I’ve been itching to take the Mini to Houston again but recognizing that a minimum of two charge stops each way is hard to justify I have held off. But now that gas prices are up so much, even in Texas, at least one factor swung back in favor of the Mini. For the relatively short drive we did this weekend the balance between extra time spent charging versus extra money spent fueling tipped toward the Mini and it was enough for me to insist that we take it. Here was the route there:

And back:

To Houston

We left in the morning, which is a rare treat as there is usually less traffic and I prefer driving in daylight. The first leg of the drive went smoothly with no surprises.

1st Leg Summary

• Miles traveled: 47.8
• SOC: 94% –> 54%
• GOM: 93mi –> 49mi remaining range
• Avg Efficiency: 4.1 mi/kWh
• Avg Speed: 48.3 mph

1st Charging Stop

First stop was a Mercedes HPC site at the Luling Buc-ee’s. This is the only sub-optimal stop on this round trip route: it is not as far into the trip as I would like, as you can see from the 54% SOC on arrival. However, the better location, Flatonia, only has a Shell Recharge site that was not kind to me last time and has only gotten worse since then, according to PlugShare. Aside from that, the Mercedes site in Luling is great. I don’t love Buc-ee’s but the chargers are located in the back and you don’t have to deal with the usual traffic. And in my experience the Mercedes chargers work great and are reasonably priced. This time was no exception. There were plenty available and the first one I pulled up to worked immediately.

2nd Leg Summary

• Miles traveled: 66.7
• SOC: 93% –> 18%
• GOM: 93mi –> 15mi remaining range
• Avg Efficiency: 3.0 mi/kWh
• Avg Speed: 72 mph

2nd Charging Stop

The second stop was the EA station in Columbus that I have used every time. They just upgraded the chargers at this site so all four are now Hyperfast CCS chargers. Only one was occupied when I got there and the first one I tried worked without issue. The only issue with this site now is that at $0.56/kWh it’s on the pricier side.

3rd Leg Summary

• Miles traveled: 53.7
• SOC: 80% –> 27%
• GOM: 73mi –> 26mi remaining range
• Avg Efficiency: 3.5 mi/kWh
• Avg Speed: 66.3 mph

Destination

As expected, the charge stops added roughly an hour to the trip. We arrived at our destination with 27% and did not have to drive at all while there. Since we didn’t have access to charging at our destination I did have to go charge; however, we were close to a great BP Pulse charge hub. They have tiered pricing based on time of day and were running a 10 cent off promotion so by charging at night I was able to pay only $0.15/kWh. I did this the night before we were left so we were ready to hit the road in the morning.

To Home

1st Leg Summary

• Miles traveled: 54
• SOC: 86% –> 33%
• GOM: forgot to track on this leg
• Efficiency: 3.4 mi/kWh
• Avg speed: 68.4 mph

1st Charging Stop

On the way back I planned to stop at the Rivian chargers in Columbus because they are on that side of the highway and I was curious to try them out. However, I forgot to set up the app ahead of time and ultimately decided not to bother since the EA station worked so well and was a couple cents cheaper. It came through again.

2nd Leg Summary

• Miles traveled: 67.1
• SOC: 90% –> 16%
• GOM: 88mi –> 13mi remaining range
• Efficiency: 3.2 mi/kWh
• Avg speed: 68.2 mph

2nd Charging Stop

The Luling Mercedes site was again reliable. There were noticeably more EVs this time, some not even at the chargers, which was cool to see. I assume it was due to it being Easter Sunday. Still, I did not have to wait for a charger.

3rd Leg Summary

• Miles traveled: 51.2
• SOC: 68% –> 15%
• GOM: 64mi –> 12mi remaining range
• Efficiency: 3.5 mi/kWh
• Avg speed: 31.8 mph

Final Thoughts

This was about as good of a Houston trip as I think the Mini is capable of. Theoretically with some more options spread along I-10 I could find two charge stops each way that would slightly reduce the time by not needing to charge above 80% and still being able to go full speed, but I doubt that would make much difference. This trip took just under an hour extra each way. I am biased by my excitement but it did not feel that bad to me, especially because the longest single charge session on the road was 25 minutes. The indisputable win; however, was that we saved money by taking the Mini. The total cost for the round trip was $37.71. Not only is that down from the $50-60 we would have spent in the Subaru right now, it’s as good if not better than we would have spent before the current gas price spike. It’s also better than the $51.49 spent last time taking the Mini.

It was a satisfying trip for me and I was very proud of the Mini, as well as the charging infrastructure I used. Unfortunately, it really highlighted how nice it would be to have an EV with decent range and charging. Even under these ideal conditions it was very inconvenient to take the Mini; I think most people would agree that spending an extra 2 hours to save $20 isn’t a great deal. Not only that but if I had a car with even 200 miles of highway range I could have done all of my charging at the BP Pulse Gigahub and only paid $0.15/kWh. Imagine the savings then! So for now road trips in the Mini will remain a rare thrill that only happens when the stars align, if at all.