In January Sarah White AKA “Atto Gal” drove her all electric BYD Atto 3 from Perth to Sydney and back again in what we believe is the first crossing (and double crossing!) of Australia in a BYD Atto 3. Sarah documented the trip on her facebook page Atto Gal’s EV Adventures.
Sarah’s Facebook journal of the trip, which includes beautiful Australian landscapes and stories of some of the people she met along the way, quickly developed a following. Sarah also kept a detailed record of all her charging stops including charging speeds and prices. Below are her reflections on the trip. The Driven thinks that Sarah’s epic journey is a little piece of EV history and valuable contribution to the EV revolution in Australia.
Prior to January 2022, I, like many people, thought that EV driving was a bit of a foreign concept – my misconceptions were that it was all too hard, the vehicles too expensive and had insufficient range to be convenient. I knew nothing about charge stations, kilowatts or range and the idea of a car that you can just plug into your garage overnight was to be honest, just a little bit…strange!
Then I met my partner who drives a Tesla Model 3 (SR) and began driving his car and experiencing EV motoring first-hand. I was initially super-impressed with the performance of the car, there is a lot to be said for the immediacy of power underfoot, the smoothness of the ride without gear changes and the silence as you glide along, but still had reservations about the practicality of having an EV as a vehicle for non-urban travel.
My first trip experiencing EV capabilities outside the metro area was a trip to Albany, WA (420km from Perth) in March 2022, for the AEVA Electrikhana, where I was able to see a variety of different makes and models of EVs up close and chat with their owners, whose enthusiasm is clearly contagious!
We travelled back via Bremer Bay (504km to Perth) so we stopped to charge several times at both Telsa and non-Tesla-specific charge stations and I was able to experience the ease and low-cost of EV travel for myself.
My own vehicle at the time, a great, but thirsty V6 Toyota Kluger was clocking up the kms and consuming fuel at an alarming rate of knots, and when the petrol prices kept climbing, with 2 teenage sons, one driving independently and the other about to join him, I no longer needed to be carting around a large family wagon anymore, so started looking at what I could replace it with.
The Tesla was out of my price range, but rather fortuitously, BYD had just started their promotions in Australia with the BYD Atto 3. After a fair bit of research, calculations and reading and watching of reviews, I was excited to place my order on 25 July 2022.
Everyone has their own checklist of their needs and wants in a new vehicle purchase. For me, the Atto 3 met the following citeria:
I was replacing a car with options that make driving that bit more user-friendly and fun, like an electric sunroof, heated seats, GPS, keyless entry and electric tailgate, all of which I enjoyed using and wasn’t keen to lose.
The Atto 3 had all of these and for a very reasonable price. I calculated the difference in switchover costs based on purchase price and my current motoring costs at existing fuel prices and my average yearly kms. Add to that the Government’s zero emission rebate of $3,500 and the opportunity to charge most days using solar power and it started to seem like a very sensible option.
I picked up my car 2 weeks before Christmas, on December 10, from the Perth BYD experience centre, so just 4 weeks and 1 day before setting out on my road trip! Over Christmas week I drove down to Bremer Bay and back (1030km return), giving me a taste of how it would handle on country drives and some data about range usage under different road and weather conditions. I was very happy with this test journey and felt confident to go ahead and plan my Sydney adventure!
I loved its smooth handling and comfortable drive. The sound system is also great and the lack of engine vibration and jerking motion makes it a very comfortable car to drive on a physical level.
I do find the head rest/neck support area is a little lacking, which has been reported by others. I use an office-chair neck support cushion which helps a lot with this. I have also found the radiant heat through the sunroof, even with the sunshade across, has at times been uncomfortable.
I even took to wearing a hat INSIDE my car on some warmer days of my trip! Not sure if there needs to be a different layer of factory tint or an alternative fabric for the sunshade to alleviate this?
Other comments I have about the Atto 3 include that the charge State of Charge (SoC)% display on the front screen is very small, as is the set speed for the cruise control. The high beam light is quite light, too. It would be better for the current inaccurate range figure to be in a smaller font and at the bottom of the screen and the SoC% to be in the larger font, higher up.
I also think that for someone who is colour blind, the colour contrast on the screen with the coloured background would be very difficult to read.
Relatively minor details in a car that really is a pleasure to drive.
Good question! Some might say because I am a little bit mad ? I would say it’s because I like a challenge!
The reality is, there were several reasons. The first being, “the record”. Having followed the ‘big lap’ journey of the Tesla Model Y adventurers from Perth, Pete and Harald in August/September 2022, and following their journey, I started to get the idea that maybe, just maybe, I could be the first person to drive Perth to Sydney return in an Atto 3!
And if I didn’t get in quick enough for that record, maybe at least I could be the first woman to do so! ? I was also inspired by reading about Tiffany Overton’s recent journey solo around Australia in her non-Tesla EV. I figured it’s clearly possible, why not give it a go?
