For many Malaysians, the idea of doing long distance driving with a fully electric vehicle is still an intimidating one. Range anxiety is often the primary concern, but one that can be easily quelled through adequate planning. Recently, many EV owners have made the balik kampung journey without so much as a hiccup.
Such was the case for one Farhan A. Rahim (pictured above), an engineer who drove his Tesla Model 3 from his place of residence in Bangi back to his hometown in Kuantan, The Star reports. The 45-year-old has been driving his EV for almost two years and said the journey back to Kuantan was smooth.
“Many have asked whether it is okay to take a long road trip using an EV. For me, there was no problem,” he told Bernama, adding that travelling in an EV is much more comfortable for him, regardless for short hauls or long journeys.
“This is not the first time I’ve driven an EV back to my hometown in Kampung Permatang Badak. At first, I was not confident due to several challenges such as limited charging infrastructure, the fear of getting stuck in a traffic jam, and the lack of service stations. However, I managed to reach Kuantan last Saturday without difficulty even though I was using alternative roads from Bangi to Kuala Pilah before arriving at Kuantan – a journey of about 300 km,” he said.
Farhan reiterated that taking a road trip in an EV requires the owner to undertake careful planning, because an EV’s range depends on a number of factors, especially its battery capacity and driving style. He also said “using an EV is more cost-effective as the cost of charging is cheaper than the price of fuel.” In Kuantan, he charges his car for free at TJM Cars.
This sentiment was shared by a 29-year-old Amyrul Annas Rosli. He spent more than three hours driving back to his hometown in Bagan Datuk, Perak, and experienced no problems along the way. Amyrul said although owners can charge their EVs at home using the standard three-pin plug, it is very time consuming, and hopes that more charging stations would be set up in the future to facilitate EV charging.
We’ve tried first hand the experience of driving a fully electric car over hundreds of kilometres. You may read our detailed account here, or better yet, see what it’s like to be owning a fully electric car – a Tesla Model S, in our case – for three years. You can also click here to see all the DC fast chargers available for use in the country. So, did you also balik kampung in your EV? How was your experience?
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
The problem with EV is that it required large battery, requiring too long time to charge it.
If we can have Electric Motor drive with smallest battery with only 3mins rapid re-charged,
Then electric drive fun is achieved, A lighter car also allows better cornering.
A lighter car = better efficiency too.
Think of the reason why the Porsche Taycan Turbo s 2.9s-100 end up >25seconds slower than Porsche GT4 rs 3.4s-100 nurburgring track record.
The same gap between Formula E and Formula 1.
The lap time gap is very huge.
Are you driving on the road or racing/lapping?
Sepang circuit has been available, open for public racing fun.
That’s a poor example. At 350kg heavier the Nio EP9 is almost 25 seconds faster than the GT4 RS.
The Taycan Turbo was just not outfitted for track days. It’s a family car. The GT4 RS and EP9 had better mechanical grip from their tyres and downforce.
just rent an alphard balik kampung la. plan this plan that for what.
This is the smart decision. Spend a little bit and enjoy for a little while, rather than spend a lot and suffer for a long time to come.
Ya..this dude has the brains of Albert Einstein..Rent the latest Alphard…datuk/nenek…very impressed..”Ada gaya,mutu,keunggulan”….
Why get HP loan for a Rm200000 car,depreciate lah,not enough charging infra lah..macam macam.
Brilliant strategy to impress.After all nobody bothers to ask whether you own or rent it.
Copy paste: “Excellent example of simply typing a comment by plucking info from thin air.”
What is wrong with you? Peoples money their choice how to spend it lah. No need for you tell them, it is their money not yours yea. And nope, renting a big MPV to balik kampung has more practical reasons than your allegations of showing off… going back in a 10-20 jam, my family would be in far more comfort and convenience than inside a cramped car, my children would be less to throw fits and needing more stopovers to calm them down. If you ever had kids you would know. We know what type of character you are here but please use some brains and learn when you need to post and when you need to just shutup & move on.
