How to Use ABRP (A Better Route Planner) for Your First Electric Car Road Trip

How Do You Select Your Car Model in ABRP?

Open ABRP and choose your exact car model from the list. This is the most important step because everything ABRP calculates depends on your car's specific battery size and consumption curve. ABRP has data for hundreds of electric vehicles, from the most popular models to niche ones.

When you select your car, ABRP loads that model's real-world energy consumption data. This is not just the manufacturer's claimed range. ABRP uses crowd-sourced consumption data from real drivers, which means the estimates account for things like aerodynamics, tire rolling resistance, and HVAC usage that the official numbers often ignore.

If your car supports an API connection (Tesla, some Volkswagen Group vehicles, and others) or you have an OBD-II dongle, you can connect your car directly to ABRP. This sends live battery state-of-charge data to the app, making the route plan even more accurate as you drive.

How Do You Enter Your Starting Point and Destination?

Type your starting location and destination, then set your current battery percentage. ABRP uses your current charge level as the starting point for all calculations. If you are leaving home with 80% charge, tell it 80%. If you are starting at 100%, enter that instead.

Once you enter both locations, ABRP immediately calculates whether you can make the trip on a single charge or need to stop. For longer trips, it shows you the optimal charging stops along the route, factoring in charger speed, location, and how long each stop will take.

How Do You Review Charging Stops and Route Alternatives?

ABRP 7.0 shows up to 9 route alternatives with smart labels so you can pick the best one for your situation. One route might be labeled "fastest" while another says "fewest stops." A third might take a slightly longer path but use chargers from a network you prefer.

For each route, ABRP displays charger insights including power ratings and network badges. You can see at a glance whether a stop has a 50 kW charger (slower, longer stop) or a 350 kW charger (fast, shorter stop). The total trip time includes both driving time and estimated charging time, so you get a realistic picture of how long the journey will actually take.

ABRP also factors in elevation changes along each route. A mountain pass might drain your battery significantly more than a flat highway route, even if the distance is shorter. This is one of the features that makes ABRP more accurate than generic navigation apps for electric cars.

How Do You Customize Your ABRP Settings?

Set your preferred charging networks, minimum arrival charge, departure charge, and reference speed to match how you actually drive. These settings give you control over the plan ABRP creates.

• → Preferred networks. If you have accounts with specific charging networks, tell ABRP to prioritize those. It will route you to chargers you can actually use without downloading new apps on the spot.
• → Minimum arrival charge. This is how much battery you want left when you reach a charger (or your destination). Setting this to 10-15% gives you a safety buffer without wasting time overcharging.
• → Departure charge. This tells ABRP how full to charge at each stop before continuing. Lower departure charge means shorter charging stops but more stops overall. Higher means fewer stops but longer waits.
• → Reference speed. If you drive faster or slower than the speed limit, adjust this. Driving 10% over the speed limit can reduce your range by 15-20%, and ABRP accounts for that.

ABRP 7.0 also includes an amenity search feature, so you can find chargers near restaurants, rest stops, or other services. This is useful for making charging stops part of a meal break rather than pure waiting time.

How Does ABRP Driving Mode Work as a Live Trip Tracker?

Driving mode turns ABRP from a planning tool into a live trip tracker that updates your plan as you drive. Once you start your trip, ABRP monitors your actual energy consumption and adjusts the plan in real time. If you are using less energy than expected (maybe the wind is at your back), it might suggest skipping a charging stop. If you are using more (headwind, cold weather, steep terrain), it will add a stop or extend a charging session.

ABRP supports CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can see the plan on your car's screen without picking up your phone. The display shows your current charge level, estimated arrival charge at the next stop, and how the plan is tracking against the original estimate.

How Do You Adjust Your Plan When Conditions Change?

ABRP recalculates automatically, but you can also make manual changes at any time. If a charger is out of service when you arrive, you can skip that stop and ABRP will find the next available option. If you decide to take a detour for lunch, add the stop and ABRP adjusts the rest of the route.

This flexibility is what makes ABRP particularly useful for first-time road trippers. Plans rarely survive contact with reality. A charger might be occupied, a road might be closed, or you might simply want to stop earlier than planned. ABRP handles all of this without requiring you to start over from scratch.

What Is the Difference Between ABRP and PlugShare?

ABRP tells you when and how long to charge. PlugShare tells you where chargers are and whether they work. They solve different problems, and many experienced EV drivers use both together.

A practical workflow: plan your route in ABRP, then check the suggested charging stops on PlugShare to see if other drivers report problems at those stations. If a station has recent negative reviews, you can adjust your ABRP plan to use a different charger before you are on the road.

Pro Tips for Your First ABRP Road Trip

These tips come from real EV road trip experience and help you avoid the most common first-timer mistakes.

• → Set arrival SoC to 10-15%. Do not plan to arrive at a charger with 2% battery. Leave a buffer for detours, charger availability issues, or inaccurate consumption estimates.
• → Add 20-30% extra buffer in winter. Cold weather reduces your range significantly. If ABRP says you will arrive with 15% in summer, that same trip in winter might leave you with 5% or less. Adjust your plans accordingly.
• → Connect live data if possible. An OBD-II dongle or car API connection sends real battery data to ABRP, making predictions much more accurate. This matters most on long trips with multiple charging stops.
• → Watch for elevation changes. A mountain pass can consume 30-40% more energy than a flat stretch of the same distance. ABRP handles this automatically, but understanding why your range drops in hilly terrain helps you trust the plan.
• → Plan charging during meals. Use ABRP's amenity search to find chargers near restaurants. A 30-minute fast charge while you eat lunch is barely noticeable. A 30-minute charge while you sit in a parking lot doing nothing feels much longer.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

ABRP removes the guesswork from electric car road trips. Select your car, enter your destination, and let it calculate the optimal charging stops based on your actual battery, the terrain, the weather, and the available chargers along the way. The six steps above take about 5 minutes, and the result is a road trip plan you can trust.

Your first EV road trip might feel nerve-wracking, but with ABRP showing you exactly where to stop and how long to charge, range anxiety becomes a solved problem. Thousands of EV drivers use ABRP every day for exactly this reason. Set it up once, and road trips become routine.

EVcourse is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by A Better Route Planner (ABRP), PlugShare, or any other company mentioned on this page. All trademarks and brand names belong to their respective owners. App features, pricing, and availability change frequently. Always verify current information with the app developer directly.