We tried the UK’s 10 most popular EV fast chargers - which is best?

Polat was charging his Kia Niro and told me the site could get busier and not just with people charging their cars. "Because it's a shopping centre, at peak times people just park in the charging bays if the car parks are full," he said. On the upside, he told me that with his £9.99 monthly Tesla subscription, he paid only 39p/kWh. 

Osprey

Test location: Halfway House restaurant, Brentwood, Essex

Charging speed: 150kW

Cost: 82p/kWh

We like: Attractive canopies, easy to use 

We don't like: The signage could be clearer

Just off the busy A127 London-Southend road, this charging station is indicated only by a small sign that is easy to miss. More obvious are the notices warning visitors of a £100 fine if they break the parking rules, which include logging your EV with reception within 15 minutes.

The charging station was spacious and attractive, with sturdy wooden canopies offering users decent shelter. An information board told us how to charge: "Choose charger, tap card, plug in." My EV9 drew power at around 79kW. 

There were six rapid chargers but only two other users, both charging vans. "It's a nice, quiet spot," one said. "I come here a lot and there have only been two occasions when the chargers were down." In the Halfway House itself, the toilets were clean, and a latte was £1 cheaper than in the Double Tree (see Ionity, overleaf).

Shell Recharge

Test location: Southam, Warwickshire 

Charging speed: 150kW Cost 89p/kWh 

We like: Location, facilities 

We don't like: Confusing to use

At this charging station, not far from the M40 and located in the countryside, I was struck by just how right Keith had been at the Instavolt site.

This would have been a lovely place to relax with a meal deal from the forecourt shop, except that two of the eight chargers I tried wouldn't recognise my cards. Was it me? I couldn't work out which buttons to press on the charger and in which order, so I was left wondering if the cards were actually okay. I tried resetting them again but the shop had just gone offline and couldn't do transactions. I settled for a toilet assessment (clean) and a general site survey (smart and tidy).

The next day I tried a different Shell Recharge, at Folly Hill, Farnham, Surrey. It couldn't have gone better. The 180kW charger (there were two) was much easier to use (plug, tap, charge) and had a clear 'Stop' button (not all chargers do). The tariff was 79p/kWh.

Fastned

Test location: Redbridge Park and Ride, Oxford, Oxfordshire

Charging speed: 300kW 

Cost: 74p/kWh 

We like: Powerful, easy-to-use chargers

We don’t like: Parking rules, grubby facilities

As the UK's first park and ride, this place knows how to charge and how to fine. A small sign beside each charger tells users to register their car for a free ticket. What it doesn't say is that you have 10 minutes to do so or face a £100 penalty. Eleven minutes in and I was still queuing at the pay machine...

It took the shine off an otherwise seamless charging experience plug in, choose a connector on the screen, select payment method, tap and wait as your 300kW charger (one of 10) gets to work. Behind us was what looked like the UK's first public lavatory. However, the Fastned site itself was clean and tidy, with users protected by solar canopies. 

The driver of a Volkswagen ID 5 was happy. "I never queue and the chargers are quick," she said. She had just paid £54 for a charge but could have saved 30% by subscribing. "I can't be bothered," she said.

BP Pulse

Test location: NEC Gigahub, Birmingham, West Midlands

Charging speed: 300kW Cost 89p/kWh

We like: Powerful, easy-to-use chargers 

We don't like: Parking rules, grubby facilities

This charging hub is well signed from the M42. That said, on the approach I nearly entered the long-stay car park next door, with its slow chargers.

Once in the hub, notices warning drivers they would be fined for parking on the red routes reminded me that the threat of punishment is never far away.At least the chargers (30kW, 150kW and 7kW) were reasonably easy to use and backed up by instructions: press Start, choose charger and then what? I decided to plug in and then tap. It worked but some chargers require you to tap first and then plug in. 

A fellow user was unfazed. "Chargers can be such a faff," he said, "but with these, the order you have to do things in seems logical." There was good weather protection, although, with it being close to going home time, most of the bays were taken. The nearby Starbucks was doing good business and the toilets were cleanish.