Rakyat ada wang sewa alphard, lu tarak wang sewa nak jeles sini ke?? niamah bodo
All he’s showing us is that it is possible?
Anything is possible, riding a bicycle back for Raya is also possible but with all that hassle, will you do it? That is the question.
Haha yes.
Personally, I only go out of Klang Valley about 4 times a year. If EV infra hasn’t improved in the next 12-36 months then yes buying one now would be somewhat a pain for most people.
But I do plan to get one as a 2nd car soon.
Jam from Alor Gajah to Sungai Buluh toll 100km with average speed 20km/hr which needs 5nrs during Raya…I doubt current 400km range EV is “not a problem”
especially when the aircond is turned on
“He spent more than three hours driving back to his hometown in Bagan Datuk, Perak”
Assuming from KL, a trip that normally takes 2.5 hours becomes “more than 3 hours”. If you’re spending 30+ precious minutes recharging your car instead of getting to your destination, I’m sorry but the current version of EVs aren’t the future.
It’s not the “current EVs”
It’s more of the infra no?
I’ve seen people in the UK take their EVs on a road trip to Switzerland.
ICE cars will probably still be around for another 30 years but it doesn’t mean there’s no space for EVs.
15hrs kedah-selangor. ade berani bawak EV hang?
Setakat Bangi – Kuantan ok la. Try KL-KB with everyone else stuck like 20 hours or KB – Mersing/BP/JB. My sorento 2.2D is still a better choice. I can do KB-BP in half a tank when adhering to the speed limit.
Not interested.
EV owners already say is not a problem, non EV owners say is problem LOL
Obviously people who got it to work for their use case will say it works, but you never heard from those who are feeling serious buyer remorse because no one likes to feel like a sucker when it comes to money matters.
As an EV owner myself, my next car will still be an EV.
There are many people out there, never owned one, nor can afford one, keep spreading hate news.
Nothing is perfect, even ICE cars have their own problems. A smart consumer will find a way to overcome all the small issues and make it work for them.
Sure you can do it.
But driving balik kampong is stress enough as it is. Still want to add range anxiety to the mix? 15hr jam back to north see you get range anxiety or not……turn off aircon when jam?
The only thing good about driving an EV is that you have to stop and recharge, both the car and yourself, so you dont fall asleep.
No matter how you condemn EV, your 4G63T will still be injin zaman dahulu. Better just accept the fact, will be much easier on you.
The problems will start when he starts having issues with the car!! How to get spare parts and support!! You think the AP holder where he bought the car from will provide any support!?
He looks like an enthusiast so I am sure he’s prepared.
There are a few AP owners who do help with aftersales. I’ve seen someone order parts from Tesla Japan for their customers.
Also now for tesla atleast we can source parts from sg if it’s really critical.
I personally wouldn’t buy a tesla but will go for any other official local EVs – Hyundai, volvo etc.
i cannot afford ev, simple i just myvi no problem go home langsung
Whoa need to plan like going to war if you using an EV. Things get more worse when more EVs are on the road and there’s not enough chargers. No thanks will stick to ICE for the next decade.
Even if there are enough chargers now, you tak mampu pun beli an EV. ROFL
Seancorr too shy to admit he tak mampu. That’s why he say Next decade. means this 10 years he gumpul duit dulu, then beli EV in 2032.
Seancorr is merely a P2 salesman here inspite of his avatar picture.
kemonn… yer la EV takde masalah… statement syok sendiri… takkan la nak ckp susah kan…
Time banjir camne???since the battery located on the floor…..
Time banjir dayung sampan, Mr.Amirul
Cerdik sangat bro
time banjir takda masalah… owner ni akan study cuaca siap2… dan merancang perjalanan macam dia study EV charger availability…. … kena study lagi…
EV owners really plan properly. Why join the crowd, 15 hours jam? Why drive into heavy rain area and risk getting into a flood? Why can’t ICE owners be wise enough to do what EV owners do? Buying EVs don’t make you smarter, it’s your mentality. Good luck and I hope you can afford an EV one fine day, only to realize owning one don’t make you smarter.
