Battery's range is a problem?

RonMcg

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I had a 2018 Panamera hybrid and because of my in-town driving I got about 58 miles per gallon of gas. I had 18 months left on my lease and was interested in the new 2020 Taycan. The dealership lent me a Taycan for 3 days while my car was being serviced. I was sold on the beauty and speed. I asked about the range and was told it was close to 300 miles on a charge. I called Porsche Connect's 800 number yesterday and they said the same thing around 300 miles. Unfortunately, I did not research this, and bought the Taycan Turbo. My first charge at 100% said 201 miles. The dealership said it will improve and it did gradually go up to 278 miles at 100% charge. That happened once and then it started going down to 238 miles and now that is what it is within 3 miles plus or minus. I went to Miami Beach(135 miles one way) last week with a full charge of 238 miles. I found out Electrify America fast chargers are very sparse even in a city the size of Miami. The closest Walmart fast-charger was a 24 mile round trip from my hotel. I love my car, but very sorry I traded my Panamera hybrid.

I understand the batteries are charged to a maximum of 80% to give longer battery life. I researched the cost of replacing the batteries and it would be around 6 to 7 thousand dollars. When you pay $185K for a car you want it to be practical and 238 mile range is not. I understand the range mode can offer a few more miles, but it comes with a lot of trade-offs. Porsche is selling futures of more charging stations, but the dealers don't even offer fast chargers for its customers in this area. Why not give us at least 90% charging until the future becomes reality?

Over the years, I have owned ten Porsches, but I honestly could not recommend the Porsche EV cars today. They have stumped their toes before, when my Panamera turbo's engine had to be replaced because it burned a quart of oil every 1,000 miles and my wife had the Cayenne diesel. They did fix these problems, now I will see how they handle this one.
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Reg

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Why not give us at least 90% charging until the future becomes reality?
You are totally free to charge to 100% anytime you want.

The point is, one would only do that if going on a road trip.

If you are commuting and driving around locally (lets say 150 miles a day to be generous), then you would only charge to 85% at night and have the car ready to go in the morning.
 

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83.7 kwh is usable out of 93.4 kwh. That makes 89% of the battery usable not 80.

But yes you are right, it would be nice to have the option to use 100% every now and then. I'd sign a waiver.
 
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RonMcg

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You are totally free to charge to 100% anytime you want.

The point is, one would only do that if going on a road trip.

If you are commuting and driving around locally (lets say 150 miles a day to be generous), then you would only charge to 85% at night and have the car ready to go in the morning.
Hello Reg,
I was told by the dealer that when it registers 100% the batteries are only 80% of their capacity. I will check this out. Thanks!
 

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@RonMcg Do you have a serious question or did you just want to visit to complain about Porsche making an EV? Part of the battery is withheld for battery longevity sake. The range is what it is, if you don't like it don't buy it. Porsche and the EPA both understate the range, so it's not like they're deceiving you.

There are tons of threads on this with lots of helpful information. Use the search function.

If you're just venting because EVs are dumb or whatever yeah, well, that's just like your opinion, man.

If you're thinking of buying one, it sounds like you should wait.
 


TAYC4S

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I had a 2018 Panamera hybrid and because of my in-town driving I got about 58 miles per gallon of gas. I had 18 months left on my lease and was interested in the new 2020 Taycan. The dealership lent me a Taycan for 3 days while my car was being serviced. I was sold on the beauty and speed. I asked about the range and was told it was close to 300 miles on a charge. I called Porsche Connect's 800 number yesterday and they said the same thing around 300 miles. Unfortunately, I did not research this, and bought the Taycan Turbo. My first charge at 100% said 201 miles. The dealership said it will improve and it did gradually go up to 278 miles at 100% charge. That happened once and then it started going down to 238 miles and now that is what it is within 3 miles plus or minus. I went to Miami Beach(135 miles one way) last week with a full charge of 238 miles. I found out Electrify America fast chargers are very sparse even in a city the size of Miami. The closest Walmart fast-charger was a 24 mile round trip from my hotel. I love my car, but very sorry I traded my Panamera hybrid.

I understand the batteries are charged to a maximum of 80% to give longer battery life. I researched the cost of replacing the batteries and it would be around 6 to 7 thousand dollars. When you pay $185K for a car you want it to be practical and 238 mile range is not. I understand the range mode can offer a few more miles, but it comes with a lot of trade-offs. Porsche is selling futures of more charging stations, but the dealers don't even offer fast chargers for its customers in this area. Why not give us at least 90% charging until the future becomes reality?

