2000 miles round trip experience in a Taycan

Discussion in 'Porsche' started by JAlex, Jun 10, 2021.

To remove this ad click here.

  1. JAlex

    JAlex New Member

    For few years I have been considering to get a GT vehicle, I was looking for a car that follows the old definition of GT. Then came my interests for a EV and my decision was to go for a large EV sedan-like body and that was how I ended with the Taycan. Although I test drove a 4S and a Turbo, I was more interested on a RWD and went ahead and ordered it. In a simple explanation, the RWD feels more engaging, better feedback and dynamic on the road. The AWD feels very well attached to the road and under control, but the RWD feels more sporty.
    I love long trips and my girlfriend and me commonly take 2 annual road trips from Orlando to Ohio for visiting our families in a 2000 round trip tour.
    When ordering the Taycan, I looked for a long range efficiency performance, so I went with the RWD basically for handling and being lighter than the AWD, air suspension, manual charging doors since the fenders' vents seems more aerodynamic, 19" wheels and aluminum roof. Besides, it has the 93.4kWh battery.
    Before the trip, I tried it for 1000 miles around Florida and in Range mode and 70mph average, I was able to get around 290 miles range; I then used it to set my route to Ohio.
    2.5 to 3 hours drive before charging, no more of 260 miles sections, just in case with the shortest section around 180 miles. From Orlando, we stopped at Valdosta GA for our first charging, then Marietta where we spent the night since we left Florida at 4pm. Next day we drove to Knoxville, Lexington and Columbus. All charges at Electrify America and on our way to Ohio, everything went well, the plug and charge is enabled on the Taycan so charging went seamlessly.
    On our way back we went from Newark OH to Lexington, Knoxville, Stockbridge GA, Valdosta GA and Orlando.
    We made the way back in 19 hours, 1042 miles, 4 charging stops and at 70mph.

    What I found that I like about the Taycan as a GT:

    1- driving experience: it is the best aspect of the vehicle. In Sport it is responsive and agile, the suspension in Sport mode and lowered suspension is the best setup, minimum body roll, good traction and steering feedback. The steering wheel doesn't feel too tight, but neither soft. I changed the original Goodyear all-season Touring tires for the Michelin summer Pilot Sport 4 and the grip is at point. Driving in Sport mode the 2 gear transmission is noticeable, around 45 to 50mph and hard acceleration you can notice the responses and the power consumption decreases as it moves to 2nd gear. In Range mode the 2nd gear is the default setup, the suspension is set to low and the responses of the dampers is also reduced, you can feel the suspension soft for cruising. Changing the height to regular, the car feels bouncing at high speed, no bad but the efficiency is noticeable less and it can be seen in the power consumption. The motor responses on Range mode is s little slow but not lagging and it feels more obvious a low speed, at highway speed is less evident.

    2- range and power consumption: in Range mode with the Goodyear tires, I was able to achieve a constant 0.26kWh/mile at 70mph, but with the Michelin tires, it is is closer to 0.29 to 0.30kWh/mile. That is a trade off I am ok with, the Michelin tires feel more gripping and dynamic. A Michelin Pilot Sport EV tire is coming, I am curious to see its performance.
    Coasting is another feature that make the Taycan a good touring. With regen off, there is not regen at all under 60mph, faster and regen, even when off, is minimally present. Across Tennessee, through the mountains, coasting improved the efficiency dramatically, there were some sections where the Taycan coast for miles without throttling. The regen is also engaged with the breakes that allows you to control the level of regen sacrificing speed, and for me it feels natural.

    3- charging: with plug and charge enabled, the experience was gratifying, especially without dealing with the app. A common mistake I made was to set the location address of the station in the PCM and when in the area, I looked for the station and drove over it. Although the charging rates were high, commonly over 150kWh, I found out that I was doing it wrong. As soon I was able to see the charging icon on the PCM navigation map, I clicked on it and changed the destination, especially at Knoxville and Stockbridge. At Knoxville I arrived with 30% SOC and the charging rate was 240kWh up to 70%, I was able to charge up to 96% in 28min. The second time I arrived with 24% battery and there was a 150kWh station available, here the Taycan pulled 177kWh up to 65%, then it fell to 110kWh for a while. This is the way I am doing it now. In our way back at the last stop at Valdosta, we found our only issue during the trip, no station wanted to recognize the car, I called customer service and the station was reset, although took almost 30min to make it work, the delay cool down the battery and it wasn't optimized any longer, so the speed was only around 50kWh for the entire charge, it took around 1h.

    4- comfort: like all GT or sedan, it is comfortable for long drive. My only dislike is the screen that controls the A/C, I don't like touch screen for basic functions and this screen gets pretty hot. The steering controls and cluster screen are ergonomic and at hand.

    What I dislike
    The only big dislike is the touch scree instead of physical buttons. I am not a fan of controlling the vents swiping on a screen or using a screen to imitate physical buttons.

    There are few more trips planned, Key West is our next, 800 miles round trip at 92°F in 4 days. There is an EA in Key West and we are expecting 1 stop in Miami before jumping on the US1 all the way south to the Keys.

    The Taycan, especially the RWD is an appropriate GT, engaging, comfortable, responsive, fast and capable, with a good range and sport performance when needed.
    It is my first Porsche and although happy, I was very concerned if it was the right decision, but it was and although I still keep 3 manual transmission ICE, I can say I am a fully converted EV user.
     
  2. To remove this ad click here.

Share This Page