Hi everyone,

We just done our first “long” trip few days ago, and wanted to share the experience.

Dublin/UCD down to Wexford, then Bunclody and back to Dublin (~305 km).
Long story short: I love the car, I love Ireland!

Some facts:

1. Nissan Wexford is by far the best customer service I’ve ever seen from a car dealer!
We stopped there for a quick top up at the FCP (24/7 access!). Thomas (Sales manager) came to us, offering some help, and free tea/coffee, wifi access, etc… Makes me want to buy my next car from them :)

Quick charge at Nissan Wexford

2. Never assume an ESB charging point will work, and don’t rely on it!
My plan was to have lunch at Bunclody and top up 1 hour or so there to get the extra km I needed to reach Gorey on my way back. Unfortunately the charging point was out-of-order and kept saying: “Data check not ok” :(
I rang ESB, “Engineer will call you back”. 30km left on GoM, and satnav said 31km to Gorey… after 20 min we decided to give it a go! We made it to Gorey with 8km left on GoM, and a great taste of range anxiety.
30km at 40km/h was not great EV advertising for the 20 cars queuing behind us…

Range anxiety?

Quick charge/Chademo at Maxol Gorey

The ESB guy called me back, saying he’s reset the charge point, and it’s now fully operational, I can drive back to it. Thx ESB! 
Rule #1, do not assume a charge point will work, and always have a plan B.

Overall, it was a great and enjoyable experience!
I’ve officially initiated my participation to the fantastic EV Rally 2014! Thank you Paddy Carroll for the amazing rally challenge!