On December 31 2018 I had this crazy idea: a Solo Tour of Portugal via Tesla Superchargers to commemorate one year of Superchargers in Portugal! More than 1000 km in 14 hours…
The first Portuguese supercharger location was live January 2nd 2018, one year ago. We gained 4 more locations during 2018. By year’s end it seemed a nice tribute to pass by the five locations and only charge at the superchargers. The plan: leave home early in the morning and drive to Fatima, Ribeira de Pena, Guarda, Montemor-o-Novo, Alcácer do Sal, and arrive home on time for dinner.
In the end I drove 1071 km in 13 h and 40 min. The critical segment was Fatima – Ribeira de Pena. This part of the driving imposed an almost full charge at Fatima. This took extra time: from 85% to 99% (I stopped the charge at 99%), we know it’s the less than optimal time versus charge gain rate. The other segments where the regular / normal stress free Tesla stretches driving between superchargers.
From Guarda to Montemor, leaving the A23 to go on national roads limits the speed and imposes a higher level of concentration and fatigue. That was, from the driving perspective, the worst section.
Overall the experience was quite positive. The Tesla Model S 85D performed flawlessly. From Fatima to Ribeira de Pena, a Model S 60, 70 or 75 might not be able to reach the finish line: it’s 290 km going intensely uphill in the final dozen km or more. A Tesla Supercharger location near Porto would be handy.
The simulation by A Better Route Planner produced a report with 1008 km, 14 h and 20 min, 222 Wh/km. Reality delivered 1071 km, 13 h 40 min, 235 Wh/km. I can not say I drove all the time by the strict law speed limits. I can say I drove safe.
on the road with Tesla 