of charging and it wasn’t 85p that the MFG garage would charge me, they’re situated on the way between Cribbs and Lidl.

May 8, 2026

Problems with the Tesla Chargers

The last time I went to Cribbs Causeway I had problems with starting a charger using the Tesla chargers next to John Lewis. I have used these chargers before and have had issues as well.

The process I use is to park, using the Tesla app and start the charge, I then plug the charger into the Funky Cat. What should then happen, is the charger should initialise and then start charging. What actually happens is the charging fails to initialise, however when you “stop” the charge in the app, the charging gun remains locked to the car (this is a car issue thinking the gun is still live). I then have to use the manual release of the cable from under the bonnet, which should be an easy task, but isn’t.

The last time I tried to charge I made three attempts across two different chargers. None worked, in the end I went to Lidl and used their charger.

May 3, 2026

Not Charging at Hardwick

More and more National Trust properties are putting in EV charging stations. These are mainly fast chargers, which means they are the slower 11kWh chargers, which are in fact ideal when visiting a property.

I had actually chosen to visit Hardwick Hall as I was on my way back from visiting Yorkshire and they had (according to the website map) EV charging facilities. For me this meant that I could stop there, charge the car, enjoy visiting the house, walk the grounds and still have time for a scone and a pot of tea.

However… the EV chargers were not by the house, so I couldn’t charge the car. According to the volunteer I spoke to, the EV chargers were down by the ponds, a thirty minute walk to the house. I didn’t really have time to drive there, and walk back. So, I left charging to another time and went to explore the house.

April 29, 2026

Charging at Fountains Abbey

I recently visited Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. The directions for the EV chargers wasn’t very clear, but I eventually found them in car park A. I plugged the car in and set it charging by using Apple Pay on my iPhone. Unlike many other chargers which use contactless they only take a £15 hold on your card.

I had quite a low charge on the car, and in the end I added 35kW to the car. That took just over three hours which was more than enough time to explore the ruins of the abbey and have a nice walk in the gardens. I even stopped for a scone and a pot of tea.

I did think (initially) that the 50p kWH was reasonable, but this doesn’t include 20% VAT, I had misread the screen. So the actual cost is 60p kWh, which is still okay, but I do think it could be cheaper.

I was lucky in that there were plenty of chargers free, however I went on a weekday in April. I can imagine at weekends, during school holidays, and in the summer, it must be much busier and I would be cautious about arriving and relying on the EV chargers being available. The very fact that they are 11kWh chargers does mean that this isn’t a super rapid charge, but the type of charger where you are going to leave your car for a fair number of hours, even the whole day. The problem with rapid chargers can be, was was apparent at Stourhead is that the attached cables are prone to being cut off and stolen, and most National Trust properties are in rural locations. Hopefully something could be sorted to avoid cable theft so that rapid chargers can be used.

April 3, 2026

Charging at Darts Farm

Down in Devon in Topsham, close to Exeter is Darts Farm, a wonderful farm shop. I discovered it through the Tesla App, as they have a bank of Tesla chargers which my Funky Cat can use.

I have used them a number of times now, and each time the experience has been seamless. This is a little surprising as these are the V3 chargers and in some places I have had issues with charging with these with the connection failing and then I have to pop the bonnet of the Funky Cat to manually release the charging cable. I never have issues with the bigger V4 chargers, these are at Reading Services for example.

At Darts Farm it is a simple matter to set the charge going on the app, plugging the charge cable into the Funky Cat and all is well. I then head off to the shop, either to buy some amazing produce, or get a drink in the cafe.

The location is ideal when visiting places in Devon (even Dorset).

March 29, 2026

Charging once more at the National Trust

I recently visited Castle Drogo down in Devon, upon my arrival I was able to park and connect my car to the charger. You can use the Chargepoint app if you want, I though used contactless. Unlike many other chargers which use contactless they only take a £15 hold on your card. BP Pulse took a £50 hold on a recent charge in comparison. The cost was 50p kWh which I thought was reasonable for a public charger.

What this meant of course, was when my visit to the property was over, the Funky Cat was at a 100% charge ready for the journey home.

March 28, 2026March 28, 2026

170 miles again

I would normally expect in the colder months the predicted mileage to be in the 140-150 mile range, so when I recently charged to 100% I had a predicted range of 170 miles. That also happened last month.

That was a little surprising, this was before a long motorway trip, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise the next time I charged to 100% the range has dropped down to 151 miles.