[Perspective] - A happy Taycan owner road trip’s his Daughter’s Model Y…

[daveo4EV]

Come replacement time in a couple of years there won't be a Porsche in my future without access to the Tesla Supercharger network or a massive improvement in the CCS infrastructure. As a road trip car it fails primarily due to the charging network it is anchored to.

+1 for me - no Porsche EV (or other vendor) with out a clear state of intention for North American supercharger access (GM, Ford, Rivian, Mercedes, others) - my future EV business is Porsche's to lose…but supercharger access is table stakes for my next purchase

and no I'm not considering Tesla with their current products or likely products - unless they demonstrate a remarkable improvement in a lot of places - I'm not holding my breath and also will not purchase a Tesla - Mercedes is looking pretty good to me rith about now - 2025/2026 there is a new EV in my household - I'd prefer it to be a Porsche…

I know you will all miss me ROFL -

 

[McgR]

My neighbor just purchased a model Y. He was worried about long distance trips and I told him he made the correct choice.

about the super chargers. I don’t know why it takes so long for Porsche to connect. If charge my Taycan an Tesla, I park, plug in, chose the stall in the app and charging begins. Really fluent and fast. Same when using plug and charge with Fastned. However then I have to pay the Fastned price which is 3x more than with Porsche Charging. So I deactivated plug and charge for Fastned and use the Porsche RVID card.

It takes quite some time to plan my road-trips but having a plan a,b and c has saved me a couple of times.

beginning of this week I booked a hotel with 2 chargers. Both of them occupied by two PHEV the entire afternoon and night until the next morning. Fortunately anticipated in this happening and arrived with 45 % SoC. Next day decided to use a fast charger in town and have breakfast while charging. Charger was blocked by a truck unloading and the guys were not going to move the thing for me to charge. Continued the journey to another charger and stumbled on a fast charger in the next town the was free and used that one and had breakfast while charging. Needed breakfast anyway so didn’t lose any time.

I really like the Taycan and driving an EV but it would be a dream having the Tesla charging software and full SuC acces.

I realize that it takes time to plan all my trips. Would be nice not having to do that anymore

Ionity works well but connection is slow. Usually 1 or 2 are broken out of 4-6. PCM has a strange way of showing the chargers. Sometimes a station also has slower chargers and it will show 2/6 unoccupied both those two are 50 kW chargers. And often it is slow in changing the Charger occupation. Happens regularly that pcm show 3/4 available and when arriving 3 are occupied en one is broken.

 

[McgR]

Sutherland, OR - 4 EA charging stalls less than 800 feet from the 48 stall supercharger site - 3 of the 4 stalls on this date were "unavailable" - and the Lone ID.4 was getting a reduced charge rate at the one functional stall…

I have experienced this too. Never had more than 100 kW at Tesla.

 

[DerekS]

Sutherland, OR - 4 EA charging stalls less than 800 feet from the 48 stall supercharger site - 3 of the 4 stalls on this date were "unavailable" - and the Lone ID.4 was getting a reduced charge rate at the one functional stall…

That really says it all, doesn't it?

I have periodic reasons to travel from Dallas to Los Gatos CA.
I did this in Summer 2022 and it was completely successful and most charges were near peak rate.

I do not think I could risk that trip today.

Electrocute America needs to step up their reliability substantially.

 

[Jonathan S.]

[...] Are you one of those guys who goes to canada and tries to pay with american money? [...]

Wait, that's not okay? The few times I tried it - because, you know, exchange offices aren't ubiquitous - Canadians seemed peeved to take USD, but had no problem giving me a 1:1 exchange rate (and the change in CAD).. [...]

Uh oh, I've also done this in Canada! Specifically, Quebec City. But it was just for tips to tour guides and donations to street performers. So no requests for cash back.

Back to the main topic...
... that 48-unit Supercharger station is such a compare/contrast with EA, even if all four EA units had been charging at their stated speeds (which of course is almost never the case).

So far, of the two EA locations I've visited, Tesla had larger (and almost certainly fully functional) Superchargers in literally (as in, really literally, not figuratively) the very same parking lot, which kind of adds insult to injury (even if the insult is coming more from EA than Tesla).

