UK to France in a Tesla 769 miles Can we do it? 

Quentin Wilson - what a legend. Doesn't lament the passing of the internal combustion engine like other motoring journalists, but highlights the benefits and opportunities of what the future holds. Just brilliant.

Last week I drove from Germany to Arctic Circle in my 2021 Model 3 Performance. I used only Supercharger and drove 5216 km in 7 days! Absolutely easy and not really a challenge anymore! :-)

A top quality and rather enjoyable reportage. This quality of production and content deserves many more subscribers and views.

Great to see Quentin , brings back memories of proper car review programs

I really loved your video. It took a while before I decided to buy an electric vehicle because I feared it wouldn’t be fit for holiday trips. In January I made my decision and bought a Model Y which was delivered to me only two weeks later. And like you say, the experience driving it has been amazing. I’m 51 years old but haven’t had so much fun driving a car since my twenties. Instead of fearing the long trips I’m really looking forward to our holiday in France.

I had my first Tesla experience yesterday with a SR+ Model 3: Drove from London up to Nottingham then out to the Peak District for a hike, then do the journey back. It was 331 miles had to stop twice for a ~20 min charge. Zero range anxiety even as a first timer in an EV. Can’t wait for the Berlin made Model Y!

What I like about Tesla is really the charging map integration navigation! No need to use 3rd party charging map, navigation map, and finding faulty chargers at times!

Great car , but look how much you have to pay for one, any savings on fuel are thrown out the window, by comparison of an equivalent ICE.

The David Attenbourgh of car journalism

If someone can do it in a 24kw Nissan van am sure you can manage in a Tesla, Quentin luv x Massive EDIT: I posted this before watching & apologise for jumping to the conclusion that you may be of similar opinions to your ex TG colleague. Have now just watched a video of you speaking at Cardiff Uni about EVs. I did not know you were such an advocate esp. back at the dawn so to speak.

Brilliant video sir 👏 I would like to show you around Orkney where since 2013 , over 100% of our electricity is made from renewables, and where we have around 350 plus evs !

I just got back from my road trip around Italy in my model 3. Did over 3000 miles without any issues. Drove from Puliga to london back in 2 days and was absolutely without issue. Range anxiety is a load of BS now but I understand that non EV owners (like my parents) don’t get it but when you have it you’ll be fine.

My 2013 Mercedes C220 manual has a range of 700 miles. I would have only needed one 5 minute fuel stop and would have cost about £80.00 in diesel. I would of course stopped more often, but not because i was constantly keeping an eye on the fuel state.

Mr Quentin Wilson we need to see more, of you!!!!!!!!

Driving in Europe shouldn’t present any issues for Teslas. But while it’s great that you’ve had no quality issues, that doesn’t make it an urban myth; it means simply that you’ve had no problems. Others have.

I did south coast UK to Zadar Croatia in 21 hours….Long Range Model 3 with 8 stops and covered 1242 miles….Can’t wait to do it again.

Awww Mr Wilson, a voice from my childhood. Just discovered the channel this evening, no hesitation in hitting subscribe.

That’s exactly what I find EV driving - relaxing. Stops are actually stops and the car is so quiet throughout.

Happy to see you again, Quentin! I can agree, long journeys like this in a Tesla Model 3 are totally fussless. The Supercharging network is an huge plus. I can't say the same thing for other brands out there (Ionity charging network is not as much developed as Tesla). Greetings from France

Can confirm it's all true. I have a Model 3 in Australia and one in France. Both are 'road trip' vehicles that we use to explore Europe and the nether regions of Australia. Have never had a range anxiety issue and am happy to stop for a pee and cuppa while topping up the battery. Love these cars to bits.

No better car for the job. I did 4,500 miles in 2019 in a Model 3 SR+ - all the way through France and Italy to Malta and back via Prague and Berlin. No range anxiety - the car has that for me!

Lovely to see you again Quentin. I love my model 3 so much i sold the SR+ and ordered the Long Range, every minute driving it is a treat

Great production values Quentin, keep producing great content.

