First US Taycan Owner! Achieving Better Range Than EPA Rating (So Far)

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Source: https://electrek.co/2019/12/21/firs...r-says-cars-epa-range-is-highly-conservative/

First US Porsche Taycan owner says car’s EPA range is highly conservative

December 21, 2019

Porsche has started deliveries of the Taycan in the US, just in time for Christmas. And the first US Taycan owner has given his first “drive report” and it’s pretty much all positive.

Of particular note, he states that the car’s 201-mile estimated EPA range, and commensurate low efficiency, is “conservative.”

Greg Wyler is Founder & Chairman of OneWeb, a satellite internet access company. He took delivery of his Porsche Taycan in Massachusetts on Thursday, becoming the first US customer as far as we know.

He gave some of his first impressions of the car on twitter. He was impressed by the quality of the interior fit and finish and called the car a “quiet monster,” saying it is the “best car I have ever driven, hands down.”

None of this is particularly surprising – we’ve heard lots of good things about the drive experience and build quality of the Porsche. We would expect that a Porsche would be built and drive well, we just haven’t experienced it for ourselves yet (hint hint, Porsche).





The most notable report Wyler made, though, is about the Taycan’s efficiency. The car’s EPA rating came out recently and was disappointingly low, with just 201 miles of range. That rating was for the Turbo, and Wyler has the Turbo S. The Turbo S is not yet rated by the EPA but has even lower efficiency than the Turbo according to EU WLTP ratings.

201 miles is more than enough for the vast majority of people, especially when paired with the Taycan’s ability to charge at 350kW. But this number meant the Porsche Taycan is rated as the least efficient electric car currently being sold in the US. Low efficiency makes a car worse in lots of ways, not just in terms of range.

Wyler’s experience suggests that that rating is highly conservative. He drove the car in not particularly ideal conditions – cold weather and spirited driving – and still only used 46% of the battery to go 117 miles.




If we extrapolate this data, this would give the Taycan 254 miles of total range, even in poor conditions. This is before accounting for any amount of the battery Porsche is holding back to protect against degradation.

And if we apply the same calculation to the car’s efficiency, we get 87mpge rather than the rated 69mpge. This is roughly in line with some of Tesla’s earlier Model S numbers – the original 2012 Model S was rated at 89mpge.

Of course, this is one drive report from one owner in one set of road conditions. And Wyler did not drive the car all the way until empty, so we don’t know where the bottom end of the battery is. It is even possible that the range display could have been calibrated a little off – this happens sometimes with battery gauges on new products (though that applies more to cheap battery powered products, not to something as well-engineered as a car).

So we can’t go out and say the car is suddenly an efficiency king yet. But it does, at least, look likely to be a bit better than the ratings suggest. Which is nice, since the rating is rather abysmal.

Now that the floodgates are opening on deliveries, we suspect we’ll be hearing more owner reports soon and start to get a sense of what the car really has going for it.
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So we can’t go out and say the car is suddenly an efficiency king yet. But it does, at least, look likely to be a bit better than the ratings suggest. Which is nice, since the rating is rather abysmal.
It doesn't need to set a world record on efficiency

Just needs to be good enough to cater for the vast majority of journeys people will make. Like long motorway drives, occasional short drives. And it is good enough for that, and then some.

This apparently is 254 miles in poor conditions? That's more than good enough!

Put into context, at the moment I'm driving a Ford Fiesta. When my tank is full it's about 270-290 miles.

The Taycan, if this is right, should be about - let's say 290 miles on 100% charge. Which takes - what - half an hour?

And I can charge it at home, or just pop into any charging station and have lunch to see it charged half an hour later.

I would spend less time worrying about my fuel range on the Taycan than I would my petrol range on Fiesta
 

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Congrats on getting the first delivery and for your quick review. Hope mine gets in as promised in March or earlier since I have been told it went into production about three weeks ago. Glad to hear your comments on the range and would appreciate more updates as you get more driving done in the next two or three months. Again, congrats on getting a real beauty !
Happy New Year !
 

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It doesn't need to set a world record on efficiency

Just needs to be good enough to cater for the vast majority of journeys people will make. Like long motorway drives, occasional short drives. And it is good enough for that, and then some.

This apparently is 254 miles in poor conditions? That's more than good enough!

Put into context, at the moment I'm driving a Ford Fiesta. When my tank is full it's about 270-290 miles.

try

The Taycan, if this is right, should be about - let's say 290 miles on 100% charge. Which takes - what - half an hour?

And I can charge it at home, or just pop into any charging station and have lunch to see it charged half an hour later.

I would spend less time worrying about my fuel range on the Taycan than I would my petrol range on Fiesta
Source: https://electrek.co/2019/12/21/firs...r-says-cars-epa-range-is-highly-conservative/

First US Porsche Taycan owner says car’s EPA range is highly conservative

December 21, 2019

Porsche has started deliveries of the Taycan in the US, just in time for Christmas. And the first US Taycan owner has given his first “drive report” and it’s pretty much all positive.

