Dennis C

Hey everyone,

I'm a new EV owner with a 2020 Jaguar I-Pace HSE in the garage next to my Porsche. My wife and I were looking for a small SUV to replace our Audi SQ5, and ended up considering the EV options in this space. We looked at the Audi eTron and the Tesla Model Y and Model X. We didn't really consider the Jaguar I-Pace to be a serious contender until I researched it, and actually drove one. Wow... the tech on this car and the driving dynamics were shocking to me. Also, the car looks fantastic in person, and very different from other EVs. We absolutely love the car.

I will admit, I wasn't particularly excited about the Taycan when it first launched. I'm more of a 911 guy. After living with an EV for a little while and adapting to EV requirements, I'm excited to drive a Taycan. I can't say that I'd ever replace my 911 with a Taycan, but I can certainly see one in my garage at some point in the future.

I'm looking forward to following the experiences of the Taycan owners here, and hearing about the pros and cons of the vehicle.

daveo4porsche

once you go EV there is no going back - it changes you…

Dennis C

Driving without using the brakes is pretty cool... in addition to the huge burst of instantaneous torque.

GratedWasabi

FWIW, as someone that owned an iPace and now owns a Taycan 4S.. you're going to be blown away. The Taycan is about 8,000 times the car the iPace is.

Also I suggest independently verifying your iPace has a full capacity. Quite a few iPaces, mine included, were bought back as lemons due to a defective main battery. You can do this by comparing your trip kWh/100 mile figure against actual mileage and by verifying SOC% vs kw charged (1% charged should equal approximately .86 kw).

AlexCeres

lol. The model 3 made me realize what my life was missing was a 911 ....

daveo4porsche

well 911's are special - but I'll take an EV over 95% of any gas car out there - most of what's on the road is crap and vs. and EV the EV is a way way way better choice.

AlexCeres

Driving the model 3 was mind blowing. The performance per $ is on a whole different level. EV is clearly the future. Maybe 10 more years or more, but inevitable. Change is a coming. it’s going to be an exciting car decade.

Dennis C

So far, the car has been excellent and the range is exceeding our expectations. I’ve already run the numbers on charging out of curiosity, and the battery is taking the maximum allowable charge.

Needsdecaf

EV's are very difficult to feel "special". Even the Taycan, remarkable as it is, does not have the same feel as a 911. Even a normal Carrera.

But they are excellent as daily runabouts. Think about it, most cars that are classified as daily runabouts suck. Too many are soulless 2.0T engines, all low down torque and no revs. Transmissions are programmed to shift to max gear (of which we now have 10 and more coming!) and lug the crap out of the engine because that artificially inflates EPA scores, but meanwhile those are impossible to actually achieve in the real world. So you're stuck with a miserable powertrain that lugs around below the even already low power band. Thank goodness today's autos are really decent but even then, when you spot a gap in traffic it's throttle...pause...booooooSSSTTTTTT and you're lunging forward with a hoarse moan and an out-of-control lunge, then the revs hang uncomfortably long time because the TCU thinks "wait, now we're in attack mode!" and then after 3 seconds realize "no, we just were passing mom in her minivan, ok let's relax". Or you're in traffic, creeping along and just as your'e speeding up and the car makes an upshift, you have to slow down. Clunk-clunk the powertrain shunts because you got off the gas when the car was expecting to keep going. Or worse, the transmission is programmed to avoid all of this so it slips constantly, and when you want to get on it, the engine responds but all it does is make noise until the torque converter locks up.

This is 90% of the cars on the marketplace.

Now replace that with a smooth electric powertrain. No gear shifts (unless you're the Taycan ), instant response to the go pedal, just smooth progress. You see a gap in traffic and BOOM you're there. Low speed driving has no powertrain shunting, no lash, no clunks. You don't have to wait for everything to warm up if you're just popping to the store 2 miles away. Just get in and go.