So good to watch such a calm, pleasant, relaxed and accurate video of a Tesla trip through France. Thank you Quentin. I'm trying to convince my wife to do a road trip to Cadiz rather than fly from the UK. This should allay many of her current reservations. I currently have a Nissan Leaf but I think I'll wait until we get a Model 3 though. I'd love to see a similar trip through Spain if you are looking for video ideas. Nice tip about the toll gates too 👍,

That’s the best advert I’ve seen for one. If only I could afford 40k+ for a basic one. If only there were more chargers around Northern Ireland. If only my local power station didn’t burn oil. If only there was room in one for my family, dog and camping gear. Still too expensive for what they are and I still can’t see the justification for getting rid of the Merc I get 70+ mpg out of that cost me just over half the price. Not hating on the Tesla, it’s just not there yet.

Great channel to stumble across. The legend that is Quentin Wilson. As engaging and professional as ever.

From Top Gear and fossil cars, to RU-vid and electric. You’ve still got it. We’ll be driving to the south of France in our SR+ later this year hopefully. By the looks of it, we can look forward to some posh charging. The last trip was in our old Laguna…great tourer, but won’t miss the gazole.

The reason why France has nicer roads than the UK is because France is 5 times the size of the UK but has the same population. Therefore, roads are less busy and less damage/maintenance. But I agree, driving on French roads is like driving on clouds

In the fall of 2019 I drove my Tesla Model 3 Performance 2100 km from Stockholm to Annecy in 27 hours straight with a few short naps included. Roadtrips with Teslas are pretty much like with any car minus the emissions.

Quentin should be a presenter on “Fully Charged”. Always provides great analysis and captivates the audience.

We just done home to London just over a hundred miles, charged up the night before cost us £3, the hotel we stayed at in London for the night had free electric charging and then came home, no up required, all in our Renault Zoe 68 plate, with kids. No problems

We’ve done major road trips across Australia, not exactly EV Walhalla. The longest was last year from Brisbane to Tasmania and back. Never had we range anxiety. There is no better road companion than a Tesla. Ours is an older Model S, but driving it is a treat each time.

Great report, honest, it shows Ev's have a long way to go before becoming usable for anything else then a second car. You say you have no Range anxiety, yet every chance you get you charge. I understand, no problem. Well, get back to me when the batteries can charge twice as much in half the time and I'll consider it. Oh and most importantly, get back to me when all chargers are superchargers at 800 volts and they are all over the place like gas-stations and of course standardized. So in 50 years time or so?

Good to hear his dulcet tones again 😉 Good information 🤗

I would like to see this done the day half of France is moving for vacation. You then queue up 5 hours for the "quick 20 min recharge" together with 20 other drivers and two chargers. Electric cars are wonderful when there is no competition for the chargers.

I've seen people do 3000 mile trips on the model 3. I don't know why people still fear range anxiety. 5 years ago yes made sense but now it's pointless if you drive a Tesla.

The times that I've driven to Spain and just keep pushing on, not taking proper breaks just piling on the miles. Probably much more stressful than Quentin's journey and not really much quicker.

Wow! Good to see you again Quentin

Hello Quentin, I remember watching you as a child on tv, you were the first person I watched reviewing cars on tv. I’m now 37 and drive a Model Y! Great to see you making content. I hope you are well!

wow a rational and reasonable account of using an electric car to do the big journeys. The energy cost comparison was very interesting.

Great to see Quentin Wilson reviewing cars again on the big screen.

Done this numerous times across France to the Alps from Hampshire in our Model 3. Door to door time no different to when we used to do same journey in a diesel Audi A6. Bladders and stomachs determine when to stop, just need to plug into a supercharger when the human needs are being taken car of. Absolutely simple and stress free. Would I do the same in a non-Tesla? No chance, that would be stressful!!

I did a road trip from the UK around France, Belgium and the Netherlands in November 2019 in my Kona EV - 1900 miles total in a week, and that's without the ease of Tesla's charging network to help. Anything can be done with the right planning

Absolutely love this! Just ordered my Model 3 & am busy cramming hours of RU-vid content down my throat! This was a very reassuring video from one of the best! Thanks so much 👍

Great video! I currently sit in Tuscany, Italy, having driven from Denmark, through Germany and Switzerland down here. Not a single minute down here with range anxiety! My biggest advice down here, would be to ensure you can plug in where you stay. A slow 220 volt outlet is fine for topping up, but it’s needed as the Italian network of chargers around town etc. is pretty bad

I'm so very glad to have discovered your RU-vid channel Mr Willson! It's refreshing to see a familiar face from my youth, whose motoring opinions I already appreciate and trust. Your era of Top Gear was the last one I could watch with my father without him getting frustrated at the... immaturity of the other presenters - before the switch from journalism to entertainment. I just wanted to leave you a comment to help with the RU-vid algorithm. All the best to you.

