epirali

Well-Known Member
First Name
Edmund
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
752
Reaction score
1,123
Location
USA, East Coast
Vehicles
RS Etron GT, Jaguar I-Pace, BMW i8, ex Taycan TTS
Country flag
This is a common question so I decided to start a thread for discussion, and to answer some questions and get information collected for others where this may be theirs first EV.

For range I know that both using range and driving style can have a big impact. If you have not had an EV you will develop the skills on how to drive for range. Essentially minimize the acceleration rate and avoid as much hard braking as possible. Be patient. If you drive like “grandma” as I call it you can get 20% more range easily in most (I am sure Taycan is no different). The range setting will probably use more efficient front/rear wheel dynamics and will use 2nd gear. The power meter in the center is your friend, keep it as close to center as you can. Regen is great but is only 40-50% efficient, so if you rely on regen all the time you are only recouping 50% of the power. If you avoid it then you are even better off.

In cold climates precondition the car, it will keep the battery at optimal performance. Definitely preheat/precook the cabin when connected to EVSE to avoid drawing from battery. This way the initial temperature mass of the car is changed without using the battery. But setting the temperature itself by a few degrees won’t make much difference. On or off may depending on how cold/hot it is.

Not all routes are equal. Climbing/descending altitude is not your friend and in some of the cars the navigation will show me an “eco” route and elevation is part of the calculation to minimize battery use. Haven’t seen that yet in Taycan but I also have not looked yet. Or maybe its part of the option package the maximizes range? I don’t have that one.

Be sure your tires are properly inflated. Rolling resistance is a big hit. That is why so many EVs use the low rolling resistance and narrow tires. Obviously this is NOT an option on the Taycan but under inflated tires will impact range. Obviously the wider the tires the better the contact/handling but more resistance. Also usually summer tires will eat up a little range. This is why I say when people complain that Taycan should have more range they are not considering it would defeat the entire purpose of the car. The compromises to maximize range would result in a Bolt not a Taycan. You can’t have it all. The Chevy Bolt really can do 200-240 like the Taycan, but with a battery that is 60KWHr instead of 90. If it helps the Jaguar I Pace made similar decisions and gets very similar range to the Taycan. But recently they rolled out an update that added 20% more range to Eco from studying the data of all the drivers. And it really does work my eco range has gone up. Audi apparently has done something similar, so its not out of the question Porsche can do that after collecting real life data.

Don’t worry too much about battery charge level. The battery is there to be used, so charge it and use it. Avoid leaving it at empty for long period of times (days) and if you are not going to drive it for more than a week leave the charge ideally between 40-60. Don’t store at 100 for months. There will be some degradation over time, but ICE engines lost efficiency over time, we just don’t pay attention to it. But unliked first generation EVs the battery chemistry is vastly improved, cars like the Taycan have VERY aggressive battery temperature management for performance and temperature is/was one of the worst enemies of longevity. So it shouldn’t be a huge issue. Also remember you have a very long warranty on the battery.

Avoid using fast charges unless you need them. Tesla kept pretending there is no hit to the battery and all their cars had to be throttled on charging after while as the batteries were degrading. I am not talking about every time, but there were owners who just fast charged every time instead of plugging in at home. Use it when you need it, on trip, on the road, but don’t use it in place of charging at 7-9WHr at home.

Sorry for the long post, I am trying to relay info I have learned over years of EV ownership. Hope it helps.
Sponsored

 

Cpoarchy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Threads
55
Messages
596
Reaction score
364
Location
Kentucky
Vehicles
1999 911, taycan 4s
Country flag
Thanks for the great insight, can you go over the regen a little more, I am not sure I understand, are you saying better range with regen off?
 

Gogs

Well-Known Member
First Name
Gordon
Joined
Dec 14, 2019
Threads
53
Messages
1,187
Reaction score
835
Location
Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Vehicles
Taycan 4S, 911 4S, Range Rover Sport Hybrid, Range Rover Vouge
Country flag
Good bit of info there. Thanks for taking the time.
 
