A big miss in my view

[Zer0t]

I went to an event last night and directly across the street was charge point chargers. This is street parking on Monmouth Street in Red Bank at the Count Bassie theater. So anyone can look at it via google earth street view.

Having the chargers is great, you pay a 1 dollar connection fee and that’s it and no additional parking charges.

So, here’s the miss. Why the heck is the charging port on the driver side? I was able to get the cable there and tuck it under the front end not to drag it across the hood—unlike the hybrid keep in front of me.

The bigger issue is the charging door is protruding a reasonable mount and a target to get hit by passing traffic. This is a narrowish street with parking on both sides and two way traffic.

The Taycan has ports in both sides (dcfc on passenger only) but considering street parking and charging is becoming more prevalent Ford should’ve put the port on the passenger, curb, side of the car.

Sponsored

 

[21st Century Pony]

The bigger issue is the charging door is protruding a reasonable mount and a target to get hit by passing traffic. This is a narrowish street with parking on both sides and two way traffic.

I thoroughly agree about the clumsy protruding charging port + handle and the even clumsier charging port door. I just came off 5 years of the Ford Fusion Energi, where the charging door was well-designed and didn't protrude at all. Same with the 2012 Prius Plug-in before the Fusion. Same with the Audi E-tron our other car. Why a big mainsail-size flappy door? I mean... what happened here? What were the designers thinking?? Accidents on city streets don't ever happen to protruding things?

 

[Logal727]

Honestly I’d love a removable charge port door for these situations, wonder if there’s and aftermarket opportunity here

 

[ARK]

I’d love to know how they decide which side of the car to put these things on. As it happens, if it was on the passenger side, it would be much more of a hassle for me to charge at home.

 

[Cm12]

I’d love to know how they decide which side of the car to put these things on. As it happens, if it was on the passenger side, it would be much more of a hassle for me to charge at home.

Yeah, we all have different charging needs at times so what’s convenient for one person isn’t for another. I absolutely hate the positioning of the charge port - it couldn’t be in a worse spot for me, personally. My 23 foot charge cable doesn’t reach from my garage unless I park nose-in but a retaining wall on one side of a narrow driveway prevents me from being able to open the doors if I do that (poor design by the prior homeowner). But I get why they put it there since many people find it most convenient for home charging. Would love it if the port was in the rear on either side.

 

[Stang68]

That’s the thing…if it was on the passenger side people would be complaining, too. You know Ford focus-tested the shit out of this decision and came to a conclusion based on it.

 

[Sealevel]

Little difference from the variety of location of gas filler nozzle on ICE vehicles. I've had vehicles where it'd be on either side of the vehicle and even in the middle behind the license plate.

I'll park nose in for the shortest path from charger to charge port, but I can hang the cord overhead on hooks to reach the front if I reverse into my garage.

 

[Zer0t]

My comment was based on seeing more and more street parking with charging capability. Thus the passenger side vs driver side. At home it doesn’t matter to me.

 

[MG101]

I believe the op is talking about parking parallel to the curb which would put the charging equipment on the passenger side.

 

[ZuleMME]

Sure would have been nice if engineered for back in parking; which is considered vastly safer. But hey, i get it. No way to please everyone.

 

[ReelSweet]

Maybe they had our European friends in mind

 

[Mach-Lee]

The Mach-E charging port location was decided based on feedback that most charging would occur at home in a garage or driveway. The driver’s fender was thought to be the most convenient location for home level 2 charging since it is close to the most frequently used door. Obviously this is a problem for on-street charging. It’s hard to find one location that works for all charging situations.

I agree the door is very bulky and sticks out too far, I think flip down designs are better.

 

[Logal727]

We just need a port on all 4 fenders lol

 

[JohnFoxeSheets]

The Mach-E charging port location was decided based on feedback that most charging would occur at home in a garage or driveway. The driver’s fender was thought to be the most convenient location for home level 2 charging since it is close to the most frequently used door. Obviously this is a problem for on-street charging. It’s hard to find one location that works for all charging situations.

I agree the door is very bulky and sticks out too far, I think flip down designs are better.

I agree. (In my case I literally wouldn't have bought the car if the charge door had been on the right side, but I know my situation is unique.)

As for the charge door, I agree that it's a big fail. The only reason I can think why they designed it that way is so that the door would act essentially as a flag and be more visible than just a J1772 connector, thereby lessening the chances of doing damage to either the plug or the port. Breaking off the charging door would suck. Damaging the charging port would be far worse.

But maybe I'm being overly kind...

 

[Logal727]

I agree. (In my case I literally wouldn't have bought the car if the charge door had been on the right side, but I know my situation is unique.)

As for the charge door, I agree that it's a big fail. The only reason I can think why they designed it that way is so that the door would act essentially as a flag and be more visible than just a J1772 connector, thereby lessening the chances of doing damage to either the plug or the port. Breaking off the charging door would suck. Damaging the charging port would be far worse.

But maybe I'm being overly kind...

Honestly if it just opened vertically like a lot of other EVs, it would be 100% better

Sponsored