Coming from Tesla to Taycan, but worried about charging on road trips.

[McgR]

I did a short trip in the UK recently. Fast chargers were ok. 11/22 Kw destination chargers were a disaster in my short experience.

If you get them to work it may be a solution. The optional 22 Kw chargers will give you around 50% SoC in 2 hours.

charging the Taycan is very fast. Charging 30 minutes is quite long. I am usually around 15-20 minutes. Provided the charger is working and available.

I your case I would look for fast chargers in my usual routes and see if they are reliable. For a 250 miles trip you should charge once for 10-15 minutes along the way.

I do most of our holiday my trips with the Taycan and it takes me quite some planning before the trip. I like to do that. On the other hand, for me it would be great just to enter destination and start driving and I think for now only Tesla can give kind of service.

But if you know the fast chargers on your regular trips and try to avoid peak hours for charging you should be fine.

good luck on the decision

 

[Fish Fingers]

That indeed would be a game changer! Good to see that all this mess of apps, cards, dongles from different providers would change.

Whatever was wrong with the Payment Cards and Credit Cards already in use globally. I am sure there will be other ways to get discounts but move in right direction.

I however question the reliability measurement of 99%. Would be interesting to hear more about how that would be measured and what is covered? Uptime, charge power, communication etc?

But still great to see that there will be a target to achieve and to sort out this mess.

And also the real time info on all chargers - so you know which are free and working.

 

[Bongo77]

Surely we must have some members in the UK who have moved from Tesla to Taycan and charge in the wild?

This may be a gamechanger though when it's introduced
https://insideevs.com/news/677450/new-uk-law-99-percent-ev-charger-reliability/

wow- that really is an awful lot of common sense. I would love it to become a reality.

I'm confident enough to say that if this happens before the end of 2023 I'll buy everyone on here a drink.

 

[Bongo77]

And also the real time info on all chargers - so you know which are free and working.

This is why I can't see it happening. Each individual company has this data of course, but the refresh rate will vary hugely and it's not just a case of sending info from A to B in real time.

Charging companies will also stretch the rules as much as possible when if comes to sharing their performance data publicly. A bit like train companies today.

Also when implementing changes the UK government doesn't have a great track rcord of thinking about the practicalities

Here's an example:

A- Ecotrocity* get an update from their charger, say, every 15 minutes
B- The upload from Ecotrocity to the super-slick shared Govt** database happens every 15 minutes
C- This is then shared to the vehicle manufacturers every 5 minutes
D- ..and forwarded by their outsourced telematics provider every 5 minutes.
E- The car receives and refreshes the data every 5 minutes.

I've made massive assumptions about the times involved, but I do work in a similar field. I can't imagine getting data from A to E quickly enough to be of any use. Also- the charging companies will just collude to increase their rates to pay for this (or the fines)- so this is just passed onto the consumer.




* Made up name- any similarity to an atrocious UK charging provider is purely coincidental.

**

 

[RGBArgee]

hello all- new member here. I'm just about to commit to a new Taycan 4S Cross Turismo, but coming from a Tesla Model 3 performance I'm worried about the poor state of non-supercharger infrastructure in the UK.

Is there a charging network that comes anywhere close to the Superchargers? Having being spoiled on Superchargers, I don't really want to download any more than one app and I don't want to charge at less than 150kw and I don't want to have o queue.

I live in Nottingham and typically do a 250 mile round trip (North or south) once a week or so.

I only use superchargers on these long trips and in 55,000 miles and 4 years I may have been lucky but I have only had to queue for a supercharger charger twice and have never needed to charge for more than 30 mins to continue my journey. I have tried to use non-Tesla superchargers out of curiosity about 5 times in the past and only had one decent experience (Instavolt Skelton Lake, Leeds).

As a past Porsche ownerI know the Porsche will have a better fit and finish, will be more engaging to drive etc etc, but the feel good factor will be seriously dented by any charging inconvenience. What are your real world experiences in the UK in 2023?

Grateful for your honest opinions on charging only. Not meaning to turn this into a Tesla v Taycan war- having Test driven a Taycan a couple of times I'm well aware of the pros and cons of each, but I haven't yet lived with a non-Tesla EV on a daily basis.

FYI- I can't keep both cars and use the Tesla for road trips- that would completely defeat the object. I would like one car to do everything.

We do trips in reverse - South to North. Tend to use Porsche dealers. Bristol, Tewkesbury and Solihull are good .

 

[Dave Birch]

I too have a CT4S and have been encouraged by charging during longer drives. Ionity and Porsche dealers (when open) are my preferred chargers as the Porsche card gives a chunky discount. I also recommend InstaVolt and Gridserve chargers so plan ahead on long journeys to stop at them as second tier choice. The navigation map in the Taycan is ace as you can visibly see the charge stations and how many devices are unoccupied. When comparing cars as Jeremy Clarkson once said on top gear when comparing a bmw with an Aston ‘you wouldn’t want to lick a Bmw’. I have the same view of Tesla. Buy the CT4S, relax about charging as new fast stations appear every month and lick away.

 

[daveo4EV]

hello all- new member here. I'm just about to commit to a new Taycan 4S Cross Turismo, but coming from a Tesla Model 3 performance I'm worried about the poor state of non-supercharger infrastructure in the UK.

Is there a charging network that comes anywhere close to the Superchargers? Having being spoiled on Superchargers, I don't really want to download any more than one app and I don't want to charge at less than 150kw and I don't want to have o queue.