EV’s for advanced countries. Makes sense.
EV’s for those can charge at home.
Sigh…I’m very sure that if some of these nasty commenters were at Kitty Hawk with the Wright Brothers, they would say, “Fly what? Can walk what…go up then crash only you know…”. Of if they were shown a mobile phone in the 90’s they would say, “my pager is absolutely fine.” I guess the point here is that someone has taken the time and effort to demonstrate that EVs are a viable alternative to ICE in Malaysia. One of the most demanding use case for every Malaysian drivers is the trip back to hometown during festive seasons. I salute Farhan for his willingness to share his experience and the effort that he has put in to educate and inform us. By no means is this article disparaging the ICE drivers so not sure why some comments are so hostile. If you are perfectly happy with your petrol car, then drive your petrol cars. No one is forcing you to change. But if you are here to consider switching, then kudos to you too. Most automakers are phasing out pure petrol cars and every bit of learning that we can get from early adopters goes a long way to help make the transition easier for every future car owners.
100%.
Right now EVs in Malaysia are really meant for the rich/enthusiast/multiple car owners. But without these people, there won’t be a driving force to upgrade the EV infrastructure here.
I myself have a x70 and I am considering getting an EV this year provided my house circuitry is able to install a home charger. I only do long distance trips twice a year and i’ll just use the proton for that if I am lazy to plan. Besides that there’s EV chargers in my office building that’s not utilized 90% of the time. So I reckon 95% time I won’t have any issues charging during my daily KL life.
I guess the only other concern is what kind of 2nd hand value and support will the EVs have in 7-10 years? If I need repairs post warranty period, how pricey/available would that be?
After battery warranty finish, habeslah engkau.
Why u say habis to him?
He’s not poor like you.
https://paultan.org/2019/03/05/mercedes-benz-malaysia-introduces-hybrid-battery-extended-warranty-programme/
That E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid owner oso not poor but he still go online complain about paying RM 120k to replace a hybrid battery pack. If that were full EV, can roughly cost as much as the car itself might as well throw into river and buy a new car. Preferably not EV, cuz too many EV dump into rivers will counterintuitive about buying EV to save the environment.
Maybe?
The battery warranty is 8 years currently I think. My last 2 cars were sold at the 6 year mark because problems were becoming quite frequent.
But the point is anything can happen in 8 years, battery becomes cheaper or have cheaper scheme to replace, another good value EV pops in the market and I do a trade in, I get lucky and get a promotion, new job and get better pay (or the opposite can happen lol hopefully not)
Fast charging will be gamechanger.But there is con where more car will be on road in future and congested.Its not so near but will another issue to balance.
Anybody saw the Jam at Simpang Pulai RnR was caused by EV cars charging?
Not a problem?? Are you sure? During Raya my sister stucked around 6 hrs in the highway. Still not a problem???
are you sure no problem? KL-PG jam 9 hours no issue for EV car?
If I am stuck in terrible traffic, I will stop for meal, solat & things.
His point was plan your journey.
Doesnt matter u go back to Kedah ka perlis ka, johor ka, planning is the most crucial part in life, including balik kanpung.
If u can expect traffic is terrible during this festive period, u can always choose to depart earlier, say 3am or 4am. Kan?
Dont be too jumud la. Balik kelantan 20hrs in traffic. u can stop anywhere, pay local homeowner some cash to access their plug point. He is thinking forward, being different. His option la.
Yeah I dont have EV but I own a hybrid. & I know the world is moving towards electric sooner or later.
Jangan tipulah please. Once , the bar reach 10 % and you are in the middle of nowhere , your heart will beat 150 bpm. And even if you managed to find a socket , you will have problem in waiting for 4 hours till it is fully charge using a standard charger. By that time , Hantu Kak Limah would have got you as Kebab.