sandydlc

Sorry - just wondered what was the problem that you had with your garage door? Am I correct in assuming that you were not able to get Homelink to successfully link to your garage door? Because before my 4S was approved for repurchase, I was not able to get my garage door to program. I'm hoping if there was an issue with Homelink that they'll have it addressed in the car that I'll be getting in the next couple of weeks.

Congrats on getting all of your issues worked out!

SaratogaLefty

Yes that is exactly what happened. We tried everything including removing the fuses associated with the Lane Change Assist and we were not able to get the Homelink to connect at all. Finally the Dealer ordered a new Homelink module and installed it and immediately it connected properly and I have not had any problems since then. Good luck with your new car and if the Homelink doesn't work have them replace the module.

sandydlc

Excellent - thank you so much!

ssiminou

SaratogaLefty

I called Porsche Connect customer service. I told them I've tried everything and I wasn't able to get the Amazon music to work at all. The rep said we will send you a complimentary (for three months or 1 Gig) sim card. It arrived the next day and as soon as I installed it Amazon Music worked fine and I haven't had any problems since. Assuming the 1 Gig is sufficient for my needs I will gladly pay the $10/month AT&T charge. Interestingly it appears this Sim card also has it's own phone number but I haven't tried having anyone call me on it as my iPhone works just fine. Assuming I keep the Sim card active I will seriously consider eliminating SirusXM down the road as the quality of Amazon Music is much better than the Satellite.

ssiminou

Is the sim card necessary for Google Earth, Realtime Traffic, and the PCM apps? I thought all of this stuff was integrated.

SaratogaLefty

Everything other than Amazon Music seemed to work okay before I inserted the Sim card. But to be totally honest I prefer to use Waze for traffic updates instead of Google Maps and my observation is Waze tends to be much more accurate. So for Waze I just use my iPhone and it is just much better for my needs (police alerts, etc.). I did see somewhere in this forum somebody indicated Waze would be coming to Apple Car Play and I really hope that is true.

ssiminou

How is the new PCM? Complicated for daily use? Slow to start? Buggy?

I'm really worried about my wife having to deal with the center climate vent which is absolutely stupid for being screen controlled. But things like accessing radio presets and map are easy, right?

I'd like to know a bit on your first hand experience with the new gauges. Useful? Annoying? Too busy? Bad utilization?

SaratogaLefty

This is my fourth Porsche and the best so far. Regarding the center vent, once you get it set the way you want it you don't have to mess with it anymore. Your wife can get all of her settings just the way she wants them and then do a save to her key before shutting down the car. The center vent and all of her other settings will remain each time she starts up the car so not really a big deal. If a passenger wants to change their side they can do so for the time they are in the car without much hassle.
Regarding radio presents you just add them to your favorites for whichever mode (FM, Satellite, AM, etc.) and then you can have them all show up on the screen and you just select the one you want. Again a little different but not a big deal.
The gauges are pretty easy to scroll through using the roller ball on each side of the steering wheel. I don't change them much but occasionally I do like to check on my tire pressures or view the oil/water temps, but for the most part I just leave them alone. The Nav screen is outstanding and easy to access as well as being able to zoom in and out using your fingers just like on an iPhone.
Most of the people I've seen complain about the new interior are mostly concerned with the finger prints that show up on the various screens. Doesn't really bother me but I do keep a microfibre cloth in the center console and when I'm stopped at a light I occasionally take it out and do a quick wipe down. Very quick and easy to remove the finger prints so again not a big deal and I think the interior looks much better than the previous version but just my opinion.

ssiminou

Thank you for all of the info. One last thing. How is your fuel economy? What's your real world range?

What mixture of drive modes would you recommend for a 30 mile commute, a 50 mile short trip, 180 miles round-trip, and a 5 hour drive to San Francisco from LA? I think I'll leave it in Hybrid Auto most of the time, but I'm not sure if it recharges the batteries fast enough, so maybe I should use Sport +?

