Porsche Taycan 4S Los Angeles to Seattle Road Trip (Part One)

Before the video starts, let me say this, every dog has its day, and I have had more than

my fair share.

I wish that for everyone.

Find your joy, okay?

No matter what it is.

Mine just happens to be cars.

If you haven't heard, used Porsche Taycans are a terrific value.

I've documented my experience looking for just the right one.

It took around four months because I'm picky.

And what the Porsche dealership delivery experience is like, so check out those videos.

The cliff notes, I found this 2021 Taycan 4S in Ontario, California.

Just east of Los Angeles, picking it up was the premium experience you'd expect from

the brand.

That's mine.

That's yours.

Now it's time to get her home.

Join me as I head north up Interstate 5.

It's a story so big, I'm splitting it in two.

I could have paid $900 to ship it to Seattle, but I wanted to soak in the delivery process

since chances are I will be buying another Porsche anytime soon, and the road trip

will be invaluable.

Tesla's Supercharger Network isn't open to Porsche on this journey.

I'll be relying on Electrify America and anything else I can find.

I brought an electron adapter just in case I get to a hotel with a Tesla level 2 destination

charger which I can use.

I've done road trips and EVs before.

It's not the nightmare that a lot of people make it out to be, but this is a little

bit different.

It's 1200 miles from Ontario to Seattle, and this car is kind of new to me, so it should

be an adventure.

Fast charging speed should help.

I'm fully charged.

This is my first time behind the wheel of my new, new to me, car.

Alright, time to get out of dodge.

I've driven nearly every flavor of Taycan, so I'm kind of familiar with everything,

but still, I'm terrified and yet thrilled.

My first stop, in and out.

Naturally, a family friend that lives in the area came by to check the car out.

If Dylan looks familiar, he's been in Star Trek Picard, he's the voice of Yosef in Pachinko,

and look for him soon in the movie Alien Vacation.

Time to start the adventure north.

Hey, Porsche, I need directions home.

Okay, starting route guidance.

Have a good trip home.

I think I will.

I believe the charging infrastructure is so much better than it was even a year ago, so

I'm placing my money right next to my mouth and putting my blind trust in Porsche's intelligent

range manager to deliver me to charging stations.

It automatically preconditions the pack for faster charging.

Who would ever imagine traffic in Los Angeles?

It is four o'clock.

This is a good chance to test InnoDrive and Traffic Jam Assist.

To be specific, InnoDrive is not as comprehensive as, say, Super Cruise or Full Self Driving,

but the reality is, in this traffic, I can keep my hands off the wheel, my feet off

the pedal, and just follow the car in front of me.

Makes this much, much easier.

And it's really all I need from this car because it's a Porsche.

I want to drive it.

Half hour into the trip.

Oh, shoot.

It dawns on me.

Oh, no.

Thank you for calling Tempo Insurance.

Your call may be recorded for quality assurance.

I forgot to ensure it.

Please turn the line for the next available specialist.

It's Chase.

I'm going to help you.

Hi, Chase.

Yeah, I need to add a car to my policy.

It's a Porsche Taycan 4S.

And you and Mariko will be the only owners?

Uh, yes.

She doesn't want to drive it.

True.

Mariko encouraged me to buy the Porsche.

Her only demand?

She would never have to drive it.

I imagine no, like, driving for Uber or Lyft or delivery for Uber.

No.

Nope.

That would be the premium Uber, wouldn't it?

Yeah.

I'm covered.

Let's move on.

My son, Sean, the music producer calls to ask about the car's sound system.

OK, so you're going to send me a song?

Distracted.

I haven't even turned it on yet.

That's great.

What a perfect way to test out the Bermister sound system, which is like $6,000.

Years ago, we drove up from the San Francisco area in a 911 Turbo, a highly recommended father-son

activity.

You know, if you have the means.

This Taycan 4S is EPA rated at 230 miles of range.

All right, it's getting late.

The sun is going down.

I've been driving a while and I have 180 miles of range left and I would really

like to be able to tell you how efficient it is or isn't, but because I was so distracted

by my shiny new toy, I forgot to reset the odometer.