OP
OP

epirali

Well-Known Member
First Name
Edmund
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
752
Reaction score
1,123
Location
USA, East Coast
Vehicles
RS Etron GT, Jaguar I-Pace, BMW i8, ex Taycan TTS
Country flag
Regen is always better than no regen. Regen instead of mechanical break recaptures the energy and charges the battery. So if you had no regen it would impact your range. But it only recaptures maybe 50% of the energy it takes to get the car to the speed. So if you constantly over accelerated and then used regen to slow down, rather than a smooth acceleration to the same speed, it would be less efficient. So for example coming up on a stop light if you could slow down earlier and sort of coast to the light and the continue, rather than driving full speed to the light and stopping with regen then going, you would have better efficiency. To gain optimal range (in addition to allowing the range mode to help you in how it use the energy) try to minimize your acceleration and deceleration. If you have the power meter in the center the more you move away from the “center” in acceleration or regen the less efficient you are.

So regen is great, but think of it as being more “efficient” when your are regenerating at lower power level (more gentle deceleration) than at full deceleration.

Nice part is that the Taycan has blended breaking. So it use the regen first no matter how you set your auto regen and then adds in mechanical breaking as needed. So essentially you don’t have to worry about “one pedal” driving.

BTW a lot of these ideas (except of course for recaptures energy on breaking) also applies to ICE cars, we just don’t pay attention.
 


Cpoarchy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2019
Threads
55
Messages
596
Reaction score
364
Location
Kentucky
Vehicles
1999 911, taycan 4s
Country flag
Regen is always better than no regen. Regen instead of mechanical break recaptures the energy and charges the battery. So if you had no regen it would impact your range. But it only recaptures maybe 50% of the energy it takes to get the car to the speed. So if you constantly over accelerated and then used regen to slow down, rather than a smooth acceleration to the same speed, it would be less efficient. So for example coming up on a stop light if you could slow down earlier and sort of coast to the light and the continue, rather than driving full speed to the light and stopping with regen then going, you would have better efficiency. To gain optimal range (in addition to allowing the range mode to help you in how it use the energy) try to minimize your acceleration and deceleration. If you have the power meter in the center the more you move away from the “center” in acceleration or regen the less efficient you are.

So regen is great, but think of it as being more “efficient” when your are regenerating at lower power level (more gentle deceleration) than at full deceleration.

Nice part is that the Taycan has blended breaking. So it use the regen first no matter how you set your auto regen and then adds in mechanical breaking as needed. So essentially you don’t have to worry about “one pedal” driving.

BTW a lot of these ideas (except of course for recaptures energy on breaking) also applies to ICE cars, we just don’t pay attention.
Thank for clarifying, I agree.
 

Scandinavian

Well-Known Member
First Name
Peter
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
Threads
47
Messages
3,047
Reaction score
2,638
Location
France
Vehicles
Taycan T, Tesla M3P, Aston Martin DB9, Porsche 996 C4 Cab
Country flag
Thanks for writing a really great post with a lot of insight. You clearly have gained a lot of experience from during EV’s! Thanks for sharing.

I am very keen to hear your experience over time about practical range, charging and usability on daily driving and also for long trip driving. As I am not under any pressure to go to work on a daily or indeed weekly basis, I just want to be able to decide in the morning of a nice day to take a few days trip up the mountain to a nice restaurant and hotel. Perhaps 300 to 400 km drive in a day in the Italian mountains.
 
OP
OP

epirali

Well-Known Member
First Name
Edmund
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
752
Reaction score
1,123
Location
USA, East Coast
Vehicles
RS Etron GT, Jaguar I-Pace, BMW i8, ex Taycan TTS
Country flag
Thanks for writing a really great post with a lot of insight. You clearly have gained a lot of experience from during EV’s! Thanks for sharing.

