First Road Trip Musings/Charging Infrastructure is a Joke

[Archimedes]

So, I just took my first road trip in the 22 Taycan 4S, which consisted of 450 miles each way and then a weeks worth of driving around the city in between. The car was pretty flawless and charging went okay, but at the end of it all I was struck with they feeling that the way we’re going about building out the public charging infrastructure in the US is a joke and entirely wrong for supporting widespread adoption of EVs.

First, let me say that I went to 5-6 different charging locations and charged about 10 times. All the locations had at least 75% of the chargers working, though charging rates were a fraction of the supposed capacity. That said, most of my charging was around 80-90kWh, with one station at 100-135 and one at 25. I left the 25. All were EA, save for one, which was an EVGO station that I used when the EA place was full. Generally, it all went fine, Plug and Charge worked every time, and I found that anything above 85kWh was acceptable for me given the need for a driving break anyway.

That said, the locations of the chargers are a joke for supporting anything but a novelty level of EV adoption. There is no way that we could support high throughput of vehicles with a few stalls in back of the bank, or in the back corner of a truck stop, or in the drive through at In and Out Burger (where the queue of cars in the drive thru block the spots!). I was sitting at the EA charger at the Walmart in Santa Clarita (4 chargers) looking at the 150 cars in the parking lot and imagining if just 10 percent of them switched to EVs. And we all tried to queue up, in the middle of a Walmart parking lot, with the chargers in parking spaces. Just a fucking joke.

If we want mass adoption of EVs, we need the charges installed on major highways and byways, not in back of a bank in the middle of downtown four miles off the freeway. And the facilities need to be drive through, like a gas station or truck stop, where we can queue up.

As good as the car performed, what this trip convinced me of is the need to continue to own an ICE car as well so that I never have to rely upon the public charging infrastructure except in rare instances. Doubt I’ll be taking the Taycan on another roadtrip for a long time.

Oh and an aside, the hotel that I stayed at had a Clipper Creek L2 charger for visitor use, but it was totally knackered. Definitely not up to commercial use.

Sponsored

 

[gtm]

That pretty well sums up my thinking/anxiety on the subject of road trips. My Tesla S is painless on a trip. Plenty of working chargers in convenient locations. CCS seems to be hit or miss on everything - location, charging speed, number of working chargers, just getting a charge started. You made it, and other than charging speed, your report gives me a little hope. I just don't understand the lack of standardization with EV charging. Any gas station nozzle fits and every dispenser takes my credit card. I get that recharging a battery isn't quite as simple as filling a gas tank but it shouldn't be as hard as it is. Tesla figured it out. I'm keeping the model S for the time being for road trips. Not a Tesla fanboy but if you have any experience with Tesla superchargers you have to admit that they absolutely nailed that aspect of EV ownership.

 

[thecoloradokid]

That pretty well sums up my thinking/anxiety on the subject of road trips. My Tesla S is painless on a trip. Plenty of working chargers in convenient locations. CCS seems to be hit or miss on everything - location, charging speed, number of working chargers, just getting a charge started. You made it, and other than charging speed, your report gives me a little hope. I just don't understand the lack of standardization with EV charging. Any gas station nozzle fits and every dispenser takes my credit card. I get that recharging a battery isn't quite as simple as filling a gas tank but it shouldn't be as hard as it is. Tesla figured it out. I'm keeping the model S for the time being for road trips. Not a Tesla fanboy but if you have any experience with Tesla superchargers you have to admit that they absolutely nailed that aspect of EV ownership.

Yup, Tesla has absolutely nailed the charging aspect of EV ownership.

 

[xyeahtony]

Tesla superchargers are great only because they are a lot of them, and because the plug&charge works very well (plug in and it starts charging in 10 seconds). However, the Taycan can charge way faster than any Tesla. Check out the out of spec videos on youtube. The Taycan beat a Model X Long range and Model 3 Performance from Colorado to Vegas, even though it had 100 miles less EPA range than either Tesla.

 

[gtm]

Yup, Tesla has absolutely nailed the charging aspect of EV ownership.

Just such bullshit. You post a picture of one instance of something burning. Here's a different one so now it's even. No charging system ever produced is safe. Back to horse and buggy.

 

[thecoloradokid]

Just such bullshit. A picture of one instance of something burning. Now it's even. No charging system ever produced is safe.

Dude, you are the one coming on the Porsche Taycan forum proclaiming that the Tesla supercharging network is the greatest thing ever. Lighten up.

We all know $hit happens regardless of it is a CCS charger, or a Tesla supercharger. If you can't take a comment in jest, this place will not be enjoyable for you, so you might want to do some breathing exercises before posting.

 

[gtm]

Tesla superchargers are great only because they are a lot of them, and because the plug&charge works very well (plug in and it starts charging in 10 seconds). However, the Taycan can charge way faster than any Tesla. Check out the out of spec videos on youtube. The Taycan beat a Model X Long range and Model 3 Performance from Colorado to Vegas, even though it had 100 miles less EPA range than either Tesla.

If it works so well for the rest of us, who are not sponsored, why are there so many complaints? I've watched the Out of spec videos. You can make a video to "prove" any point. You, however, make the point of why the Tesla network is so good. "they are a lot of them, and because the plug&charge works very well (plug in and it starts charging in 10 seconds)." And a Taycan absolutely can charge faster... if the EA charger works, if it doesn't require a reset from customer service before charging, if it delivers the theoretical charging rate, and if plug and charge doesn't fail requiring screwing around with various apps.