I've been browsing through the VAG consent decree, EA 30-month investment plans, and EA quarterly rpts.
Absolutely zero metrics or reporting for reliability.

And check out this section, quoted here in its entirety, for maintenance.
(By contrast, the section is far longer for the required $25 to $50m they have to spend over each 30-month period on promotions.)

https://media.electrifyamerica.com/...ublicCaliforniaC3ZEVInvestmentPlanFinalvF.pdf

4.9 Maintenance Plan for Infrastructure

Electrify America recognizes that customer experience is a critical element to PEV adoption and is committed to industry-leading customer service and station maintenance and repair. To this end, Electrify America has established contractual requirements to reasonably resolve critical issues with all stations within a maximum of 72 hours.

At Electrify America, maintenance and customer experience actually starts long before chargers and technology are deployed in the public. Our Center of Excellence lab allows our team to test new hardware and software releases before they roll out nationwide. In addition, we work closely with partners from nearly all automotive manufacturers to test upcoming vehicles before they hit the market, and ensure any charging related bugs are addressed prior to a customer reaching our station.

Electrify America also invests significant resources in training our staff and the staff of our vendors. We have developed a curriculum to teach technicians how to safely and effectively perform both routine preventative and emergent maintenance. While the specific details of this program are proprietary, this program is a critical element in providing industry-leading service.

All routine preventative, campaign, and emergency maintenance is conducted by a contractor we selected through a competitive bid process. Prior to the conclusion of the contract, or as necessary, Electrify America will solicit competitive bids to ensure no lapses in maintenance coverage for 10 years from the Partial Consent Decree effective date. In addition, all public Cycle 3 stations will be marked with a toll-free customer service hotline. Since our inception in 2017, our Contact Center has received repeated praise from consumers for its customer service, and should any customers encounter issues charging at an Electrify America station, the contact center will be able to provide support. Agents and operators have access to real-time station status information and can perform tasks such as reviewing unit performance history, initiating a charge, resetting a charger, or other issue resolution tasks. The Contact Center is able to resolve the majority of customer-related issues by receiving and triaging phone calls from customers. In 2020, the Contact Center answered 98.5% of the calls in 30 seconds or less. For non-English speaking customers, a translation line 3-way service is available to agents to translate between the customer and the agent.

For customer issues that require further technical assistance, Contact Center agents work with Electrify America’s Network Operations Center (NOC) to identify a solution for the customer. The NOC team conducts root-cause analysis of customer issues, develops solutions with hardware manufacturers, functionally operates and monitors charging assets, supports maintenance service personnel, manages field maintenance deliverables, drives key performance metrics, reports network trends, and works to maximize the value of equipment and service warranties.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

@Jonathan S. thanks for taking the time.

“Electrify America has established contractual requirements to reasonably resolve critical issues with all stations within a maximum of 72 hours.”

?? (passed out)

 

[snstevens]

@daveo4EV you're in the area! Not sure if the planets will align, but I'm literally a few miles East of your route as you'll drive back South.

@daveo4EV - I second that. If you want to do a meetup in the Seattle area on this journey just message someone (@WasserGKuehlt, @whitex, @snstevens) and we'll make that happen.

I hate to miss the opportunity to see you and put a face to a name.

 

[snstevens]

I’m a long time EV owners (since 2011) - former Tesla victim/customer - avid EV road warrior and deeply experienced EV road trip participant…I’m writing this up from some perspectives from a current (ongoing trip) from the SF Bay area to Friday Harbor, WA and back - currently at Burlington but will be back in SF Bay are monday/tuesday…

I have not road tripped a Tesla since about 2019 - and I got my Taycan in July of 2020 so that’s been my EV road trip “touch stone” since then.

in the past 4 days I’ve spend some quality time in a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD. And having done identical trips with the Taycan I’m finding the experience with Model Y illuminating. Below are various bullet points in no particular order…

Summary/TLDR; - road tripping with a reliable and ubiquitous fast charging network is a game changing experience - Tesla has it and no one else does (North America) - period, full stop you do not get to argue this point. This is the first time ever since I began with EV’s that I did “zero” pre-planning for my trip - in August of 2023 the Supercharger network is now _THAT_ good and available on north/south I-5 route for west coast United states.

