Mon 2 Nov 2026 15.25 AEDT
The EV Atlas is your guide to road-tripping Australia in an EV, covering the best (and not so good) charging stations, route planning, and must-see stops along the way.
Distance travelled: 1,451km
I drove my EV from Adelaide to Melbourne over Easter; here’s how it went.
We ordered our 2026 Jaecoo J5 EV on 29 January 2026 and picked her up on 13 March 2026.
The kids named her Jackie. We haven’t even had her for a month yet, and we’ve already nearly clocked up 3,000 km. The biggest chunk of those kilometres came from something that most new EV owners would consider either brave or slightly mad: a full Adelaide to Melbourne return trip over Easter, with two adults and two children on board.
This is the honest account of both legs. Real numbers, real charging times, real costs, and a few things we learned that I think every J5 owner (or any EV owner, to be honest) planning a long trip should know before they leave the driveway.
I also know I’m a bit different, and not everyone will go to these lengths, but I like to be prepared, and I always want to be considerate of others and help as much as I can.
Before we left, I spent a significant amount of time modelling the route properly, factoring in Jackie’s real battery (58.9 kWh LFP usable), the elevation profile, our payload (approximately 300 kg with four occupants and luggage), expected daily temperatures, and most importantly, a charging strategy that prioritised time efficiency over convenience. We wanted to get there as quickly as possible.
The charging scenario we settled on for the outbound (Adelaide to Melbourne) was:
Stop 1 — Keith
Chargefox · 3 x CCS2 130kW chargers
Stop 2 — Horsham
Chargefox · 2 x CCS2 350kW + 3 x CCS2 50kW (use 350kW only)
Stop 3 — Warrenheip
Evie Networks · Shell Coles Express, outside Ballarat
The return was the same stops in reverse, with one significant addition we’ll get to.
The core philosophy: never charge past 75-80% unless you have a specific reason. More on why in a moment.
Departure: 7:30 am at 100%.
Conditions: thick fog from the top of the Adelaide Hills for the next 60 km, 15-21°C average across SA and Vic.
We left home with a full battery and immediately hit the Adelaide Hills climb, about 400m of elevation gain in the first 50 to 60 km. The fog added to the drama but actually slightly improved efficiency by slowing us down. We rolled into Keith at 22%, right on projection.
The Keith Chargefox site is well set up next to a BP servo. There’s a roadhouse, toilets and a convenience store, which is genuinely useful with kids. Given that this was our first-ever public DC fast charge, we were inefficient with the stop. We plugged in at 22% and charged to 78%, slightly over our 74% target, adding 35.15 kWh in 28 minutes. Cost: $24.99. RAA membership gave us a 10% discount with Chargefox, so make sure you add that to your account in the Chargefox app.
Honest reflection: we charged 4% too high because it was new and felt unfamiliar. On a future trip, we’d stop at 74% and save 3-4 minutes. Small thing, but it can add up.
Left Keith at 78%, arrived at Horsham at 16%. The Western Highway through here is largely flat, and Jackie hummed along efficiently at 17.4 kWh/100km, her best leg of the entire round trip.
Then we hit Horsham. And Horsham was an experience.
When we pulled in, every bay was full with four cars in front of us. We had to take a 50kW stall initially, the only one available when my turn came up, before swapping to a 350kW unit when one freed up. Total plugged-in time: 46 minutes (27 minutes on 50kW, 19 minutes on 350kW). We charged from 16% to 70%, adding 34.61 kWh. Cost: $20.77.
While waiting, I chatted with several other EV drivers. Almost none had a charging plan. A family was charging to 100%, “because that’s what you do.” That situation nearly turned physical; people were literally holding someone back, when they were challenged about “hogging” a charger for a full 100% charge. I’ll come back to why this matters later.
This was the leg that caught us. Despite being slightly shorter than projected, we arrived at Warrenheip at 7%, below our 8% bottom range. The elevation from Horsham to Ballarat is not as gentle as it looks on a map. There are real hill climbs through here, and the battery showed it. About 30 mins out, I had dropped back 10km/h to help conserve the battery.
To make matters more interesting, one of the two Evie chargers at the Shell Coles Express was non-operational despite PlugShare showing both as active. We charged from 7% to 62%, adding 35.43 kWh in 23 minutes. Cost: $29.36.
Arriving at 7% with one charger down was the most stressful moment of the trip. It wasn’t dangerous, but it was tighter than I wanted, as I likely wouldn’t have had enough charge to find another charging station if both hadn’t been working. I may have made it into Ballarat, but their charging options were going to be much slower.
Left at 62%, arrived at 26%. Melbourne stop-and-start traffic is actually efficient for an EV, as regen braking works constantly. Arrived relaxed and with a good buffer.
