Charging across Europe

[EVsince2016]

Yesterday the inbuilt satnav failed me getting itself totally lost in the remote Portuguese mountains. Last year the inbuilt satnav on the LEAF was just as bad. You end up on narrow roads with very steep grades and drops without barriers. Whilst I love driving those roads, the slow nature of them is a pain. The satnav just would not stick to half decent quicker roads.

Ok, before anyone suggests Android auto just said no GPS, no signal, not interested! I did try route planning on it but it had the same hissifits.

I ended up using road numbers, paper maps and using the satnav as guidance only, like the good olde days!

I guess this area hasn't been well mapped for satnav use. So many cars stopped on the road side totally lost! Hahaha ?

I had a nice walk over a bridge and on some walkways though.

 

[Gomev]

Interesting and a cool bridge.

 

[EVsince2016]

Interesting and a cool bridge.

Interesting yes, cool no. It was 36 in the shade and had over 500 steps and a steeply graded rough mile walk each end.

So many people exhausted beside the route who gave up. Water stations everywhere there wasn't a cafe. Come on the Portuguese cannot be more than 500m from a cafe!

Long transfer back due to the terrain.

Off back home in the morning, a 2 day trip.

I'll post figures next week once I've put them in a spreadsheet

 

[Gomev]

Interesting yes, cool no. It was 36 in the shade and had over 500 steps and a steeply graded rough mile walk each end.

So many people exhausted beside the route who gave up. Water stations everywhere there wasn't a cafe. Come on the Portuguese cannot be more than 500m from a cafe!

Long transfer back due to the terrain.

Off back home in the morning, a 2 day trip.

I'll post figures next week once I've put them in a spreadsheet

Oh I only meant cool to look at, I wouldn't have any inclination to get to it and walk across

 

[EVsince2016]

I'll do a full update when home but as a summary of my trip to the ferry home.

Portugal charging via Miio RFID card was simple. Zunder/easy charger fine. WENEA failed me again in Palencia as did Enel juice pass. Had to divert to a Zunder plug and change device. Peaked at 92.25kwh.

Used a second planned Zunder plug and charge at 90kwh.

Now on the ferry.

 

[EVsince2016]

My local wanderings & trip to the Pyrenees

Total trip lengths = 250 miles £20.39 charging, £11.77 tolls

We managed to visit Millau and the bridge, a wonderful city to visit, narrow streets & good food but everything closes for a long lunch! The drive from Millau to Albi was along a closed railway line, with a few very interesting village stops. The railway was straight & level but had lots of narrow tunnels, some long & curved! One had traffic lights!

The only stop was on Ionity

My destination charged 20 cents per kW, not bad really but again a 10m lead was required to reach the EU socket.

 

[smokie]

So we will meet up again sometime so I can hear about it all in person over a coffee and a bun, as I'm still considering driving to Portugal next year, but skipping Andorra would make the journey easier, but do you think avoiding tolls would complicate it a lot? Must admit, I thought your tolls in France would be loads more than that!!

 

[EVsince2016]

So my trip then!

Home to Rouen in France was 255 miles and cost me £25.20 in charging and £7.31 in tolls.

Gridserve Folkstone was deserted but the adjacent Ionity chargers had 3/4 in use

Eurotunnel was quicker than expected, I was 30 mins early arriving in France. UK customs were slow, French customs clear & fast (sorry Daily Mail readers)

Ionity Abbeyville had a long queue despite many chargers. Those waiting did so in Tesla charging bays!

The trip was very easy and my hotel had underground parking with an EU socket to charge from. The granny lead and adapter sufficed here.

 

[EVsince2016]

Drive from Rouen to near Millau

This trip was 470 miles and cost £65.70 in charging and £30.38 in tolls

I relied totally on 4 Ionity chargers for this route.

Ionity 1 was off the motorway so no facilities and was the first time charging speeds exceeded the posh EVs charging there. I was in & out whilst they were still there on half the rates!

Charger 2 was at a busy service area and there was a wait. It was also a challenge to find. Delays were caused by lunchtime charging & delays getting food.

