Finishing a 16-day, nine-country rally across the Baltic Sea is difficult sufficient. Doing it in an all-electric automobile looks like, properly, insanity. Proper? Nicely, that’s precisely what my husband and I did, tackling the 2024 Baltic Sea Circle Rally in a European-spec brief wheelbase Volkswagen ID. Buzz Professional EV.
The Baltic Sea Circle Rally is the brainchild of Hamburg, Germany-based rally group Superlative Journey Membership (SAC). Run since 2011, the Baltic Sea Circle Rally is a component enjoyable run and half competitors, touring by way of backroads with no GPS and solely paper maps, full of a large sense of journey as groups camped alongside the best way.
Annually, the Baltic Circle Sea Rally (each summer time and winter iterations) asks groups to lift at the very least 500 euros (roughly $540 USD) for his or her favourite charity. We selected to assist The Jessi Combs Basis – the charity named in honor of the late racer and TV character, which educates and helps younger girls searching for careers in automotive trades and comparable fields. Together with a number of beneficiant donors, we raised $3,239 USD (over 2,985 euros) for the nonprofit.
Not like some competitions in North America, just like the Alcan 5000 Rally, the Baltic Sea Circle Rally is an journey rally the place distinctive day by day challenges and off-the-wall missions created an thrilling journey across the Baltic Sea whereas basking within the midnight solar. There have been 140 groups entered on this 12 months’s Baltic Sea Circle Rally, with all however one crew not from Europe or its close by areas: us. My husband and I traveled from Oregon to Germany to compete. We have been additionally the one crew piloting an all-electric automobile this 12 months — an unimaginable feat given we would have liked to journey 5,000 miles by way of 9 nations.
The place did the rally take us?
Some rallies, like time-speed-distance competitions, are primarily based on precision and explicit routes. However the Baltic Sea Circle Rally has a advised course that’s famous in a thick spiral-bound roadbook. It might loosely be adopted, so long as you cross the end line. Or, as some groups did, you possibly can massively deviate from the course or head house early in the event you selected.
Groups began in northern Germany and labored their manner by way of the eight of the 9 nations that meet the Baltic Sea, plus Norway. Over the 16-day length, June 22 by way of July 7, we drove a clockwise route by way of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Regardless of the identify, we didn’t really spend a lot time close to the Baltic Sea.
That was very true after we achieved one among our private objectives: drive to the northernmost level in all of Europe: Nordkapp, Norway, aka the North Cape. This particular place beckons adventurers with its steep cliffs and iconic globe sculpture situated at 71°10′21″N 25°47′04″E. Nordkapp is simply 1,306 miles from the North Pole and is taken into account the mid-point of the Baltic Circle Sea Rally.
A giant inexperienced field with a Ququq BusBox
Our 2024 Volkswagen ID. Buzz Professional arrived sporting a really cool Bay Leaf Inexperienced paint job with an identical Jade Inexperienced/Mistral two-tone inside. Not like the minivan-like three-row ID. Buzz that may finally come to america, this was the Euro-spec, short-wheelbase two-row mannequin that’s mainly an infinite hatchback with sliding doorways. Emphasis on monumental. Apart from its sheer capability, it options a number of well designed areas for storage, together with a intelligent floor-mounted middle console with bins, drawers and cubbies that’s detachable and reversible, benefiting from the automobile’s storage capabilities. It even features a secret bottle opener.
Our ID. Buzz Professional van additionally featured a Ququq BusBox-4 tenting system for sleeping, cooking, and storing gear — an additional put in for the rally. This distinctive inside camp unit is straightforward to arrange in any ID. Buzz. Merely fold the rear seats down, safe the Ququq camp field in place, and voilà, the ID. Buzz turns right into a camper van. The system works super-well; it’s properly constructed, thoughtfully designed, sturdy and straightforward to make use of.
Volkswagen’s volts
This Euro-spec ID. Buzz has a single rear motor that generates 201 HP and 229 pound-feet of torque, which is similar output because the ID.4 Commonplace bought right here in america, albeit with a much bigger, 82-kilowatt battery. Contemplating the ID. Buzz is a much bigger automobile, it shouldn’t be stunning that it’s fairly gradual, hitting 62 mph (100 km/h) in 10.2 seconds.
As this was an earlier-built 2024 ID. Buzz, that 82-kWh battery was mentioned to realize 250 to 262 miles of vary, however that’s on the uber-optimistic WLTP European testing cycle. Right here’s what it really managed. After 36 prices and intensive statistical evaluation, our ID. Buzz Professional netted a variety of complete kilometers after charging to 100%. On the excessive finish, we really surpassed that WLTP estimate. For example, we charged in Molde, Norway, arriving with 57% and 272 kilometers (169 miles) of cost left. We had lots of distant touring developing, so we determined to high off. After 38 minutes to succeed in 100% cost, we bumped our ID. Buzz as much as a powerful 467 km (290 miles). We additionally managed two different prices that topped over 440 kilometers (273 miles). Conversely, we amassed a number of prices that hardly topped 200 miles when totally charging it.
