A Road Trip With My First Ev The Good Bad Ugly

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The future is electric, but my journey showed the country needs more ‘Nur Hotels’ and less black spots, like the one at Bukit Tinggi.
My inaugural journey in a recently acquired EV, a Proton eMas7, was a 480-kilometre adventure from Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Terengganu. It was a test drive that perfectly encapsulated the promising yet challenging reality of early EV adoption in Malaysia.
It was a trip defined by three distinct phases: the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.
Good: human kindness, hidden gems
The ‘good’ was heartwarmingly positive. A hiccup with a charging app at the Temerloh rest stop forced us to divert into the town itself. This detour led us to the Nur Hotel, a shining example of community-driven EV support.
The owner of the hotel had installed a public charging point right in front of its glass-walled lobby, at a designated parking bay approved by a modern town council, with seamless payment via Touch ‘n Go e-wallet.
But it was more than just a charger. The hotel had thoughtfully transformed its lobby into a welcoming pitstop. With dining tables, chairs and a common pantry, it was a haven for EV owners facing the inevitable waiting period. For us, that was about 60 minutes long.
We were welcome to have snacks, make hot drinks, and relax. A nearby massage spa offered further respite. This unexpected discovery, fueled by local initiative and one of the lowest rates we’ve seen (around RM1.00/kWh), turned a potential frustration into a highlight, revealing the kindness and entrepreneurial spirit found off the beaten path.
Bad: the agony of range anxiety
The ‘bad’ was that gut-wrenching pang of range anxiety on the return leg. Our calculations suggested we’d reach the Shell Recharge station at the Perasing rest stop with 80km to spare. However, some exuberant driving had drained our battery more than anticipated, putting our usage on arrival precariously in the red zone.
This anxiety was violently exacerbated by incompetent highway signage. Three consecutive exit signboards before Perasing had been mysteriously blanketed with black cloth.
Each shrouded sign amplified our fear that the crucial fourth exit would also be closed off, which would have left us stranded on the highway, with too little charge to take us 40km to the next charger in Kuantan.
It was a terrifying lesson in how poor infrastructure management can magnify the perceived limitations of an EV.
The Ugly: a charging point in the shadows
Finally, the ‘ugly’ was a charging point that felt like an afterthought, and a dangerous one at that.
The charger at Bukit Tinggi was open to the sky, with the entire area plunging into pitch darkness at night. The local council had erected a tall, metal signboard positioned directly in the path of an EV reversing out of the bay. In poor visibility, hitting it would be a real possibility.
This location was the antithesis of Temerloh: no shelter, no restroom, an uneven surface, and absolutely no place to wait safely. It wasn’t just inconvenient; it felt hazardous. This EV charging point isn’t just unfriendly; it’s an accident waiting to happen.
My 480km journey was a microcosm of the EV experience — a brilliant car capable of incredible efficiency, whose potential was unlocked by heartwarming human kindness but hampered by infrastructural growing pains.
The future is electric, but our journey showed it needs more Nur Hotels and far fewer Bukit Tinggi black spots.
In my next column I will address how Malaysia can turn the EV nightmare into a success. - FMT
Yamin Vong is on Facebook yamin.com.my.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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