Reviewed by
Tom Barnard
-
7 Oct 2024
Pod Point chargers have always been popular, mainly because they were offered as the ‘offical’ and often free option with many electric cars such as the first Nissan Leafs.
The latest model from PodPoint brings those solid and reliable early units up to date with many of the features buyers will expect these days, such as solar compatibility and an app (connected by Wi-Fi) to control items such as timed charging. It’s also smaller and a little more modern looking, although its not the most exciting or compact of chargers, resembling a hand drier from public loos.
The most interesting feature of the Solo 3 is the app’s ability to keep an eye on all your charging from Pod Point chargers, including those away from home in public or office spaces. That will mean you can keep an eye on your total charging costs and efficiency.
But that’s pretty much where the innovation ends. The Solo 3 is not compatible with the intelligent tariffs from Octopus or OVO, although there is an ‘exclusive’ tariff from EDF which offers 8.5p charging overnight.
Unusually, Pod Point also offers a model which charges at 3.6kW – this is the version which costs £849, with a socket. Adding a tethered cable costs £50. But even if you only have a car which charges at 3.6kW such as an early Nissan Leaf or a PHEV, it makes sense to futureproof with the 7kW, which is a surprising amount more, at £1099 installed for the ‘Universal’ version.
If you have an older PodPoint charger – as many Nissan Leaf owners will have – then you can upgrade from around £599.
Reviewed by
Tom Barnard
The Solo 3 is the Toyota Corolla of the charger world. It’s dull, but reliable and will get the job done with no frills. It may appeal to drivers who want to upgrade from an old Pod Point unit or regularly use the company’s public chargers and want to link usage information on the same app. But otherwise there are rival units which do things better and cost less.
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