Vita Vera with the electric car: back to the past, in Umbria in Miataland with the MX-5

New episode of real life with the electric car, the column that tells you about real journeys aboard electric cars, with all the pros and the cons of the case. In the last episode we had faced? A trip to Florence, halfway through? between work and pleasure. This time we go further? in there, in the heart of Italy and in the heart of the Italian passion for the Mazda MX-5 of every generation, from the NA to the pi? recent ND.?

Vita Vera with the electric car? a column in which I tell, without filters, the life experience of those who have chosen to do anything only with an electric car, in particular a Tesla Model 3 Long Range. During the episodes, the goal? describe the situation of public and private infrastructure in the various hotels, businesses and cities? touch while on the move. To find out how I collected the data, click here.?

Well yes, having an electric car doesn't? necessarily synonymous with hatred of gasoline cars. Mazda MX-5 in particular? always been one of those that me? entered the heart and not? if it? never gone, waiting to take one home, who knows? …?

If you want to know why? ? easy to fall in love with, here are four episodes of my adventures with the Miata:

Mazda love through MX-5 generations. In 1700 at the Italian meeting 105

Auto 26 May

Mazda MX-5: passion clinging to the chasm of electrification and technology 338

Auto Nov 14

Mazda 14 Aug

Mazda MX-5: review and road test 1

Mazda 27 Nov

Miataland, as the name implies,? the place where Andrea Mancini created the perfect playground for lovers of this spider . Andrea Mancini? he is a lucky man and he does not lack passion: in the heart of Umbria has he collected his collection of unique pieces , models that come from all over the world and are a source of pride for Italy? and an important? historical memory .

THE PATH Not arriving from the North? easy, isn't it? not even from the deep South if? because of this. Umbria requires a lot of hours of driving, so much so that Google Maps calculates a time ranging from 4 hours and 20 in the case more? rosy at almost 6 hours of the case pi? extreme, again according to historical data and estimates.

Anyway, let's ignore the numbers and get to the point: starting at 8:45 am on Saturday 11 June, Google estimates that I would have arrived at 14:35 . And if Google estimates it, it means that, on average, people who leave at that time take a similar amount of time, do not underestimate the power of “big data” and do not start making phenomena by saying that it takes you 3? Hours net in reverse and blindfolded …?

The context? that of a very hot summer, with maximum temperatures reaching 33? and air conditioning forced to work overtime.?

arrival at your destination half an hour earlier than the Maps forecasts (which concern thermal cars, certainly not electric ones). On one side ? is it true that the electric car forced me to stop, otherwise I would not have arrived at my destination, we all agree.?

The message I am trying to convey, however?, ?? that with the electric car you can? go “fast” (understood as not at maximum 100 per hour in the first lane behind the trucks), keep an average pi? high than that of most people and get there before them. The trick, in fact,? a constant media that rewards more? compared to those who do the shots in the third lane and then are punctually overtaken by us who have kept a regular pace . The advice applies to all cars , but on EVs, by applying this driving style, you are able to compensate for the disadvantage of compulsory parking that the electric forces you to. For information, here are the averages before and after the stop at the Supercharger:

• Monza-Florence: average of 112 km/h
• Florence-Miataland: average of 103 km/h

Starting with 100%, arriving at the Supercharger with 12%, just 29 minutes are enough to recharge and continue the journey. The State of Charge in Miataland? by 12%, but I must necessarily find a hold …

THE UNEXPECTED

Miataland had already? confirmed the possibility? charging, unfortunately, for ?, the wallbox does not? still operational and I realize that there are “works in progress” regarding the energy efficiency of the place. Andrea has already? installed a photovoltaic system and the wallbox? present in a corner where an important heat pump is still packed, a sign that the project has yet to be completed. ?

Part of the photovoltaic by Miataland

Not bad, I connect with the slow recharge to a Schuko socket that does not seem to want to supply me a lot of current, or rather it does it in a very ballerina way. During the afternoon, while visiting the surroundings aboard an MX-5 NA , I switch from 12 to 22%, just enough to move around, go to dinner and return to Miataland.?

After the experience on board the first generation of MX-5 and returned the car , I take my car and I head to Montefalco for dinner. Is the situation here? acceptable , there are at least a couple a few hundred meters from the center in one of the external car parks.

< img src = "/wp-content/uploads/587e84c6652df9f1ad99a5fd48fdcadd.jpg" /> By comparing the app with the data collected by my telematics system, you realize how much the column delivers/declares and when it is lost/rounded up in the process

Is it a village of less than 6,000 inhabitants perched on a hill and the historic center? inaccessible to cars: electric or not, would I still have to park? outside the walls , and the big “parking lot”? one of those with the charging station.?

While King Tart? offers me his dishes all based on truffles, Jarvis makes a feast of electrons exactly as it should happen in an ideal world: recharging stations near activities? and shops to be able to recover energy while the car? parked and we are intent on doing something else. In about two hours of dinner I go from 15% to 42% (the costs are all indicated in the table above).?

I return to Miataland and I leave the car again in slow recharging to a Schuko that, in the night, loads at an average more? low of the day: only? 0.6 kW. The next morning he remains in charge while I and two other couples of passionate guests of the structure are entertained by Mancini who shows us and tells us about his collection of MX-5 .?

MIATALAND

I'd spend hours listening to the anecdotes that hide behind the different models: each has a story and Andrea remembers all the details. The negotiation for the purchase, the origin, the characteristics of the different versions and engines. There are also a couple of M2s , really rare pieces.?

M2 was Mazda's luxury division , founded in 1991 and similar, like concept, as done by Nissan with? Infiniti, or by Toyota with Lexus, only with much more volumes? In short, a premium brand that flanked the traditional range by creating models derived from production ones that would hardly have left national borders.

The first was M2-1001 Eunos Roadster from 1991 , limited edition in only 300 units . Eunos? the name with which? known the MX-5 at home and this special version integrated a real racing package, with new suspensions, roll bars, aerodynamic mirrors, enhanced engine, lighter components. 130 hp at 6,500 rpm .?

Get it out of Japan? It was a feat, at the time Mancini first had to import it into the UK and then guide it to Italy, crossing all of Europe.?

Not? the only story and the advice, for all fans,? to give or treat yourself to a visit to the collection with a stay in Miataland. Are there a few rooms , all with MX-5 theme? with particular accessories inside them, and in the surroundings you can visit characteristic villages or plan excursions if you decide to spend a few more days in the area? of the classic weekend. In addition to Montefalco , the other stop of my weekend? was that of Monte Castello di Vibio , a very characteristic hamlet where the Teatro della Concordia is located, the most? small in the world, “miniature” reconstruction of the eighteenth-century Italian theater in Goldonian style. The inauguration dates back to 1808 and seats 99.?

THE RETURN Repair Miataland in the late morning with 49% battery . Could things have been different if the wallbox were already? been operational, but will it be? shortly and in any case I had no particular limitations in moving this weekend. Clear, however, that will you touch me? make an extra stop at the Supercharger, which since the last time has undergone a significant increase in prices like everything in this period of crazy and runaway inflation ( 0.48?/KWh one, 0.52?/KWh the other).

In the photo the Supercharger of Arezzo, subject to a large expansion in the number of stalls and charging columns fast.

There will be two stops forced to return: the first stop? in Arezzo, 25 minutes of charging that fall just at the right time to have a very quick lunch and leave again (20% – 76%). The second ? also of 25 minutes, but I reload in Modena and with an average pi? low from 22% to 69%.