The old boy has still got it. Great presenting.

The range anxiety doesn't come from 99.9999 percent of potential buyers, it comes from a certain press baron beginning with M who's making money from fossil fuels, great upload and yes those french roads are certain better than blighty's 😬

This is one of the the best Tesla video's. Great car ,effortless journey.

Same here just did a 1500 km each way trip (Toronto Ontario to Fredericton New Brunswick, Canada) in our Model 3 LR with 4 adults and a boot full of luggage. Model 3 was superb and had zero range anxiety or issues. A couple of supercharger faults where one was not working to full speed and the other had a couple of bad stalls. Did not really impact us as those stops were meal stops so we made good use of the extra time needed. I too would do it again and am planning my next road trip in 2022 to Austin Texas, from Toronto Canada. Good video and i’ll be posting a similar but condensed review of my trip soon, focusing on the efficiency and costs.

5 years ago I saw a GB reg Tesla in Tallinn. That's enough of a demo to dispel any battery range anxiety myths. The true 'range anxiety' is the lack of choice of affordable EVs.

Nice one. I’m all for a better future, although I still appreciate being able to put 700 km worth of fuel in 5 minutes. Good content, thank you.

Simply amazing video! EXCELLENT! The best, most straightforward video for all the petrol heads I've seen in the last couple of months, honestly... Greetings from Hungary - from your new subscriber.

Great to see how easy it is to travel long distances in a Tesla with their brilliant supercharger network.

Altough I don't like EVs at all, but the way this genteman describes everything maturely makes this review very interesting and attractive. Thank you

Just out of curiosity, will the autopilot made for 'left lane' driving in uk, work for the 'right lane' driving in france

Good to see Quentin in our part of the world, not far from Niort. Now 2 and half years into EV ownership with the Kia e-Niro, have had trips to Switzerland, the UK and all over France. Had the occasional worry with public chargers but never gone below 11% or had any real panics. Had to use a 7.2 Kw charger when a 50 kW DC was out of service once...so forced to sample the pastries at a nearby cafe for 40 minutes to finish our journey...damn!

This actually plays like a promo for a car show, no a holiday show (where was Ms Chalmers??) - 7 mins (an enternity on RU-vid) before we get any useful information, incomplete but useful. So what extra info do I mean? How long did each charge take, how much range did each give - maybe the numbers which flashed were supposed to cover this...but nope. There are many considering EV which you know and the prospect of these trips are putting them off. That aside it was enjoyable, as I always enjoy Quentin - been watching him since the beginning, well since the 1980s...Anyone notice how Mr Clarkson talks just like him...no coincidence. This is all constructive as I'm sure Mr Wilson will agree.

Fully agree. Had the same experience in my model 3, from Holland to Italy in winter times. My friend however went with his BMW I3 to France but he wasnt all that happy. A lot of charging stations in France where out of order making his journey rather stressfull. Ofcourse with the Tesla network you do not have that problem.

Brings back memories watching this. Used to love watching car shows in the 90s as a kid

Tesla owners group UK did the trip to Nice 2018, and following year to Gibraltar, 20+ Tesla without a problem thanks to the Superchargers.

I am about to head out to France and drive with Tesla.. I was quite worried about lack of super chargers and get stuck somewhere but so relieved to have seen your video. Thank you so much!

I’ve driven from Los Angeles to Seattle in my M3P. That’s about 1100 miles (two days) and it was exactly as easy as this video shows. Plus Auto Pilot takes a lot of the work load off as well which makes it even easier. Fast charging is available in most places now so travel is very easy in EVs… at half the price of petrol.

Enjoyed the video from start to finish. Great to see you on RU-vid Quentin.

Awesome. Driving an EV is a new adventure. And Teslas are amazing. When I was younger I was too rushed. I'm very impatient. But God do I love EVs. So much torque. Off course there are some inconveniences but the plusses far outweighs it for most trips. Great vid. Thanks so much!

Seeing the quality of this video, I assumed it was 4 million subscribers you got! I'm surprised it's 4k. You definitely deserve 4 million and more..

Top report Quentin, I’m sold.

Just love the panache and style, you haven’t lost it Q 👍

Great to see you making content, Quentin! You've come a long way since doing the Triumph Stag buying guide on Top Gear all those years ago (still a gorgeous car, I'm sure you'll agree). I would've thought you'd be the last of the Top Gear lot to embrace EVs with your love and knowledge of classic/older cars but embrace it you have, and my hat is firmly off to you.

