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Ionna rocks

I'm definitely looking forward to using them on my trip at Thanksgiving time from So-Cal to Boulder. Unfortunately, there are only 3 enroute that are available (the Las Vegas one is oddly not right off I-15) so I'll have to supplement with Tesla. Also, as much as would want to take the Air for this trip, there is no way I'm going to risk going over the Rockies on summer 21's at the end of November so I will have to take my R1S instead.
 
The alpitronic chargers they use are amongst the best out there.
 
I just can't see why they don't have a single charger in TN, AL, MS, LA, and KY. There's a ton in NC, SC, GA and FL but the rest of the south is currently being left out. I know there's not as many EVs for sure as other states, but there are more each day (at least that I can see in TN and AL) and many drive thru these states. I would use their network entirely if they were on my other routes that go thru these states. Can only get to them when I go to NC or FL.
 
9point81 said:
I just can't see why they don't have a single charger in TN, AL, MS, LA, and KY. There's a ton in NC, SC, GA and FL but the rest of the south is currently being left out. I know there's not as many EVs for sure as other states, but there are more each day (at least that I can see in TN and AL) and many drive thru these states. I would use their network entirely if they were on my other routes that go thru these states. Can only get to them when I go to NC or FL.
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Same with the north, really. Not a single station in ID, MT, WY, ND, SD, NE, IA, MI, NY, ME. I have to imagine this is because they've done their research on the highest ROI corridors, and these lower-ROI areas are coming later. Most of these states are underserved by other networks too, so I wish they were being targeted, but I imagine it just isn't economically viable yet.
 
They are coming. From info from some YouTube videos: they just did a huge deal w Pilot Travel stops where they will provide the chargers for Circle K and I believe many Pilots, too. Many already had Pilot's own EV charges so they will be easy to convert to Ionna. After my x-country trip, I agree they need more in some corridors out West. I had planned on crossing Nebraska & Wyoming but with the headwinds in April driving and stuff on roof, I'm not sure I'd have made it to chargers in some areas with such bad efficiency. I veered down to Colorado where there were many more chargers available. I believe Ionna locks prices at $.39/kwh which is nice...a few chargers in Colorado were $.69/. Yikes.
 
9point81 said:
I just can't see why they don't have a single charger in TN, AL, MS, LA, and KY. There's a ton in NC, SC, GA and FL but the rest of the south is currently being left out. I know there's not as many EVs for sure as other states, but there are more each day (at least that I can see in TN and AL) and many drive thru these states. I would use their network entirely if they were on my other routes that go thru these states. Can only get to them when I go to NC or FL.
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Ionna is based in NC, so that was a lot of their initial rollout.

They've only been in operation for a year and a half. Last year was their "get it started and perfected" year; this year started their serious expansion phase. It's actually quite impressive that they're reached over 100 stations already, in such a short time (by usual DCFC standards). Their goal is to have 30,000 chargers (~3000 stations) across the country. But of course that'll take years.

Walmart is another one to keep an eye on that's starting a rapid rollout with equally good 400kw chargers, and competitive pricing. They just passed 100 stations too, and are moving fast.

In a few years, we may be using nearly all Ionna and Walmart for all our road trips.
 
I added a reliability score on LucidTracker based off Lucid owners charging experiences and to no surprise Ionna is top dog

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dbsb3233 said:
Ionna is based in NC, so that was a lot of their initial rollout.

They've only been in operation for a year and a half. Last year was their "get it started and perfected" year; this year started their serious expansion phase. It's actually quite impressive that they're reached over 100 stations already, in such a short time (by usual DCFC standards). Their goal is to have 30,000 chargers (~3000 stations) across the country. But of course that'll take years.

Walmart is another one to keep an eye on that's starting a rapid rollout with equally good 400kw chargers, and competitive pricing. They just passed 100 stations too, and are moving fast.

In a few years, we may be using nearly all Ionna and Walmart for all our road trips.
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Yeah, I've been to their first stations in NC and been following them. It's why I'm so eager for them to come this way. Walmart is moving quickly and we already have one in our state and more planned and I am eager to see their rollout as well. I don't mean to complain on Ionna expansion, just an eager kid wanting to play Ionna games too!
 
HC_79 said:
I added a reliability score on LucidTracker based off Lucid owners charging experiences and to no surprise Ionna is top dog

View attachment 41232
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This actually tracks well with the recent JD Power survey... time to monetize that data!
 
RandomDesign said:
I'm surprised EVgo rates so high, the ones near me are terrible.
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Ones marked Evgo, yes I agree but they are also Flying J and I’ve not had a problem with any of their chargers. Often their chargers at Love’s have canopy’s and good amenities, so I would rate them fairly high based off those stations.
 
RandomDesign said:
I'm surprised EVgo rates so high, the ones near me are terrible.
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EVGo has been more hit than miss for me but the times I've had big issues with them has been in summer. They don't handle the heat well and EVGo like EA doesn't really care about keeping them covered \ shaded at most sites
 
Ionna definitely takes the win in the top 10 but just pipped at the post by BP :p

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HC_79 said:
EVGo has been more hit than miss for me but the times I've had big issues with them has been in summer. They don't handle the heat well and EVGo like EA doesn't really care about keeping them covered \ shaded at most sites
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EVgo keeps giving me $10 credits for some reason and so I go to one of the several near me to use them and they're always super slow.

That said, on my road trip I ended up 50/50 with EA chargers working or not. Both Rivian chargers I tried were broken too. One charged at 49kW and then was down the next day, the other was offline when I went. I kept getting EA chargers that would just error out and not start charging.

The Walmart branded/owned one I tried was amazing though. Weird to have to start charging in the Walmart app because it's hidden several menus deep under auto services but it worked great.
 
I've used the Pilot Flying J in Wells NV a few times. Worked great, just expensive. 69c. All of theirs seem to be up in that range, relegating them to backup or "if there's nothing else in the area".
 
RandomDesign said:
The Walmart branded/owned one I tried was amazing though. Weird to have to start charging in the Walmart app because it's hidden several menus deep under auto services but it worked great.
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Yeah, took me a while to even find where to look up the locations. And the map is frustrating because I just can't zoom out like I normally do. The map doesn't repopulate. Gotta type in a city.

It's under SERVICES, AUTO SERVICES, EV CHARGING AT WALMART.
 
dbsb3233 said:
I've used the Pilot Flying J in Wells NV a few times. Worked great, just expensive. 69c. All of theirs seem to be up in that range, relegating them to backup or "if there's nothing else in the area".
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You’ve got to get their discount codes. I think I’ve got like $40 of credits built up with them. They put them out all the time and usually are good for like a year.
 
It will be worth going to Brattleboro, VT's Ionna station when I go to VT next week, A slight detour on RT 9, which is a beautiful winding road on my way north to Vergennes so why not?
 
Ionna is awesome. But I really wish their map defaults to only the open ones instead of including open ones and coming soon ones. That's my only quibble.
 
DeaneG said:
This actually tracks well with the recent JD Power survey... time to monetize that data!
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Ha, I wish! It does mostly line up with JD Power, Ionna on top and Tesla solid but not king anymore.

The one that doesn't match is EVgo, JD Power has them near the bottom (which lines up with @RandomDesign experience) and Lucid owners have them tied for first. Small sample though so I'd bet that one comes back down to earth once more people log their sessions.

EA at the bottom didn't surprise me one bit. 😂
 
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