Over the years, I have owned ten Porsches, but I honestly could not recommend the Porsche EV cars today. They have stumped their toes before, when my Panamera turbo's engine had to be replaced because it burned a quart of oil every 1,000 miles and my wife had the Cayenne diesel. They did fix these problems, now I will see how they handle this one.
Well 238 is what is quoted more or less options and wheel size depending - so I guess that's what it is. I have not seen official quotations of 300 miles - though owners have reported getting that in various reports etc. I know that does not help but what someone says versus what is written in official documentation are two different things...Still - its beautiful isn't it - range anxiety apart?
 

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The battery's range will be one half of the equation... your regular needs will be the other half. If the equation of [Range] - [Regular Needs] gives a positive result, then you have something that is practical. But if its negative, then it won't be.

For me personally, the vast majority of my regular driving needs falls between 2-30 miles in a day. A battery range of 238-300 miles is very practical. But you may have higher regular mileage demands.

Then there is the ability to charge, especially for when those longer drives happen... that certainly is a huge area in need of improvement, but over time it should become less of an issue. Hopefully not too long, especially with more EVs coming on the market that are relying on EA.
 

manitou202

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Not sure what to say. Most Taycan owners either owned EV's before, or did a lot of research before spending $130k+ on one.

The range issue is not a Porsche EV problem, it is a compromise with all EV's in general. Every EV today comes with tradeoffs and range is one of them.

The only advice I can offer is that if you are willing to give it a chance, I'm very confident the EV life will grow on you and you'll end up falling in love with the Taycan regardless of some of these limitations. Range is a small factor when you look at all of the other positives of an EV, except in the case of someone who regularly drives very long distances. If you have another vehicles for road trips or long drives, use that in the meantime.

Good luck.
 


evanevery

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I just did a 1400 mile trip with my Taycan Turbo S. This is my fourth EV (inc a BMW i8 and a Tesla Model X which I still have) and I've never even seen a public charger before this trip. A couple of things you might want to be aware of...

1. 90% of EV users simply charge at home. 200 miles of daily range is plenty for most folks who just plug in every night. I routinely charge to 85% and easily get just over 200 miles of honest range (around town). In expecting a "longer" day, simply temporarily adjust the charge to 100%. No big deal, no drama. EV's are actually MUCH MORE CONVENIENT than an ICE powered car if they can meet your daily range requirements. Just plug them in when you get home and unplug them in the morning. I haven't been to a gas station in months. (Yes, I have ICE powered cars as well...) EV's are excellent vehicles for use around town!

2. That being said, you also NEVER drive a road trip to anywhere near 100% of your range (even though you may charge to this level). Given the relatively sparse distribution of public chargers on the open road, you may only be going 100-150 miles max per charge and save the remaining in case an entire charging station is down and have to go elsewhere. (This happened to me TWICE out of the seven stations (each way) I planned to visit on my last trip). In fact, two of the stations I stopped at were only about 60 miles apart! I figure the 700 mile (each way) trip, which normally (ICE) takes me 12 hrs took me about 15 hours. That's an extra 3 hours for charging on a 12 hr trip (25%). EV's are likely not your best choice for Road Trips (unless you realy like the adventure/challenge).

IMHO: Its all about your DAILY range requirements. With 200 miles of range you should be fine as long as a "typical" day only requires 100 miles or so. You will want about 50% more than your "typical" day for those unexpected trips to the airport, grocery store, hardware store, etc. Its that extra 50% that will completely eliminate any "Range Anxiety".
 
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Reg

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83.7 kwh is usable out of 93.4 kwh. That makes 89% of the battery usable not 80.
Although that is the spec, I am not sure that this is correct in practice. In this video where he did the charging test, claims they unlocked another 3kwh (at about 4:25)

 
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RonMcg

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@RonMcg Do you have a serious question or did you just want to visit to complain about Porsche making an EV? Part of the battery is withheld for battery longevity sake. The range is what it is, if you don't like it don't buy it. Porsche and the EPA both understate the range, so it's not like they're deceiving you.

There are tons of threads on this with lots of helpful information. Use the search function.

If you're just venting because EVs are dumb or whatever yeah, well, that's just like your opinion, man.

