The #BerlinChallenge alternative: can you still drive for free with a rental VW ID.3?

For years I’ve been testing vehicles and (fast) chargers between Amsterdam and Berlin. The rapid growth especially of High Power Charging networks around Germany has been astounding. I still love to drive right on the limit (of battery SoC) and unlock the best charging curves, but this time we’re trying a new strategy.

Driving the Volkswagen ID.3 to Berlin for free

Can it be done, in 2021?

If you just want the raw data, dive right into our Polarsteps adventure.

No cheating: which means we’re not even starting with a (paid) full battery. I do not have a home charger as most people in Amsterdam I can only charge on the street (there are over 4000 AC chargers in Amsterdam). Which has the countries lowest car ownership ratio per citizen. Since on street charging is hosted by Vattenfall at around €0,35/kWh it’s not allowed for the intentions of this trip.

With my mate Nander we’re headed east. We drove the Jaguar I-Pace to Berlin and back in 2018.

Thanks to for example Chargemap it’s easy to spot all free chargers between Berlin and Amsterdam.

Free 43kW+ chargers between Amsterdam and Berlin

It’s easy to see what’s going on here: while there is hardly free fast charging to be found around The Netherlands, in Germany it’s really spectacularly easy. But the gaps are serious. That’s where the range of the ID.3 comes in handy, if you drive carefully 170Wh/km and below is easy to achieve.

For us, this meant the first part of the journey we could easily do Vmax speeds on Dutch highways during the day: 100 km/h (legal limit).

Getting lucky

The thing with free charging obviously: you’re not going to be the only one looking for that plug. We got very lucky this Friday. But it wasn’t only good fortune that came to us at all. Even with just 60% SoC (State of Charge) in the battery at our departure we could’ve made it to Germany easily. Just in time my co-pilot found out that the Lidl eCharge app showed trouble in paradise at Rheine, DE. This is why we had a first top up in Hengelo, NL.

Warnings for people who are not going to check out the YouTube video:

Our session stopped several times, the first time probably because the local maximum of 30 minutes was reached, but the second time?

We had to wait our turn (predictable: who doesn’t want a free charge)

We didn’t need the Lidl eCharge app, but this time will no doubt come, maybe earlier in Germany if only because there are way more free chargers there.

In the video I’m using the app EVNotify, in combination with the PowerCruiseControl OBDII dongle. Consider me a fan of both tools.

To Germany on free juice

With the GoM (Guess-o-Meter) displaying 256km we’re off to the next charger: 200km away. On the highway I’m mostly sticking to 120km/h to be a bit conservative with our free energy. On arrival after some local driving the GoM states we could've done 38km more.

After a 45-minute charging break at Lidl Hameln (DE) we’re charged up from 8% to 73% with the GoM displaying 277km.

Nander my co-pilot spotted some Delta chargers (yes the same type I used with the Jaguar back in 2018) in a local community that’s a bit off route for us. We decide on Lidl Magdeburg as the next stop. The Lidl eCharge app shows all green signs but when we arrive we find this little bugger.

Ouch. Stubborn as we are we tried the plug anyway, to no avail.

We ended up visiting Porsche Magdeburg, but these chargers were also offline.

With the goal still being arrival in Berlin without paid charging, I decided on driving back…30km west there is yet another Lidl, all looks good in the app(s).

Apps don’t always tell the full story. This machine was stuck in a boot loop… “starting” it said.

Nander noticed that in the app (on the Lidl website) there were no charging sessions logged all day. Let this be a lesson, kids! If at the end of the day no free charging was logged: don’t ever go there! With 30km of range left we’re in the middle of a (fast) charging desert, way west of Magdeburg.

A surprising rescue was found on the map: ARAL. Our free tour ended here. Thanks to EnBW Mobility + ADAC offer we can use the Alpitronic hyperchargers that ARAL is spreading around the country.

33km to drive, 28 on the GoM:

Challenge Accepted

Driving the local roads on the last bits of battery we can test EVNotify and the VW ID.3 to the fullest. With about 7km to go we reach “zero”.

EVNotify helps to calm the nerves in a situation like this. Nander got very excited when the ARAL sign showed up in the distance. Last charging video of this blog, starting at ZERO per cent! How much will we pay for the ride to Berlin? All the anwers on YouTube.

An adventurous day on the road, I’ve missed it! Our final hours were not stress free though and please never ever drive in the wrong direction when on a long distance roadtrip. Learn from my mistakes! We could’ve made it to an ARAL at a way better spot past Magdeburg and would’ve needed way less paid kWh’s if we did.

Prepare yourself well, study the Lidl eCharge app (AND website, very useful). And never go on a trip like this without apps like EVNotify connected to a supported OBD dongle.

The trip to Amsterdam was a #race - that blog will follow soon, with video of course.

See you at a fast charger soon!