SaratogaLefty

So I now have 3700 miles on the car and my overall mpg is right around 37. However, I picked the car up in LA and drove it up to the Bay Area and I was in either Sport+ mode or full electric. I had a long discussion with my then future Service Manager before I picked up the car and he told me to drive it back in that manner in order to repeatedly discharge and fully charge the batteries multiple times. So for the first 500 miles or so the overall mileage was pretty poor and thus I have been steadily increasing the total mpg ever since. I almost never use Sport or Sport+ for the majority of my driving. I drive 2-3 times per week approximately 26 miles round trip to my golf club and that drive consists mostly of freeway (~75 mph) and highway (~60 mph) with about 5 miles of 0-40 mph. I drive totally in electric mode for that trip and usually the car automatically switches over to the ICE after about 24 miles, so I drive the last 2 miles home on gasoline. So to answer your questions:
1. For a 30 miles commute I would/do drive almost entirely in electric mode. Plenty of acceleration when needed as long as you aren't racing someone.
2. For a 50 mile short trip (which I also do from time to time) I would start out in Hybrid mode and let the car choose which mode to utilize. It will automatically switch from electric to ICE as required. What I do is pay attention to the remaining electric mileage when I'm returning home and then I switch to electric mode only to run the battery all the way down just before I get home. Then I use the timer to have the car ready the next morning with a full charge and not begin charging until after 11 pm so as to get the $.12/Kwh rate.
3. For the 180 mile round trip (assuming you can't recharge at the halfway point) I would do the same as in #2. In Hybrid mode the car will recharge on downhill runs or when you are lightly braking. It does take a long time to get many miles but in Hybrid mode you will still be averaging around 30 mpg with the ICE when cruising at a steady 70 mph or so. You can set the suspension to one of the firmer settings if you are driving on mountain or very curvy roads, but the car handles quite well in Normal suspension mode and is more comfortable for cruising on the freeway. Again toward the end of the trip I would let the car go into full electric mode to run the battery all the way down. This is consistent with what the Service General Manager advised me to do and I have seen steadily increasing available mileage immediately after a charge up to as much as 34 miles. That said, however, with my style of driving (mix of freeway and surface streets) I have yet to get over 28 actual miles in electric only mode.
4. For the drive from San Francisco to LA again Hybrid mode. Using Sport or Sport+ modes to recharge enroute really doesn't make much sense as you will lose considerable mpg compared with Hybrid mode. I have read from some of the European (especially British) posters on this forum that they have an incentive to use the Sport+ mode for recharging as there apparently are areas in/around London and perhaps other cities where they are restricted to only electric mode or also I think they get a monetary incentive for using electric mode only. So for that reason I believe they will recharge before entering those sections of London using the Sport or Sport+ modes.

So the bottom line is if you are trying to maximize your mpg use either full electric or Hybrid modes. The car is quite responsive in electric and very responsive with the ICE and for those situations where you need full power the "go" button (black not red) in the center of the Sport Chrono dial on the steering wheel is really amazing. This is one of the reasons I believe you will actually never fully use up the electric power as I have read and experienced the car keeps a reserve of electric that is only used when you need those short full power bursts.

I don't want to sound like I personally am trying to maximize my mpg; just responding to your questions assuming that is your goal. When I am driving in a spirited mode (recently took Highway 9 up to Woodside (Four Corners) and then drove out to Highway 1 on that windy road I did use Sport + mode most of the time. The car is made to drive aggressively and when you do it really performs. If you really want to see what it can do negotiate with your dealer (as I did) to get the LA Porsche Driving Experience thrown in to your purchase. There you will be able to drive their E-Hybrid at very high speeds in various conditions.

cometguy

I operate and find pretty much exactly what Saratoga finds, in terms of driving in Hybrid Auto most of the time and getting the gas mileage that he does.
Prior to my 7600-mile road trip that I just returned from (described in another thread, in which I did no charging with electric cables for 2.5 weeks), I was at 4600 miles on the odometer and had averaged about 37-38 mpg overall since I acquired the car new back in May. That total average will be down now -- I have yet to actually compute my 7600-mile overall mpg rate, but will -- probably to around 32 mpg overall is my guess since May (not bad for a big, heavy car with 460 hp). My personal take is that I will probably never buy another gas-only Porsche after driving this magnificent technological car; beyond this, I'm interested in the Mission E/Taycan Cross Sport (or a Macan in E-Hybrid form if they come out with that).

ssiminou

SaratogaLefty

ssiminou

Thank you so so much! I just check Drive Clean CA and saw the 2016 model but the 2018 still isn't listed. Once I get my car, I'll definitely apply for the $500 with SoCal Edison.

What about the $2500 CA offers? Do our cars qualify for that too?