2,500 miles in 6 days!!

ilsaair

Member
First Name
Barry
Joined
May 11, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
23
Reaction score
48
Location
Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vehicles
2021 Taycan S, 1989 560SL, 2020 Range Rover Velar
Country flag
We picked up our 2021 Taycan 4S from Champion Porsche in Pompano 3 weeks ago. Last week we decided to take a road trip to Ohio to visit family and see how practical the Taycan really is. Our Taycan does not have the larger battery so I was concerned about range. Bottom line is this is an amazing car, and far exceeds my expectations. Some background might help better understand where I am coming from. Over the years I've owned or leased over 70 cars. This includes lots of Porsches, MB, Audi, BMW, even a Ferrari and a lot of Corvettes.

Here are my observations:

1. Electrify America is pretty good most of the time, but several times their charger would not recognize our car. And other times we had to have them re-boot the charger as the charging speed was very slow. Their Customer Service people are very good

2. Do whatever you can to stick to Porsche Turbo chargers [Electrify America]. The car routed us to slow chargers a couple of times and they are SLOW.

3. Don't be afraid to ignore the charging stops that the car suggests. We used the ABRP app to look for alternative charging sites.

4. The Taycan likes to cruise at 85-90 mph. It is very comfortable and quiet at that speed. It doesn't help the range very much, but it is a lot of fun.

5. Maximum usable range is about 185 miles at 85-90mph. This is similar to how long I can sit still in the car without either Starbucks or a bathroom stop.

6. Electrify America sites are typically in Walmart parking lots. Sometimes you'll find one at Sam's Club but usually you'll be at Walmart. The bathrooms at Walmart are universally disgusting.

We had zero problems with the car on our trip. It holds a lot of luggage.

This might be the best road car I've ever had.
Sponsored

 

XLR82XS

Well-Known Member
First Name
LXA
Joined
Mar 31, 2021
Threads
9
Messages
1,983
Reaction score
1,370
Location
SW FL | Vegas
Vehicles
2021 Taycan | 2021 Cayenne GTS | 2018 991.2 | DMC
6. Electrify America sites are typically in Walmart parking lots. Sometimes you'll find one at Sam's Club but usually you'll be at Walmart. The bathrooms at Walmart are universally disgusting.

This might be the best road car I've ever had.
Walmart bathrooms are disgusting. I'm looking forward to long road trips in mine.

Welcome S. Florida neighbor ?
 

feye

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Threads
16
Messages
2,194
Reaction score
1,657
Location
Shenzhen
Vehicles
Porsche Taycan 4S+ 2020
Country flag
We picked up our 2021 Taycan 4S from Champion Porsche in Pompano 3 weeks ago. Last week we decided to take a road trip to Ohio to visit family and see how practical the Taycan really is. Our Taycan does not have the larger battery so I was concerned about range. Bottom line is this is an amazing car, and far exceeds my expectations. Some background might help better understand where I am coming from. Over the years I've owned or leased over 70 cars. This includes lots of Porsches, MB, Audi, BMW, even a Ferrari and a lot of Corvettes.

Here are my observations:

1. Electrify America is pretty good most of the time, but several times their charger would not recognize our car. And other times we had to have them re-boot the charger as the charging speed was very slow. Their Customer Service people are very good

2. Do whatever you can to stick to Porsche Turbo chargers [Electrify America]. The car routed us to slow chargers a couple of times and they are SLOW.

3. Don't be afraid to ignore the charging stops that the car suggests. We used the ABRP app to look for alternative charging sites.

4. The Taycan likes to cruise at 85-90 mph. It is very comfortable and quiet at that speed. It doesn't help the range very much, but it is a lot of fun.

5. Maximum usable range is about 185 miles at 85-90mph. This is similar to how long I can sit still in the car without either Starbucks or a bathroom stop.

6. Electrify America sites are typically in Walmart parking lots. Sometimes you'll find one at Sam's Club but usually you'll be at Walmart. The bathrooms at Walmart are universally disgusting.

We had zero problems with the car on our trip. It holds a lot of luggage.