Charger 3 was better, no queue

Charger 4 was the best. Off the motorway and deserted. The adjacent Tesla chargers were full!

This is where I first got 90kwh charging at 50% charged

This was a great drive over some amazing motorways. Only 1 delay early on due to traffic & 10 mins on Ionity no. 2 isn't bad really!

The destination had free charging on a EU socket but needed a 10m lead to reach it.

 

[EVsince2016]

My local wanderings & trip to the Pyrenees

Total trip lengths = 250 miles £20.39 charging, £11.77 tolls

We managed to visit Millau and the bridge, a wonderful city to visit, narrow streets & good food but everything closes for a long lunch! The drive from Millau to Albi was along a closed railway line, with a few very interesting village stops. The railway was straight & level but had lots of narrow tunnels, some long & curved! One had traffic lights!

The only stop was on Ionity

My destination charged 20 cents per kW, not bad really but again a 10m lead was required to reach the EU socket.

################

Local ramblings & trip to Andorra.

Trip was 302 miles, cost £28 charging.

With charging at the stay my only long trip here was to Andorra. It was over 6 mountain passes, one at 2408m. An outstanding area to drive and visit, we stopped off at so many places en-route!

After crossing into Spain I tried out an Iberdrola charger. Easy on Electromaps. Easy to find, decent place to stop but pity not in a better town for cafes

The drive to Andorra is totally stunning, amazing roads, views and places on the Spanish side. A place not often visited by the British or anyone else really. It showed the quick pace of the MG5 on hills & hairpins. I managed to overtake some really flashy cars on the bits between the bends, once with tyres spinning and giving a posh Audi driver a shock as his car struggled!

Andorra is a sh*t hole of a place itself, all tax avoidance shops and dodgy ski resorts, but the northern end of it is beautiful. FEDA kindly enabled Electromaps roaming a few weeks before we went. I am actually pointing the wrong way on a one way street as a car was parked charging in the next bay on a T2. I crossed a stunning pass at 2408m.

Izivia ex Corri-door, hmm took many attempts to start this one

 

[EVsince2016]

The big trip from France to Portugal

625 miles cost £40.85 in charging plus £28.60 in tolls

Our first stop was quite early, an IONITY near Pau. This is because Spain is a pain and no chargers for miles. The problem was that the charging bays were by the services and full of ICEs, so ICEd. I had to have quite a firm debate with a driver to get him to move so I could charge! Only one of the cars you can see are electric, the Opel van! The ICE driver I blocked couldn't get into his car, I pointed at the sign & indicated he was a twit!

Our next stop was in Vittoria Gasteiz , in the Basque Country. The WENEA chargers were behind a locked gate, the AVIA was just being started so I found this dodgy EDP unit in the back of an industrial estate. The site was derelict with a closed kiosk, abandoned pumps including Hydrogen! Phew it worked on electromaps! Very hot.

My third charger was a wonderful Zunder unit with plug & play. I activated it by app, it registered the car then you just plugged in and it activated charge automatically, the best chargers ever! This was near Palencia, the charging hell hole. Charged at 92kwh and very cheap.

After here I took the N610 road as it's fast & direct to an AVIA unit at Benavente it was 38C here! Good unit, easy to activate on electromaps.

Next was up into the high Spanish mountains to a nice hotel & cafe with old Easycharger units now Zunder. Not plug & play but very good and cheap. Nice coffee too!

After here its the mountain motorways into Portugal, an excellent road to drive you just have to accept rapid battery loss followed by miles of regen! I have a Via Verde tag so not to worry about the toll payments. They are automatic so an issue for visitors. They do have a foreigners toll both on entry that helps.

My last rapid was a Power Dot at Chaves in Portugal activated by Miio. Really fast & simple to use, but fees are complex made up of Miio energy charges that vary by the hour, charge point charges and tax. A bonus of the stop are the Casino toilets with full size naked women pictures on the walls. My wife said the Ladies has naked men pictures too! Cultural differences eh!

