[Trip Report] - I'm peddling as fast as I can to generate electrons… PEC ATL to Santa Cruz in a Macan EV Turbo?

[daveo4EV]

knowing what I know now and the the potential efficiency of the Macan Turbo - I think an adventurous owner could make it from Albuqurque to Winslow but it would require confidence and diligence on the speed and conditions… but it could be done - bypasing two problematic EA stations - but it's right at the limit of the Macan's range.

 

[daveo4EV]

First of all, (and as my second post on this forum), I just want to thank you so much for your posting about this saga; reading about your progress is both entertaining and a great learning experience).

I just want to comment, in my so-far limited DC charging experience, I have so far tried to charge from 3 different EA 350 KW two-cord chargers, and failed every time (but have been able to successfully charge on the 150 KW chargers at the same sites.) Is this an EA problem, or is it an EA/Porsche problem?

EA problem 100%

 

[daveo4EV]

time for the minor nit's section - these are "feedback" items but not worth getting all upset:

• I really really want the battery@destination % in the HUD
• the sun visors are a bit "short" - when rotating them 90 degrees to block the sun from the side windows - they are not long enough! some extenders would be nice - this is my co-driver's #1 complaint and he wanted to make sure I mentioned it.
• I miss the "2nd" sun visor from the Cayenne - if you know you know - this is a great feature!
• sun shade open/close buttons are bit wonky - but they work
• massage seat settings reset to minimum - I have no idea why or how to get that fixed
• the electronic door releases sometimes want to argue with you when trying get out of the car
• if you have driver's door unlock only - it can sometimes be hard to open the other 3 doors from the outside if the vehicle is locked
• the key-fob buttons are in different locations vs. _ALL_ other Porsche fob's (I'm told Audi owners will be very familiar and happy)
  • the 4 buttons from top-bottom are:
    • frunk
    • unlock
    • lock
    • trunk
  • muscle memory from other Porsche FOB's means you're constantly opening the frunk
  • {sigh}
• there are good postion adjustments for the HUB - but no 'right or left' bias adjustment - the current HUD position means the speed limit "sign" in the HUD is projected right on top of the driver's side lane marking - I want to nudge the HUD projection to the right just a bit so that it's not on top of the lane marking

these are _MINOR_ _MINOR_ pieces of feedback in an otherwise excellent vehicle -and great EV!

 

[daveo4EV]

car sat at night @ Grand Canyon in sub freezing temps and had same battery % in the morning as it did before going to sleep!

 

[daveo4EV]

First of all, (and as my second post on this forum), I just want to thank you so much for your posting about this saga; reading about your progress is both entertaining and a great learning experience).

I just want to comment, in my so-far limited DC charging experience, I have so far tried to charge from 3 different EA 350 KW two-cord chargers, and failed every time (but have been able to successfully charge on the 150 KW chargers at the same sites.) Is this an EA problem, or is it an EA/Porsche problem?

first off you are most welcome - I like to share information to raise the general awareness - and factual first hand experience is hard to come by IMHO - my observations may not be universally true, but they are in fact what has happened on this trip! So it is what it is.

as a request - please note/take-picture of the chargers you're having problems with next time you're trying…

I'm gussing they are ABB's and the same one's that have been problematic for me…

so far I have run into 3 types of EA chargers

• ABB units - two cords - the two cord holsters on on the "front" of the unit side by side
• SK unit - the one cord model from Grand Canyon - picture in this thread
• Unkonwn unit - two cords - but holsters are on opposites side of the unit vs. the front for the ABB units

the ABB units have been reliable for the 150 kW version - but the 350's have been no joy for me
the SK unit was flawless
the "unknown" unit in Kingsman, AZ was also quite good as a 350 kW unit - and the 1st and only EA unit to delivery > 175 kW to my Macan Turbo!

 

[daveo4EV]

my Macan Turbo lacks sports plus as a drive mode - I believe it's because I optioned the Compass which is technically not the sport's chrono - this is silly software hold back by Porsche in my opinion - but it what it is!!

 

[daveo4EV]

charging networks required to make the trip via HWY 40 from Atlanta, GA to Santa Cruz, CA

this road trip brought to you by these "sponsers"

• Electrify America - required
• ChargePoint - required - not optional - required to bridge a segment
• Charge&Stay - optional - not required - opportunity charge overnight
• EVGo - required

no Tesla chargers have been used during this trip - this is MUCH to my personal surprise!! I would not have bet on this when planing this trip. There hasn't even been an option to use a Tesla destination charger. hmmmmm…

 

[daveo4EV]

it's interesting to note (at least to me) we are 250'ish miles shy of a full "coast to coast" trip - so this trip is what can be done with an EV from the Atlantic coast nearly) to the Northern California Pacific coast…

wow - you can road trip with EV's and it's not horrible - but still needs improvement.

 

[daveo4EV]

the Grand Canyon detour, and Las Vegas detour at the end will have added a day and a half - otherwise we'd be home tonight in California - meaing this trip could be done from Friday to Monday with minimal drama.

 

[PanameraFrank]

Amazing! So happy to see the MUCH improved results!

Gotta call you out, though. Everyone knows shitty sunvisors are required for it to be a real Porsche. That's a feature, not a bug. A really bad, dumb feature but hey.

Also for reference to everyone.. my 135kw Max Pack R1S wouldn't make it 270 miles at 83. Maybe 260. Impressive numbers.