Having grown up in Perth and flown ‘over east’ several times, I have always had the itch to travel the Nullarbor by road, so this was too good an opportunity to pass up, given my son was singing in Sydney at some concerts in January.
I also have two teen sons and I think it’s good sometimes for them to see me as other than ‘mum’ and to know that they can plan and implement their dreams and goals. They were both very supportive and I hope it has inspired them to also stretch their comfort boundaries a little more as they get older and never to stop exploring.
Another reason is that I lost my Dad in August last year, and supporting him through his experience only served to remind me that our time on earth is short, it’s up to us to take opportunities as they arise and to appreciate the time we have while we can. My Dad always stood by the motto “better to have tried and failed, than never to have tried at all” and also “the same time will pass, whether you do anything with it or not, so you may as well do something with it”. Wise words to live by…
I received a lot of wise advice from people in the Tesla community who have travelled this route before. I attended a TOCWA social meet and asked many questions there, as well as jumping on to a Wednesday night ‘Ask Us Anything’ group, run by TOCWA, where I ran through my plans with some of the experienced EV drivers and gladly received their tips and feedback.
Special thanks must go to Harald Murphy, Rob Dean and Ant Day, as well as James Taylor, from TOCWA, all of whom provided invaluable advice as I was planning my journey.
Ant in particular, from Australian Electric Vehicle Association WA (AEVA WA), was really helpful in assisting me to test a variety of Tesla charging cables and configurations to see if they worked on an Atto 3 and Harald kindly came to my home to set up and teach me how to operate the in-boot DC converter prior to my trip.
All of these people also made themselves available to offer advice and tips during my travels whenever any questions or issues arose. Massive thanks!
One of the most significant discussions was to consider the use of a mobile DC converter, which would significantly increase my charging speed from a maximum of 7kW for an Atto 3 on AC to 21kW using DC, thus considerably decreasing my charging time.
Very luckily for me, the Tesla Owner’s Club of WA (TOCWA) has one which they kindly loaned me for my journey. Without it, there’s no way I would have been able to do it in the time I had available as my charging times would have been 12 hours plus for every 300 or so kilometers travelled, so I am incredibly grateful to have cut my charge times down to 2-2.5 hours each time at locations which had only AC charging options available.
The DC converter required a 32A 3-phase socket to provide 21kW, however sometimes only 20A circuit breakers were installed, meaning I could only get 14KW, increasing the charge time. Still a lot faster than the 2 or 3kW I would have been able to pull from a standard 10A or 15A wall plug!
Together with my partner, we spent a weekend with a spreadsheet, maps and Plugshare, looking at my charging options over to Sydney and back, seeing which chargers were available at each point in my range, which had evidence of faults and route-planning accordingly.
I would have stopped at that, but he cleverly added in features like elevation (hilly terrain will use more power) and was able to adjust for speed to improve range where it was needed. So when I set off, I had a fair idea of when I needed to slow to 95-100km/h and when I was fine to travel at 110km/h between charge locations.
We also tried to ensure that wherever I needed to charge and only have a slow 10 or 15A plug available (no 3-phase power), it would be night-time so that I didn’t waste valuable daylight sitting charging for any longer than necessary.
It ended up being 23 charging stops on the way over and 20 on the way back thanks to the great charging infrastructure across northern NSW. I was unable to go this route on the way east as the fast charger in Wilcannia was out of action, thankfully repaired by my return journey west.
I had a variety of different charging cables and plug adapters, from standard 10A wall plug, caravan park 15A, Type 2 to Type 2 cable, 15A and standard extension cords, and of course the DC converter in my boot, which used 32A 3-phase power at one end and had a type 2 charger at the other.
I also had a hand-held two-way radio for communicating with other vehicles, a 12V charger, a tyre compressor and a tubeless tyre repair kit – required on my final day home when I sustained a large puncture 11km outside my final charge stop in Southern Cross!
The overall highlight of the trip was to complete it without incident and to thoroughly enjoy it. Getting to the University of Sydney with only 15 minutes spare to find parking before my son’s Friday night concert performance was also something I will never forget! After 6 days travelling over 4,200kms, timing it that close and getting to my seat just as they started singing was a very special moment.
Another highlight was the support and encouragement from people back home and round the country (and world!) through my ‘Atto Gal’s EV Adventures’ Facebook page. It was so heartening to see that people were enjoying the photos and daily summaries I was posting as I travelled. I was alone on my journey, but definitely never felt lonely.
Challenges included some seriously wild weather between Esperance and Madura Roadhouse on Day 2, resulting in very wet roads and headwinds. The combination of these, plus the bow-waves from passing trucks made my range deplete much faster than predicted, leaving me questioning in the middle of the Nullarbor whether I would actually make it to my next charging location. No back up wall plugs out there!
