Porsche Navigation vs ABRP vs Apple Maps EV Routing -- Pros and Cons

[AmpedUp]

I received a notice from Porsche North America this morning that Apple Maps EV Routing is now supported. I thought it might be useful to summarize the pros and cons with the three live-data routing options available in the N.A. market for those in the Apple ecosystem. I'd be interested to hear what others think about these options, too.

I was always disappointed with Porsche's built-in navigation system. It has some nice features, but it left me looking for other options. Last year, I got A Better Route Planner working with live battery information using a dongle plugged into the OBDII port. And this morning, I received an email from Porsche about the new integration with Apple Maps EV Routing. Each of these options will route you to your destination including charging sessions along the way, but they all have different capabilities. So here is my summary of the pros and cons of each. I hope this is helpful to drivers looking for the best option.

Porsche Navigation
This option is available through the PCM and can display directions in various ways to the driver, including in the main dash and the heads-up display. Taking full advantage of this system requires additional options.

Pros:​

- Can take advantage of screens Apple Carplay cannot, such as the heads-up display​

- PCM will pre-condition the battery to accept a higher charge rate when a stop is scheduled in the route plan and you have Intelligent Range Manager​

- Uses live battery readings to adjust plan in real time (e.g, add a charging stop)​

- Considers changes in elevation and drive mode of the car​

- Car will suggest changes to optimize your route (e.g., if you turn A/C on eco mode you can avoid a charge en route, or if you slow down to 55 mph you can avoid a charge)​

​

Cons:​

- Addresses or routing are way too frequently incorrect (e.g., routing to my old house address tried to send me down the alley behind my property, my new house shares an address with 35 other units so it sends me to wrong property, it sent me to a home address when routing to my doctor's office)
- Expensive options needed to take full advantage of features, such as the heads-up display​

- Doesn't consider all available charging options (and non-configurable)... might even only consider Electrify America but I'm not sure​

- Won't consider road conditions, wind, or other factors that might affect range​

- $300 option for Intelligent Range Manager to incorporate charging along the route​

ABRP
This is a third-party app designed for optimizing EV routes for any make and model. It can be used with or without integration to the car's data, and considers many factors and is highly configurable when making routing plans. In my implementation, I have a Bluetooth dongle plugged into the OBDII port feeding the app with live SoC data, and this allows the app to build a profile of my vehicle's energy consumption. You can also change the configuration extensively, such as telling the app you have a roof rack installed.

Pros:​

- Routing is highly accurate, taking into account projected road surface conditions (e.g., rain / snow), wind, elevation changes, traffic, etc.​

- Adjusts route using live SoC data and consumption​

- Can include a wide array of charging options including Tesla adapters, RV parks, etc.​

- Highly configurable - for example you can add a custom "overhead" per stop of 5 minutes or whatever number you want to account for hooking up the charger, figuring out payment, etc. Or you can tell it you want more or less frequent charging stops. You can even filter for charging speed or other factors.​

- Can be displayed using CarPlay onto the car's screen​

- Can mount the phone and use that as a screen, freeing up the car's screens for other purposes​

​

Cons:​

- Requires a dongle ($ and some tech experience / patience) that was not easy to set up​

- Requires a subscription ($50 annually) to take full advantage of the features, including consumption of live battery SoC​

- Cannot leverage driver dash or heads-up display
- Cannot precondition battery for faster charge speeds (because you cannot use ABRP and native navigation at the same time)​

- Cannot determine the car's driving mode, but it will eventually adjust projections based on consumption during the trip​

- OBDII port cannot be used for other purposes (e.g., car monitoring device, insurance discount device such as those from Progressive)​

Apple Maps EV Routing
Apple Maps incorporates EV routes for any make and model. It can be used with or without integration to the car's data, and considers many factors and is highly configurable when making routing plans. The Porsche app provides live SoC data and other data (see below), and this allows the app to build a profile of my vehicle's energy consumption during the trip.

Pros:​

- Routing is highly accurate, taking into account projected road surface conditions (e.g., rain / snow), wind, elevation changes, traffic, etc.​

- Additionally, Porsche claims it takes into account A/C, heating, driving mode and "other factors" that may affect range, but I don't know what the other factors are​

- Adjusts route using live SoC data and consumption rate​

- Can include a wide array of charging options including Tesla adapters, RV parks, etc.​

- I'm ASSUMING it is configurable, but as this is just out today, I haven't played with it much yet​

- Can be displayed using CarPlay onto the car's screen​

- Can mount the phone and use that as a screen, freeing up the car's screens for other purposes​

- Free to use​

​

Cons:​

- Cannot leverage driver dash or heads-up display
- Cannot precondition battery for faster charge speeds (because you cannot use Apple Maps and native navigation at the same time)
- Have had issues with Apple Maps routing down alleys or other such nonsense, but this is not specific to this integration​

​

My conclusion is that Apple Maps might be the best option for most people. If you only want to charge at Electrify America (to take advantage of free charging) and want to charge at the highest speeds (despite the potential for battery range damage), OR you value the heads-up display then the in-car navigation is the way to go. Otherwise, I think Apple Maps may be the best option because it's free, seems to incorporate more data than ABRP can get from a dongle, and otherwise seem to provide a similar experience as ABRP.