If you're thinking of buying one, it sounds like you should wait.
Unfortunately, I already wrote the check! Maybe, buyer's remorse. I appreciate everyone's remarks!
 
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RonMcg

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I just did a 1400 mile trip with my Taycan Turbo S. This is my fourth EV (inc a BMW i8 and a Tesla Model X which I still have) and I've never even seen a public charger before this trip. A couple of things you might want to be aware of...

1. 90% of EV users simply charge at home. 200 miles of daily range is plenty for most folks who just plug in every night. I routinely charge to 85% and easily get just over 200 miles of honest range (around town). In expecting a "longer" day, simply temporarily adjust the charge to 100%. No big deal, no drama. EV's are actually MUCH MORE CONVENIENT than an ICE powered car if they can meet your daily range requirements. Just plug them in when you get home and unplug them in the morning. I haven't been to a gas station in months. (Yes, I have ICE powered cars as well...) EV's are excellent vehicles for use around town!

2. That being said, you also NEVER drive a road trip to anywhere near 100% of your range (even though you may charge to this level). Given the relatively sparse distribution of public chargers on the open road, you may only be going 100-150 miles max per charge and save the remaining in case an entire charging station is down and have to go elsewhere. (This happened to me TWICE out of the seven stations (each way) I planned to visit on my last trip). In fact, two of the stations I stopped at were only about 60 miles apart! I figure the 700 mile (each way) trip, which normally (ICE) takes me 12 hrs took me about 15 hours. That's an extra 3 hours for charging on a 12 hr trip (25%). EV's are likely not your best choice for Road Trips (unless you realy like the adventure/challenge).

IMHO: Its all about your DAILY range requirements. With 200 miles of range you should be fine as long as a "typical" day only requires 100 miles or so. You will want about 50% more than your "typical" day for those unexpected trips to the airport, grocery store, hardware store, etc. Its that extra 50% that will completely eliminate any "Range Anxiety".
Thanks!
 
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RonMcg

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I just did a 1400 mile trip with my Taycan Turbo S. This is my fourth EV (inc a BMW i8 and a Tesla Model X which I still have) and I've never even seen a public charger before this trip. A couple of things you might want to be aware of...

1. 90% of EV users simply charge at home. 200 miles of daily range is plenty for most folks who just plug in every night. I routinely charge to 85% and easily get just over 200 miles of honest range (around town). In expecting a "longer" day, simply temporarily adjust the charge to 100%. No big deal, no drama. EV's are actually MUCH MORE CONVENIENT than an ICE powered car if they can meet your daily range requirements. Just plug them in when you get home and unplug them in the morning. I haven't been to a gas station in months. (Yes, I have ICE powered cars as well...) EV's are excellent vehicles for use around town!

2. That being said, you also NEVER drive a road trip to anywhere near 100% of your range (even though you may charge to this level). Given the relatively sparse distribution of public chargers on the open road, you may only be going 100-150 miles max per charge and save the remaining in case an entire charging station is down and have to go elsewhere. (This happened to me TWICE out of the seven stations (each way) I planned to visit on my last trip). In fact, two of the stations I stopped at were only about 60 miles apart! I figure the 700 mile (each way) trip, which normally (ICE) takes me 12 hrs took me about 15 hours. That's an extra 3 hours for charging on a 12 hr trip (25%). EV's are likely not your best choice for Road Trips (unless you realy like the adventure/challenge).

IMHO: Its all about your DAILY range requirements. With 200 miles of range you should be fine as long as a "typical" day only requires 100 miles or so. You will want about 50% more than your "typical" day for those unexpected trips to the airport, grocery store, hardware store, etc. Its that extra 50% that will completely eliminate any "Range Anxiety".
Thanks for your remarks! I love the car, but was remise to not check the facts out for myself before buying. I didn't know about this forum with experienced owners.
 

evanevery

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Thanks for your remarks! I love the car, but was remise to not check the facts out for myself before buying. I didn't know about this forum with experienced owners.
Many folks don't understand how convenient EV ownership really is! "Daily Use" is where the platform really shines!
 
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RonMcg

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Well 238 is what is quoted more or less options and wheel size depending - so I guess that's what it is. I have not seen official quotations of 300 miles - though owners have reported getting that in various reports etc. I know that does not help but what someone says versus what is written in official documentation are two different things...Still - its beautiful isn't it - range anxiety apart?
Well said, I will just have to plan a lot going out of town.
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