2,5k km road trip from PL to NO

[TomekGnomek]

Hi, I recently did quite the road trip from Poland to Norway.

This is about 1200 kms each way, temps from +15C to -15C, elevation changes, ferry trips etc.

Here is the trip and some of my experiences, perhaps they can be of help to some of you

Overall the trip was great, this is a perfect car for long trips provided you have good fast charging infrastructure.

We did many charging stops along the way, all were on 350KW+ Ionity chargers placed very conveniently along the way. Each charging session planned by the PCM was quick enough it took us more time to get coffee and snacks - seriously. Only one time we waited a minute for the car to finish charging. This shows EVs with fast charging are very usable even in extreme scenarios provided you have good fast charging infrastructure. In Poland I would say it's OK, in Sweden and in Norway it's simply next level. Most gas stations we used along the way had 2-4 pumps and 20-40 chargers. Mindblowing.

The PCM route planning is simply perfect and I was impressed by it so much especially given all the other software quirks of the PPE platform. Route planing helps you minimise charging time in a way which is impossible to do manually. In combines all the data like avg speed, elevation change, temperature into a seamless experience which allows you not to worry about charging at all. Preconditioning the battery in such conditions (like 2-3-4 stops along the way in a very cold weather) works like a charm and I did not have a single issue with charging speeds - it was always (every time) at the top of the best charging curve for Macan which is impressive given climate conditions (cold temp, chilling winds etc) and repeated DC sessions. Route planner mostly operated in the 10-60% SoC range. It shows if you have good DC infrastructure with sufficient power (which they do in Scandinavia) it all works like it should. It was so impressive I'm now convinced if you have some charging problems you either don't use PCM route planner or your chargers have power limitations (that's provided everything is ok with your car and you don't have any bugs faults or issues).

Assistance systems in this car simply suck and it's a shame. It's related to the PPE platform, Audi Q6 is the same. LKA is over correcting even when road markings are visible and goes crazy with snow or other obstacles, radar for cruise control goes on and off in challenging climate, sign recognition changes speeds after the sign and not before, active lane keeping can turn off without any warning, BSM gives you false warnings if you have ice or dirt on the bumper. This is bad like "it's safer to turn it off" bad. It's very strange because in Taycan these features are limited but work well and do not undermine the confidence in the car.

Software quirks are all over this car. PCM nav froze two times after loosing the GPS in the tunnel and had to be restarted, mobile app lost connection to the car along the way and returned in Norway, the nav changed the route without respect to preferred chargers, every now and then you get some yellow warning on the dashboard that goes away... i started to ignore all these issues unless they are serious or persistent.

I had problems turning the alarm off on the ferry. Tried to do it several times but still received notifications on the app about the car being moved. Anyone knows how to do it properly? It was beeping and sending notifications all night while being transported on the lower deck. Staff told me they had a problem with other Macan EV in the past.

Overall taking the EV on such a long road trip is way less tiring due to lack of engine noise and vibrations - it cumulates over a long distance in a very positive way. I honestly got to Oslo and we went to have a nice dinner instead of crashing to get some rest. It's the best car I've driven with respect to the level of comfort you get on long journeys. Even well insulated high end ICE cars are not that good in this area and I would say it comes down to varying engine noise i vibrations.

This trip showed me the one single factor impacting range the most is not even speed but temperature. Doing quick fast charging sessions along the way helps a lot as the battery stays warm for a long time providing residual heat for the cabin. If you do quick 5min charging stops every 2 hours it improves the avg consumption in cold climate. Overall I had 28-30 kw/100km driving on highways in Poland and 23-24 kw/100km in Sweden and Norway (lower avg speeds but colder climate). If you have to heat the cold car in the morning and you don't have the charger (like after going off the ferry which in most cases do not allow you to charge overnight) it's a range killer and you better have a fast charger nearby.

TL;DR good EVs are great for road trips, just use the PCM route planner and have plenty of fast chargers along the way

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[Trevasann]

Hi, I recently did quite the road trip from Poland to Norway.

This is about 1200 kms each way, temps from +15C to -15C, elevation changes, ferry trips etc.

Here is the trip and some of my experiences, perhaps they can be of help to some of you

Overall the trip was great, this is a perfect car for long trips provided you have good fast charging infrastructure.

We did many charging stops along the way, all were on 350KW+ Ionity chargers placed very conveniently along the way. Each charging session planned by the PCM was quick enough it took us more time to get coffee and snacks - seriously. Only one time we waited a minute for the car to finish charging. This shows EVs with fast charging are very usable even in extreme scenarios provided you have good fast charging infrastructure. In Poland I would say it's OK, in Sweden and in Norway it's simply next level. Most gas stations we used along the way had 2-4 pumps and 20-40 chargers. Mindblowing.

The PCM route planning is simply perfect and I was impressed by it so much especially given all the other software quirks of the PPE platform. Route planing helps you minimise charging time in a way which is impossible to do manually. In combines all the data like avg speed, elevation change, temperature into a seamless experience which allows you not to worry about charging at all. Preconditioning the battery in such conditions (like 2-3-4 stops along the way in a very cold weather) works like a charm and I did not have a single issue with charging speeds - it was always (every time) at the top of the best charging curve for Macan which is impressive given climate conditions (cold temp, chilling winds etc) and repeated DC sessions. Route planner mostly operated in the 10-60% SoC range. It shows if you have good DC infrastructure with sufficient power (which they do in Scandinavia) it all works like it should. It was so impressive I'm now convinced if you have some charging problems you either don't use PCM route planner or your chargers have power limitations (that's provided everything is ok with your car and you don't have any bugs faults or issues).

