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

[daveo4EV]

I would expect it to beat virtually any gas SUV. The question is more how many EV SUV does it beat?

so far I like it better than the BMW iX I test drove for an afternoon…

Model Y has it charms (namely price and functionality) but it's not a car you want

Mercedes are too luxo-barge for me

Model X is too funky and for the Price I'll take the Macan EV - but Model X is more "functional" than Macan…

it's top of it's game and competitors will find it hard to beat - but there is not a wide field yet - so we'll see…

 

[daveo4EV]

no "transmission tunnel" between the 2 rear seats - Taycan has a "hump"…small detail - but nice.

 

[daveo4EV]

screen shot - current navigation - you can see "two" charging stops - one on the left - and one of the right

the one on the left is our "set destination" - the one on the "right" is a "suggestion/hint" from the PCM nav - I really really like this feature and think it's a great feature for people…

taping on the tile - gives you all sorts of data about the stop and then an easy button for adding/replacing that lcoation in your current route - features like this will keep me using PCM for road trip's - and AppleMaps/Google/Waze for around town trip computers and traffic management…

 

[daveo4EV]

current segment is playing out as follows:

gonna be 200 miles driven - we're going to land with 15% battery - average speed is 74 mph - 15% left for 200 miles driven means effective 0% range of 230 miles - me thanks that's no too bad for 74 mph average speed - we're currently doing much more than 74 mph - and consumption is showing 40.1 kWh/100 miles…

I'm happy with 230 miles effective range for > 70 mph cruising speed - I'm hopeful slower speeds will impress me with range due to the lower aero-loads…

the only problme here - was there is no charger in the 220-230 mile range - it's empty space - the ONLY CCS1 fast charges after the one's we're stopping at are 100 miles further on - so while we could drive 230-240 miles - there is nothing to stop at a charge…

 

[daveo4EV]

plug-share has been an essential tool for this trip - it has notified us that at least 3 of our planned charging stops were "high risk" and therefore a bad idea - we made alternate plans when we investigated their reliability ratings and recent check-ins…

plugshare.com/apps - don't EV with out them - this has been a non-paid annoucement - but it probably should be compensated

https://www.plugshare.com/

they have a website - but I've been using the app!

 

[daveo4EV]

hmmm more funkyness with an EA 350 kW station

• attempt #1 - plug&charge passed and authorized payment - then the station started to try and charge - it spun up - waited a while - red on the car - and no charging started
• atempt #2 - plug&charge NEVER initiated - station sat there doing nothing - I started session w/EA app - tried again to start the charging session - and never got electrons flowing
• attempt #3 - moved to another stall - plug&charge never 'triggered' - start the session with app - electrons start to flow - but capped at 175 kW - even though I'm at 16% SOC
• charging working fine - but I"m in the wrong stall - so unplug move the car - I plug in - plug&charge works this time - electrons flow - but again only 175 kW charge rate - but I'm at 40% SOC by this time!

hmmmm - starting to have a complex about the EA 350 kW stations…

so another near-miss w/EA - but yeah we're charging.

 

[PanameraFrank]

I've had so many problems with EA 350 chargers, I almost prefer 150s.

Sounds like you're enjoying the car, charging & range aside. Feeling pretty bummed over your range results so far, was really hoping it could get a bit further.

 

[Fleming23]

40.1kwh/100 miles is truly pretty bad, no? Even at 70+, my Rivian is in that territory of poor efficiency.

 

[CandianPorsche83]

40.1kwh/100 miles is truly pretty bad, no? Even at 70+, my Rivian is in that territory of poor efficiency.

It might be the worse of anybody whose posted results or done reviews so far …

 

[daveo4EV]

another EA site - another site with 2 150kW stations - 2 350 kW stations

• station 01 - 150 kW - this station functioned for me with plug&charge right away - 175 kW charge rate
• station 02 - 350 kW - is so incredibly broken (screen corrupted and credit card reader busted) - I didn't even try
• station 03 - 350 kW - one CCS1 cable has a broken handle, but I plugged it in anyways - station had no response and did not acknowledge it being plugged into - tried the 2nd cable same result - no forward progress on starting the session
• station 04 - 150 kW - didn't try it - since station 01 functioned for me.

I"m getting a complex about these EA stations and my Macan - so far I don't believe I've ever gotten a 350 kW station to work with my Macan - hmmmmm - station type is ABB - I have a picture.

 

[daveo4EV]

I love the power charging ports - same as with my Taycan - no because they "open" - but because they close - it's very enjoyable to me to simply unplug the CCS1 cable and then while I'm putting back in the holster the car just closes the charge port - one of life's little pleasures…

don't get it because it's easy to open - get it because it just closes when you're done and it's one less thing to do.