Gridserve

Test location: Electric Forecourt, Braintree, Essex 

Charging speed: 300kW 

Cost: 85p/kWh 

We like: Easy to use, good facilities

We don't like: It would be helpful if the totem pole displayed tariffs

No trouble finding this charging station thanks to a large totem pole on the roadside advertising 10p off a kWh with the Gridserve app.

The forecourt is home to 36 charging bays sheltered by two huge solar canopies and each bay has enough room to park side-on, handy whether your car's charge port is at the back or the front. There are also 12 unsheltered Tesla Superchargers to the side.

Plug and tap and the EV9 was soon drawing 85kW. The refundable pre-authorisation charge was £10 compared with an average of £40. Music was piped around the forecourt and in the main building, with its shops and bookable meeting rooms. "I've been coming here for four years and never had to queue," said one user. The following day, I called into Gridserve's M4 Reading services location. It was harder to find but the chargers (uncovered) dispensed up to 350kW and the EV9 was soon gulping 93kW for the same 85p/kWh. 

Ionity

Test location: Double Tree Hilton, Dartford, Kent 

Charging speed: 400kW 

Cost: 79p/kWh 

We like: Tidy and efficient 

We don't like: Tricky to find, parking notices

There were no signs directing me to this charging station but there were plenty warning me of a £100 fine if I broke the parking rules. Reception assured me the first two parking hours were free and I didn't have to log the EV9's registration.

The charging area was clean and tidy, there was lots of room to manoeuvre my big Kia (there were only two other cars present on the 24-charger site) and the chargers and the contactless payment system worked smoothly. At 19% full, my EV9 was drawing 129kW and still doing so at 73%. 

"The location is very good and it's always very quiet," said one driver. "With a subscription, I pay just 49p/kWh." There was no shelter while I hooked up but, fortunately, the weather was kind. Inside the hotel, the toilets were spotless but, at £4.25, I skipped the latte in the bar.

MFG

Test location: Ilford, Greater London

Charging speed: 150kW 

Cost: 79p/kWh

We like: Unpretentious, good customer service 

We don't like: Not easy to use at first

The dreaded parking notices were present at this station but this time to deter non-EV drivers. 

Unlike the other sites I visited for this survey, it is by no means a major location but it is close to the busy A12 and M11. It is a classic MFG site, with just enough manoeuvring space, good weather protection and a well-stocked forecourt shop. There were four 150kW CCS chargers. However, I had to call MFG to understand how to operate a charger, which wasn't obvious (using buttons, you have to select your connector, tap, then press continue).

Plugged in, my Kia drew power at around 75kWh. Later the same day, I called in at a 300kW MFG station at a Morrisons in Fleet, Hampshire, with more space and where, at 60% full, the EV9 drew an impressive 150kW, still for 79p/kWh. This time I knew which buttons to press.

Applegreen

Test location: Welcome Break, M40, Warwickshire 

Charging speed: 180kW 

Cost: 79p/kWh 

We like: Low refundable pre-authorisation charge, reasonably easy to use 

We don't like: Charging time restriction

The traditional parking notice had a fresh twist here: "£100 fine if not charging in bay for longer than 10 minutes." I hoped the allowance included operating the charger, which was one of 16.

Fortunately, it was a straight plug and tap. Drawing 133kW, the Kia's battery went from 79% to 92% in just nine minutes. But how to stop: tap my card? It wasn't recognised. Customer services said it happened occasionally, so just unplug. The session cost £12 a reasonable sum for 10 minutes' parking, surely? The refundable pre-authorisation charge was only £1.

There were no canopies offering shelter but, as an alternative to waiting in the car, there was a Starbucks. Directions to the site were good off the motorway but soon became confusing. This was first-time EV driver Philip Major's second experience of charging. "Twice now, I've had to second guess which button to press to charge. The machines don't tell you!" he wailed.