Is the 150kw charger essential on Taycan 4S?
Discussion
I have a Taycan 4s arriving at some point in the next month or so. ( Its stuck in quality control at the moment!). I ticked virtually all the option boxes when I ordered the car early in the year and now I notice there is a 150kw DC charging option. Firstly I was frustrated that the dealer didn't call to recommend I ticked the box before build particularly as they have been brilliant at communicating thus far. However I have read that 95% of the 150kw chargers in the UK operate at 960v and the 50kw DC charger will still charge at the faster rate because of the 800v architecture.
I'm now confused!, have I just bought a £100k car which will spend 3 times longer charging while I wait the next few years for more Ionity charges to be installed?
As I understand it, it's for the 400V (ie not Ionity) but over 50kW chargers. There's been quite a few rolled out in the last year - lots of new Instavolt sites, and the new Chargemaster stuff going in at BP petrol stations is tending to be 100+kW. Both are targeting sites near motorway junctions and on major routes, BP are also putting them into motorway service forecourts too.
These are out there so far:
Worth £300? Really depends on your usage. If most journeys are well within the car's range and you're happy with the odd Ionity charge on a longer journey, no. If you're doing longer (300+ mile) trips where you might hit some of these 150kW chargers and need to get plenty of charge on board it means the difference between an hour at 50kW vs 20 mins or so to a 20-80% charge. If you just need an extra 50 miles to get home it's not a big difference really.
Plenty of people could go through their ownership without ever using it, but some people would gladly pay that to shave 40 minutes off a long journey if they were in a hurry.
These are out there so far:
Worth £300? Really depends on your usage. If most journeys are well within the car's range and you're happy with the odd Ionity charge on a longer journey, no. If you're doing longer (300+ mile) trips where you might hit some of these 150kW chargers and need to get plenty of charge on board it means the difference between an hour at 50kW vs 20 mins or so to a 20-80% charge. If you just need an extra 50 miles to get home it's not a big difference really.
Plenty of people could go through their ownership without ever using it, but some people would gladly pay that to shave 40 minutes off a long journey if they were in a hurry.
Thanks for all the info.
In reality, It would only be a few times a year I would need to charge the car while on the road. I'm gutted I didn't order it originally and as the car is built I can't change the order. But for a £100k car, it should be standard.
My hope is that by the time it comes to moving the car on there are more 800v charges.
In reality, It would only be a few times a year I would need to charge the car while on the road. I'm gutted I didn't order it originally and as the car is built I can't change the order. But for a £100k car, it should be standard.
My hope is that by the time it comes to moving the car on there are more 800v charges.
.I was told by the Porsche GB rep at the launch that this option is not required in the UK.
It turns out that, in fact, because legislation means that all the 150kW chargers in the UK have super-modern 960V, they'll charge the Taycan at the full 150kW even if you haven’t added the optional DC on-board charging system. Or at least, according to research that Porsche has done, it will at some 95% or more.
I did not spec it
It turns out that, in fact, because legislation means that all the 150kW chargers in the UK have super-modern 960V, they'll charge the Taycan at the full 150kW even if you haven’t added the optional DC on-board charging system. Or at least, according to research that Porsche has done, it will at some 95% or more.
I did not spec it
I have had my 4S since NOV 20 and every time I have connected to a charger capable of more than 150kw I get the right output. For example, on the BP Polar chargers, it normally shows 175kw. My biggest bugbear is not going for a 22kw as my work chargers are 3 phase. This was not clearly explained to me at the time of sale. My average range is now up to 280 miles in the warmer weather so I don't need to face the stress of public charging so much at the moment.
DFog said:
My biggest bugbear is not going for a 22kw as my work chargers are 3 phase.
From my experience, between 11kw-50kw are only relevant if you connect to them a couple of hours. For a workday, 11kW should be plenty for a workday, unless you regularly visit work for just a couple of hours of course.
especially since these sometimes overlooked options greatly impact the usability of the car for some people.This is yet another thread which confirms my view that you should only buy an electric if your use of the car can be built around regular charging at home or at work. The UK charger network seems to be a nightmare of compatibility and charging time. I would utterly dread being in a situation where "the car only takes 20 minutes to charge" .... "but you're third in the queue for this one and the other charger doesn't fit your car".
ZesPak said:
From my experience, between 11kw-50kw are only relevant if you connect to them a couple of hours. For a workday, 11kW should be plenty for a workday, unless you regularly visit work for just a couple of hours of course.
I agree until there are more electric cars than charges at the office.......but that's when seniority trumps battery levelDFog said:
I agree until there are more electric cars than charges at the office.......but that's when seniority trumps battery level
good point, hadn't thought of that.
Though doubling the number of chargers (provided there are more spots) seems like a more convenient solution for everyone compared to doubling the charge rate?
The real question is how often do you think you will want to charge at 150kW?
If you do lots of long journeys and have a bladder of steel then yeah, maybe it's worth paying for. For occasional use, who cares about an extra 15 minutes now and then that you can use to stretch your legs a bit anyway.
Charging is not like pumping fossil fuels, you don't have to stand around with your hand on the pump while it happens. For most people 99% of their charging is done at home too.
If you do lots of long journeys and have a bladder of steel then yeah, maybe it's worth paying for. For occasional use, who cares about an extra 15 minutes now and then that you can use to stretch your legs a bit anyway.
Charging is not like pumping fossil fuels, you don't have to stand around with your hand on the pump while it happens. For most people 99% of their charging is done at home too.
aestetix1 said:
The real question is how often do you think you will want to charge at 150kW?
If you do lots of long journeys and have a bladder of steel then yeah, maybe it's worth paying for. For occasional use, who cares about an extra 15 minutes now and then that you can use to stretch your legs a bit anyway.
Charging is not like pumping fossil fuels, you don't have to stand around with your hand on the pump while it happens. For most people 99% of their charging is done at home too.
? It's the difference between 30 minutes and 1,5h if you're doing a longer trip... If you do lots of long journeys and have a bladder of steel then yeah, maybe it's worth paying for. For occasional use, who cares about an extra 15 minutes now and then that you can use to stretch your legs a bit anyway.
Charging is not like pumping fossil fuels, you don't have to stand around with your hand on the pump while it happens. For most people 99% of their charging is done at home too.
ZesPak said:
? It's the difference between 30 minutes and 1,5h if you're doing a longer trip...
Depends entirely on the charger you select. The 150kW charger option isn't needed for >150kW charging, it's just those few chargers that are in the 100-150kW range that benefit from it.If you don't get it but simply use the faster chargers it actually makes no difference at all to charge times. So it's really a fraction of a fraction you are talking about.
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff