When I bring an EV or plug-in hybrid home, I usually charge it with the included mobile charger. I’m still shopping for a Level 2 charger for the garage (and an electrician to install the 240-volt NEMA outlet), but even once I’ve got one installed, I’ll still likely make occasional use of these mobile chargers for testing purposes, and because my Beetle project takes up a good chunk of my garage space. I usually run the mobile charging cable under my garage door to an outlet in there, or to the plug on my porch. There’s a slight problem I run into with some cars, though, as the 15-amp breaker that governs my porch and garage outlets can be finicky. Many times, plugging into that circuit trips the breaker.
Thankfully, Autoblog‘s long-term 2022 BMW 330e xDrive has a menu in the infotainment system that allows you to adjust the charging amperage. You can dial in anything between 6 and 16 amps. I limited it to 12 for my purposes to balance charging speed with an uninterrupted power supply from my outlets. This means I don’t have to run an extension cord to a plug on a different, more stable circuit (usually the one just inside the house near the door to the garage).
It’s not unusual, but not a given, for EVs or PHEVs to offer different charging amperage settings, but I like that I can dial it in precisely within that range. It’s certainly better than just having two or three predetermined settings … or worse, none at all (looking at you Nissan Leaf and Ford Mustang Mach-E).
Now if I could just remember to close the damn charging port cover when I unplug it.
