Porsche Says One-Pedal Driving In EVs Isn't Efficient

[freeforall]

Hi all, I have my Taycan since 2 months now and I use Automatic regeneration mode (not permanent regeneration). This mode does allow coasting, and regen only kicks in when the car detects a condition suitable for braking (such as the car on front slowing down and the Taycan needs to slow down).
Did anyone compare Auto Regen On vs Regen Off consumptions? I would expect both to be similar, it is just Auto generation brings some additional confort in City driving (you don't have to keep switching your foot between brake and accelerator)

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[artdept]

im in the opposite camp of most i guess. I really like the 1 pedal driving on the tesla.
My wifes model 3 let you choose to have it on or off, and her Model Y has is set by default with no way to change it. She admits it took some time to get used to, but really loves it now. for what its worh, she also said the same thing about me, except the last part.

 

[f1eng]

Hi all, I have my Taycan since 2 months now and I use Automatic regeneration mode (not permanent regeneration). This mode does allow coasting, and regen only kicks in when the car detects a condition suitable for braking (such as the car on front slowing down and the Taycan needs to slow down).
Did anyone compare Auto Regen On vs Regen Off consumptions? I would expect both to be similar, it is just Auto generation brings some additional confort in City driving (you don't have to keep switching your foot between brake and accelerator)

Basically if regen was 100% efficient its use would be close to coasting, but it isn’t so regen on liftoff and auto regen are more for familiarity or comfort reasons than efficiency.

 

[freeforall]

Basically if regen was 100% efficient its use would be close to coasting, but it isn’t so regen on liftoff and auto regen are more for familiarity or comfort reasons than efficiency.

Thanks. I understood from the discussion above that regen is not efficient compared to coasting. But I am still missing something here, may be you can help me
From what I saw, when regen is set to Automatic (not ON), regeneration is only used in some situation where braking is needed. In other words when Regen is set to Auto, coasting is still be privileged. When I set regeneration to Automatic and I lift off the pedal I don’t see any regeneration happening and the car is rather coasting unless there is situation where braking is needed (such us the car on front is also braking and the Taycan sees that security distance is reduced), so I would have slightly braked anyway and regen would have happened
So why using the car with Regen set to Auto (not ON) wouldn’t be the best mode since the car will leverage coasting when it makes sense and regen when braking makes sense? Am I missing something?

 

[f1eng]

So why using the car with Regen set to Auto (not ON) wouldn’t be the best mode since the car will leverage coasting when it makes sense and regen when braking makes sense? Am I missing something?

The differences will be small with auto-regen, but not better, unless you prefer the feel in which case it will be a better driver choice but not netter efficiency. At best it may be equal.

It really isn't that big a deal.

 

[freeforall]

The differences will be small with auto-regen, but not better, unless you prefer the feel in which case it will be a better driver choice but not netter efficiency. At best it may be equal.

It really isn't that big a deal.

Ok thanks. It makes sense

 

[GileP]

Based on my experience I agree that coasting is more efficient. However on the massively congested UK motorways I tend leave the regen on. It's useful to regulate speed rather than having to touch the brake all the time as traffic ebbs and flows. It must be really annoying for anyone to follow a Taycan which is coasting and where the driver has to brake intermittently to adjust their speed as traffic concertinas.

On empty roads coasting is defo the way forward.

 

[whitex]

You can be sure Porsche had enough data to decide the default mode.
It is true also in racing with efficiency formulae - which a lot of series have been on and off for 25 years plus - coasting at the end of the straight before braking gives the biggest reduction in consumption for the least loss of lap time.

Anyway I am pretty sure one pedal driving only became a “thing” because it is by far the easiest and cheapest way to achieve regeneration.
Blending it with the brake pedal is a major achievement.

Bravo to the marketeer who sold one pedal driving to customers as a desirable feature

I just finished a cross country trip in a Taycan - 3,500miles/5,600km (my drive home from the dealer). I must tell you that enabling recuperation was simply a convenient way to keep a constant speed without engaging cruise control, especially when driving through the varying elevation levels. Maybe I had the habit from a decade of driving Teslas, but honestly, so many hours behind the wheel, I definitely appreciated not having to switch between accelerator and brake as often in order to keep a constant speed with traffic to slow down for, or come tighter turns, or weather. If I was trying to go as fast as possible around a track, not worrying about getting a speeding ticket ticket because I gained 15mph going downhill, maybe complete costing would be great, but in the real world with speed limits, traffic, and America's finest waiting to ticket you, single pedal driving is just more convenient. I've essentially started using Sport mode, which has recuperation ON for all the highway driving, which was the vast majority of the 5,600km trip. Was it less efficient, perhaps, but not sure that it was that much less efficient than having to hit the brakes to keep constant speed. I was able to keep +/- 1mph for sustained periods of time without touching the brakes - uphill/downhill/turns/straightaways.