I live in Nottingham and typically do a 250 mile round trip (North or south) once a week or so.

I only use superchargers on these long trips and in 55,000 miles and 4 years I may have been lucky but I have only had to queue for a supercharger charger twice and have never needed to charge for more than 30 mins to continue my journey. I have tried to use non-Tesla superchargers out of curiosity about 5 times in the past and only had one decent experience (Instavolt Skelton Lake, Leeds).

As a past Porsche ownerI know the Porsche will have a better fit and finish, will be more engaging to drive etc etc, but the feel good factor will be seriously dented by any charging inconvenience. What are your real world experiences in the UK in 2023?

Grateful for your honest opinions on charging only. Not meaning to turn this into a Tesla v Taycan war- having Test driven a Taycan a couple of times I'm well aware of the pros and cons of each, but I haven't yet lived with a non-Tesla EV on a daily basis.

FYI- I can't keep both cars and use the Tesla for road trips- that would completely defeat the object. I would like one car to do everything.

there is NO North American CCS1 vehicle that will address your concerns about charger reliability if that is a key requirement for your purchasing decision - this is due to a number of factors, but in general the North American CCS1 charging network…

• lacks greatness
• demonstrates unreliability
• rarely delivers advertised charging speeds
• and will frequently disappoint you when you requires it's functionality

You'll need to stick with Tesla if a reliable/operational fast charging network is a key requirement.

I can not speak to CCS network reliability outside of North America.

 

[Bongo77]

there is NO North American CCS1 vehicle that will address your concerns about charger reliability if that is a key requirement for your purchasing decision - this is due to a number of factors, but in general the North American CCS1 charging network…

• lacks greatness
• demonstrates unreliability
• rarely delivers advertised charging speeds
• and will frequently disappoint you when you requires it's functionality

You'll need to stick with Tesla if a reliable/operational fast charging network is a key requirement.

I can not speak to CCS network reliability outside of North America.

If you read the original question again, but carefully this time- would you change your answer?

 

[daveo4EV]

If you read the original question again, but carefully this time- would you change your answer?

I know the OP is not North American - but people will read this and not see that…

my answer is for the North American audience with the same question.

if you read the last line of my posting would you change your answer?

 

[Bongo77]

I know the OP is not North American - but people will read this and not see that…

my answer is for the North American audience with the same question.

if you read the last line of my posting would you change your answer?

haha- good back track! You didn't read the question though did you? It's a common mistake. I once met a guy at a conference in Indiana, impressed by my decent grasp of the language but couldn't place my accent. "Where did you learn English?" he asked. "uh... England" I replied, slightly stunned!

anyway- I think I've got the info I need & will have a think before pulling the trigger on a Taycan CT. Despite a couple of technical negatives it's nicer to look at than the Tesla, better built, better handling and it looks like a small investment in time planning ahead will save me hours on the road. Also the option to charge at Porsche dealerships will be really handy as there are a couple on my usual routes.

Although I was looking for UK info for my own benefit - I won't be selfish!

Opening up the question to Taycan owners from around the world.....

 

[Fish Fingers]

I think another thing to remember is that Tesla are generally over optimistic on their range figures, while Porsche are conservative on theirs.

 

[f1eng]

Surely we must have some members in the UK who have moved from Tesla to Taycan and charge in the wild?

This may be a gamechanger though when it's introduced
https://insideevs.com/news/677450/new-uk-law-99-percent-ev-charger-reliability/

The only problem I see here is that it may encourage the complete closing of any charging station which isn’t fairly profitable.
We have already seen supermarkets not bothering to repair broken chargers and petrol stations closing in the countryside.

 

[Hanny]

The Tesla advantage is fast changing, a LOT more users at the chargers and with the poor Tesla charging curve the ‘stacking up’ of Tesla’s waiting to charge is growing.

Am guessing that another year or so in the UK and there won’t be much difference with Tesla charging availability and what the Taycans can use will be that different…..

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

haha- good back track! You didn't read the question though did you?
[...]

anyway- I think I've got the info I need & will have a think before pulling the trigger on a Taycan CT. Despite a couple of technical negatives it's nicer to look at than the Tesla, better built, better handling and it looks like a small investment in time planning ahead will save me hours on the road. Also the option to charge at Porsche dealerships will be really handy as there are a couple on my usual routes.

Your question (based on this from the original post: "I live in Nottingham and typically do a 250 mile round trip (North or south) once a week or so.") seems to be whether you can charge reliably once per trip/week?

You'd only need ~30-50% of added charge to complete your trip, assuming you can start at full and can charge at home upon your return. That's hardly 'hours', and with a conservative approach (charge early and often) it doesn't sound like this should be a problem?

 

[McgR]

And also the real time info on all chargers - so you know which are free and working.

Anyone seen the PUMP app? I just discovered this app again. It has a very nice way of showing the chargers along the way. It shows the planned chargers and how much are free and the charger speed. But if you zoom on the route you can also see the ones directly on the chosen route. When selected it shows the free and total chargers. ABRP is more versatile but PUMP is much faster but doesn’t show alternative. It should also be possible to connect with cars online for the SoC like Tronity for ABRP but haven’t tried that yet.

And also the real time info on all chargers - so you know which are free and working.

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/anyone-using-the-pump-routeplanning-app.16537/ this app has a nice way of showing free chargers.