Taycan To The Arctic Circle Road Trip 2022

[Scandinavian]

If not already in your plans, you should consider on the way back to pass the Atlantic Ocean Road being one of the most scenic and spectacular roads in the world. We are considering a similar road trip from the south east of Sweden along the east coast of Sweden up to Kiruna, Abisko and then cross over to Narvik and south bound driving through Lofoten, etc. However during a less challenging season - spring or early autumn.

I can echo that recommendation. It is beautiful drive. I have only experienced it on a bus, though.

Here is a link to a number of fantastic driving routes in Morway for anybody interested. I have no idea if they are open during the winter season?

https://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/en/routes

Sponsored

 

[tigerbalm]

If not already in your plans, you should consider on the way back to pass the Atlantic Ocean Road being one of the most scenic and spectacular roads in the world.

Thanks @Mats. Unfortunately, we won't make it on this trip – we're returning via Finland and Sweden. We decided a while ago that we'd make Western Norway a dedicated trip in the future and maybe see the fjords with less snow.

 

[joacimli]

Thanks for a first class trip report @tigerbalm !
I'm currently planning my upcoming summer trip to Wien, Austria.
I don't know yet if my ordered Sport Turismo will arrive in time or if the current Taycan Sedan will be the vehicle to make the trip in.
I'm interested to know two things, why are you not using the standard Porsche charger (instead of Juice Booster), and what length is the blue Type 2 charging cable?

 

[Ciprianbadic]

Day 9: Bodø (Norway) -> Narvik (Norway)

After a quick but tasty breakfast at our hotel, we packed up the car and headed out of Bodø on a crisp and clear morning. As our car was at 84% battery level, we decided that we wouldn't need to stop at the Circle K outside of town and would instead make our way back to Fauske and the E6.

As we were driving along in well below zero temperatures, we noticed that our battery didn't appear to be warming up at all – and remained at minus 1 degrees itself. Usually you'd see some warming as the drivetrain pulled energy, We shrugged it off and didn't think too much more about it.

As outside temperatures dropped to minus 10 degrees and lower, we noticed the air conditioning unit struggling to maintain cabin temperature.

For the first time since we got the car, we switched off "eco" mode and that quickly resolved the issue with a slight increase in energy consumption. Later, when outside temperatures increased to minus 6 we reverted back to "eco" mode and it handled it fine.

We arrived at our only planned charge of the day – a 50 kW Mer unit at Kobbelv Vertshus. It was here that we noticed the battery temperature was still at minus 1 and we were only accepting in power at 18kW from the charger. I had forgotten to add the waypoint as a charging stop and no battery pre-conditioning had occurred.

Normally this isn't a big deal for a 50 kW charger but with outside temps, our battery seemed to be staying unusually cold. The battery temperature gradually rose to a more normal 25 degrees and energy flowed at a more acceptable 40 kW.

As we continued along the frozen E6 conditions got noticeably more arctic looking.

We headed towards our only road ferry connection of this trip at Drag. Normally you'd get the ferry at Bognes, but this is closed for next few months as work is being done on the quays there.

On arriving at Drag, the ferry arrived a few mins later and we were in the queue for boarding. We were impressed that our toll road registration for foreign cars at EPASS24 was recognised and we didn't have to pay by card or cash.

On the other side of the crossing we stopped at a fjord for some snaps.

The Leica Q2 camera is good, isn't it? The photographer has to improve – I'm just starting that journey.

And continued on to Narvik – our home tonight – plugging in to the hotels 22kW charger for a three and a half hour top up. The 22 kW Porsche Charger freeing up the spaces for others faster than if we hadn't optioned it.

Tomorrow we head – you guessed it – north – and very remote – away from the larger towns we've been hopping between – for some dedicated Northern Lights hunting.

The days charging stats:

Location	Start SOC %	End SOC %	kWh added	Cost	Duration	Ambient Temp	Battery Temp	Charger Type	Network
Kobbelv Vertshus, Norway	54%	81%	23.0 kWh	€13.53	0h 39m	-4.5	-1	DC 50 kW	Mer
Narvik, Norway	28%	100%	60.3	€0.00	3h 30m	-2.5	23	AC 22 kW	Hotel

Today we did 285 km over 7:02 hours, with an average speed of 41 km/h, consuming 24.3 kWh/100km.

Amazing trip so far! Loved how detailed the narrative is here!

 

[tigerbalm]

why are you not using the standard Porsche charger (instead of Juice Booster)

The Juice Booster is a dedicated travel charger (EVSE) and is more portable than the large Porsche Charger. It can handle anything thrown at it and supports up to 22kW 3-phase power. But the main reason is that it comes with a wide range of adaptors. I have the "master traveller" package as outlined here: https://www.mobilityhouse.com/int_en/juice-booster-2-master-traveller.html

The charger cabling system is designed to be able to plug in different adaptors easily and safely in a wide range of conditions – the Porsche Charger is a bit more of a challenge swapping around plug types and it doesn't support nearly as many socket types. Italy and Switzerland for example have unusual plugs and the Juice Booster can handle them.

and what length is the blue Type 2 charging cable?