I'm planning to test out the Apple solution on my next road trip and will report back. If it goes well, I might be removing the dongle and canceling my ABRP subscription soon.

What do you think? Any experience with it already?

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[Jasper4S]

My 2 cents; I consider myself a tech guy. I’m “prisoner” of the Apple ecosystem and have almost all their products. I’m actually building iOs apps, AppleTv apps and my smart home is Apple based. But I would never use Apple Carplay or Android Auto. I just hate the look and feel and the screen limitations like you mentioned. And worst of all, it is slow. I can drive for 500 meters before Carplay is loaded and takes control of the audio system and the middle screen. (Which I also hate, why is it turning off my radio when it is done loading). I actually like the default navigation system from Porsche, what I really miss is voice control so I can say something like: hey Porsche navigate to <name of friend>. This was possible in the last two Audis I drove (10 year old tech)

Where is the love for Apple Carplay coming from? Am I really missing something?

 

[AmpedUp]

My 2 cents; I consider myself a tech guy. I’m “prisoner” of the Apple ecosystem and have almost all their products. I’m actually building iOs apps, AppleTv apps and my smart home is Apple based. But I would never use Apple Carplay or Android Auto. I just hate the look and feel and the screen limitations like you mentioned. And worst of all, it is slow. I can drive for 500 meters before Carplay is loaded and takes control of the audio system and the middle screen. (Which I also hate, why is it turning off my radio when it is done loading). Where is the love for Apple Carplay coming from? Am I really missing something? I actually like the default navigation system from Porsche, what I really miss is voice control so I can say something like: hey Porsche navigate to <name of friend>. This was possible in the last two Audis I drove (10 year old tech)

Personally, I like being able to use other apps, which are arguably better at what they do, such as Spotify, Google Maps, and ABRP vs being stuck with whatever the car comes with. In my case, the in-car systems screw up often. I once entered an address for a commercial location and ended up in a residential neighborhood and late for my appointment.

So I use Google Maps whenever I am going somewhere in town and I don't need to charge. Other times, I use ABRP for longer distances. If ABRP comes up with a route using EA, I might opt to use in-car navigation so that it uses the heads-up display.

I do agree with you that CarPlay taking over audio EVERY TIME you turn on the car is annoying. I really wish there was an option to leave the audio on the last setting.

The looks I think are a matter of personal preference. I personally like the look of CarPlay and the menus. For me though, it's about having competitive apps besides the ones that come with the car.

 

[whitex]

Fyi, ABRP is being acquired by Rivian.
https://electrek.co/2023/06/15/exclusive-rivian-to-acquire-abrp-a-better-route-planner/

 

[or1]

…

Porsche Navigation
…

Pros:​

…​

- PCM will pre-condition the battery to accept a higher charge rate when a stop is scheduled in the route plan and you have Intelligent Range Manager​

…​

I’m sure preconditioning works also without PIRM. At least it does in my car even though I didn’t pay for PIRM.

My problem with PCM long trip navigation is that it mostly suggests chargers I don’t want to go to: wrong operator or too far off my path. Filter settings are not good. So I plan long trips with ABRP, and use PCM navigation to get to my planned charger addresses one by one.

I am not a friend of CarPlay either. In spite of using a Mac, iPad and iPhone, I prefer the native car interface to imposing CarPlay on it. But maybe I haven’t tried it enough.

 

[Scandinavian]

I’m sure preconditioning works also without PIRM. At least it does in my car even though I didn’t pay for PIRM.

Yes PIRM is an extra and the car has Charging planner in the navigator once you set a destination. It does all the necessary pre heating with the built in navigator. It needs enough time/distance once a destination is entered and plan its own stop. If you only want to navigate to a HPC you need to make sure this is entered as a proper charging address for the charger in the navigator.

I would never switch to Apple Maps unless both the preheating works AND the map and navigation will be visible in the middle tube. I do not like the layout and zoom level of the Apple map when driving.

