I'm starting this thread in hopes to elicit any and all current information on the ABRP app for used with XC40 Recharge. I have scrolled through other discussions on this topic, most a bit dated and those otherwise mixed in with other topics. I hope to get specific and up-to-date assessments here.
I was introduced to this route planning app recently by a fellow EV owner (not a Recharge) and have been initially impressed with the overall functionality. I have downloaded (ABRP 6.1) to the Android system on my car and am going to use on upcoming trip. I also have on my Android phone - but plan to use the app directly on the car as I do not use the cable-dependent Android Auto (as I have mentioned elsewhere this seems a bit redundant). During install, the app requested, and I granted access to car information, which it displays. So far so good.
As a start I am using the base (free) version and have not decided to upgrade to the premium (subscription) version.
I'm not sure if this is an improvement over the native Google Maps, but any insights would be appreciated.
Back from recent road trip to interior British Columbia. The XC40 is a comfortable ride and performed very well overall that included climbing up Coquihalla Pass (averaging around 21 kWh/100 km or 33 kWh/100 mi on the trip) and even rumbling up an unpaved logging road the last 25 clicks to the final destination (including the 5 days sitting idle while we were boated into remote fishing lodge). In summary, I ended up not using ABRP much. What I found was the application (installed on the vehicle as well as my cell phone) was quirky, sometimes not booting up when initiated - or took a long time to come to service. It did read the car information as permitted, but I ended up using the native Google Maps. Goggle Maps was reliable in setting up and implementing the full route home with periodic stops for charging. At each stop, there is a notice of how much charge is needed along the route - which I found very dependable and informative. In addition, I used the offline feature available in Google Maps and downloaded the last section of the route and saved ahead of time where there is no cell service!
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I did invoke ABRP in route planning on way home for comparison, but due to its poor performance, I relied on Google Maps.
And here is the most interesting experience: on the way home, I suddenly got a notice that "ABRP is interfering with performance and is being disabled..." or something to this effect, as it flashed momentarily on the screen and I was busy driving and could not read the notice entirely. My guess is that it was competing with internal memory for reading car information that was also being used for Google Maps. But more interesting, when I got home and unpacked, I went to see if I could replicate the notice only to find that
ABRP icon was no longer displayed on the home screen! Navigating to the apps menu under Settings>Privacy>Applications, I found the app still installed. I am wondering if anyone else has had such experience? Interesting!
In British Columbia, charging can be found at sites run by BC Hydro (I have the app on phone and established account), Canadian Tire with Electrify Canada app and account, or at the plentiful Petro-Canada stations all along the route. At Petro-Canada, no account needed just a credit card (in the same manner one would purchase gasoline for ICE). BC Hydro provides either 50kW or 100kW service. Faster charging (200-350 kW) at Petro-Canada and Canadian Tire. The cost for charging up to 80-90% SOC typically ran about $15 CAN ($10 US). Overall, a much more convenient and better developed electric infrastructure than found in the US (no thanks to our current Felon in the Whitehouse). There are Tesla stations, but despite having the adaptor I avoid those at all possible costs. In fact, there is a set of BC Hydro charging stations that I found at a rest area along the way are no cost - 50kW charging for no charge!
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And a big thanks to my fellow Canadian fishermen and lodge proprietors!
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I'm starting this thread in hopes to elicit any and all current information on the ABRP app for used with XC40 Recharge. I have scrolled through other discussions on this topic, most a bit dated and those otherwise mixed in with other topics. I hope to get specific and up-to-date assessments here.
I was introduced to this route planning app recently by a fellow EV owner (not a Recharge) and have been initially impressed with the overall functionality. I have downloaded (ABRP 6.1) to the Android system on my car and am going to use on upcoming trip. I also have on my Android phone - but plan to use the app directly on the car as I do not use the cable-dependent Android Auto (as I have mentioned elsewhere this seems a bit redundant). During install, the app requested, and I granted access to car information, which it displays. So far so good.
As a start I am using the base (free) version and have not decided to upgrade to the premium (subscription) version.
I'm not sure if this is an improvement over the native Google Maps, but any insights would be appreciated.