Bullet thoughts:

• Tesla’s seats while adequate - truly suck - they are plush but lack support for my legs - they are good enough for mid range, but I miss my 14-way w/Massage
• Road noise is again acceptable, but not as good as my Taycan
• ride quality is acceptable but again not as good as Porsche air suspension
• Model Y’s lane keeping/ACC (auto-pilot) is vastly better than Porsche Innodrive
• Model Y cabin is light/airy, but sparse
• Tesla app is really good / i miss a good vehicle app
• Tesla’s phone as a key/fob implementation is excellent - they really nailed it
• for it’s price point $52k pre-rebates/incentives - I honestly can’t think other another SUV/EV I’d rather have for it’s price - the ICE alternatives are also not Porsche’s and suck way way more than Tesla’s well done Model Y with an excellent EV drive train.
• a good EV drive train is a game changer - it just is - it covers soooooooo many sins vs. the crap is that is most mid-range ICE vehicles with crappy transmissions/engines
• I’ve not lived with the Supercharger network since 2019 - it was good then, and it’s only gotten better.
• why did my Tesla Model Y w/CCS adapter start charging “faster” at the Willows, CA EA charger than my Taycan does? Electron’s were flowing before the Porsche app had even acknowledged it had started the session
  • Tesla’s charging “game” even on the car side is vastly better
  • a Tesla at a CCS EA charger is still better than my native CCS Taycan - how is that possible?
• The Supercharger NACS connector/cable is simply better ergonomics vs. CCS1 - it’s easier to handle, easier to insert, less likely to have problems being inserted and just an all around better product - design matters - Tesla has it and CCS1 doesn’t.
• Model Y xx% to 55% SOC is “as fast” if not faster than my Taycan at a full/functional 350 kW EA station - it is however quite a bit slower charging from 55% - 9x%
  • honestly at a V3 supercharging you’re to 60% SOC in like 12 minutes - fast than any bath room walk and back to the car - your bath room break can not beat the supercharger to 60%…car will be done before you are.
• V3 superchargers routinely/commonly/universally gave me 250 kW charging rate until about 35% - and then the taper begins - I’m not sure what all the fuss is about for 800V vs. 400V - superchargers are killing it and routinely delivery 250 kW charge rates
  • I’m an engineer and I do understand what all the “fuss” should be about, but honestly at the end of the day the difference doesn’t appear in any tangible way to the consumer.
• Tesla software is just soooo much better than everyone else’s - software is a _FACT OF LIFE_ for any modern car - quit apologizing for your favorite car vendor and consoling yourself that you brought it for the “driving” - a great mechanical vehicle does not in fact make up for being infuriated on a daily/hourly basis with your vehicle software sucking.
• Supercharger session activation is world class - it “just works” and works so well - electrons are flowing before I can walk from the back of the car to the driver’s seat (this never happens with EA even when the session is “free” and starts automatically).
• I timed it once - from the time I pressed the “park button” on the transmission stalk to electrons flowing at my supercharger stop was 18 seconds…everything about supercharging vs. CCS1 is just “better” and “functional”.
• Until you’ve used a supercharger and seen just how well it “works” you have no idea how much better it is and how much it makes traveling better to have a well designed and very very functional charging network.
• With regards to charging in North America - Tesla is playing 4D chess, and the other guys aren’t even playing a game or in the same sports venue, they are just sitting there picking their noses and pointing at each other saying it’s not their fault.