Oh, well.

So I'm going to have to charge this up to 100% and then try it again.

But you know, it's a long trip.

Huh.

What is that?

There's one behind me, too, then I'll let it get alongside me.

Oh, it's an Audi.

What are the chances I'd run into these?

Sean's new song comes in.

What a great way to christen the Bermister system.

It's brilliant.

He's on Apple music and Spotify.

Honestly, this is one of my favorite moments of the trip.

Parents, you understand.

Time for my first charge.

The route planner works, airing on the side of caution, sending me off the highway with

the pack at around 40% and preconditioned.

The first bank of units I come to are Tesla.

I can't use those.

Okay, I'm kind of envious, but Porsche will get access soon enough, I guess.

Just beyond those are Electrify America terminals.

I've been burned by its units before.

I'm awfully curious what's going to happen.

With 90 miles of range left, this doesn't really need to work, but I'm going to stick

with the computer.

The first bit of good news, they're the fast 350 kilowatt units.

And my salesperson, Jose Jimenez, set my Porsche account up, so plug and charge

is active.

What?

Does it function?

Well, what do you know?

It works.

Flawless, operating the way it's supposed to.

Tycott is a charging beast with its 800-volt architecture.

The max take rate is 270 kilowatts for my 2021.

I have the larger 93.4 kilowatt hour performance battery pack because I plan on road

tripping this a lot.

I'm not seeing the highest speed here since I started at 42%.

Down at 5%, the rate would have been faster.

But hey, this is quick enough.

At least there's a Taco Bell.

I don't need a Taco Bell, but I might use their bathroom.

In the time it takes to get these shots and hit the head, I'm over 80%.

Charging at commercial stations is fast, but expensive at 64 cents per kilowatt

hour here.

That's five times the cost I'll pay at home.

But less than the price of gasoline here, holy cow.

And it looks like EA is trying to do things to discourage cord theft.

That's good.

Grabbing snacks and drinks, I learned the cup holders are really big.

And Gatorade looks super cool in the ambient lighting.

EVs are exceptionally smooth, less tiring to drive.

And so I just keep motoring into the night.

My plan is to get to Sacramento, 450 miles or so from Ontario.

The route planner takes me to the next charge station without fail, this time with 25% left

in the pack and the option of moving down the road to 10%.

I'll play it safe.

The car is new to me.

And sure enough, with more of a drained pack, the charge speed is quicker, topping

out at 190 kilowatts.

I explore my surroundings and in the distance see something I don't recognize, which would

be the first Rivian terminals I've ever seen.

I return some emails, get rid of that glowing Gatorade, and return to find its well over

80%.

So I'm finding charge speed is not an issue for me.

At least with this car, this fill will get me to Sacramento.

No problem.

Turns out, since I don't get tired, I blow past California's capital city.

This car is so easy to drive.

I end up forcing myself to exit at 1 a.m. in Woodland, California after seeing a bunch

of hotel signs.

I call Holiday Inn and snag a room for 150 bucks.

Not bad.

Plus, free breakfast.

It's just me in my backpack, but the accommodations.

And this room is huge.

Honestly, if I had a net, I could play tennis in here.

But a great day.

A long day.

Actually, two days because it's 1.30 in the morning.

And time for me to go to bed, get some sleep.

Do it all again tomorrow.

The next morning, time to feast.

I'm hoping for those molten waffles, but only fine pancakes.

The machine is cool.

After a good night's sleep and a shower, I feel a lot better.

That was a long day yesterday.

Time to fuel up.

Secret, peanut butter on pancakes is really good.

I snag some food for later on, so free breakfast and lunch.

And man, I get to walk up to this beautiful thing.

Pulling into the hotel lot last night, the Porsche was pretty low on charge.

How low?

This low.

No charging on premises either.

So, hey Porsche, I need a charging station.

Is their juice close enough?

Well, join me for part two to find out, yes?

This is a cliffhanger and it involves a Nissan Leaf.

You'll see.

Porsche Taycan

Nissan Leaf

About this episode

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