So as far as efficiency, I bet it depends on how you want to drive the car (e.g. keep constant speed or max out speeds, brake for corners, etc vs. someone who cannot keep a constant speed and keeps on oscillating +/- 10km/h due to regen). Convenience, one pedal wins. Porsche one pedal recuperation is not as strong as Tesla, but rather sufficient. For in-town driving, I use the Normal mode without one-pedal-recuperation. Oh, nice side effect, Porsche recuperation doesn't seem to engage the brake lights, so when hit with radar or laser, it's less conspicuous way to slow down.

 

[Mr Bill]

I neither understand the hate regarding one pedal driving. I never found that uncomfortable during my five years in a Model S. I think Tesla did a very good job there.

For no real reason, I tend to be overly focused on energy consumption with my RWD - maybe because I have the standard battery. I used regen for about three quarters of a year, and now the same amount of time without it. My finding is that consumption wise, there is no real (let alone big) difference between the two.

If I am honest, the rather inordinate amount of coasting I do now in urban zones does detract from the fun driving experience. You accelerate a bit, then coast for a long time. I felt more 'in control' with the Tesla one pedal mode. Then again, coasting is not mandatory - just drive the way you like it..

 

[BMonte13]

Interesting thread. In a year/9K miles of ownership I’ve always had regen on because I thought it was/is the best way to maximize range. Now I’m not so sure after reading this thread. I’ll try coasting for a week at least BUT it will be a major adjustment as I’ve gotten used to how the car drives and feels with regen on.

 

[ben1]

One-pedal-driveing vs coasting should be made speed depending.

Coasting is easy at highway speeds. It results in a smoother ride without unnecessary braking.
One-pedal-driving works well in stop'n'go traffic.

I'd prefer to have a software feature that enable one-pedal-driving up to 70km/h and coasting above that speed.

 

[or1]

I neither understand the hate regarding one pedal driving. I never found that uncomfortable during my five years in a Model S. I think Tesla did a very good job there.

For no real reason, I tend to be overly focused on energy consumption with my RWD - maybe because I have the standard battery. I used regen for about three quarters of a year, and now the same amount of time without it. My finding is that consumption wise, there is no real (let alone big) difference between the two.

If I am honest, the rather inordinate amount of coasting I do now in urban zones does detract from the fun driving experience. You accelerate a bit, then coast for a long time. I felt more 'in control' with the Tesla one pedal mode. Then again, coasting is not mandatory - just drive the way you like it..

I certainly don't hate one-pedal driving. In my Tesla I used it from 2015 to 2021, and it was convenient. But I agree that it is not fully efficient: reducing speed with regen (by the way, doing it with the brake pedal or with an auto setting makes absolutely no difference) and then increasing speed again with the motors is 80-85% efficient, not 100%. It is not a huge saving by avoiding regen+accel as far as possible, but it helps a bit. And it makes the driving more interesting.

But I generally prefer to take the driving decisions myself, not leave them to the car. I don't like active lane keep assistance either, it is more stressful to observe the automatics and perhaps do something on short notice, instead of just doing the steering myself.

 

[Oink]

Based on my experience I agree that coasting is more efficient. However on the massively congested UK motorways I tend leave the regen on. It's useful to regulate speed rather than having to touch the brake all the time as traffic ebbs and flows. It must be really annoying for anyone to follow a Taycan which is coasting and where the driver has to brake intermittently to adjust their speed as traffic concertinas.

On empty roads coasting is defo the way forward.

That's what Auto regen is for. Coasting until a car is in front where it'll regen -- harder than regen on as it'll try to avoid a collision. Not sure if it'll bring you to a stop, though. I don't want to test to find out.

 

[GileP]

That's what Auto regen is for. Coasting until a car is in front where it'll regen -- harder than regen on as it'll try to avoid a collision. Not sure if it'll bring you to a stop, though. I don't want to test to find out.

Is auto regen an option or standard issue? Didn’t know about it

 

[f1eng]

Is auto regen an option or standard issue? Didn’t know about it

Yes. Press and hold steering wheel button rather than just pressing it.

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