Nice video. I live just north of Bordeaux and regularly drive to La Manga in Spain (700 miles) in my Model 3. No problemo.👍😊

Really great summary and enjoyed the whole video. I did Oxford - Madrid in a Model X back in 2017, was mega easy back then and loved it more than when I've done it in an ICE

First of all: Sorry for my english. Nice video! It was the first video I saw of you. You got a like and a subscription straight away. I love England, have been there every year since 2003 with my Chrysler PT Cruiser, unfortunately I have been for 2 years not there because of the "C". :-( Now I also have a Model3 ..., it's great! I would be happy to see more videos from you. I have now also looked at the ones that are online. Wish you all the best. Greetings from switzerland

I drive a 1 year old diesel Golf and it’s great on fuel…it will average 70mpg on a motorway run with ease. It’s a company car and when it’s replaced in a few years time I would really love to go EV. The problem is my boss ,as good as he is, I don’t think would splash out on 2 Teslas for me and my colleague. Would that same trip have been as enjoyable and stress free in an MG5 ? I’m not so sure but this video was great to watch and very informative…thanks Quentin…top top review 👍🇬🇧👏

It's good to find you on RU-vid again Quentin. I remember that advice you gave on Top Gear 20 years ago about buying a new S-Class Merc W220. I bought a 200,000 mile W140 and it ran perfectly for years.

He is still an absolute proffesional👍

I did 680 miles from Berkshire to Orkney in a M3LR the other week. Agree with everything you said, M3LR is an absolute mile muncher, very comfortable and autopilot does the heavy work on the motorway and dual carriageway. We had 3 stops to charge, eat, drink, pee and swap drivers. On all 3 stops the car was ready to go before we were. It’s not about massive range, what you really need is good range and fast charging, with fast charging being the most important. Great video by the way, tells it exactly as it is. Depending where you live, and what part of France you’re going to, the overnight ferry from Portsmouth is our preferred choice as it saves a lot of driving in France (and for us, the U.K. as well).

Quentin, great to see you still providing quality motoring journalism! As has been said, Robert Llewelyn should be getting you on his Fully Charged channel. You’d be an asset to that channel like you’ve been an asset while you were on TV. Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t even come close …and never will. Look forward to seeing more EV videos from you. Regards, from a fellow Tesla owner and long term QW fan 👍

In September 2018, we went to France to put one of those ceramic poppies on the grave of a great uncle. Even with a 40kWh Nissan Leaf there was no problem. That said, the charger at the Arras Auchan is on the top deck of the car park. Had to ask a store worker where it was...

Enjoyed that. About the same time, we drove the the Alps in a standard range MG ZS, it was fine too, a bit more planning but it was fine. Just purchased a model Y, really looking forward to not planning our next trip to the Alps and just hitting the navigate to button.

Excellent video. Very informative. And not too long at 9 minutes. I would have liked to have seen the times on the stops flashed on screen and a closer look at that Ferrari in front of you on the train, but that is just nitpicking. You have a new subscriber.

Great video professionally presented as always. I have owned my Model 3 for 6 weeks now and would certainly not go back to a 'fossil' car. Two slightly negative points to be aware of. 1. As the Model 3 is a saloon (albeit with folding rear seats), unlike hatchbacks bulky items will not go in the car. I needed to carry a small table (800mm x 650mm x 630mm). It would not go in. Either make sure you have access to a hatchback (we have a Kia Soul EV as a second car) and/or make sure that you specify a tow hitch when placing an order. Be aware that with Teslas these cannot be retrofitted. 2. Not Tesla specific but also be aware that a 250kw charger will only provide that output for a short part of the overall charge time and under certain conditions. The SOC (state of charge) must be low and the battery must be up to temperature. The Tesla, unlike many competitors, helps to combat the battery temperature problem by pre-warming the battery when it knows that its destination is a Supercharger.

Very enjoyable video...but what long term damage does all these top up charges do to the battery's...does driving and topping up in this way shorten the life of the batteries....is hybrid still a better option??

Great vid

Recharging was a bit more expensive than I thought it would be - friend of mine keeps saying it's only pennies to recharge! I drove down in my diesel car summer before last - did almost the exact same mileage you did: from Cherbourg to the Dordogne, and then onwards to Bilbao - stopping for the first time to fill up in San Sebastian - after about 770 miles (wasn't completely empty either). Cost me £73 to refill to the brim: which is only £5 more than the electric. Thought it would be a bigger difference to be honest.