This might be the best road car I've ever had.
That is like 1800 km one way with a small battery, that is amazing. Did you drive this in one stretch or with nights spend in a hotel along the way?
 

hshm

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2021
Threads
6
Messages
170
Reaction score
197
Location
California
Vehicles
Taycan 4S
Country flag
I picked up my Taycan from Los Angeles and immediately took it on a 500 mile road trip to my home in San Francisco. I had a similar experience with the Electrify America charging network. It’s okay, but they still have a lot of work to do. Unfortunately, I had to skip two stations on my route because they were down according to the app. When I arrived at a working station, I had to move my car because I happened to park in front of a dead charger.

I hope EA improves the reliability soon. They are years behind the Tesla Supercharger network.

This might be the best road car I've ever had.
?

I enjoyed every mile and I can’t wait to take it on another long trip.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: B61

submatrix

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 14, 2021
Threads
19
Messages
593
Reaction score
424
Location
California
Vehicles
2021 Taycan
Country flag
I picked up my Taycan from Los Angeles and immediately took it on a 500 mile road trip to my home in San Francisco. I had a similar experience with the Electrify America charging network. It’s okay, but they still have a lot of work to do. Unfortunately, I had to skip two stations on my route because they were down according to the app. When I arrived at a working station, I had to move my car because I happened to park in front of a dead charger.

I hope EA improves the reliability soon. They are years behind the Tesla Supercharger network.



?

I enjoyed every mile and I can’t wait to take it on another long trip.
Do you mean the EA app told you about the down chargers? Or PlugShare?
 


OP
OP
ilsaair

ilsaair

Member
First Name
Barry
Joined
May 11, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
23
Reaction score
48
Location
Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vehicles
2021 Taycan S, 1989 560SL, 2020 Range Rover Velar
Country flag
Walmart bathrooms are disgusting. I'm looking forward to long road trips in mine.

Welcome S. Florida neighbor ?
Sometimes you can find an EA station at a Sam's Club. Much better bathrooms! You'll enjoy your road trip
 
OP
OP
ilsaair

ilsaair

Member
First Name
Barry
Joined
May 11, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
23
Reaction score
48
Location
Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vehicles
2021 Taycan S, 1989 560SL, 2020 Range Rover Velar
Country flag
That is like 1800 km one way with a small battery, that is amazing. Did you drive this in one stretch or with nights spend in a hotel along the way?
We did the trip in 2 days - one overnight stop
 
OP
OP
ilsaair

ilsaair

Member
First Name
Barry
Joined
May 11, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
23
Reaction score
48
Location
Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vehicles
2021 Taycan S, 1989 560SL, 2020 Range Rover Velar
Country flag
I picked up my Taycan from Los Angeles and immediately took it on a 500 mile road trip to my home in San Francisco. I had a similar experience with the Electrify America charging network. It’s okay, but they still have a lot of work to do. Unfortunately, I had to skip two stations on my route because they were down according to the app. When I arrived at a working station, I had to move my car because I happened to park in front of a dead charger.

I hope EA improves the reliability soon. They are years behind the Tesla Supercharger network.



?

I enjoyed every mile and I can’t wait to take it on another long trip.
I had to call EA twice to re-set chargers that were not working right or were every slow. Their Customer Service people were very nice and helped. If you plug in and are not seeing 150+ speed, unplug and call them. No sense sitting there for 45 minutes to charge. Most of our stops were 20-25 minutes
 


kort

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Threads
43
Messages
2,212
Reaction score
1,462
Location
32082
Vehicles
'21 taycan 4s
Country flag
I had to call EA twice to re-set chargers that were not working right or were every slow. Their Customer Service people were very nice and helped. If you plug in and are not seeing 150+ speed, unplug and call them. No sense sitting there for 45 minutes to charge. Most of our stops were 20-25 minutes
calling EA works sometimes.
I've now had two instances where I and EA have been able to initiate a charge.
for me it is a 50-50 chance of getting the charge to start without calling EA, and like I've said 2 complete failures.
this is unacceptable to me, the car is not reliable for road trips if I am in constant danger of being stranded.
 
OP
OP
ilsaair

ilsaair

Member
First Name
Barry
Joined
May 11, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
23
Reaction score
48
Location
Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vehicles
2021 Taycan S, 1989 560SL, 2020 Range Rover Velar
Country flag
calling EA works sometimes.
I've now had two instances where I and EA have been able to initiate a charge.
for me it is a 50-50 chance of getting the charge to start without calling EA, and like I've said 2 complete failures.
this is unacceptable to me, the car is not reliable for road trips if I am in constant danger of being stranded.
Funny - never felt that way. This was an adventure. I am the last person who you would have thought would buy an electric car. I'd never buy a Tesla - but when Porsche decided to build the Taycan I figured it was worth trying. My Salesperson suggested that I lease it, rather that buy it, since battery technology is evolving very quickly.