 

[gtm]

Dateline: Grand Canyon - Nov. 18th, 2024 - 9:30 am

Headline: Man has first positive EA charging experience - is dazed and confused!

Summary: it's the equipment stupid! It's the gosh darn equipment!

So I pull into the Grand Canyon Visitor Center's 6 stall EA 350 kW charging stations with some tripedation cause this entire site is 350 kW chargers! And I've been having trouble getting EA 350's to activate.

So I back in - get out - and plug-in. And it just works, works fast, works flawlessly, and immediately starts charging with no action's/debugging required on my part! Shocked! Amazed! Happy! Satisfied are the emotions I'm experiencing.

Why you say? I obviously can't know for sure - but I'm thinking the equipment makes a difference!

Well all 6 of these EA chargers are not the two cord pieces-o-sh*t chargers that most 4 stall EA sites have that we all know/love/hate - no this beauties are the new single cord, long cord charging stalls. And I've heard good things about these mythical uni-corn (or is it uni-cord) chargers - and apparently the rumors are true!

It is possible to have a good charging experience with electrify america if they would just install the right equipment…there is hope, but we're not there yet!

unfortunately I did not get to test the charging speed: battery was too cold aftrer being cold-soaked overnight at the Grand Canyon (got down to 29F overnight) - and my SOC was too high (38%) - but the battery did start charging immediately I promptly got 85 kW, and it slowly crawled up to 125 kW before it started reducing again…

right now I'm at 43.1 kW @ 86%…battery temp 94F up from 43F when I started charging.

I would totally use EA if they had this experience at all their charging sites!!

I almost want to go out and run the battery down to 5% and come back and plug in for a fast charging test!!! But I don't have time and that would be a stupid way to spend one's time…

I'm not just negative for sh*ts and giggles - I can share good news! I'm just critical and want this stuff to actually work!!!

the ABB units EA has deployed in a lot of sites are simply crap - these SK units - well them seem to have some spit on the ball and could make supercharging something I only use if it suites my needs…I'd use EA if they worked this well!!

walking distance to Starbucks also helps, and there is a pizza hut in the charging parking lot - and visitor center in the same parking lot has IMAX theater and clean bathrooms - this is a 5* site!!! I may never leave.

pics below of the sort of EA stalls you want to see when pulling up!!

A 6 stall 350 kW station opened near me 4 days ago. Flawless charging experience. Plug & Charge worked and the unit was dispensing electrons to my Taycan within 30 seconds. Like the ones you finally had a good experience at, these were the single cord units and both the units and layout are identical to your pictures. I seriously hope this is a trend but I question whether or not the units will be reliable after they are in use for a while and if EA will keep them maintained. EA's track record isn't the greatest. But right now there are at least two confirmed excellent EA station in the U.S.

 

[daveo4EV]

14 way seats w/Massage - I find this a better choice vs. the 18's - but YMMV

 

[daveo4EV]

one data point:

38% to 100% at 350 kW EA stations at 35F ambient temps with starting battery temp 51F took me 01h 15m

YMMV - but it's a data point.

Given how slow it was at the end of the- I highly doubt this will vary by much even starting from 5%…it's the end that is costly - not the beginning.

for 150/350 kW stations it would be hard for me to see how it would ever take more than 90 minutes to an absolute 100%.

 

[adamjay79]

time for the minor nit's section - these are "feedback" items but not worth getting all upset:

• I really really want the battery@destination % in the HUD
• the sun visors are a bit "short" - when rotating them 90 degrees to block the sun from the side windows - they are not long enough! some extenders would be nice - this is my co-driver's #1 complaint and he wanted to make sure I mentioned it.
• I miss the "2nd" sun visor from the Cayenne - if you know you know - this is a great feature!
• sun shade open/close buttons are bit wonky - but they work
• massage seat settings reset to minimum - I have no idea why or how to get that fixed
• the electronic door releases sometimes want to argue with you when trying get out of the car
• if you have driver's door unlock only - it can sometimes be hard to open the other 3 doors from the outside if the vehicle is locked
• the key-fob buttons are in different locations vs. _ALL_ other Porsche fob's (I'm told Audi owners will be very familiar and happy)
  • the 4 buttons from top-bottom are:
    • frunk
    • unlock
    • lock
    • trunk
  • muscle memory from other Porsche FOB's means you're constantly opening the frunk
  • {sigh}
• there are good postion adjustments for the HUB - but no 'right or left' bias adjustment - the current HUD position means the speed limit "sign" in the HUD is projected right on top of the driver's side lane marking - I want to nudge the HUD projection to the right just a bit so that it's not on top of the lane marking

these are _MINOR_ _MINOR_ pieces of feedback in an otherwise excellent vehicle -and great EV!

First and foremost - thank you so much for such a detailed accounting of your trip.

2 questions if I may:

1) Electric door release: I was under the impression the inner door handles were standard and not push to release like Tesla.
Silly question- when the turn signals are on, are the rear turn signals animated as you’d see on an Audi, or standard flashing?

 

[CandianPorsche83]

First and foremost - thank you so much for such a detailed accounting of your trip.

2 questions if I may:

1) Electric door release: I was under the impression the inner door handles were standard and not push to release like Tesla.
Silly question- when the turn signals are on, are the rear turn signals animated as you’d see on an Audi, or standard flashing?

If it’s like the Taycan, I think a light pull on the door handle opens the door electrically. A harder pull opens it up mechanically.

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