bbulkow
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Brian
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- Aug 30, 2022
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- menlo park, california
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- #1
TL;DR - try using ABRP on the console using Android Auto! It integrates with battery level internally, and might be a better choice for finding chargers on the fly than *any other system*. [ Update: although, subscription of $5/month required ]
Long Form
There are a large number of recommendations for ABRP as a route planner (it's in the name!), but for the longest time it wasn't a great companion to use as your trip nav on the center console under android auto. Traffic and directions aren't as good as google, and for most people, Android Auto "means" google maps. Most importantly, you had to get a bluetooth dongle to get the most excellent real-time updates to your route.
ABRP recently (weeks? a month?) did a full update to support Android Auto more completely, and IT'S GREAT. Or at least pretty good. Or at least worth a try?
You no longer need a dongle to get real-time battery information (assuming you've got all the software bits). Battery percent just shows up, and fast.
ABRP has real time connections to Tesla, so you can easily see which Tesla Superchargers that we can access have stalls available. Unlike Google Maps.
In the overview, without searching, small charging stations are small, and rapid are large. Ones with real-time information and stalls available are Green. In Google, it's hard to tell fast chargers from slow in the overview, mostly, you have to search.
There's a different icon - again in the overview - for every charging network. Google uses a word to describe the charging network. Google does display the number of stalls and free stalls in the overview, which ABRP does not.
If you want to change your route parameters mid-drive, like being more or less conservative about the charge percentage on arrival, just change it from the console, and your route will be recalcuated. Google gives no choice about these parameters at all.
It *may* precondition when you route to a charger. I assume it does, since they've integrated with the other battery APIs, but I haven't tested. This would be on par with Google Maps if true.
(Obviously, there's a necessary version of car software, and android auto, that supports all this. If you're seeing battery info in google maps, you'll see it in ABRP)
It's pretty great!
After that rave ---- here are the (some) downsides....
[update] The version with live update, and on the console, costs $50/year $5/month.
The interface is CLUTTERED. The number of charging stations, and how they display all the L2 chargers, leads to a mess of a screen. Need to figure out how to remove the L2's and networks I don't like.
The routing and traffic information of course isn't as good as Google Maps.
ABRP loses the destination every time you flip back to GM (GM doesn't when flipping to ABRP). This makes it harder to use each for what it's good for. However, your destination will probably be under recent searches, so it's only two clicks away.
It doesn't seem to have live stall information for EA (but google seems to have lost that feature too?)
It seems to have point-of-interest that's very out of date - it alerts me about a traffic camera near my house that was taken out years ago.
It doesn't have food search. It will show "amenities" near a charger, but not food along route.
[Update]I believe it still shows Rivian chargers, which we can't use, as available to us (like PlugShare). This is infuriating, and a likely result of ABRP being owned / funded by Rivian, but still, GUYS, don't route to a network which I literally can't plug into. It has rivian charger status correct.
I don't know if these features require "PRO". I signed up for PRO a while ago, and it's still active.
Compared to Ford Nav ....
ABRP has all the stations. ABRP has "along route search". ABRP shows chargers on the main nav screen without having to search. ABRP probably has better routing and directions generally, better charger planning, and traffic (idk if traffic requires "pro" in ABRP, you have to buy connected nav in ford).
"along route" charger search, and all the stations (eg all the tesla), is a critical feature ~ so Ford Nav is a non-starter for me.
Long Form
There are a large number of recommendations for ABRP as a route planner (it's in the name!), but for the longest time it wasn't a great companion to use as your trip nav on the center console under android auto. Traffic and directions aren't as good as google, and for most people, Android Auto "means" google maps. Most importantly, you had to get a bluetooth dongle to get the most excellent real-time updates to your route.
ABRP recently (weeks? a month?) did a full update to support Android Auto more completely, and IT'S GREAT. Or at least pretty good. Or at least worth a try?
You no longer need a dongle to get real-time battery information (assuming you've got all the software bits). Battery percent just shows up, and fast.
ABRP has real time connections to Tesla, so you can easily see which Tesla Superchargers that we can access have stalls available. Unlike Google Maps.
In the overview, without searching, small charging stations are small, and rapid are large. Ones with real-time information and stalls available are Green. In Google, it's hard to tell fast chargers from slow in the overview, mostly, you have to search.
There's a different icon - again in the overview - for every charging network. Google uses a word to describe the charging network. Google does display the number of stalls and free stalls in the overview, which ABRP does not.
If you want to change your route parameters mid-drive, like being more or less conservative about the charge percentage on arrival, just change it from the console, and your route will be recalcuated. Google gives no choice about these parameters at all.
It *may* precondition when you route to a charger. I assume it does, since they've integrated with the other battery APIs, but I haven't tested. This would be on par with Google Maps if true.
(Obviously, there's a necessary version of car software, and android auto, that supports all this. If you're seeing battery info in google maps, you'll see it in ABRP)
It's pretty great!
After that rave ---- here are the (some) downsides....
[update] The version with live update, and on the console, costs $50/year $5/month.
The interface is CLUTTERED. The number of charging stations, and how they display all the L2 chargers, leads to a mess of a screen. Need to figure out how to remove the L2's and networks I don't like.
The routing and traffic information of course isn't as good as Google Maps.
ABRP loses the destination every time you flip back to GM (GM doesn't when flipping to ABRP). This makes it harder to use each for what it's good for. However, your destination will probably be under recent searches, so it's only two clicks away.
It doesn't seem to have live stall information for EA (but google seems to have lost that feature too?)
It seems to have point-of-interest that's very out of date - it alerts me about a traffic camera near my house that was taken out years ago.
It doesn't have food search. It will show "amenities" near a charger, but not food along route.
[Update]
I don't know if these features require "PRO". I signed up for PRO a while ago, and it's still active.
Compared to Ford Nav ....
ABRP has all the stations. ABRP has "along route search". ABRP shows chargers on the main nav screen without having to search. ABRP probably has better routing and directions generally, better charger planning, and traffic (idk if traffic requires "pro" in ABRP, you have to buy connected nav in ford).
"along route" charger search, and all the stations (eg all the tesla), is a critical feature ~ so Ford Nav is a non-starter for me.
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