It's no wonder you get used to it quickly.

daveo4porsche

even the Bolt which is not a quick EV by any EV standard is worlds better than the sort of ICE in the Bolt's "class" of vehicle - I experienced this with one of my early EV's - the Ford Focus EV - which was an adequate car, but after driving it for a few weeks was not impressing me. Until I took a trip to Miller Motorsports in SLC/Utah and rented your standard hatch-back ECONO-Box - something 4 cylinder, farty, good gas mileage and no guts not glory. OMG it hit me - even the most pathetic EV is worlds better than the low-end/mid-range crap that represents well in excess of 90% of vehicles on the road...

to really really have a car that is equal or marginally better than even a modest EV requires you to skim the cream of the crop of available ICE's to realize a difference, however compared to the plethora of cars actually purchased, used, and less than $40k virtually any EV would be percieved by most people as a vast improvement if they gave them a chance.

a crappy EV is way better than a crappy ICE and most people after driving them would be hard pressed to want to get back into a gas car after living with a decent/good/excellent EV for any length of time.

Once you go EV you can't go back, and your 1st EV isn't going to be your last EV…I am however on my last gas cars - with the GT3 being the last to go - but my wife is ready day 1 to replace her '15 Boxster S PDK when there is an EV convertible (hopefully a Porsche Boxster EV).

when that happens we'll be down to the GT3 - which is not unlike a Jetsk/Skiboati recreational vehicle that you can only use at the lake…at that point who cares that's a gas car - I've reduced my other usage by so much the fact the GT3 is still gas is inconsequential vs. the miles driven by the EV's in my personal fleet. And the GT3 clearly represents the "cream" of the crop of available ICE vehicles and is unlikely to be eclipsed by _ANY_ other vehicle ICE or EV…that's what we down to. EV's are in fact better cars most of the time for most use cases, where gas cars are "better" is not common nor likley, and easily managed such that you drive EV most of the time, and gas only when it's necessary.

Dennis C

I agree with this and I have no doubt that we will own an other EV in the future. For an everyday driver, around town or even short road trips, I can't see a better option. I still need a heavy duty vehicle for hauling, pulling a trailer, trips into the back country with people and gear, etc. For that purpose, I've got a GMC Crew Cab pickup truck. I also agree with your thoughts on ICE vehicles and their place. I drove the Porsche the other night with the top down, and it was awfully nice hearing the exhaust burble and pop on downshifts.

Toby Pennycuff

I'm in agreement with these sentiments. My Taycan is a joy to drive! Mind you, I still have more ICE vehicles than a sane person should (73 911S, 79 930, 89 Targa, 01 Cup, 06 330Ci, 16 GMC 1500 and a 20 Macan GTS), but I am really enjoying my trips in the Taycan. Now if we can just get the public charging situation improved significantly!!! And no, I'm not talking about just getting the installed EA chargers actually working! An operating model where one can refill either an ICE or an EV would be great! Here in Texas, we have a franchise called Bucee's. They are generally along the major highways and have upwards of 96 fuel pumps! And every one of them is running all the time. There certainly is enough power grid infrastructure and physical to support the installation of DC Fast Chargers! I wish they would......

One can only wish..... I'll deal with the charging situation because I so thoroughly enjoy driving my Taycan!

Toby

Dennis C

I assume you've got Electrify America stations at Walmart stores in Texas? Their DC rapid chargers are at most Walmart Supercenters and at many shopping centers in Colorado. I've used them before, and they're fast.

unclewill

Nothing goes up a long mountain pass like an EV! Smooth, effortless speed. Refill the tank on the way back down the other side.
To me, driving an EV is like driving a manual that is in the right gear at the torque peak all of the time. Tip the pedal in and go, let off and “engine brake.”
I actually laughed out loud the other day when I passed a muffler shop. Never again. Ditto the transmission shop, the quick lube, the gas station....

daveo4porsche

it has always cracked me up when I'm talking with a hard core ICE person that doesn't like EV's (but has never driven one) but will spend hours explaining how they like the throttle response of a good NA engine cause there is no turbo lag…the EV is actually the realization of the NA no-turbo lag dream machine - constant, linear, instant, and ample torque available at any time - it's the best NA engine ever made!!! But they will explain to me in great detail how EV's aren't any good.