• 48 (forty eight!!!!) functional Tesla supercharger stalls in Sutherland, OR less than 800 feet away is a 4 stall EA site - on the day I was there - 48 functional stalls - activation in less than 20 seconds, and 250 kW charge rate _NO_ problem - 3 of the 4 EA stalls less than 800 feet away were “unavailable’ and the lone ID.4 that was charging at the one functional EA stall was doing so with a “reduced charge rate” warning and getting less than 45 kW at 15% SOC…
  • I was in/out of Sutherland, OR with 250 kW charge rate and leaving in less than 25 min at over 90% SOC from 10% SOC
• Tesla’s mechanically may not be Porsche’s quality but they are good enough - and equal/better/same as most of the vehicle’s most people are driving. The model Y is reasonable
• Tesla lies about its range, the Model Y is not a 290-320 mile vehicle, but I’m getting about 230-250 miles range on a full charge which is a bit more than my 2020 Taycan turbo - but both cars can drive about the same distance between fast chargers on the north/south I-5 route. The difference is the Model Y is doing it with a 75 kWh battery and the Taycan’s doing it with a 93 kWh battery…
• Tesla’s integrated NAV is fantastic/functional and very very good at charge route planning
  • Tesla’s predictions for battery @ destination is accurate to +/- 2% - very very reliable - LOL the car “lies about it’s range” - the “battery icon” will show 320 miles range, but the Navigation will show you’re stopping in Sutherland, OR in 230 miles with 10% remaining battery - the car itself carry’s it own range “lies/contradictions”
  • trust the navigation but point and laugh at the battery guess o meter…
• I’ve done zero charge stop planning - and it hasn’t been necessary - the supercharger network is that good
• Model Y’s acceleration is “ample” and “effective” - on paper it’s not as fast as my Taycan Turbo - in practice any actual real/imagined difference is inconsequential outside of launch/control mode - in day to day driving the Model Y is quick, quick, quick, and can dominate most any other non-EV on the road - uphill is a dream in an EV - and highway overtakes and lane changes are trivial, effective, and devastating vs. unprepared less ICE vehicles…
  • again compared to most anemic SUV’s - the EV drive train that is nearly as fast as my Porsche Taycan Turbo is light years better than 98% of the ICE alternatives you could purchase
  • you have to purchase a Cayenne Turbo to be quicker than a Tesla Model Y AWD non-performance…Macan? Don’t make me laugh if what you want is a responsive drive train with ample acceleration.
• A good solid, well done EV drive train is a game changing experience vs. 98% of normal ICE vehicle’s - say what you will about Tesla - but I don’t think their drive trains are something you can throw rocks at
• Porsche is wrong about one-pedal driving - it should be an “option” - but not required.
• Tesla’s preconditioning software and status is vastly better than Porsches
• Tesla’s energy app (trip data, consumption, analysis, logs and insights) is a data nerd’s dream - it’s just sooooo good and even tells you exactly how much when/where you are gaining and losing range
  • this makes Tesla “lying” about vehicle range even more embarrassing - it’s clear from their own “energy” app that they know exactly to the “milli-amp/volt” where the power is going and why…
  • they should be ashamed that their advertising/guess-o-meter “lie” about the range
  • their navigation/trip-data/energy app are rock solid data-driven/science driven affairs that are highly accurate/informative
• Did I tell you how game changing it is to have a reliable and available fast charging network that is also easy to use?
• I’d rather be driving my Taycan - but also it’s cargo capacity for this trip was inadequate
• While Tesla is acceptable, i prefer my Porsche’s - but the level of quality of the Tesla charging network can NOT be under-estimated, and it’s only gotten vastly better since my last use of it in 2019
• laugh if you well at in car “entertainment” software - the streaming clients building into the main dash is a game changing experience for any road trip activities