 

[EVsince2016]

In Portugal we charged at out stay apart from one long trip out where I tried rapids at McDonalds, but they would not charge as they timed out before the MG5 would start the charge. I have complained via Miio.

I ended up using the T2 during my first visit but was charged £16.98 for just 13.3 kw of energy, utter rip off!

As the second McDonalds unit also refused CCS for the same reason, I tried a few others but they were still wrapped up in plastic! I finally ended up at a BP unit.

All of the motorway services now have a sign saying if there are chargers or not, installations are going rapidly.

I go a reply from this car park owner

The EV sign with a cross actually meant no chargers at this car park & they apologised for the confusing sign! They intend to fill their car parks with chargers and apparently the red cross was a sticker!

Loved the boat chargers thought, there were many for the trip boats that were still fossil powered but about to be switched to electric after some trials

Trial chargers - water & electric eh?

And the permanent chargers not yet turned on

 

[EVsince2016]

The trip back - Spain strikes again!

431 miles cost £48.93 in charging to Santander

On our return we again used the Casino charger at Chaves (it was closed so no toilet fun) and the Easycharger in the Spanish mountains. Middle of nowhere but 2 UK reg MGs, the other had a Portuguese family living in the UK. The shorter range meant they were going for a boat the day after me!

I then decided to do a long drive to Palencia, the charging hell hole.

Attempt 1 was WENEA, my 3rd attempt at their chargers. Found it, plugged in, App would not activate it. Tried Miio card but RFID function not ready. Tried both chargers a few times, gave up.

Attempt 2 was Enel at the Nissan Garage where I ended up last year - 'in maintenance' so out of action - no idea why, nobody there!

Attempt 3 was Iberdrola - dead

Attempt 4 was 23 miles off route, the trusty old Zunder plug & play unit. It gave me 92.25 kw/h. Nice services here too.

We now had another beautiful mountain motorway to near Santander where another super Zunder unit awaited, newly installed too! Naturally a cafe was just next to it as well and 92 kwh

It's a pity that there isn't a working charger in Santander, both broken or inaccessible a common theme in Spain!

Back in blighty I used the Gridserve hub in Exeter and parked next to an identical MG5 delivered the same time as mine. Despite being a 350kw unit it was only delivering 33kw to my car and the other MG5, clearly no Zunder power there!

 

[EVsince2016]

My 2023 trip is now booked via Ferry this time to new locations and another new destination!

I gained another RFID card and have registered on Tesla. I wonder if the old MG5 works on them yet?

I think each new trip needs to be a little more daring than the last!

 

[Archev]

My 2023 trip is now booked via Ferry this time to new locations and another new destination!

I gained another RFID card and have registered on Tesla. I wonder if the old MG5 works on them yet?

I think each new trip needs to be a little more daring than the last!

Can’t answer that question but I sure am jealous. Sounds like a fine adventure - wherever you’re heading. Have a wonderful safe time.

 

[slmorgan42]

I go to Dieppe in Normandy to see family a lot. I was surprised how good the charge network was in such a small town.

Chargepoint card was recommended and turned out to be very useful. Lidl has become my go to place. They seem to be putting loads of rapid and fast chargers in at a very good rate. I think it was 0.20 euro /kw for both of I remember right.

Corrected should have been 0.20 euro not 20 euro lol

 

[smokie]

£18?

The Lidl where I am in Portugal was a new build, opened about 18 months ago, and they put chargers in. Often no-one using them.

 

[slmorgan42]

£18?

The Lidl where I am in Portugal was a new build, opened about 18 months ago, and they put chargers in. Often no-one using them.

Lol my bad I meant 0.20 euro.
Yeah same with the ones I use.

 

[Archev]

Lol my bad I meant 0.20 euro.
Yeah same with the ones I use.

Och no - I thought you were loaded - I was just conjuring up the perfect begging letter. ?

 

[EVsince2016]

£18?

The Lidl where I am in Portugal was a new build, opened about 18 months ago, and they put chargers in. Often no-one using them.

I use one up in Chaves a lot, it's great and cheap