u/pci-sec

Please welcome my latest financially irresponsible decision. 😂
Macan Turbo EV in Copper Ruby Metallic, replacing my Taycan Cross Turismo, which I had for 18 months and clocked up over 60,000 km in.
The Copper Ruby is one of those colours that looks completely different depending on the light, from almost black, through deep burgundy and plum, to a beautiful coppery metallic in the sun. And it looks even better in person.

After a stroll to the main square in Pamplona yesterday for dinner I decided to change plans for today and decided to drive the coastal road to Bilboa today.

Today was a much more leisurely drive along the Basque coastline. Stops in Donostia/San Sebastian and Lekeitio, then onwards to Bilbao. A completely different vibe after days in the Pyrenees. Slower pace, sea views and time to actually take it all in.
The free hotel charging in Pamplona made the start of the day effortless. The car predicted 34% on arrival in Bilbao, which proved more than enough.
Spotted the Google or Apple Maps camera car at some point and hope I got captured. Will be a nice memory.
Even better, the hotel in Bilbao also has charging, so I’ll board the ferry to Rosslare tomorrow with an almost full “tank”. Perfect timing, and only about 15 minutes from the port.

Trip stats:
- Total distance driven: 3,187 km
- HPC charges: 16 (Total cost not yet available but should be in the low €200)
- AC hotel charges: 3
- Average HPC charge time: 13 minutes
- Apps used: Porsche Charging app/card + hotel QR codes
- France tolls: €110.40 (Bip&Go tag)

Issues?
- One charger not working and all others occupied. Just drove to the next charger down the motorway
- Driver window regulator failed right after leaving the ferry in Roscoff
- Otherwise completely trouble free
- Personal observation: French and Spanish drivers drive fairly “assertive” but, the Spanish are more predictable…

Next road trip? Norway or Romania in 2027.
Norway because of the scenery and because it is one of the very few countries I have not driven my private car yet. Romania, with the Transfagarasan and Transalpina, are still two of the best driving roads I’ve ever done in an ICE car. Always wanted to go back.

Another day full of curves and sadly the last proper mountain driving day of the trip.
Left the hotel with plenty of charge and the car predicting 19% battery on arrival in Pamplona, so no concerns at all.

Endless bends, barely any straight roads and scenery that kept changing every few kilometres. We crossed Col du Somport, Col de la Pierre St. Martin, Port de Larrau, Col Bagargui and Col de Burdincurutcheta, with plenty of cyclists out enjoying (or suffering through) the climbs. Not sure how often I crossed borders but sometimes I wasn’t sure if I am in France or Spain.

Everything was going perfectly until the car suddenly suggested I might want to check charging 😨 Not going to lie, that got my attention.
After about 4.5 hours of driving, the car proposed a quick stop roughly 30 minutes before Pamplona. To be fair, after that long behind the wheel, both the car and my bladder agreed it was time for a break.

Only a 50 kW charger, so not exactly rapid, but a few minutes was more than enough to take the stress away. They also offered free charging on the 22 kW chargers for an hour, which was a nice touch.

Arrived in Pamplona with 15% left, so not far off the original prediction after all. (Just with an additional stop thanks to my right foot 😇)
Stopped by the local Porsche Centre to maybe add a bit of charge, but a Macan (unplugged) and a 996 Turbo were parked in the charging bay, so that idea didn’t go very far.

Initial plan for tomorrow was Pamplona - Urkiola - Durango - Lekeitio - Zumaia - Bilbao, but I might head north and approach Bilbao from Donostia / San Sebastián instead. Will have a look over dinner tonight and decide.

So overall, another brilliant day and proof again that road-tripping an EV through the mountains is far easier than people think. Plenty of fun, plenty of curves and no real drama, just the odd moment of mild panic 😄

Day 5 was still fine, but definitely more annoying than the rest.

Started early in Lourdes with a wash booked for the car. After a few days of mountain roads it was absolutely covered in insects and dust, so it was badly needed.

While it was being cleaned I checked the route. Traffic updates were switched on in the Porsche app and everything looked clear. Interestingly, the car’s built in sat nav was showing Col d’Aubisque as closed, while everything else like Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps showed no issues. I decided to trust the apps and go ahead anyway. (The Porsche sat nav is Google based but can be slow to update sometimes.)

As soon as we started climbing Col du Soulor, road works began. Full surface renewal, spray tar and loose gravel everywhere, the classic slow crawl stuff. Average speed dropped to around 20 km/h and it was proper sympathy for any cyclists dealing with it.

At the top of Soulor, it turned out the car was right, Col d’Aubisque was closed. That meant a detour of nearly 80 km. Not a problem in terms of range, just one of those annoyances that adds time and reshuffles the day.

The descent from Soulor wasn’t much better, still gravel and loose surface until the plateau, then it opened up again along the Route du Fromage, before heading up Col du Portalet.

Portalet was absolutely worth it though. A bit of traffic in places, but still one of those proper Tour de France style climbs, loads of cyclists out there suffering in the best possible way, and incredible views right into Spain.

Once on the Spanish side, I checked for charging to top up before arriving at the hotel, which has no charger.

I have a filter set to only show 150 kW+ chargers and had two en route. The first was blocked off and not operating, and the second one was dead.

Found a set of 22 kW chargers, but they were at a train station behind barriers. Parking while charging required payment at around 0.43 per minute, roughly 15 euro for the day. No thanks.

Dropped the filter to 100 kW+ and found another charger further up at a hotel that looked like it had been dropped in the middle of a gravel pit. Long rough entrance, deep dips, stones everywhere.