Of particular note, he states that the car’s 201-mile estimated EPA range, and commensurate low efficiency, is “conservative.”

Greg Wyler is Founder & Chairman of OneWeb, a satellite internet access company. He took delivery of his Porsche Taycan in Massachusetts on Thursday, becoming the first US customer as far as we know.

He gave some of his first impressions of the car on twitter. He was impressed by the quality of the interior fit and finish and called the car a “quiet monster,” saying it is the “best car I have ever driven, hands down.”

None of this is particularly surprising – we’ve heard lots of good things about the drive experience and build quality of the Porsche. We would expect that a Porsche would be built and drive well, we just haven’t experienced it for ourselves yet (hint hint, Porsche).





The most notable report Wyler made, though, is about the Taycan’s efficiency. The car’s EPA rating came out recently and was disappointingly low, with just 201 miles of range. That rating was for the Turbo, and Wyler has the Turbo S. The Turbo S is not yet rated by the EPA but has even lower efficiency than the Turbo according to EU WLTP ratings.

201 miles is more than enough for the vast majority of people, especially when paired with the Taycan’s ability to charge at 350kW. But this number meant the Porsche Taycan is rated as the least efficient electric car currently being sold in the US. Low efficiency makes a car worse in lots of ways, not just in terms of range.

Wyler’s experience suggests that that rating is highly conservative. He drove the car in not particularly ideal conditions – cold weather and spirited driving – and still only used 46% of the battery to go 117 miles.




If we extrapolate this data, this would give the Taycan 254 miles of total range, even in poor conditions. This is before accounting for any amount of the battery Porsche is holding back to protect against degradation.

And if we apply the same calculation to the car’s efficiency, we get 87mpge rather than the rated 69mpge. This is roughly in line with some of Tesla’s earlier Model S numbers – the original 2012 Model S was rated at 89mpge.

Of course, this is one drive report from one owner in one set of road conditions. And Wyler did not drive the car all the way until empty, so we don’t know where the bottom end of the battery is. It is even possible that the range display could have been calibrated a little off – this happens sometimes with battery gauges on new products (though that applies more to cheap battery powered products, not to something as well-engineered as a car).

So we can’t go out and say the car is suddenly an efficiency king yet. But it does, at least, look likely to be a bit better than the ratings suggest. Which is nice, since the rating is rather abysmal.

Now that the floodgates are opening on deliveries, we suspect we’ll be hearing more owner reports soon and start to get a sense of what the car really has going for it.
It will be very interesting to see some real world range results. I’m sure they’ll be better than EPA numbers.
In the meantime, you can’t extrapolate safely. I’m not sure how the Taycan computes range remaining, but my Model S CANNOT be extrapolated that way. Miles remaining is based solely on a % remaining. When charged to 85%, it always says 220 miles remaining which works out to about 280 Wh/mile. Even if it’s cold wet and dark and I’m actually using 335 Wh/mile, the range remaining is based on the % battery left and 280 Wh/mile. what you really have to look at is the miles driven over the 40% (or whatever used). That would be the actual usage rate and could be used to extrapolate actual range.
Maybe the Taycan does that for range remaining or maybe it uses a constant value like the Tesla.
I have a Tesla Model S and a Cayman S and am hoping to go from the two to one Taycan 4S, but my frequent long trips drive me to a workable range of 250-275 miles. Specially with less density of chargers than Tesla Superchargers. Have my fingers crossed, though.
 


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...to one Taycan 4S, but my frequent long trips drive me to a workable range of 250-275 miles. Specially with less density of chargers than Tesla Superchargers. Have my fingers crossed, though.
I am pretty sure it'll work out. The key is fast charging network to be expanded. Just saw a vid in German, the guy said that the non t super charging network is actually better located at Autobahn that the t superchargers. That makes some long distance traveling with his non t EV even more convenient. Have you checked out your trips with abetterrouteplanner.com? Please keep us posted with your long distance traveling experience.
 

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Latest tweet from Greg Wyler. More good news



Est >230mi on a Turbo S in Normal Mode with mix of 70mph and City Driving.
 

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Latest tweet from Greg Wyler. More good news



Est >230mi on a Turbo S in Normal Mode with mix of 70mph and City Driving.
Looking good so far...assume the A/C was off up in the North. Thanks for posting.
 

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Looking good so far...assume the A/C was off up in the North. Thanks for posting.
BTW - got my finish date now being Jan. 17th ! Hope it ships soon thereafter and get here to Florida by the end of Feb.
 

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Looking good so far...assume the A/C was off up in the North. Thanks for posting.
IIRC, heat takes a lot more than AC. I would think that if it is 43 degrees outside that the heat was on and it was also used to keep the battery performing well - so this is great news.
 

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Latest experiences from Greg Wyler.
Short InnoDrive video
And range still like 240mi on a Turbo S in very cold East Coast climate.


 
 




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