 

[gtm]

Dude, you are the one coming on the Porsche Taycan forum proclaiming that the Tesla supercharging network is the greatest thing ever. Lighten up.

We all know $hit happens regardless of it is a CCS charger, or a Tesla supercharger. If you can't take a comment in jest, this place will not be enjoyable for you, so you might want to do some breathing exercises before posting.

Your post didn't come across as being in jest. Bold type face and pretty clearly stating that what I had posted was delusional on my part. What were you adding to the discussion? I never said the The Tesla supercharger network is the greatest thing ever, but it is the industry standard right now. As far as being on this forum? My Taycan arrives shortly so I'm clearly willing to deal with whatever the CCS network has to offer. Just curious, do you have any experience with the Supercharger network? It really is painless.

 

[Zcd1]

We own a Tesla and a non-Tesla EV. Road trip charging for the not-a-Tesla is a (bad) joke by comparison. That is a fact, not an opinion.

 

[thecoloradokid]

Your post didn't come across as being in jest. Bold type face and pretty clearly stating that what I had posted was delusional on my part. What were you adding to the discussion? I never said the The Tesla supercharger network is the greatest thing ever, but it is the industry standard right now. As far as being on this forum? My Taycan arrives shortly so I'm clearly willing to deal with whatever the CCS network has to offer. Just curious, do you have any experience with the Supercharger network? It really is painless.

You said absolutely nailed, and called the supercharger the industry standard. I just shared a picture that shows nothing is absolute. Please don't take it so personally.

I got my first Model S in 2015 and my first Model X in 2016, so yes, I have plenty of experience with the supercharger network. Is it superior to the Electrify America charging network,? Only because there are more of them. I have never been stranded in almost three years of Taycan ownership and 60,000 miles covering 15 states. I have had lots of really great charging sessions, and a few shitty ones. As long as you realize that Electrify America is not perfect, then you will be fine.

Enjoy your new car, and hopefully you make it further north in your Taycan so you can enjoy some fun drives in hillier terrain. Only advice I have is make the Plugshare app your co-pilot while on a road trip so you don't have any negative charging surprises.

 

[Archimedes]

Wow, way to go off topic folks!

My comments were directed at non—Tesla EVs.

 

[Wakesurfer]

So, I just took my first road trip in the 22 Taycan 4S, which consisted of 450 miles each way and then a weeks worth of driving around the city in between. The car was pretty flawless and charging went okay, but at the end of it all I was struck with they feeling that the way we’re going about building out the public charging infrastructure in the US is a joke and entirely wrong for supporting widespread adoption of EVs.

First, let me say that I went to 5-6 different charging locations and charged about 10 times. All the locations had at least 75% of the chargers working, though charging rates were a fraction of the supposed capacity. That said, most of my charging was around 80-90kWh, with one station at 100-135 and one at 25. I left the 25. All were EA, save for one, which was an EVGO station that I used when the EA place was full. Generally, it all went fine, Plug and Charge worked every time, and I found that anything above 85kWh was acceptable for me given the need for a driving break anyway.

That said, the locations of the chargers are a joke for supporting anything but a novelty level of EV adoption. There is no way that we could support high throughput of vehicles with a few stalls in back of the bank, or in the back corner of a truck stop, or in the drive through at In and Out Burger (where the queue of cars in the drive thru block the spots!). I was sitting at the EA charger at the Walmart in Santa Clarita (4 chargers) looking at the 150 cars in the parking lot and imagining if just 10 percent of them switched to EVs. And we all tried to queue up, in the middle of a Walmart parking lot, with the chargers in parking spaces. Just a fucking joke.

If we want mass adoption of EVs, we need the charges installed on major highways and byways, not in back of a bank in the middle of downtown four miles off the freeway. And the facilities need to be drive through, like a gas station or truck stop, where we can queue up.

As good as the car performed, what this trip convinced me of is the need to continue to own an ICE car as well so that I never have to rely upon the public charging infrastructure except in rare instances. Doubt I’ll be taking the Taycan on another roadtrip for a long time.

Oh and an aside, the hotel that I stayed at had a Clipper Creek L2 charger for visitor use, but it was totally knackered. Definitely not up to commercial use.

As good as the car performed, what this trip convinced me of is the need to continue to own an ICE car as well so that I never have to rely upon the public charging infrastructure except in rare instances. Doubt I’ll be taking the Taycan on another roadtrip for a long time.

What he said

 

[Scandinavian]

Wow, way to go off topic folks!

My comments were directed at non—Tesla EVs.

 

[Tooney]

...
Two things to be cautious of. First, Americans are whiners by nature and anecdotal comments on the Internet doesn’t constitute data. Spend any time reading reviews of anything here on the Internet and you’ll quickly come to the conclusion that nothing’s ever good enough for the average American. They want everything perfect and they ‘want it now daddy!’
...

But it’s not about the ‘technology’, it’s about the deployment. There’s a lot more to this than simply technology. The deployment of infrastructure is NOT there yet, period. It’s not even debatable; it’s a fact. Banging your head against the wall and complaining isn’t going to change that.
Anyone who bought a Taycan under the assumption that they would have access to a reliable public charging network simply didn’t do their homework.

News flash. Public EV charging infrastructure is currently unreliable. Film at 11. In other news, night is still dark.

 

[Archimedes]

Yes, my trip has convinced me that all my suspicions were correct. But that’s not my point. My point is not that we’re just not there yet, though that’s obvious. My point is that we’re going in the wrong direction and if we don’t change strategy with the charging infrastructure, we’ll never get there.

Sponsored