My Taycan + Supercharging would be ideal - the network is just soooooo good and well run that EA looks like a sad dysfunctional shell of a company vs. a sleek/functional supercharging network. CCS1 as a physical/human/ergonomic design is 100% fail - I had this opinion before this trip and coming back to NACS after being away for 3 years - NACS is just better - fact - get over it. Your life _IS_ better with an NACS cable/connector vs. CCS1 horrible and human hostile design.

There is no question the Taycan is a better car, but it is effectively is a worse EV due to a number of non-mechanical factors - and most of it’s “advantages” as an EV are either unrealized or marketing spin with no actual tangible manifested benefits. to most people It’s a mechanically excellent car handicapped by a terrible and debilitating charging network and mediocre vehicle software. Most of it’s actual advantages are inconsequential to 90% of the driving public.

The Model Y on the other hand is a minimalist functional SUV that is approachable and works really well - if you look closely it’s not as good as the Taycan on a number of physical design issues, but the it’s deficiencies are lost on most people, and it’s better than most SUVs it’s competing against. And no matter how good the Porsche is - when you point it north from SF Bay are on I-5 to go to Friday harbor and need to chargr it - there is one clear and decisive winner…and it’s not the Porsche or CCS network…

The Tesla Model Y is “good enough” and occasionally great but the Supercharger network is next level “good” - it’s the Porsche of EV charging networks and it shows - it’s just vastly better. And now big enough and ubiquitous enough that you can drive with impunity and zero planning.

I’m not buying a Tesla vehicle anytime soon nor am I considering going back.

But I’m never again buying an EV without access to the supercharger network in North America - it’s just self flagellation to subject yourself to the EA network when there is a more functional higher quality alternative…

Tesla’s Supercharging in North America is the “Porsche” of fast charging networks - the existing CCS network is a broken down Yugo on the side of the road that no one is willing to take any responsibility for or seems to realize needs fixing.

@daveo4EV - I really appreciate your effort to share this trip along with pictures and perspective.

I was inspired! I decided to send another email to my Executive Case Specialist contact at PCNA (the one that @Jonathan S. suggested might be a ChatGPT Bot ?). No clue what sort of response I'll get, but if I get one I'll let you know.

<Contact Name>​

I know you must be busy, but in the likely event that you don’t keep track of the Taycan Forum online, I wanted to share a recent post. Dave is a very satisfied Taycan owner and long-time EV enthusiast. In the post he talks about taking his daughter’s Tesla Model Y on a road trip. ​

​

I suggest that this post should be required reading for Porsche management and designers. Personally, I’m a bit afraid you are going to lose momentum in the EV space with business decisions (e.g., NACS adoption, Tesla SuC access) being made by people who think the Porsche brand trumps what is becoming acknowledged to be “common sense”. ​

​

With that in mind I think Dave’s final two sentences should be a wake-up call — ​

But I’m never again buying an EV without access to the supercharger network in North America - it’s just self flagellation to subject yourself to the EA network when there is a more functional higher quality alternative…​

​

Tesla’s Supercharging in North America is the “Porsche” of fast charging networks - the existing CCS network is a broken down Yugo on the side of the road that no one is willing to take any responsibility for or seems to realize needs fixing.​

Respectfully,​

​

Perhaps I'm too optimistic, but I'm hopeful that Porsche will do the right thing...

 

[Jonathan S.]

@daveo4EV - I really appreciate your effort to share this trip along with pictures and perspective.

I was inspired! I decided to send another email to my Executive Case Specialist contact at PCNA (the one that @Jonathan S. suggested might be a ChatGPT Bot ?). No clue what sort of response I'll get, but if I get one I'll let you know. [....]

IIRC, my assessment was that your Executive Case Specialist is a sophomore communications major who has a summer internship feeding such customer service inquiries into ChatGPT.

But since that internship might be winding down as the return to school approaches, here's a pretty good response:

https://chat.openai.com/share/a18daaea-6c97-40ab-b156-85739fb0fde2

 

[Jonathan S.]

@Jonathan S. thanks for taking the time.

“Electrify America has established contractual requirements to reasonably resolve critical issues with all stations within a maximum of 72 hours.”

?? (passed out)

So glad somebody picked up on the best part of that!

Maybe EA can elaborate on that further in the next investment plan:
https://chat.openai.com/share/8119b868-7f3f-44af-99f0-5c6e2a4fb3e4

Meanwhile, back in reality ...
... last weekend we went on a family overnight trip of Amherst MA > Bedford NH > Portsmouth NH > Amherst MA. With 16% SoC gain on L1 charging at my in-law's in Bedford, no need for public charging.
However, I did look up the status of the EA in Manchester NH. My brother-in-law had warned me of its woes. And indeed, for many months (which I believe contain multiple 72-hour intervals) two units have been broken and the other two units have been at 50kW.