I am very keen to hear your experience over time about practical range, charging and usability on daily driving and also for long trip driving. As I am not under any pressure to go to work on a daily or indeed weekly basis, I just want to be able to decide in the morning of a nice day to take a few days trip up the mountain to a nice restaurant and hotel. Perhaps 300 to 400 km drive in a day in the Italian mountains.
Will do, and I am SO jealous. We do not have a lot of those kinds of roads where one could really let the car shine near where I am, and drivers honestly aren’t capable enough for me to trust them in roads like that (other cars). The ones I do know are in Colorado and Big Sur in California, but it would take me too long to get there from the East Coast!

One thing I just noticed is that the Intelligent Range Manager, which plans routes including charging, elevation changes, traffic (which as I said some EVs do to maximize range) can be added as an option in the Porsche store after purchase for a one time fee of $474. Mine didn’t have it, and I can do without, but its nice to know I can just purchase the functionality. If you take a lot of road trips (and longer ones) it may very well be worth it as it should account for range losses for elevation climbs, etc.
 


JacobDK

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jacob
Joined
Jan 12, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
187
Reaction score
299
Location
Denmark
Vehicles
Porsche Taycan 4S
Country flag
Well - if you drive it (Turbo) fast most test show an awg consumption around 27-30 kWh/100 km and normal driving should return around 21-22 kWh/100 km. This during favourable climatic conditions. Wintertime normally cuts of around 30% range. I still haven’t seen what an eco-based drive will return in favorable conditions. But I guess Range will be between 250-400 km pr charge. The EPA of which is around 320 km seem to be a fair average all things considered..
 
Last edited:
OP
OP

epirali

Well-Known Member
First Name
Edmund
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
752
Reaction score
1,123
Location
USA, East Coast
Vehicles
RS Etron GT, Jaguar I-Pace, BMW i8, ex Taycan TTS
Country flag
Ok so I just saw that on the app you can set departure time with target charge level. Seems to default to 85%. so I am guessing this is Porsches suggested battery charge level for longevity. You can obviously charge to 100% as needed but when you don’t need it use the 85%.
 
OP
OP

epirali

Well-Known Member
First Name
Edmund
Joined
Jan 15, 2020
Threads
13
Messages
752
Reaction score
1,123
Location
USA, East Coast
Vehicles
RS Etron GT, Jaguar I-Pace, BMW i8, ex Taycan TTS
Country flag
So under PROTEST I actually drove today in range mode and driving a little cautiously to get a sense of what the real range would be for the car. A few caveats are:

1) This a Turbo S with less efficient wheels/tires (larger)
2) The temperature here was around 25F so cold outside, but car was in a conditioned garage and I pre-conditioned for departure time
3) I have a lot of experience how to drive for range, but I wasn’t really driving for maximum range rather driving what I’d call “boring”
4) I drove in Range mode and not aggressively (But not really doing everything I could for range).

I drove the same road I know vey well with various cars. The brief version: the car was relatively efficient, I achieved 2.7 miles/KWHr (I could probably get a little over 3-3.1 with the Bolt, 2.5 with the i8 (FWD), and maybe 2.5 with I Pace Eco In these conditions). Mixed driving (Highway at 65, roads varying from 35-55). I had the heat on at 72 for the entire trip. Numbers are:

28 miles, 36.5 kWH/100mi, 36 mph average. If the numbers held at 100% charge I would get around 220 miles and at 85% around 193. Considering these are not great conditions for EVs (cold out, high air density) this is a LOT better than I would have guessed I could have gotten from the car. It is quite efficient and if this is true they are rating the EPA range based on not driving for range and/or at higher speeds. Right now I am impressed.

Porsche Taycan Owner Discusses Taycan Range, Battery Longevity, Charging and Related Concerns 30C98BAF-B3A1-449D-B967-B6BF3F50784C
 
Last edited:

ron_b

Well-Known Member
First Name
Ron
Joined
Dec 30, 2019
Threads
327
Messages
1,587
Reaction score
1,677
Location
SF Bay Area, USA
Vehicles
2020 Taycan 4S
Country flag
Thank you for the torture @epirali in the name of science.
We future owners really appreciate it. ☺
I know that I do.
 
 




Top