Whether voluntarily to stretch your legs or forced to go to the toilet or eat something: If you go on holiday by car, you will hardly be able to avoid stopping at a motorway service station sooner or later. But there are big differences in quality between the facilities, which today often resemble a general store with an attached gas station.
The ADAC tested 40 rest stops along the major motorways in many federal states just in time for the start of the holiday season. The testers paid particular attention to the gastronomic offer, the prices and the sanitary facilities. And the ratings tend to be average.
In most cases, anyone who takes the exit to a rest area knows what to expect: overpriced prices. Whether for fuel, the coffee from the machine or the schnitzel from the counter. And this feeling is not deceptive, as the ADAC reports. None of the systems tested scored better than “poor” in the “Prices” category. A small cappuccino to go for 4.99 euros or a bag of chips for 5.99 are not isolated cases, but everyday life, according to the automobile club.
After all, the ADAC rated the culinary selection as consistently positive. Almost 80 percent of the systems tested scored “good” or “very good”. The food selection has improved significantly in recent years. Although it is still true that fries and schnitzel reliably end up on the table and that many other dishes make their way from the fryer to the guests’ plates, the range of dishes has become more diverse. Vegetarian alternatives and children’s menus are now available practically everywhere. The testers found vegan offers in about every second facility. A shortcoming, however, is the unreliable opening hours of the restaurants. Several times they were only partially open. In four cases even closed long-term.
Whether healthy or unhealthy, containing meat or vegan, which still leaves a bland aftertaste, the prices are also the same for the food.
If you also want to refuel when you stop, you have to dig even deeper into your pocket at the rest stops. In a further study, the ADAC found that a liter of diesel at rest stops cost an average of 36 cents more than at filling stations next to the motorway. A liter of petrol (Super E10) is even a whopping 42 cents.
Whether it’s eating or refueling, anyone who wants to save should leave the autobahn and look for alternatives, advises the automobile club. For example, gas stations in small towns that are right on the freeway, or truck stops.
The ADAC expresses great praise for the sanitary facilities at the rest stops. “An impressive three quarters of the locations achieved very good test results,” according to the testers. “The toilets were clean and in good condition, most of the soap and paper dispensers could be operated without touching them.” Only two systems failed because the toilets were not built barrier-free.
In some cases, accessibility was also a problem outside the service areas. “In 30 percent of the facilities, the disabled parking spaces were too far away from the service area, sometimes up to 100 meters,” explains the ADAC.
In terms of e-mobility, too, there were many lower B grades. Although more than 90 percent of the service areas had fast charging stations (43 or 50 kW), only slightly more than half also offered so-called “high power charging”, i.e. charging over 150 kW. The ADAC sees “room for improvement” here, because significantly more people will be driving e-cars in the future.
According to the automobile club, campers look completely in the tube. At none of the tested rest stops was it possible to fill up fresh water for the mobile home or to empty the cassette toilet.
Source: ADAC test report