 

[daveo4EV]

@daveo4EV - I second that. If you want to do a meetup in the Seattle area on this journey just message someone (@WasserGKuehlt, @whitex, @snstevens) and we'll make that happen.

I hate to miss the opportunity to see you and put a face to a name.

I'll look forward to meeting anyone willing to make the effort to enjoy each other's mutual love our Taycans - @whitex @snstevens @WasserGKuehlt

moving this part of this thread to this forum topic…
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/short-notice-meet-greet-seattle-area.16776/#post-257866

 

[daveo4EV]

IIRC, my assessment was that your Executive Case Specialist is a sophomore communications major who has a summer internship feeding such customer service inquiries into ChatGPT.

But since that internship might be winding down as the return to school approaches, here's a pretty good response:

https://chat.openai.com/share/a18daaea-6c97-40ab-b156-85739fb0fde2

the chat GPT response made my day!!!!

 

[snstevens]

IIRC, my assessment was that your Executive Case Specialist is a sophomore communications major who has a summer internship feeding such customer service inquiries into ChatGPT.

But since that internship might be winding down as the return to school approaches, here's a pretty good response:

https://chat.openai.com/share/a18daaea-6c97-40ab-b156-85739fb0fde2

So funny!

Let's see what I get back (if anything) ?

 

[Chas1]

I’m a long time EV owners (since 2011) - former Tesla victim/customer - avid EV road warrior and deeply experienced EV road trip participant…I’m writing this up from some perspectives from a current (ongoing trip) from the SF Bay area to Friday Harbor, WA and back - currently at Burlington but will be back in SF Bay are monday/tuesday…

I have not road tripped a Tesla since about 2019 - and I got my Taycan in July of 2020 so that’s been my EV road trip “touch stone” since then.

in the past 4 days I’ve spend some quality time in a 2023 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD. And having done identical trips with the Taycan I’m finding the experience with Model Y illuminating. Below are various bullet points in no particular order…

Summary/TLDR; - road tripping with a reliable and ubiquitous fast charging network is a game changing experience - Tesla has it and no one else does (North America) - period, full stop you do not get to argue this point. This is the first time ever since I began with EV’s that I did “zero” pre-planning for my trip - in August of 2023 the Supercharger network is now _THAT_ good and available on north/south I-5 route for west coast United states.

Bullet thoughts:

