Maple Hill Auto Group

 

Introduction

Welcome to my Charging Site reviews.  One of the reasons I decided to start a blog was to share information about Electric Car Charging locations.

 

Business/Location Name	Maple Hill Auto Group
Address	5622 M-43, Kalamazoo, MI 49009
Network	ChargePoint
Station Details	2 linked 62.5kW Stations or 125 from one station
Cost	$0.25/min

Middle of April, I decided it was time to take a charging station road trip again, and this time a buddy agreed to join me.  I wanted to head west from my home and cover the I-94 corridor of charging stations. We started the morning by loading up with a delicious breakfast at my wife and I’s favorite weekend place and started out with 88% battery.  The first stop of the trip would be the farthest west, in Kalamazoo, MI.  The Maple Hill Auto Group charging site is just off US-131, a quick couple of miles north of I-94.  The chargers are right out in front of the multi-brand car dealership.  This stop is about 150 miles from both downtown Detroit and the same 150 miles from downtown Chicago.  I’ll use this stop again if I ever need a “halfway point” to charge.

Chargers View from the dealership side:

Chargers View from the road:

 

Arrival Charge Level:

Accessibility

This station is at the entrance to the dealership complex.  Located on the north side of the road, it’s very close to highway exit ramps.  The two ChargePoint chargers didn’t stand out but are not really hidden by anything either.  While these spots are well-marked, with them being directly in front of the dealerships, there’s a higher likelihood than most locations I’ve visited thus far, that cars not using the chargers will park in these spots.  Since the parking is nose in, there is no pull-through parking for anyone pulling a trailer.

Amenities

There’s a Marathon gas station located next to the dealership complex.  For nearby food, your options include: Long John Silvers, Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Burger King, Starbucks and a few others.  Retail shopping nearby includes: Goodwill, Dunhams, Target and Hobby Lobby (don’t tell my wife).

Concentration

Two chargers is not enough for this site.  On a main route like I-94, and at a convenient halfway point between 2 major cities, there should be more chargers.  There are definitely opportunities for additional charging sites to be opened in this area. Any nearby exit directly off I-94 could offer additional service.

Location

This is a well-spaced charging stop.  The 150 miles from downtown Detroit means that at peak travel times, this site would be about 2.5 hours into a trip to or from Chicago.  The need to leave the major I-94 corridor to reach this site is a bit of a disappointment though.  The location along US-131 supports the secondary north/south route between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.

Speed

These ChargePoint shared power chargers are a decent solution for now but will quickly become taxed by the next round of electric vehicles.  With vehicles like the ID.4 and Mach-E charging 100kW+ by themselves, combined 125kW stations like this will be strained by just one of these cars.  If two people try to charge their cars at the same time, the speed to charge will be slow, and the site score reflects this.  Even with the long drive to get to the chargers, Elektra’s battery remained below the temperature required for peak charging.  The graph shows the jump to the fastest charging curve at the end, as the battery warmed up from the charging process.  The battery heater did not run to warm the battery for optimum charging. 

Summary

 

What I paid for this stop:

Total Cost: $5.20

Total kWh: 18.76

Time: 21 minutes

Average Charge Speed: 53.6 kW (Calculated)

Cost per kWh: $0.277 (Calculated)

 

Total Score (Max 44)	Score Percentage	Accessibility Total	Amenities Total	Concentration	Location	Speed
25	56.8	5	7	6	4	3