Distance
725 km
Charging stops
3
Total DC charge time
97 minutes
Total real stop time
192 minutes (Horsham queue was the main culprit)
Total energy charged
105.191 kWh
Total cost
$75.12
Quality research, analysis, explainers and factchecks from experts you can trust.
Consumption range
17.4 to 19.6 kWh/100km depending on leg.
Departure: 7:00 am at 100%. Conditions: raining lightly, 13 to 15°C, no wind.
We knew Easter Monday would be the hardest day of the trip at Horsham. The whole return plan was built around getting there before the peak traffic hit.
Left at 7:00 am in light rain. The Pyrenees range climb is real, a sharp ascent from near sea level to around 600m through the ranges. We consumed 21.6 kWh/100km on this leg, the highest of the trip, driven by the climb, the rain, and the heater running in the cool morning.
Arrived at Warrenheip at 54% at 8:47 am.
The same story as outbound. One of the two chargers was working. I called Evie this time, as it was still showing as available. We weren’t able to fix it over the phone, and then saw it move to unavailable in the app.
There was a 7-minute wait for the single working bay. Charged from 54% to 80%, adding 17.3157 kWh in 22 minutes 29 seconds. The invoice showed a maximum charge rate of only 59kW, well below what the unit should deliver. A disappointing charge rate that cost us extra time. Cost: $14.72.
This was the leg we’d been most worried about modelling. It drops from 600m back down to the flat Wimmera plains, and regen braking genuinely helped throughout. We consumed 18.1 kWh/100km, efficient, confirming the net downhill advantage. Left at 80%, arrived at Horsham at 22% at 11:52 am.
The departure timing worked. When we pulled into Horsham, there was a 5-minute wait for a 350kW stall, completely manageable, compared to just over an hour wait, plus the charger swap, 50 to 350kW on the way over. The early start made the difference.
Charged from 22% to 77%, adding 35.56 kWh in 26 minutes. Cost: $21.45.
Horsham total stop time, including lunch: 73 minutes. But only 26 of those were charging. The rest was a family lunch at Subway. There is nothing close to the charging station in Horsham, it’s silly in my opinion, so by the time I had waited, then charged, my wife still hadn’t received our Subway order after walking there. I drove to them, and then we sat and ate together. That’s an important distinction for any trip report: charging time and stop time are not the same thing.
Left Horsham at 77% at 1:03 pm. By now, the temperature had climbed to 27-28°C under full sun, and the AC was working. We maintained speed limits throughout, no slowing to conserve, unlike the outbound. Arrived at Keith at 15% at 2:42 pm, significantly lower than the 27% projected.
This is where the warm temperature showed its effect. At 27-28°C with sustained AC cooling and full highway speed, Jackie was consuming noticeably more than in the cooler outbound conditions. The 18.6 kWh/100km actual figure was close to the model, but the warm afternoon made every percentage count.
A 10-minute wait for a bay at Keith. All three chargers were working this time, no faulty ports as on the outbound. We charged from 15% to 80%, above the planned 65%, but arriving at 15% with 243 km of SA ahead on a warm afternoon, that was the right call. Added 42.69 kWh in 31 minutes. Cost: $30.35. Left at 3:35 pm SA time.
Left Keith at 80%. The final SA leg had been modelled as flat, and it largely is, until the Adelaide Hills. But at 27-28°C with AC running and full speed maintained for 191.8 km, we arrived at Mt Barker Homemaker Centre with 15% and 51.2 km still to go, including the Hills climb. We pulled in for an emergency charge. A real moment of range anxiety.
Charged from 15% to 46%, adding 20.75 kWh in 13 minutes. Cost: $13.63. Left at 6:01 pm.
Final run home from Mt Barker to Wynn Vale: 51.2 km. Arrived home at 6:55 pm with 36%, comfortable, but only because of the Mt Barker stop.
Distance
726 km
Charging stops
4 (3 planned + 1 emergency)
Total DC charge time
92 minutes 29 seconds
Total real stop time
183 minutes (plus 22 minutes waiting for bays)
Total energy charged
116.3157 kWh
Total cost
$80.15
Outbound / Return / Total
Distance
725 km | 726 km | 1,451 km total
Charging stops
3 | 4 | 7 total
Energy charged
105.191 kWh | 116.316 kWh | 221.507 kWh total
Trip cost
$75.12 | $80.15 | $155.27 total
For context: the same round trip in a comparable petrol SUV at current fuel prices would cost approximately $350-$400 in fuel alone. Jackie did it for $155.27 total, including every charging stop. I charged for free at our accommodation using our trickle charger cable.
We averaged around 10.7c per km in charging costs. A petrol equivalent would have been roughly 24-27c per km.
Mikal Howard is a finance and mortgage broker in Adelaide, founder of Mikal Howard Finance. A self-described data and tech enthusiast, Mikal found an unlikely home for both passions in electric vehicles.