 

[whitex]

Yes PIRM is an extra and the car has Charging planner in the navigator once you set a destination. It does all the necessary pre heating with the built in navigator. It needs enough time/distance once a destination is entered and plan its own stop. If you only want to navigate to a HPC you need to make sure this is entered as a proper charging address for the charger in the navigator.

I would never switch to Apple Maps unless both the preheating works AND the map and navigation will be visible in the middle tube. I do not like the layout and zoom level of the Apple map when driving.

I agree with about the pre-heating, Apple nav in IC Tube and even HUD would be nice, but the Porsche NAV directions on the IC tube suck compared to the HUD. The HUD shows you a map fragment with your path on it with more accurate distance (and even an icon showing you car on the path when you get really close), plus some text to describe the street, exit, or highway you'll be turning on, the IC Tube just shows a generic "turn in x feet" - not even what exit/entrance/street to turn on. See below for an example

 

[Jasper4S]

I agree with about the pre-heating, Apple nav in IC Tube and even HUD would be nice, but the Porsche NAV directions on the IC tube suck compared to the HUD. The HUD shows you a map fragment with your path on it with more accurate distance (and even an icon showing you car on the path when you get really close), plus some text to describe the street, exit, or highway you'll be turning on, the IC Tube just shows a generic "turn in x feet" - not even what exit/entrance/street to turn on. See below for an example

Yeah, I hope CarPlay nextgen is able to do this in the future and on our current Taycans, not only MY26/27 or newer. I like that the default navigation is integrated in all 4 displays and therefore the only option for me.

 

[whitex]

Yeah, I hope CarPlay nextgen is able to do this in the future and on our current Taycans, not only MY26/27 or newer. I like that the default navigation is integrated in all 4 displays and therefore the only option for me.

The one thing missing from Porsche NAV is the ability to see a couple of steps ahead, what turn, onto what, and how far from previous step.

 

[tchavei]

I use Waze as the native Porsche navigator is really bad on some local destinations that I tested. Tried to make me cross town twice to get to an address that was really near my location.

What I do (since waze and porsche nav can coexist) is to plan my route on ABRP then use the suggested charger stops as destinations on the Porsche NAV and then switch to waze and let it plot my route.

That way Waze is guiding me while the Porsche NAV is preheating the battery before reaching the charger.

I would LOVE to have a battery preheat button though... would be so much simpler.

 

[FredC057]

I'm using Waze and Carplay only when I'm in town or for everyday driving and yes stoping the radio is annoying but it doesn't do it every time for me and I can't yet figure out what sequence should I do not to stop the radio.

But for long distances, I disable carplay and use the Porsche NAV for the pre-heating and have an exact SOC when I'll arrive as I often stop with only 2-5% left.
At the same time, on my iPhone I have Waze, ABRP and Coyote running at the same time to give me all the informations.

What is really missing is the possibility to run multiple NAV systems at the same time in Carplay.
This way I could use the Porsche NAV for pre-heating and whatever else I want and have it on a big screen.

I still don't understand why Porsche is not letting us do that.
They should add a little to unflag to say that yes I'm sure I want both NAV at the same time.

 

[FredC057]

What I do (since waze and porsche nav can coexist) is to plan my route on ABRP then use the suggested charger stops as destinations on the Porsche NAV and then switch to waze and let it plot my route.

That way Waze is guiding me while the Porsche NAV is preheating the battery before reaching the charger.

Is it something specific per region?
If I start Waze in Carplay it stops Porsche NAV
And if I start Porsche NAV, it stops whatever NAV I have in Carplay

 

[ciaranob]

Is it something specific per region?
If I start Waze in Carplay it stops Porsche NAV
And if I start Porsche NAV, it stops whatever NAV I have in Carplay

I believe this is the same in the US i.e. only way you're running two nav systems is independently say on your phone and not using CarPlay but I haven't tested the very latest update for CarPlay and Porsche Nav interactions - others here wiser I'm sure ...

PS: Waze will run in the background re warnings/alerts and speak over the Porsche Nav when active but thats not new.

 

[simcity]

Fyi, ABRP is being acquired by Rivian.
https://electrek.co/2023/06/15/exclusive-rivian-to-acquire-abrp-a-better-route-planner/

Be interesting to see where that goes for ABRP and Rivian.

 

[tigerbalm]

I'm using Waze and Carplay only when I'm in town or for everyday driving and yes stoping the radio is annoying but it doesn't do it every time for me and I can't yet figure out what sequence should I do not to stop the radio.

https://www.peerreviewed.io/blog/st...playing-apple-music-with-shortcuts-automation

Building a Shortcut and having it trigger when CarPlay or Bluetooth connects to your car can stop your phone from trying to auto play audio.

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