Giles Coren ditches his iPace for a petrol car

Hirschaj

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jim
Joined
Sep 5, 2021
Threads
54
Messages
1,759
Reaction score
2,036
Location
Austin TX
Vehicles
2022 Taycan CT4 - Mamba Green, 2022 Challenger
Country flag

Jhenson29

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeremy
Joined
Feb 9, 2021
Threads
35
Messages
2,771
Reaction score
4,124
Location
St. Louis, MO
Vehicles
2016 Macan S; 2021 Taycan 4S; 2023 911 GTS Cab
Country flag
The cars are useless, the infrastructure is not there and you’re honestly better off walking
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone more critical of the current state of infrastructure than me as I won’t even consider participating in its current state.

But the idea that the cars are useless because of that is silly. I have a car with almost 20k miles that I’ve never once needed to change outside of my home. And it replaced a car that, for 6 years, never traveled round-trip-further than my Taycan range. So the state of infrastructure is pretty irrelevant to the car’s usefulness to me.

I won’t argue with possibly being better off walking though. Could be some health benefits. Maybe not right now; it’s too cold. And not in the middle of summer either; it’s too hot.

But we have nice weather for about two weeks in the spring and there’s another two weeks in the fall, so maybe I’ll try then.
 


tutis

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 24, 2021
Threads
23
Messages
300
Reaction score
331
Location
Zurich
Vehicles
Porsche
Country flag
I had an I Pace for 3 years before the Taycan & can categorically say that it was one best cars ever had & much more reliable!
Sometimes can be unlucky & have a "lemon".
I also had an I-Pace; a fully loaded *refreshed* 2021 version bought in December 2020. The car was constantly breaking down; cameras, phantom emergency brakes, broken seat ventilation, car wouldn't charge, etc. I am not kidding, the car went back to dealer 1 month after I bought it, had in the meanwhile a pretty nice F-Pace (surprisingly good car), dealer gave me back the car after keeping it for 5 months! Car had new problems again and after some stern words with the dealer they took it back, at no cost to me. Made an acquaintance during months of repairs who happens to own a JLR dealership abroad and who gently informed me that some of his customers were suing his dealership, and that he had cars (including i-pace) in wait for parts or technical advice from factory for 6-9 months.

I applaud the customer service, and they have beautiful cars, but mark my words that I will never buy a JLR product ever again.
 


Windpower

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ken
Joined
Jul 19, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
549
Reaction score
452
Location
Long Island, NY
Vehicles
Tesla Model Y, BMW X3, Taycan RWD Coffee
Country flag
I'm on my third EV, and I'll never go back to ICE.

First, I love charging at home. Maybe once a month I need to charge at a public charging station and so far the charging stations have worked fine (both with Telsa and EA stations, though I acknowledge that the EA charging network has been reported to have issues).

Next, I like the power and silence of an EV. They have all been a pleasure to drive when compared with an ICE.

I have a Rivian R1S on order for late 2023 and this will replace our family BMW X SUV. I need a seven seater for our growing family.
 

Andy0565

Well-Known Member
First Name
Andy
Joined
Jun 16, 2022
Threads
3
Messages
92
Reaction score
88
Location
North West
Vehicles
IPace
Country flag
I had an iPace, ran it for 3 years, and had a few issues. Dealer was local and sorted them out with various software updates and a few recalls. Always provided a courtesy car. All in all it was a positive experience. Judging by the forums I’ve read on hear, I’m expecting a similar experience with the Taycan; no car is problem free.

I didn’t have gas suspension on the iPace and I’ve spec’d my ST Turbo with a whole load of extras so there’s no comparing the two cars from a driving perspective. Most frustrating thing for both of them is that you have to put a back seat down to get a full set of golf clubs in the boot. Surely Porsche and Jag could have worked that one out by now.

But I digress. Main point is that no machine, especially one as complicated as the Taycan will be without issues. The key is the support from the dealer and their ability to fix things. But if they can’t get the parts it’ll become very frustrating.
 

OzzieT

Well-Known Member
First Name
Oz
Joined
Mar 25, 2022
Threads
15
Messages
265
Reaction score
271
Location
Sydney
Vehicles
2023 Taycan GTS
Country flag
Firstly can I recommend you read the original Giles Coren article on his iPace:

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/...l?shareToken=690091b41918bc6ef5e43a57a17e9738

Because you may, like me, actually find the article informative, entertaining and funny. His point about when an electric car dies, it dies hard, is something that got my attention (given my GTS is on order).

As to who is Giles Coren, while I've never actually met him, I do read his articles in The Times and he is an extremely talented UK journalist and a long standing restaurant reviewer. His journalistic style is hard to categorise but it is all based on intelligence, insight, wit, self-deprecation, with an every-day knock about sense of humility smattered with an inconceivably long list of psychosomatic challenges. Yes I love the guy!

His restaurant reviews are brilliant, and whenever I am visiting the UK, I pull out my Giles Coren list of places to dine at. Hit after hit after hit. And Giles if you're reading this, which is know is pretty unlikely given your move back to ICE - let's do lunch!
 
 




Top