It is 7.5 meters though I can combine it with the Juice Booster (5 meters) and Juice Booster extension cable (5 meters) to get a total length of 17.5 meters if I need to. This is helpful if a charger or socket is blocked by another vehicle.

I really believe in the Mennekes brand of cable – they are excellently manufactured – compared to some iffy Chinese branded cables that a lot of online outlets are selling. The plug fixture is always secure and I've had trouble with more generic cables in the past – especially ones that support 3-phase 400V power like this one.

They can be a little hard to find/buy/locate – I got mine from ebay for a good price – but I believe that Tesla sell them for a reasonable price online now. If I'd known that I'd have ordered it there.

 

[tigerbalm]

Oh, and the Juice Booster supports the quirky Norwegian electricity network. I don't fully understand the differences – something about no earth and "IT" (and not Information Technology). Anyways, it has a dedicated "Norway" mode and when I've plugged in here – that mode lights up.

I'm sure someone more knowledgable can explain it better than me! I am unsure if regular Porsche Chargers sold outside of Norway can handle this. Information on it is unclear.

Here you can see the Norway mode in action:

 

[tigerbalm]

Day 11: Aurora Borealis Observatory (Norway) [Non driving day]

Today is our only non-driving rest day of this trip – outside of international ferry crossings – and we made the most of it by doing absolutely nothing!

In the morning we walked down to the "barn" where they serve breakfast.

As darkness falls – early in this part of the world – we resume our watch towards the sky for the northern lights – determined to be more prepared and get better shots this time.

It is a cold minus 13 celsius out here tonight!

 

[tigerbalm]

Northern Lights

They are strong compared to yesterday and are forecasted to be much stronger in a few hours.

We are eating dinner looking out at them.

It's worth checking these out directly on Flickr - to really see the stars shining through. The software this forum uses is turning 80 MB JPEGs into 800k files (understandably) but loses a lot of the detail that makes the Northern Lights so special.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/194883528@N06/

 

[HK111]

I'm currently planning my upcoming summer trip to Wien, Austria.

If you'll drive through Munich, you can stop over for a coffee and 250kW recharge at my company's office .

Cheers,
Henrik

 

[Bigben]

Northern Lights

They are strong compared to yesterday and are forecasted to be much stronger in a few hours.

We are eating dinner looking out at them.

It's worth checking these out directly on Flickr - to really see the stars shining through. The software this forum uses is turning 80 MB JPEGs into 800k files (understandably) but lose a lot of the detail that makes the Northern Lights so special.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/194883528@N06/

Stunning - I did take the trip to Rovaniemi over 10 years back but didn’t get to see anything close to your pictures, really beautiful!
And as other said - captivating road trips in general, thank you for taking the time to share your experience.
I sent the link to your summer tour to a guy who told me when I ordered my Taycan that it was “a great car… only if you’re going to drive it around your house due to its terrible range” ?

 

[Midlifecrisis]

Beautiful pictures, especially looking on the flickr feed where as you say, they are much clearer. Thanks for sharing

 

[tigerbalm]

Leaving Norway

We've come as far north as we are going to be on this trip. It's time to start the long journey home to Ireland.

So today takes us out of Norway and into Finland along the Muonio river that forms the frontier between Sweden. We'll be passing close by the Three-Country Cairn where the borders of Norway, Sweden and Finland meet.

But our adventure is far from over!

As we head inland away from the warming influence of the Norwegian Sea, the temperatures will drop, the snow will increase and the roads may be very icy. This is the part of the trip most likely to require snow chains to complement our "continental-style" winter tyres and neither of these parts of Finland or Sweden has anything close to as a well developed EV charging infrastructure.

This is where our planning really needs to be on-point.

For now we head east into the arctic sun rising low in the sky.

 

[joacimli]

If you'll drive through Munich, you can stop over for a coffee and 250kW recharge at my company's office .

Cheers,
Henrik

Thanks Henrik, we will most certainly pass through München on the route from Wien to Rothenburg ob det Tauber, having planned a stopover at Gedenkstätte Dachau.

Joacim

 

[Mats]

Leaving Norway

We've come as far north as we are going to be on this trip. It's time to start the long journey home to Ireland.

So today takes us out of Norway and into Finland along the Muonio river that forms the border between Sweden. We'll be passing close by the Three-Country Cairn where the borders of Norway, Sweden and Finland meet.

But our adventure is far from over!

As we head inland away from the warming influence of the Norwegian Sea, the temperatures will drop, the snow will increase and the roads may be very icy. This is the part of the trip most likely to require snow chains to complement our "continental-style" winter tyres and neither these parts of Finland or Sweden has anything close to as a well developed EV charging infrastructure.

This is where our planning really needs to be on-point.

For now we head east into the arctic sun rising low in the sky.

I'm well aware of you being very meticulous in your advanced planning which is good and necessary based on the challenging route your are taking during this time of the year. A potential alternative route (very scenic too) would have been Narvik - Abisko - Kiruna. For sure still challenging when it comes to charging option. Its not until Sundsvall in Sweden you will find a comfortable network of 350 kW Ionity chargers. Wish you good luck and happy driving.

 

[tigerbalm]

Hello Sweden!

Arrived at our cosy cabin after a long but enjoyable day's driving. Want to do the day's report justice – so going to rest up and publish it tomorrow.