Assistance systems in this car simply suck and it's a shame. It's related to the PPE platform, Audi Q6 is the same. LKA is over correcting even when road markings are visible and goes crazy with snow or other obstacles, radar for cruise control goes on and off in challenging climate, sign recognition changes speeds after the sign and not before, active lane keeping can turn off without any warning, BSM gives you false warnings if you have ice or dirt on the bumper. This is bad like "it's safer to turn it off" bad. It's very strange because in Taycan these features are limited but work well and do not undermine the confidence in the car.

Software quirks are all over this car. PCM nav froze two times after loosing the GPS in the tunnel and had to be restarted, mobile app lost connection to the car along the way and returned in Norway, the nav changed the route without respect to preferred chargers, every now and then you get some yellow warning on the dashboard that goes away... i started to ignore all these issues unless they are serious or persistent.

I had problems turning the alarm off on the ferry. Tried to do it several times but still received notifications on the app about the car being moved. Anyone knows how to do it properly? It was beeping and sending notifications all night while being transported on the lower deck. Staff told me they had a problem with other Macan EV in the past.

Overall taking the EV on such a long road trip is way less tiring due to lack of engine noise and vibrations - it cumulates over a long distance in a very positive way. I honestly got to Oslo and we went to have a nice dinner instead of crashing to get some rest. It's the best car I've driven with respect to the level of comfort you get on long journeys. Even well insulated high end ICE cars are not that good in this area and I would say it comes down to varying engine noise i vibrations.

This trip showed me the one single factor impacting range the most is not even speed but temperature. Doing quick fast charging sessions along the way helps a lot as the battery stays warm for a long time providing residual heat for the cabin. If you do quick 5min charging stops every 2 hours it improves the avg consumption in cold climate. Overall I had 28-30 kw/100km driving on highways in Poland and 23-24 kw/100km in Sweden and Norway (lower avg speeds but colder climate). If you have to heat the cold car in the morning and you don't have the charger (like after going off the ferry which in most cases do not allow you to charge overnight) it's a range killer and you better have a fast charger nearby.

TL;DR good EVs are great for road trips, just use the PCM route planner and have plenty of fast chargers along the way

Thank you for sharing this story. In New Mexico, USA, we do not have adequate infrastructure so I'm often leary of road trips. Having Tesla adapters helps. No doubt my Macan4 EV is the most comfortable and fun drive I've ever experienced.

 

[AlanH]

Thanks for sharing your story. I agree that it’s a great car for long trips where there’s a good charging infrastructure. So far we’ve traveled mostly in France (great infrastructure), Spain (less great), Switzerland (great) and Italy (less great). I had the same issue on the ferry. First make sure the car is locked, then press the lock button again twice in a row. This turns off the motion alarm.

 

[JohnnyRoaster]

Looks like a great road trip. Thanks for the great write up. Did you get any pictures from the journey you’d be willing to share?

 

[USMA81]

Thank you for sharing this story. In New Mexico, USA, we do not have adequate infrastructure so I'm often leary of road trips. Having Tesla adapters helps. No doubt my Macan4 EV is the most comfortable and fun drive I've ever experienced.

The infrastructure is more than adequate in New Mexico and surrounding states, and has only become better with Tesla stations. Fear of traveling causes self-limiting behavior, but it can be overcome by having a plan and conducting purposeful, incrementally longer trips to build confidence.

In May, I’m driving 2,700 miles round trip across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. Based on previous trips to remote Southwest locations on both major and minor highways, I anticipate this longer trip will be a non-issue.

 

[Trevasann]

Not a lot of stations and some of them can be down. It is getting better. Safe travels and thank you for your response

 

[rcomeau]

Thanks for sharing. What kind of distances were you driving between charge stops?

 

[PrudentOcean]

I am in total agreement that the car is excellent for road trips and that you arrive remarkably rested. I took a five day 3400 mile roadtrip in November of last year and drove nearly 900 miles on the last day — I would not have been able to do that in an ICE car.

I think the quiet cabin and the charging stops every two to three hours play a big role.

 

[USMA81]

From my perspective, there are more than enough high speed chargers in this area, especially along major highways. In the past, I’ve used the EA chargers along I-10, through Texas, New Mexico and Arizona (in an Audi EV with less than 200 miles range, and relying only on EA). I’ve never encountered an entire bank of chargers unavailable; never found that I could not get a charge. And even if I did find I couldn’t charge at one station, it is highly likely Tesla stations or other would be within range. And if in the highly improbable situation where I couldn’t charge at all, I still could call Porsche roadside services, or go to a hotel with level 2 charging and spend the night (inconvenient at worst). Nothing I have found causes me to not road trip in the Macan, especially with 300+/- miles of range. But we all have different risk tolerances. My intentions are good: I just feel bad that some people have worries over road tripping and aren’t getting full value from their Macan.

For perspective, the distance from Ciudad Juarez in the south to Albuquerque in the north is 268 miles. So any chargers in this radius would be accessible in the Macan.

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