Another quality review from Quentin. Do more please !

I took my Tesla model 3 dual motor from Nottingham to Lake Balaton in Hungary and back this June…1300miles one way via the French alps to get some cycling in, then onto Venice and into Hungary. Did this taking my time over 3 days (2 days to come back), and the only real planning I had to do was to ensure I had overnight chargers at the hotels to make sure I had a full charge to start the next day. Never for one moment did I have range anxiety, and stopping for 15-20mins every 200 or so miles never felt like it was a pain, as I always took the opportunity to use the toilet or get something to eat. I have done this journey many times in a petrol and diesel car, and this time it was far less stressful, no splash and dash fuel stops and I got to see a lot more of the countries I was travelling through. Sure it may of took me an hour or so longer each day then when I had a fuel car, but it was far far safer, and much more relaxing in the Tesla!!

I bought my model 3 long range to use as my "little town runabout"!!!

The Tesla supercharging network puts Tesla years ahead of the competition. It is a game changer. It just works and is very simple to use. No messing about with payment on a special log-in app. Just register a card and plug in whenever you need. Fantastic. Couple that with the easy to use navigation and range anxiety just evaporates.

Great video Quentin. You put the case very persuasively and eloquently. I’m anxiously awaiting delivery of my own Model 3 LR and looking forward to taking some long trips. The Tesla certainly makes that something to look forward to, rather than it being a chore to be endured.

Nice to see Quentin again

Nostalgic car presenter, nice to see your face again.

Thanks. The closest I can get to France is Quebec or the southern parishes of Louisiana, but this took care of my _"rangiety"_ - as I'm on the verge of pulling the trigger on a Model 3 myself.

Informative and helpful. A useful video. Thank you.

What an excellent sensible evaluation of the trip, well done!

Really enjoyed that, the car and just joining a road trip. Hope you will be making more videos on RU-vid 🤞

Quentin could easily have played a gentleman villain in a Bond film or perhaps Bond himself. What an amazing voice! One moment!!! only 3.49k subscribers? That's criminal! + 1 from me at least. Added: Sigh, I looked Quentin up and it's hardly surprising that he's so amazing on screen as he does that sort of thing for a living and very well at that. I should have known. Nobody looks that cool on camera unless they do it for a living.

Great information. I recently took a trip with my family in a Model 3 to visit my brother in the Bay Area in the US. Started in Atlanta and the 3 of us took 5 days of sightseeing and driving out and after a few days of visiting we took 5 days back. We stopped at quite a few remote places with no issues being able to use Superchargers for 100% of our travel. The total was around 5,000 miles where we averaged around 500 miles a day. That gave us around 8 hours of driving/charging and the rest for sightseeing at our stops. We stopped at dozens of places but hit a number of the more popular tourist spots like the Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Death Valley and Yosemite. Plenty of Superchargers with many in the actual parking lots of the hotels we used so we would be charged full for the beginning of each day. The only minor close call we had was on the trip back after stopping at Calico Ghost Town we pulled in to Needles, California to charge with an outside temperature of 121 F / 50 C. After charging for about 5 minutes the charger stopped working. It was an older V2 Supercharger without the liquid cooled cables so it was overheating. I switched to another charger and the same thing after 30 seconds. I charged and waited and charged and waited a few rounds and finally drove on to the next charger since we still had enough to make it to the next stop. It was hot at the next stop but about 10 degrees F cooler so didn't have a problem there. After the trip was over we reflected on how smoothly the trip went and realized that if we had been in an ICE the trip would have been pretty much the same. Every day we stopped around 2 to 3 times for 20 minutes each stop to charge and use the bathroom, etc. In an ICE we would have stopped at least twice anyway for bathroom breaks and occasionally to fill up with gas with maybe 10-15 minutes per stop. Not much different.

We've just gone and changed totally so have a Tesla and a Peugeot Electric and the beauty is the home charger, as we commute to work and family life and never have to go a petrol station other than for drinks and snacks so really convenient.

Lived in France for many years, the motorways and mainly 2 lanes (outside cities) , never seem to be traffic jams (except for Paris) no one ever hogs the outside lane. Just set the cruise control and relax.

Why are brits free to roam in France while French people arent free to travel in the Uk. There is something utterly wrong.