Live in Chicago, Ordered from Dealer in Philly...Roadtrip?

realsmartz

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Long-time lurker, first time poster. I had ordered a RWD in April, but from all the horror stories I have read/heard here and other places and the continued delay in my delivery date, I canceled my order and shopped for something “off the shelf.” I live in Chicago and purchased one from a dealer in Philly. The car is currently in port waiting on a chip and is supposed to be delivered around the end of the month (fingers crossed). I have never owned an EV or a Porsche, but I fell in love with the Taycan...looked at Tesla but they drive like a golf cart. My question is this: am I crazy to fly in and take a road trip back to Chicago with no experience with the car or EVs in general? I assume I won’t have access to the route planner until I actually take delivery of the car. Or would I better off just paying to have it shipped to Chicago so I can learn in the safety of my own neighborhood?
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Hi Sarah. To answer your question, no it's not crazy at all.

The only proviso would be to have your dealer in Philly give a thorough tutorial on the car and its capabilities. Also, acquire a comprehensive understanding of the Porsche Navigation System and the EA network. By the time you hit The Windy City, you'll be an expert and one we here on the forum will rely upon for your experience. Go for it!!
 

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Sounds like fun, actually. I used to do the trip from the Philly area to Chicago for college. It was about 13 hours in my 1990 Honda Accord.

The mountains in Western PA would be a blast with the Taycan. Ohio is really flat and straight, though.

Just make sure you know where the charge ports are along the way, and plan ahead. You should be golden.
 

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Agree , this is fun. Download EA app, put your credit card on Porsche app, to be able to charge with EA. Most likely you already watched tons of videos on how to charge and knows by now how to drive this baby home. Go for it. I drove almost 3000 miles in 2 months already!
 

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Could you share the name of the dealer? I might be nearby...
 


YWGT3

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In addition to Torv's prudent recommendation, you may wish to have the salesperson accompany you on a demonstration drive while trying out the vehicle's various features. Furthermore, have him show you how to charge your Taycan at a nearby EA station, especially if you have any doubts or would like to be more at ease with the process prior to embarking on your 13-hour road trip home.
 

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In addition to Torv's prudent recommendation, you may wish to have the salesperson accompany you on a demonstration drive while trying out the vehicle's various features. Furthermore, have him show you how to charge your Taycan at a nearby EA station, especially if you have any doubts or would like to be more at ease with the process prior to embarking on your 13-hour road trip home.
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cgfrndpor

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Long-time lurker, first time poster. I had ordered a RWD in April, but from all the horror stories I have read/heard here and other places and the continued delay in my delivery date, I canceled my order and shopped for something “off the shelf.” I live in Chicago and purchased one from a dealer in Philly. The car is currently in port waiting on a chip and is supposed to be delivered around the end of the month (fingers crossed). I have never owned an EV or a Porsche, but I fell in love with the Taycan...looked at Tesla but they drive like a golf cart. My question is this: am I crazy to fly in and take a road trip back to Chicago with no experience with the car or EVs in general? I assume I won’t have access to the route planner until I actually take delivery of the car. Or would I better off just paying to have it shipped to Chicago so I can learn in the safety of my own neighborhood?
You don't have to wait for Porsche NAV; download 2 apps: ABRP and Plugshare and you plan the whole trip in advance; will give you an opportunity to get familiar with both apps. Use ABRP to plan the trip and confirm condition of chargers with Plugshare (their data seems to be even more up to date than the EA site). Many recommend that at a charging stop just enter the next planned stop into the Nav.
 


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just be certain to have the dealership set up your my porsche account and be certain that it works or you will not be able to access the free charging.
in addition get www.plugshare.com on your phone and plan the routing and charging with either the porsche trip planner or https://abetterrouteplanner.com
planning is the key to a successful road trip.
 
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realsmartz

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Thank you everyone for the comments. I just posted a new thread. Trip would have been great, but I got stuck with a lemon. If not for the actual car issues, it would have been amazing. But, we made it back alive...but with a brick.
 

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It's certainly doable to fly into Philly and road trip the car back to Chicago, but since you said you have zero prior EV experience and given how EA's fast charging infrastructure is neither as robust or as reliable as a road tripper would like it to be, you may find it to be a harrowing and stressful process trying to figure out the charging networks and route planning.

You're definitely learning the run before you learn to walk, using a metaphor.
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