Porsche Macan Forums

Am hoping that I won't need to move house, Mike!

What a stunning looking car, I would register my interest but.... and it is a big but. Current battery technology simply does not provide the usability I require for such a premium vehicle. Superb performance yes, but leave your country home on a winters morning with the lights and heating and heated seats on and after 100 miles you will be stressing about a finding a charging point, never mind the faff of charging the thing. For numerous short urban trips electric vehicles are a no-brainer but we will need a miracle in battery technology before they become mainstream ( I am betting on hydrogen or similar). There will be many sales of the Mission E as in 2019 it is likely to be the ultimate electric vehicle and it will looking stunning on your drive but if you really love driving I doubt you will be tempted.

I know what you mean, Crazy diamond.

The letter of intent involves no money at this stage and no commitment. We will have to see how the technology and infrastructure develops over the next two years...

Crazy diamond wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:49 am What a stunning looking car, I would register my interest but.... and it is a big but. Current battery technology simply does not provide the usability I require for such a premium vehicle. Superb performance yes, but leave your country home on a winters morning with the lights and heating and heated seats on and after 100 miles you will be stressing about a finding a charging point, never mind the faff of charging the thing. For numerous short urban trips electric vehicles are a no-brainer but we will need a miracle in battery technology before they become mainstream ( I am betting on hydrogen or similar). There will be many sales of the Mission E as in 2019 it is likely to be the ultimate electric vehicle and it will looking stunning on your drive but if you really love driving I doubt you will be tempted.

Would range really be a problem for you though? I thought this was supposed to have a 330 mile range? Okay it may not be a realistic range (depending on how it was measured) but I’m sure there will be no need to get stressed after 100 miles. Plus you will be able to start every morning fully charged if you need to. If you are planning weekly 500 mile non-stop trips it perhaps might not work for you, but I doubt many people will be doing that.

Shell have now added 3 new EV chargers (London, Surrey, Derby) with another handfull by the end of the year.
They are only 50KW though so long way off what should become available in the not to distant future so they can be charged at a reasonable rate...

Prices will double by June 2018 though to use them...Thats not a surprise as i would expect prices to increase significantly across the board once everyone has been sold the idea to get an EV......

Progress i suppose..

Peteski wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:33 am
Would range really be a problem for you though? I thought this was supposed to have a 330 mile range? Okay it may not be a realistic range (depending on how it was measured) but I’m sure there will be no need to get stressed after 100 miles. Plus you will be able to start every morning fully charged if you need to. If you are planning weekly 500 mile non-stop trips it perhaps might not work for you, but I doubt many people will be doing that.

There are a couple of issues that may mean I don't go ahead and order one:

1. My most important journey is every other weekend to Kent to see my daughters. It's about 165 miles door to door, and then a bit of running around in Kent before returning to Swindon, so that may need some careful planning and depend on the availability of suitable charging stations in the right bits of Kent.

2. I park outside my house, in my own parking bay. So I know I can park right outside, but the pavement runs between my house and my parking bay. I do have a brick built car port at the back of the house, but it does not currently have electricity running to it...

Crazy diamond wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:49 am What a stunning looking car... ...There will be many sales of the Mission E as in 2019 it is likely to be the ultimate electric vehicle and it will looking stunning on your drive but if you really love driving I doubt you will be tempted.

Am not so sure about your last point. Firstly, I have faith that with their heritage and depth of engineering know how, Porsche will do a great job with the Mission E. Secondly, Peteski (with a background linked to motor sport I believe) seems to have been impressed with his recent driving experiences in Teslas.

Wing Commander wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:23 pm

There are a couple of issues that may mean I don't go ahead and order one:

1. My most important journey is every other weekend to Kent to see my daughters. It's about 165 miles door to door, and then a bit of running around in Kent before returning to Swindon, so that may need some careful planning and depend on the availability of suitable charging stations in the right bits of Kent.

2. I park outside my house, in my own parking bay. So I know I can park right outside, but the pavement runs between my house and my parking bay. I do have a brick built car port at the back of the house, but it does not currently have electricity running to it...

I very much doubt point 1 would be any real issue, but easy enough to check. Point 2 on the other hand could be more problematic. I wouldn’t personally consider any EV without a dedicated home charger, so in your shoes I’d have to have a charger put in the car port. So it would really come down to the feasibility of achieving that.

Wing Commander wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:29 pm

Crazy diamond wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:49 am What a stunning looking car... ...There will be many sales of the Mission E as in 2019 it is likely to be the ultimate electric vehicle and it will looking stunning on your drive but if you really love driving I doubt you will be tempted.

Am not so sure about your last point. Firstly, I have faith that with their heritage and depth of engineering know how, Porsche will do a great job with the Mission E. Secondly, Peteski (with a background linked to motor sport I believe) seems to have been impressed with his recent driving experiences in Teslas.

That’s right, as a lifelong petrolhead I have to admit I’m an EV convert. As a power source it’s better than ICE in pretty much every way. Driving a Tesla P100D was more than enough to convince me of the inherent advantages. The one Achilles heel though is battery weight, the perennial enemy of vehicle dynamics! It’s not such a big deal on a luxury GT road car or SUV, where I think the advantages easily outweigh the weight increase, but on a more focused sports car it would definitely be a major drawback. I’m sure Porsche will be very aware of this and make every effort to keep the weight in check. Personally I would sacrifice range for weight and they may well have done this to some extent. On the Tesla forums people often ask why not make a 130 kWh battery? But the reality is that today 100 kWh is about the optimum for range vs weight and a 75 kWh battery is around 140 kg lighter. So not insignificant numbers.

Of course many people like the sound of ICEs and will even pay good money for a sports exhaust, but I care more about performance than making a noise. A Spitfire Merlin engine sounds amazing, but I’d still prefer a ride in a fast jet!

Wing Commander wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 7:23 pm

Peteski wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2017 11:33 am
Would range really be a problem for you though? I thought this was supposed to have a 330 mile range? Okay it may not be a realistic range (depending on how it was measured) but I’m sure there will be no need to get stressed after 100 miles. Plus you will be able to start every morning fully charged if you need to. If you are planning weekly 500 mile non-stop trips it perhaps might not work for you, but I doubt many people will be doing that.

There are a couple of issues that may mean I don't go ahead and order one:

1. My most important journey is every other weekend to Kent to see my daughters. It's about 165 miles door to door, and then a bit of running around in Kent before returning to Swindon, so that may need some careful planning and depend on the availability of suitable charging stations in the right bits of Kent.

2. I park outside my house, in my own parking bay. So I know I can park right outside, but the pavement runs between my house and my parking bay. I do have a brick built car port at the back of the house, but it does not currently have electricity running to it...

Porsche OPCs will have rapid charging bays and these will no doubt be upgraded fairly quickly as their tech improves. The 800v charging which they seem to be developing will provide a range of 400km in a little as 15 minutes whereas with current charging at a 400v system the time would be about 80 minues to achieve the same range.

So potentailly you could go from one Porsche OPC to another for charging during your journeys to Kent.

There are plenty of charging bays out there, check them out by using the Zap Map app.

As for the car port, getting an electric supply there is in theory simple but potentially may be a bit disruptive inside your home depending upon there the incoming meter point is and where your distribution board is. If you have a meter box on the outside then a qualified Electrician can provide a spur point directly off the supply after the meter and then install a suitable cable to inside your car port where it would terminate in a connection unit into which the charger can be fitted. If the cabling and equipment is installed suitable for carrying the maximum current that the incoming supply is capable of then this will future proof the installation as better rapid chargers are available for home use, otherwise for standard slow charging a 30 amp supply is OK.