First time using the Taycan’s Gravel Mode, raising the suspension fully. Honestly quite useful in that situation.

Twenty minutes later I was back up to 70 percent, so all good for tomorrow.

So overall, four great days, and one day that was still fine, just a bit more friction than expected. Nothing dramatic, just a reminder that not everything in the Pyrenees runs on plan A.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/G8qvwYtifJ7dg5PD6?g\_st=ic

Easy and late start this morning, leaving the hotel with a fully charged car.

After the first few bends I was back in France. There was always a bit of traffic today and the passes felt more technical than yesterday, but the reward was some absolutely incredible views. Hairpin after hairpin, climbing and descending through some unreal scenery.

At one stage I genuinely felt like I was in Kerry for a moment with sheep casually standing in the middle of the road 😄

Some of these passes are used in the Tour de France and I honestly cannot imagine doing them on a bicycle. There were plenty of cyclists out there, alongside motorbikes, which made it even more impressive to watch.

The weather was brilliant too, warm but not unbearable.

The car is absolutely covered in insects and full of dust at this stage after a few days in the mountains 😄 It’s getting a well deserved wash tomorrow morning before heading off again.

Not too much driving today compared to previous days, so I arrived in Lourdes by mid afternoon. Slightly surreal place to roll into after a day in the mountains, with pilgrims everywhere. I actually booked the hotel because of the good reviews on parking and spotted that they had a Porsche Destination Charger too, so that made life very easy 😄 Premium electricity! 😂

I knew the hotel had a Porsche Destination Charger, so I arrived comfortably with that sorted and will be leaving again tomorrow morning with a full battery before heading towards Pamplona, back into Spain.

Arrived with around 40% battery remaining and didn’t need to charge at all today.

Charging yesterday cost €34.90 and I used roughly 60% of the battery today, so today’s driving effectively cost around €20.94 in electricity.

The Pyrenees continue to deliver.

What a day, and exactly why I came here.

Reading about these roads and actually driving them are two very different things. I enjoyed every single metre of today. (Apart Andorra)

Andorra was a bit disappointing. Turned around about halfway to the centre due to traffic, construction work and it generally feeling more like a shopping centre than anything else.

The first section was quite narrow on the way to Coll de Jou, but after that the roads opened up and the bends got a bit wider and more flowing. In the first 3 hours I probably saw 5 cars and motorbikes in total, which was an absolute pleasure.

Stopped for a quick charge while grabbing a coffee and taking a toilet break. As usual, completely overcharged the car. After about 5 minutes it was already telling me it was time to go, but I spent around 15 minutes at the service station.

The second half of the route was even better. A real mix of terrain and roads, tight bends, wider flowing sections, and a bit more traffic this time.

The car performed flawlessly all day. The battery cooling system was definitely working overtime at points, but it kept the battery steady at around 35 degrees even after some more spirited driving.

Arrived in Vielha with plenty of battery left, only to discover the hotel has a whole row of chargers. Nothing mentioned on any app or even in the hotel description, so that was a nice surprise.

Tomorrow starts with 100% battery and more mountain roads.

Some videos here:
https://files.catbox.moe/bztb6q.mov
https://files.catbox.moe/ftoz7e.mov
https://files.catbox.moe/k0fvxr.mov
https://files.catbox.moe/7024ba.mov (battery cooling working overtime)

I haven’t really planned the next few days in terms of charging. When I booked everything back in December and January, a lot of these mountain roads were still closed, so planning the route section by section was a pain. In the end, I just took rough time estimates between places and booked the hotels.

Checked the route over breakfast this morning and the car suggested just 1 charging stop. I had a feeling consumption would go up once I got into the mountains though, so I decided to play it safe.

First stop was a quick charge just past Carcassonne. Second stop was in Le Boulou, mainly for a toilet break and coffee top-up before heading into the Pyrenees. That one probably wasn’t needed, but I knew consumption would increase climbing into the mountains.

Arrived at the first proper peak, Col d’Ares, showing 32 kWh/100 km consumption. Then once over into Spain and heading downhill, it dropped to 11 kWh/100 km, which was quite funny to watch.

Only later realised there’s an Ionity charger by the Tunnel del Cadí, about 20 minutes from the hotel. Topped up to 90% this evening so I don’t need to think about charging tomorrow morning.

Plan B was the Tesla charger near the hotel, but I try to avoid them if possible as I’d end up blocking two spaces.

Total cost of all 3 charging stops today: €35.

The roads today were unreal. Completely different vibe to yesterday’s motorway run. Tomorrow, more Pyrenees roads.

Left the ferry just after 7am and arrived in Toulouse at exactly 5pm.

The car suggested 5 charging stops, longest one was 16 minutes. I ended up charging 5 times in total but could have done it with 4 stops. Some of the extra stopping was because my stomach wasn’t great, pretty sure the ferry food got me. I had already stopped 4 times before even reaching Nantes, which added quite a bit of time.

Used Ionity for every stop except one where there was a queue due to 2 broken chargers, so I skipped it and went to the next charger a few km down the road.

After Nantes it was mostly easy motorway driving towards Toulouse, generally following the flow of traffic while staying around the speed limit.

What stood out most, besides the heat at 35 degrees, was that I was late at every charging stop. By the time I got to the coffee machine and grabbed a sandwich, the car was generally ready to go again.

Total charging cost: €59.04 with the Porsche Charging Service Ionity rate (€0.39/kWh).

Tomorrow will be the first proper mountain driving day through the Pyrenees, destination La Seu d’Urgell.