The ZeemGO Road Trip continues! In the previous article we told you about Miguel’s experience in the first two stages of the trip: Zaragoza – Madrid and Madrid – Plasencia. In this article we are going to tell you how he continues his journey with his car, a 100% electric Opel Corsa-e, with which he arrives from Plasencia to Lisbon and then travels around the Lusitanian capital evaluating different charging points on Portuguese soil. Join us in this experience and discover what the recharging experience of an electric vehicle user in Portugal is like.
Stage 3 of the Road Trip: Plasencia – Lisbon
At this stage the total road travel distance is almost 400 km. According to Miguel, he has crossed from Spain to Portugal through the Cedillo hydroelectric plant. It is the only private road pass that was closed after entering the Schengen zone and border control disappeared. It has recently been open on weekends during daylight hours to avoid the more than 120 km that are necessary for the nearest pass.
4 chargers have been evaluated during the course of this stage, they are the following:
- Endesa X Casar de Cáceres
- Cepsa Abrantes Norte
- EDP McDonalds Abrantes
- Galp Lisboa 2a Circular
Of which the best has been the EDP McDonalds de Abrantes charger because it charges at 60 kW, next to a good restaurant and has quick access from the highway. And the worst in this case was the Endesa X charger from Casar de Cáceres, since the charging speed was theoretically 200 kWh and it has not charged at more than 50-60 kWh.
The rest of the chargers have worked correctly, but the Cepsa de Abrantes charger had to start the session twice, since the first time it failed and did not start charging. Regarding security, Miguel tells us that he has felt safe at all times when making this stage of the trip and that the accessibility of all the chargers has been very good and close to the express roads.
According to Miguel, it is not a particularly difficult stage to complete in an electric car, although it does have some complications. First of all, on the border from Cáceres to Abrantes, there was no fast charging charger, there have been 200 km between chargers, so you have to check the autonomy of the car before making the trip.
On the other hand, when entering Portugal, the way in which the payment methods for the charging stations work is different, although Miguel had already traveled to Portugal and had a charging card, if not, it is not immediate to use the network Portuguese cargo.
Stage 4 of the Road Trip: Route around Lisbon
At this stage, the dynamics that was followed on this trip will change a bit, instead of going from point A to point B and evaluating the chargers along the way, a route will be made around the area Lisbon, passing through Amadora, Sintra and Azenhas do Mar, where some chargers will be evaluated.
4 chargers have been evaluated during the course of this stage, they are the following:
- Galp Avenida da India Lisboa
- EDP KFC Mem-Martins
- Prio km 9,5 A16 Sintra
- EDP McDonalds Sintra Retail Park
Of which the best has been the EDP Mcdonalds Sintra Retail Park charger, allowing simultaneous charging in CCS and CHAdeMO and having an optimal recharging speed. And the worst in this case the Prio charger in the A16, not working with the charging card so it was totally unusable.
The rest of the chargers have worked correctly, but not being able to charge with the card does not give you any other possibility of operation since it is not possible to activate them from a remote APP. The system is very closed. Regarding security, Miguel tells us that he has felt safe at all times when making this stage of the trip and that the accessibility of all the chargers has been very good and close to the main roads.
Obviously, this stage does not have any complications to do it with an electric car, since even though many kilometers have been covered, it is not a long road trip, but simply taking a walk through an area where there are many possibilities for fast charging.
Miguel also tells us that upon arriving in Sintra, and passing the center of the city, the objective was to be able to visit the Pena castle, which is located at the top of the hill in the area. The access is by a winding road, hidden among forests, one way, in which you need almost 20 minutes to cover 7 km of distance. For the return it is wonderful to have the regenerative braking of an electric vehicle.
At the moment everything is going as expected on this trip, although there have been some problems with recharging at one station or another, in general the trip is continuing calmly.
In addition, thanks to evaluating the chargers in our application, ZeemGO, you accumulate ZemmCoins with which you can obtain different products, services and discounts within the world of electric mobility. Let’s see what Miguel tells us in his next stages, remember that we will be following this journey through the ZeemGO Blog.⚡Stay tuned!⚡
