Yes on regen. I can't remember where I read it, but there was an official quote somewhere from Porsche AG I recall which said that they designed Taycan so brake regen would only kick in when you depress the brake pedal. This is unlike Teslas and some other EVs where regen starts to take effect when you release the throttle pedal (unless you otherwise change the settings).

 

There seems to be a range of opinion, and actual implementation, of how regen works in various cars. And lots of menu options, steering wheel paddles, shifter postitions, and buttons to futher adjust to taste.

One is how much regen is available upon lifting the GO pedal (with no brake pedal applied). For example Teslas and GM cars have two levels of regen. "Standard" vs "Low" on Tesla, "D" vs "L" on GM - but "Standard" on Tesla is somewhat the same as "L" in the GM cars, and "Low" in Tesla is like "D" in GM. An eGolf has five selections between "D" (no regen at all, just coast) to "B" - which provides quite a bit of regen on lift.

Another is how much regen gets applied as you press the brake pedal. On Tesla, the brake pedal is pure friction braking. On many others, including eGolf and GM cars, regen is initially used. As it maxes out (e.g., -60 kW on the Volt, -70 kW on Bolt EV), friction brakes are blended in.

When I switch cars between our Volt and our Model 3 it always takes a few minutes to get re-used to the way regen works. Initially the Volt regen feels "weak" compared to the Tesla (note: I always drive it in "L" for max GO pedal regen). But with the RoD paddle and the brake pedal to fill in the rest of the regen capability, it is all about the same in the end.

One annoying thing on the Volt is that sometimes you'll have your foot on the brake pedal, hit a bump, and regen suddenly ends - causing you to have to press harder to re-engage the brakes. It is a little startling the first time it happens, but after that you sort of get used to it. I've read that this is common in various other cars with regen as well. Never had it happen with Teslas approach.

On a more technical level, both GM and Tesla (in the Model 3) use the Bosch iBooster system - which supports blended braking. So Tesla could do a blended brake pedal, if they ever desire to include it in some future software upgrade.

What will Porsche do? Anyones guess. However I'd imagine they will be something close to what the eGolf uses but "with Porsche-specific improvements"...

 

Don't you love it, more options to argue about. One thing is for sure "One method does not fit all.".

Earl Colby Pottinger (Tesla, Bollinger and other EVs fan.)

 

Agree the various lift off throttle braking take some getting used to. I ultimately leave my Model S in the highest braking mode, I'm comfortable driving it that way and appreciate the small incremental energy recapture I get. Only downside is that in stop and go traffic I find it sometimes provokes erratic braking behavior by driver behind me, since the brake lights go on basically the instant you lift off throttle.

Perhaps things will change in final production versions but I'm pretty sure that Taycan is designed *not* to provide regenerative braking on throttle lift, only on application of brake pedal. Porsche AG said as much.

‘Because one-pedal is not our philosophy,’ says Stefan Weckbach, Porsche’s global head of electrification. ‘This is a proper sports car, and as such its mission is untamed acceleration and instant torque, not lift-off braking.’

I originally read that quote in a Porsche press piece actually, can't seem to find it but it's quoted in this Car UK article as well.
https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-re...ric-prototype/

 

I'd be surprised if they don't make it user selectable. I recently drove the Jag I-Pace and drove it in low regen and high regen braking modes. Like the GM Bolt, in high regen mode, you can basically do single pedal driving in traffic. I believe the electric Mini from many years ago was the first to try this aggressive/max regen on throttle lift mode. Every Porsche has a bazillion user selectable modes, why not making regen braking another one?

 

My wife has a new 2018 Tesla Model S P100D (AWD) as a recent upgrade from her 2012 Model S P85 (RWD). We put the winter wheel and tire package on to improve snow traction.

I've had 6+ years of occasional behind-the-wheel experience with Tesla's idea of regenerative braking. It's really easy to adapt to one-pedal driving and I find it quite nice. No brake wear (or even much usage) ever. Not much foot exercise, either.

The only extra adaptation to regenerative braking is under marginal traction situations (snow/ice) where a quick lift-off to slow down when it gets slippery actually aggravates one's control sensations. Almost like track driving an old 911 where lifting in a corner would make the back end step out. With an old 911, the cure was to stomp the throttle and steer like crazy. In the Tesla's case, the AWD and stability control makes the car merely push wide of the intended path (initially a little scary) until sufficient traction resumes from either lower speed or better grip. Once experienced, all it takes is a little more care in snowy-corner entry-speed to become comfortable driving it.

I like it very much and hope there is an option for "sturdy" regen braking in the Taycan. However, if the Taycan brake system is going to be like the Panamera Turbo S e-Hybrid, one-pedal driving won't be possible.

 

You lose a solid fraction of a second, going from throttle to brake. It is one place track driving and emergency stopping share a need. Having driven regen cars (and track cars), an appreciation of user selectable one-pedal regen came pretty easy. It is simply less stressful to just lift, than it is to go for another pedal in a split second.

I saw Bjorn review the eTron, in Norway. "220KW" available brake-pedal regen sounds like very hard braking. It matches the batteries expected higher power-density, and consequential uptake, too. 60KW covers about everything but emergency stops, and a few sub-10mph final stops, in Tesla's 4.8k lb car. Taycan, at 800V, could have monstrous regen. We'll see.

Tesla's purchase of Maxwell's capacitor tech (650kw, @50kg, for 1 second) is another way higher use of kinetic regen could be made. I think they bought them for their solid-state battery R&D, but a future where ~500KW of brake zone feeds 10-30kg's of capacitors sure would be nice, especially if you can shove that energy around with 800v.