KensingtonPark
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2019
- Threads
- 21
- Messages
- 871
- Reaction score
- 685
- Location
- New York, NY
- Vehicles
- 2020 Porsche Taycan 4S; 2023 Audi eTron S Sportbck
- Thread starter
- #1
I have owned multiple plug-in vehicles, Chevrolet Volt, Tesla Model S, Volvo XC90, and Porsche Taycan 4S. As someone who has always been hopeful that EVs would develop into the next generation of vehicles, I happily jumped in as an early adopter to each vehicle, expecting some growing pains and hiccups along the way. I accepted the fact that there would be things that the manufacturers would learn about the new vehicle operating platform and that I would have to endure some inconvenience for the cause.
Now that I have had my Porsche, what has amazed me is how each of the manufacturers has had the same type of issue with every car. I rather expected the manufacturers to make new mistakes as they advanced the platform, but the actual experience is exactly the opposite. When owning each vehicle, I immersed myself with a community of owners much like this one, and heard the stories of their struggles and the issues that the manufacturers were experiencing, especially in the first model year. The Chevrolet and Tesla experiences I chalked up to Tesla not wanting to be like a "traditional manufacturer" and being somewhat stubborn about wanting to learn anything from them. Volvo perhaps was too desperate to emerge from their near-death experience to have time to focus on some mundane aspects of the manufacturing process. But Porsche, I thought, could be different, with their stable organization and strong roots as a credible, high-quality and high-end manufacturer.
Unfortunately, the process of reading the posts from the users in this group (the ones with significant problems) seems like a replay of my experience with each of the above manufacturers:
The Taycan is the ultimate EV; no other has its mix of high-performance and EV features. I am just surprised at how little they have learned from each other about basic elements of manufacturing EVs. All of the cars above settled down after the first 12 months. I just hope the next six months are less bumpy...
Now that I have had my Porsche, what has amazed me is how each of the manufacturers has had the same type of issue with every car. I rather expected the manufacturers to make new mistakes as they advanced the platform, but the actual experience is exactly the opposite. When owning each vehicle, I immersed myself with a community of owners much like this one, and heard the stories of their struggles and the issues that the manufacturers were experiencing, especially in the first model year. The Chevrolet and Tesla experiences I chalked up to Tesla not wanting to be like a "traditional manufacturer" and being somewhat stubborn about wanting to learn anything from them. Volvo perhaps was too desperate to emerge from their near-death experience to have time to focus on some mundane aspects of the manufacturing process. But Porsche, I thought, could be different, with their stable organization and strong roots as a credible, high-quality and high-end manufacturer.
Unfortunately, the process of reading the posts from the users in this group (the ones with significant problems) seems like a replay of my experience with each of the above manufacturers:
- Dead 12V battery caused by mysterious sources
- The occasional fatal failure of the vehicle
- Problems with electronic systems that control the vehicle
- Problems with charging
The Taycan is the ultimate EV; no other has its mix of high-performance and EV features. I am just surprised at how little they have learned from each other about basic elements of manufacturing EVs. All of the cars above settled down after the first 12 months. I just hope the next six months are less bumpy...
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