• Tesla’s seats while adequate - truly suck - they are plush but lack support for my legs - they are good enough for mid range, but I miss my 14-way w/Massage
• Road noise is again acceptable, but not as good as my Taycan
• ride quality is acceptable but again not as good as Porsche air suspension
• Model Y’s lane keeping/ACC (auto-pilot) is vastly better than Porsche Innodrive
• Model Y cabin is light/airy, but sparse
• Tesla app is really good / i miss a good vehicle app
• Tesla’s phone as a key/fob implementation is excellent - they really nailed it
• for it’s price point $52k pre-rebates/incentives - I honestly can’t think other another SUV/EV I’d rather have for it’s price - the ICE alternatives are also not Porsche’s and suck way way more than Tesla’s well done Model Y with an excellent EV drive train.
• a good EV drive train is a game changer - it just is - it covers soooooooo many sins vs. the crap is that is most mid-range ICE vehicles with crappy transmissions/engines
• I’ve not lived with the Supercharger network since 2019 - it was good then, and it’s only gotten better.
• why did my Tesla Model Y w/CCS adapter start charging “faster” at the Willows, CA EA charger than my Taycan does? Electron’s were flowing before the Porsche app had even acknowledged it had started the session
  • Tesla’s charging “game” even on the car side is vastly better
  • a Tesla at a CCS EA charger is still better than my native CCS Taycan - how is that possible?
• The Supercharger NACS connector/cable is simply better ergonomics vs. CCS1 - it’s easier to handle, easier to insert, less likely to have problems being inserted and just an all around better product - design matters - Tesla has it and CCS1 doesn’t.
• Model Y xx% to 55% SOC is “as fast” if not faster than my Taycan at a full/functional 350 kW EA station - it is however quite a bit slower charging from 55% - 9x%
  • honestly at a V3 supercharging you’re to 60% SOC in like 12 minutes - fast than any bath room walk and back to the car - your bath room break can not beat the supercharger to 60%…car will be done before you are.
• V3 superchargers routinely/commonly/universally gave me 250 kW charging rate until about 35% - and then the taper begins - I’m not sure what all the fuss is about for 800V vs. 400V - superchargers are killing it and routinely delivery 250 kW charge rates
  • I’m an engineer and I do understand what all the “fuss” should be about, but honestly at the end of the day the difference doesn’t appear in any tangible way to the consumer.
• Tesla software is just soooo much better than everyone else’s - software is a _FACT OF LIFE_ for any modern car - quit apologizing for your favorite car vendor and consoling yourself that you brought it for the “driving” - a great mechanical vehicle does not in fact make up for being infuriated on a daily/hourly basis with your vehicle software sucking.
• Supercharger session activation is world class - it “just works” and works so well - electrons are flowing before I can walk from the back of the car to the driver’s seat (this never happens with EA even when the session is “free” and starts automatically).
• I timed it once - from the time I pressed the “park button” on the transmission stalk to electrons flowing at my supercharger stop was 18 seconds…everything about supercharging vs. CCS1 is just “better” and “functional”.
• Until you’ve used a supercharger and seen just how well it “works” you have no idea how much better it is and how much it makes traveling better to have a well designed and very very functional charging network.
• With regards to charging in North America - Tesla is playing 4D chess, and the other guys aren’t even playing a game or in the same sports venue, they are just sitting there picking their noses and pointing at each other saying it’s not their fault.
• 48 (forty eight!!!!) functional Tesla supercharger stalls in Sutherland, OR less than 800 feet away is a 4 stall EA site - on the day I was there - 48 functional stalls - activation in less than 20 seconds, and 250 kW charge rate _NO_ problem - 3 of the 4 EA stalls less than 800 feet away were “unavailable’ and the lone ID.4 that was charging at the one functional EA stall was doing so with a “reduced charge rate” warning and getting less than 45 kW at 15% SOC…
  • I was in/out of Sutherland, OR with 250 kW charge rate and leaving in less than 25 min at over 90% SOC from 10% SOC
• Tesla’s mechanically may not be Porsche’s quality but they are good enough - and equal/better/same as most of the vehicle’s most people are driving. The model Y is reasonable
• Tesla lies about its range, the Model Y is not a 290-320 mile vehicle, but I’m getting about 230-250 miles range on a full charge which is a bit more than my 2020 Taycan turbo - but both cars can drive about the same distance between fast chargers on the north/south I-5 route. The difference is the Model Y is doing it with a 75 kWh battery and the Taycan’s doing it with a 93 kWh battery…
• Tesla’s integrated NAV is fantastic/functional and very very good at charge route planning
  • Tesla’s predictions for battery @ destination is accurate to +/- 2% - very very reliable - LOL the car “lies about it’s range” - the “battery icon” will show 320 miles range, but the Navigation will show you’re stopping in Sutherland, OR in 230 miles with 10% remaining battery - the car itself carry’s it own range “lies/contradictions”
  • trust the navigation but point and laugh at the battery guess o meter…
• I’ve done zero charge stop planning - and it hasn’t been necessary - the supercharger network is that good
• Model Y’s acceleration is “ample” and “effective” - on paper it’s not as fast as my Taycan Turbo - in practice any actual real/imagined difference is inconsequential outside of launch/control mode - in day to day driving the Model Y is quick, quick, quick, and can dominate most any other non-EV on the road - uphill is a dream in an EV - and highway overtakes and lane changes are trivial, effective, and devastating vs. unprepared less ICE vehicles…
  • again compared to most anemic SUV’s - the EV drive train that is nearly as fast as my Porsche Taycan Turbo is light years better than 98% of the ICE alternatives you could purchase
  • you have to purchase a Cayenne Turbo to be quicker than a Tesla Model Y AWD non-performance…Macan? Don’t make me laugh if what you want is a responsive drive train with ample acceleration.
• A good solid, well done EV drive train is a game changing experience vs. 98% of normal ICE vehicle’s - say what you will about Tesla - but I don’t think their drive trains are something you can throw rocks at
• Porsche is wrong about one-pedal driving - it should be an “option” - but not required.
• Tesla’s preconditioning software and status is vastly better than Porsches
• Tesla’s energy app (trip data, consumption, analysis, logs and insights) is a data nerd’s dream - it’s just sooooo good and even tells you exactly how much when/where you are gaining and losing range
  • this makes Tesla “lying” about vehicle range even more embarrassing - it’s clear from their own “energy” app that they know exactly to the “milli-amp/volt” where the power is going and why…
  • they should be ashamed that their advertising/guess-o-meter “lie” about the range
  • their navigation/trip-data/energy app are rock solid data-driven/science driven affairs that are highly accurate/informative
• Did I tell you how game changing it is to have a reliable and available fast charging network that is also easy to use?
• I’d rather be driving my Taycan - but also it’s cargo capacity for this trip was inadequate
• While Tesla is acceptable, i prefer my Porsche’s - but the level of quality of the Tesla charging network can NOT be under-estimated, and it’s only gotten vastly better since my last use of it in 2019
• laugh if you well at in car “entertainment” software - the streaming clients building into the main dash is a game changing experience for any road trip activities