Our VW ID. Buzz Professional was mentioned to have a 30-minute cost time from 5% to 80% SOC (state of cost), in the event you used DC charging at 170kW, the max it will deal with. This timeframe appeared correct in comparison with our figures.
A lot of the chargers in our nine-country jaunt have been 150 kilowatt (a number of have been sooner), although after we crossed from Finland into the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, ultra-fast chargers have been exhausting to return by. Most have been 22 kW or decrease, with occasional 50 kW models combined in. We packed persistence and left earlier every morning as different groups nonetheless slept so we may preserve tempo with the competitors.
Volkswagen ID. Buzz impressions
“I used to be fearful about whether or not or not we might have sufficient vary between prices,” my husband Andy mentioned. This was his first long-distance endurance occasion in an all-electric automobile. “There have been so many unknowns having an EV in Europe; I fearful we’d run out of cost in the midst of nowhere.”
Nonetheless, after ending, Andy was assured in touring longer distances with an EV, particularly as we have been driving one with a comparatively modest vary just like the ID. Buzz.
Past its EV-ness, the ID. Buzz has nice outward visibility and it was capable of do the whole lot we wished to do in it, together with sleeping, storing gear and cooking. The ID. Buzz by no means lacked a spot to place gear, and bear in mind, we had the smaller, two-row mannequin. The one which’ll present up in america can be greater, full with a 91-kWh battery and a extra highly effective 282-hp motor from the up to date ID.4. A dual-motor, all-wheel-drive variant good for 335 hp can be accessible. It’ll even have an up to date infotainment system and inside controls, not like ours that was nonetheless blighted by what got here within the unique ID.4.
Charging challenges (and consequent wins)
Earlier ralliers advised us to cowl at the very least 310 miles (500 km) a day to complete the rally in time. Nonetheless, we pressed past and cast our manner by way of 500 miles (800+ km) a number of days.
Most days we charged least thrice, sustaining continuous reserves in case damaged chargers, lacking machines, and so on. delayed us. That was an excellent name, it occurred a number of occasions.
Seems charging an electrical automobile in Germany is relatively troublesome for People. We couldn’t obtain German charging apps to our U.S.-based telephones, nor may we pay with our American bank cards at German chargers as they inevitably required apps, particular charging playing cards or RFID keys. Fortunately, we knew this upfront and enlisted my German nephew, Pual, to provide us a hand. Not solely did he procure a lot of these particular charging playing cards, he loaned us an previous iPhone that might in reality work with the assorted German charging apps.
As soon as in Scandinavia, nevertheless, we have been capable of obtain charging apps and will use our telephones to pay for charging. We additionally have been ready to make use of Tesla Superchargers.
The jap facet of the Baltic Sea introduced new challenges. As soon as we crossed into Estonia, no app would work, together with the brand new ones we loaded. Our preliminary analysis confirmed they need to have, however that gave the impression to be incorrect. The Baltic nations’ Circle Okay chargers have been apparently not the identical as Scandinavia’s Circle Ks, and that app didn’t work, both. Even Tesla not labored in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, plus Poland.
We weren’t useless within the water, although. New QR codes and app obtain directions on cost machines got here to the rescue. Greenway is the biggest charging system in Poland, and as soon as we figured that out it grew to become our go-do charging system till again in Germany.
All advised, it was fascinatingly sophisticated to determine how you can pilot an all-electric automobile by way of 9 nations and 4,771 miles with European telephones and bank cards. That’s an infrastructure, expertise and banking concern, although. As soon as charging classes have been licensed, our 2024 ID. Buzz was seamless and reliable, giving us easy charging experiences time after time.
There may be additionally hope for the longer term. By 2027, new European EV chargers can be mandated to simply accept bank cards without having charging accounts, with current models being retrofitted. Solely two of the 36 chargers we used had direct bank card functionality.
Crossing the end line
Briefly, we efficiently accomplished the 16-day, nine-country worldwide rally in our electrical Volkswagen van. After crossing the end line, we grew to become the primary duo that lived exterior of the European Union or adjoining nation to compete in and end an SAC rally with an EV. We additionally proved an vital level: Lengthy-distance EV journey is feasible. It takes planning, persistence and adaptability, particularly when issues want to alter, however what we completed is an entire lot more durable than attempting to journey 4,771 miles by way of 9 American states. Our charging infrastructure nonetheless wants a ton of labor, however at the very least you don’t must borrow your nephew’s cellphone or obtain 13 completely different charging apps.