Let’s get the boring stuff out of the way first.

I drive a BYD Dolphin, which we’ve had since September 2025. I live in a freestanding house where I’m fortunate enough to have a 10kw solar panel system. I am not, in any way, an EV wonk - my experience and knowledge is limited and ultimately, I’m just choosing to use what works for me.

Since getting the Dolphin, we’ve made do with the granny charger the car came with - plugging it into an outlet in the garage while the sun is out, and very occasionally leaving it to charge overnight.

For what I’m using the car for - which is mostly school run and other short, local trips - this works pretty well.

There are a few pain points, however, and my initial experience with the MSI EzGo Portable Charger tackles a few of them.

My first impression of the EzGo is that it feels nice. No shade to the BYD charger, but it definitely feels like something that came with the car. (A bit like the old wired EarPods that used to come with the iPhone - it does the job but it doesn’t exactly blow your skirt up.)

The second impression is that the cord is long. At present, I need to park the car right up the garage door to get our existing charger to reach. (No, parking in the garage isn’t an option. Don’t ask.) The extra length of the EzGo is just a lot more practical, giving us more room to breathe. We have a double-wide driveway, and the extra length means I can charge in either spot.

Surprisingly, the app is pretty good. Being able to schedule charging is fantastic, particularly when we want to take advantage of what our solar panels are generating. Being able to tweak timings to fit around off-peak pricing is another benefit. (That the app can be used without creating an account is also something I’m pleased with as I’m truly so tired of everything requiring a sign up these days.)

We currently only have a 10A powerpoint in the garage, which is limited to 7.5A, which does limit charging - we’re getting, on average, about 1.8kw. We’re hoping to upgrade soon to a 15A outlet, which should give us charging speeds of up to 3.5kw.

If you’re commuting big distances each day, the expense of getting a wall charger installed makes sense. For me, where I’m mostly doing short trips to places within 15km of the house, it’s a tough thing to justify. With the EzGo, the experience of charging from a normal powerpoint is just a little more convenient and flexible. The inclusion of a wall bracket is a nice touch as well, meaning once we’ve installed that, we’ll have a more elegant solution than propping the old charger up on our dodgy bar fridge.

While the EzGo doesn’t serve as a replacement for a wall charger, it does improve the experience for those of us who aren’t wanting to go that route - all in a nice, premium, portable package.