My Taycan + Supercharging would be ideal - the network is just soooooo good and well run that EA looks like a sad dysfunctional shell of a company vs. a sleek/functional supercharging network. CCS1 as a physical/human/ergonomic design is 100% fail - I had this opinion before this trip and coming back to NACS after being away for 3 years - NACS is just better - fact - get over it. Your life _IS_ better with an NACS cable/connector vs. CCS1 horrible and human hostile design.

There is no question the Taycan is a better car, but it is effectively is a worse EV due to a number of non-mechanical factors - and most of it’s “advantages” as an EV are either unrealized or marketing spin with no actual tangible manifested benefits. to most people It’s a mechanically excellent car handicapped by a terrible and debilitating charging network and mediocre vehicle software. Most of it’s actual advantages are inconsequential to 90% of the driving public.

The Model Y on the other hand is a minimalist functional SUV that is approachable and works really well - if you look closely it’s not as good as the Taycan on a number of physical design issues, but the it’s deficiencies are lost on most people, and it’s better than most SUVs it’s competing against. And no matter how good the Porsche is - when you point it north from SF Bay are on I-5 to go to Friday harbor and need to chargr it - there is one clear and decisive winner…and it’s not the Porsche or CCS network…

The Tesla Model Y is “good enough” and occasionally great but the Supercharger network is next level “good” - it’s the Porsche of EV charging networks and it shows - it’s just vastly better. And now big enough and ubiquitous enough that you can drive with impunity and zero planning.

I’m not buying a Tesla vehicle anytime soon nor am I considering going back.

But I’m never again buying an EV without access to the supercharger network in North America - it’s just self flagellation to subject yourself to the EA network when there is a more functional higher quality alternative…

Tesla’s Supercharging in North America is the “Porsche” of fast charging networks - the existing CCS network is a broken down Yugo on the side of the road that no one is willing to take any responsibility for or seems to realize needs fixing.

In uk Tesla is opening up its network to other vehicles. So best of both worlds maybe?

 

[Elroy]

I believe this to be relivant to the Taycan community given the recent decision by many other vendors (with VW/Audi/Porsche notably absent) to adopt both NACS and provide access to the Tesla Supercharger network in North America - this is relivant to the Taycan community - but as always you are welcome to use the forum's ignore function or simply don't ready the Taycan vs. forum…

many DM messages have already shown this post to be well received - but you're welcome to your opinion.

access to a functional and reliable charging network will be necessary for Porsche's conintued success - and good f'ing luck selling a 100k Macan EV in north america vs. a 52k Model Y if the macan doesn't have acess to a reliable charging network with a connector most people can actually handle.

but not every is required to agree with every one else on a public forum…

if anything I've posted lacks a factual basis I welcome correction (as I always have).

Thanks David for your through report and discussion. Any thoughts as to when Porsche will adopt both NACS (or a workable adapter solution) and provide access to the Tesla Supercharger network in North America?