It was pretty hairy for a while, with the thunder and lightning and no mobile signal! Unlike Tesla, the Atto 3 doesn’t have real-time trip data with remaining range display, the displayed range is estimated only, so it’s left to some maths and a whole lot of guesswork to determine if the charge is sufficient for the remaining distance.
I dropped my speed right back to 75km/hour to conserve range and as soon as I had mobile signal again was very relieved to speak with my partner back in Perth, who helped calculate what remaining SoC % I would need at 10km intervals to ensure I would make it (thank you, very grateful!).
This meant I could adjust my speed accordingly – travelling slower if I was using too much power and I could accelerate if I was over target. It wouldn’t be something I’d be keen to repeat in a hurry, but it did provide really valuable insights into how external variables affect the power consumption and gave me data for the rest of my trip.
The quiet smooth drive and lack of vibration and gear changes meant it was a lot less physically taxing than driving similar distances in an ICE vehicle. The need to stop every 2-3 hours was also vital in managing fatigue and being able to drive for longer distances as it allowed the opportunity for rest, sleep if needed, food and drink and a chance to get physical and move at each stop, making it all a lot more comfortable.
Meeting everyone who provide charge points at their businesses and properties along the way was another highlight. I think it made my journey really special to be able to meet and chat with new faces and it’s sad that with the rollout of fast chargers across Australia over the next few years, whilst convenience will improve, that human connection and ‘having a yarn’ with strangers will be lost.
It was also very special to meet up with my partner halfway through my return journey, in Poochera, SA, at the start of the west-bound Nullarbor. He had been on his own EV road trip adventure, Perth to Port Lincoln, SA to visit his almost 98 year old Grandpa, so journeying back together to Perth in convoy with a Tesla Model 3 and an Atto 3 made for some new great adventures together ? Exploring the Great Australian Bight was a standout.
The sunrise over Madura Pass was definitely one of my highlights of my journey. As well as every night’s sunset, which was always incredible and made each evening special.
The interactions with friendly truck drivers via two-way radio was unexpected and really valuable, to gain insight about road conditions, wildlife or to slipstream behind to conserve charge and have a bit of a chat. I have new-found respect for the distances these drivers travel to link our vast towns and cities and for the farm and mining communities along the way in our beautiful country.
Oh gosh, where to start?! The main comment I have is that WA and SA are lagging far behind in terms of charging infrastructure compared to NSW.
A prime example of this is that there are no non-Tesla fast chargers from Norseman in WA all the way through to Berri, in SA (going the southern route), with the exception of a privately owned bio-fil charger at Caiguna. This is a distance of 2050kms, which is crazy.
Going the northern route, it is Norseman to Broken Hill, 2080kms…
Of course, there are other charging options available, most roadhouses are offering 3-phase sockets and caravan parks have 15A sockets, but the increased time this adds to any EV journey is prohibitive.
It is exciting to see the plans for the WA State Government’s EV Action plan, with the Synergy/Horizon Power Charging networks and the RAC Electric Highway maps. These will change the rural EV travel landscape and can’t come soon enough, given the ever-increasing number of EVs travelling on our roads.
There are currently NO fast charge options in Port Augusta, a main East-West thoroughfare, with a Tesla destination charger at a private motel the only current option (which is able to be used by non Teslas as well). There is another similar charger at another motel nearby, but this was broken.
This can provide a maximum of 7kW, but in reality only likely to deliver around 3kW, making for an exceptionally slow charge in a place that should be a transit point for travellers heading across the country.
The RAA have over $12 million of Government money to install chargers across SA, but their priority is currently 7kW chargers around Adelaide, which is no help to regional travellers at all and in fact, makes little sense, when EV drivers in a city environment are unlikely to do the daily kilometers to need frequent local charging as most will charge from home or plan routes accordingly around fast chargers.
One very easy, quick and cost-effective solution for the WA and SA state Governments to consider, would be to invest in 22KW portable DC chargers on existing 32A 3 phase power points at existing charging stops at Penong and Poochera, Kimba, Port Augusta and Nullarbor Roadhouse.
These installations could be up and running within weeks at an equipment cost of around $10,000 per site. A strategy such as this would demonstrate that the states really are serious about encouraging EV uptake and in future they would act as a suitable back-up for when the future commercially installed fast charging infrastructure fails or gets too busy at peak periods.
*These places are currently charging a flat fee for their EV charging, so the actual power consumption costs of the car would be less, however paying for the privilege of having these sites available to EVs across an area of the country unsupported by other charging infrastructure, so very grateful to these businesses and individuals who offer this service and happy to pay the fee ?
You can check out Atto Gal’s entire trip on her facebook blog
Sarah White, AKA “Atto Gal” is a BYD Atto 3 owner and is the first to cross Australia from coast to coast (not once but twice!) in a BYD Atto 3.
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