In the 4 days I spent on the road - I stopped about 4 times/day to charge. I was always able to get the car charged. And once I learned to call EA, I was always able to get charged pretty quickly. My wife did get good at looking for Walmart and Sam's Club on the internet along our route. You also need to download ABRP and probably PlugShare, EVgo, and also ElectrifyAmerica's app.

Telsa's had many years to perfect their network - it will take some time for the rest to catch up.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TCT

kort

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Threads
43
Messages
2,212
Reaction score
1,462
Location
32082
Vehicles
'21 taycan 4s
Country flag
Funny - never felt that way. This was an adventure. I am the last person who you would have thought would buy an electric car. I'd never buy a Tesla - but when Porsche decided to build the Taycan I figured it was worth trying. My Salesperson suggested that I lease it, rather that buy it, since battery technology is evolving very quickly.

In the 4 days I spent on the road - I stopped about 4 times/day to charge. I was always able to get the car charged. And once I learned to call EA, I was always able to get charged pretty quickly. My wife did get good at looking for Walmart and Sam's Club on the internet along our route. You also need to download ABRP and probably PlugShare, EVgo, and also ElectrifyAmerica's app.

Telsa's had many years to perfect their network - it will take some time for the rest to catch up.
that is great that your experience has been so positive, sadly mine has not been the same, the car is at the dealership now in order to discern why the car has such a hard time making the connection to the EA chargers.
 
OP
OP
ilsaair

ilsaair

Member
First Name
Barry
Joined
May 11, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
23
Reaction score
48
Location
Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vehicles
2021 Taycan S, 1989 560SL, 2020 Range Rover Velar
Country flag
that is great that your experience has been so positive, sadly mine has not been the same, the car is at the dealership now in order to discern why the car has such a hard time making the connection to the EA chargers.
I had that happen to me once on my trip. A lot of this could be programming. I changed a lot of setting on my car and you have to make sure your car and the EA and Porsche connect apps are set up the same way. Once you get the kinks worked out you will be fine. And there is nothing else that drives like a Taycan....
 

kort

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Threads
43
Messages
2,212
Reaction score
1,462
Location
32082
Vehicles
'21 taycan 4s
Country flag
I had that happen to me once on my trip. A lot of this could be programming. I changed a lot of setting on my car and you have to make sure your car and the EA and Porsche connect apps are set up the same way. Once you get the kinks worked out you will be fine. And there is nothing else that drives like a Taycan....
actually it is an ongoing issue with the car, I blame it on the onboard 19.2 kw charging that renders plug and charge inoperable and I believe is causing the conflicts in my car. FWIW: the loaner taycan charges at the EA units just fine. all I want is a car that charges just fine
while nothing may drive like a taycan if I cannot charge the car it is just a pretty hunk of metal
 
OP
OP
ilsaair

ilsaair

Member
First Name
Barry
Joined
May 11, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
23
Reaction score
48
Location
Boca Raton, FL, USA
Vehicles
2021 Taycan S, 1989 560SL, 2020 Range Rover Velar
Country flag
actually it is an ongoing issue with the car, I blame it on the onboard 19.2 kw charging that renders plug and charge inoperable and I believe is causing the conflicts in my car. FWIW: the loaner taycan charges at the EA units just fine. all I want is a car that charges just fine
while nothing may drive like a taycan if I cannot charge the car it is just a pretty hunk of metal
Gotcha. Why did you order it with the onboard charger?
 

kort

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Threads
43
Messages
2,212
Reaction score
1,462
Location
32082
Vehicles
'21 taycan 4s
Country flag
Gotcha. Why did you order it with the onboard charger?
future proofing is one reason, being able to charge at a higher rate is another.
porsche really screwed the pooch with this one. not only did I pay for a feature that does not work, it has eliminated my ability to be able to plug and charge at EA units and I firmly believe that it is the root of all the issues that I am having charging at the EA units.
what are the odds of porsche compensating for the cost and troubles they induced?
Sponsored

 
 




Top