Earlier this year, before the entire world came to a sudden and unexpected stop, former Silicon Valley software engineer Dan Louv had just purchased his very first non-BMW electric car: a Porsche Taycan Turbo. He immediately set out to put it through its paces with an 11,000-mile trip.
Louv set out from his hometown Portland in Maine, crossed into Canada and drove the length of the country before going back into the U.S., to San Diego and across the country to Florida, and then back to Maine. The Porsche Taycan Turbo was his first all-electric car that was not a BMW, so he wanted to know how such an extended trip would play out.
The idea came to him after he saw the Taycan at a dealer and was told he could have it if he wanted it. He sold his BMW i8, an X6M and a stick-shift M2, and bought it, and was itching to hit the road. First, he thought of visiting his mother in California, then realized he also wanted to stop by at a friend’s house, and this way, he came to plan a monster 11,000-mile, 46-day trip.
You can see it resumed in the video at the bottom of the page: it’s over 1 and a half hour long, and it represents the entire 46-day trip on fast-forward. As luck would have it, the last day of the trip was the last day before the U.S. went into full lockdown, March 13.
As for what he learned on the road, Louv tells Inside EVs that the average range of the Taycan is 215 miles per charge. Despite the extensive planning that needs to be done in advance and the stress related to not finding chargers on the road, the Taycan is a surprisingly reliable EV and the whole experience is worth the trouble.
“Long road trips in a Taycan are much easier than I expected. The car is supremely quiet and comfortable. I could easily drive 8 or 10 hours a day without problems. On the last day, I drove (and charged) for 17 hours, covering over a 1000 miles,” he explains.
He was impressed by the performance and the refinement of the car in almost equal measure, and has come out of the experience convinced that electric vehicles are, indeed, the future. Asked if he’d do it again, his answer is telling: “Absolutely,” because there’s nothing that comes even close to it.
The idea came to him after he saw the Taycan at a dealer and was told he could have it if he wanted it. He sold his BMW i8, an X6M and a stick-shift M2, and bought it, and was itching to hit the road. First, he thought of visiting his mother in California, then realized he also wanted to stop by at a friend’s house, and this way, he came to plan a monster 11,000-mile, 46-day trip.
You can see it resumed in the video at the bottom of the page: it’s over 1 and a half hour long, and it represents the entire 46-day trip on fast-forward. As luck would have it, the last day of the trip was the last day before the U.S. went into full lockdown, March 13.
As for what he learned on the road, Louv tells Inside EVs that the average range of the Taycan is 215 miles per charge. Despite the extensive planning that needs to be done in advance and the stress related to not finding chargers on the road, the Taycan is a surprisingly reliable EV and the whole experience is worth the trouble.
“Long road trips in a Taycan are much easier than I expected. The car is supremely quiet and comfortable. I could easily drive 8 or 10 hours a day without problems. On the last day, I drove (and charged) for 17 hours, covering over a 1000 miles,” he explains.
He was impressed by the performance and the refinement of the car in almost equal measure, and has come out of the experience convinced that electric vehicles are, indeed, the future. Asked if he’d do it again, his answer is telling: “Absolutely,” because there’s nothing that comes even close to it.