Base Taycan is best - Road & Track review

tutis · Jun 23, 2022

As is often the case with Porsche, base is best as the saying goes. Meaning the base car usually gets the best / most rewarding drive, and the best value. It seems to echo what many have written on this very forum.
In the Apple News link below, the story comes to this conclusion
“The Base Porsche Taycan Is the One to Get
Porsche’s rear-wheel-drive Taycan is its cheapest EV, and might be its best.”

https://apple.news/A0Af6NqPSQWOXhO2lphzKSQ

f1eng · Jun 23, 2022

This is the 3rd or 4th time an experienced driver has found the cheapest the best.

From an efficiency POV the only shortcoming of a RWD EV is no regenerative braking on the front wheels.
As a car engineer I have never seen much point in 4WD for most cars in the UK, the extra traction on tarmac being only of benefit for a few weeks a year when winter tyres would be a better choice anyway (they give better cornering and brakes as well as traction) and the extra weight is always worse.
In relatively gentle day to day driving there is probably enough regen from the rear of the RWD for it to be enough.

I wouldn't buy a 2WD then "ruin" it with the bigger heavier battery either, the extra range isn't worth it for me.

So I am conflicted over the extra weight but 4 wheel regeneration efficiency of braking of 4WD compared the weight benefit of 2WD when talking about EVs.

For IC engined cars 2WD is almost always a better handling choice and 4WD only actually faster for acceleration with engines powerful enough to break traction easily in higher gears.

evn00b · Jun 24, 2022

All said and done the base Taycan’s pickup feels tepid and underwhelming. 4S really is the sweet spot imho.

jasperp · Jun 24, 2022

In some other EV's they use the 4WD system to have efficiency at different speeds without a gearbox: Optimising the rear motor for low speed acceleration and the front motor for high speed efficiency.
But this is not a valid argument for the Taycan because it has a gearbox.

rs38 · Jun 24, 2022

doesn't england have wet street for 50% of the days?

I prefer 4wd with so much wheel torque.
I think there is also packaging problem with getting >2-300kW in one electric engine.

f1eng · Jun 24, 2022

evn00b said:
All said and done the base Taycan’s pickup feels tepid and underwhelming. 4S really is the sweet spot imho.

I think the importance of this depends enormously on the type of roads one drives on.
I personally live in an area where there are mainly twisty often poorly surfaced A and B roads.
There are zero traffic lights with 2 or more lanes except turn filters so the whole concept of a drag race does not exist. The light weight will always be a bigger advantage here than a bit more power.
I rarely drive on busy motorways and when I do I am doing a long journey so don't try to out accelerate anybody pointlessly.

The better handling of a lighter car is always going to be the thing here.

Having written that I ordered a CT 4S since the estate car isn't available in RWD and the 4S was only a bit more expensive than the CT 4 more than fast enough for these roads and lighter than the Turbo.

f1eng · Jun 24, 2022

rs38 said:
doesn't england have wet street for 50% of the days?
I prefer 4wd with so much wheel torque.
I think there is also packaging problem with getting >2-300kW in one electric engine.

Pretty wet in Scotland in winter but I live in the driest county.
Traction is controlled by PASM (and its equivalent for other makes) in modern cars so neither low driver skill nor high wheel torque create a real world problem.

Apart from a Land Rover on the farm as a youth I have never ever had a need for 4WD in 55 years of driving.
The Taycan will be my first 4WD purchase.

I see the engineering logic for 4WD for hybrid and EV vehicles.

tutis · Jun 24, 2022

f1eng said:
This is the 3rd or 4th time an experienced driver has found the cheapest the best.

From an efficiency POV the only shortcoming of a RWD EV is no regenerative braking on the front wheels.
As a car engineer I have never seen much point in 4WD for most cars in the UK, the extra traction on tarmac being only of benefit for a few weeks a year when winter tyres would be a better choice anyway (they give better cornering and brakes as well as traction) and the extra weight is always worse.
In relatively gentle day to day driving there is probably enough regen from the rear of the RWD for it to be enough.

I wouldn't buy a 2WD then "ruin" it with the bigger heavier battery either, the extra range isn't worth it for me.

So I am conflicted over the extra weight but 4 wheel regeneration efficiency of braking of 4WD compared the weight benefit of 2WD when talking about EVs.

For IC engined cars 2WD is almost always a better handling choice and 4WD only actually faster for acceleration with engines powerful enough to break traction easily in higher gears.

completely agree on 2wd; had a 911 with winter tyres and that went everywhere I needed in winter with snow tyres. The car was limited anyway even if it were 4wd by ground clearance.

i have the CT4, but would have gladly taken a lighter CT 2wd

f1eng · Jun 24, 2022

FWIW this video review and quite a few others are done on this road which I drive on daily.

Porsche-Guru · Jun 24, 2022

rs38 said:
doesn't england have wet street for 50% of the days?
I prefer 4wd with so much wheel torque.
I think there is also packaging problem with getting >2-300kW in one electric engine.

Yes, it is generally wet in the UK... but winter tyres are a far better solution that AWD.
The AWD is almost not required on tarmac, but the winter tyres work wonders in wet and cold (< 10 C) conditions, the braking, cornering is just so much better.

Proper winter tyre use in the UK is also low; very few people actually switch to winter tyres and then swap back to summer. Just too much hassle for most people.

I'd take winter tyres over AWD anyway - but having said that have still ordered a 4S. The base tacan was a bit underwhelming in the test drive.

Clod Reed · Jun 24, 2022

After watching that review and his driving style .etc ..it almost put 20 years on me . Does it also come with a year's subscription to caravan weekly ...my god he shouldn't be reviewing porsche's period :CWL:

gusone · Jun 24, 2022

It ain't fast. But then that doesn't matter in South East London and on the bloody M25 with those blasted variable speed limit cameras. It's an amazing car. Had my first Taycan driver wave excitedly as we passed each other today. She wasn't saying "urghhh RWD. No AWD"

f1eng · Jun 24, 2022

Clod Reed said:
After watching that review and his driving style .etc ..it almost put 20 years on me . Does it also come with a year's subscription to caravan weekly ...my god he shouldn't be reviewing porsche's period

It wasn't a track test :facepalm:

he was just talking.

I was trying to illustrate to our US friends why what they look for in a car isn't what interests me.

tutis · Jun 24, 2022

f1eng said:
It wasn't a track test
he was just talking.

I was trying to illustrate to our US friends why what they look for in a car isn't what interests me.

I'd be really curious to see track times on a wet track for base RWD taycan vs. 4S. My guess is that the lighter RWD Taycan may have higher speed in the bends than the 4S, thanks to reduced weight from the lack of FWD and the smaller battery. Maybe enough to match the 4S time.

JRNJTAYCAN · Jun 24, 2022

f1eng said:
This is the 3rd or 4th time an experienced driver has found the cheapest the best.

From an efficiency POV the only shortcoming of a RWD EV is no regenerative braking on the front wheels.
As a car engineer I have never seen much point in 4WD for most cars in the UK, the extra traction on tarmac being only of benefit for a few weeks a year when winter tyres would be a better choice anyway (they give better cornering and brakes as well as traction) and the extra weight is always worse.
In relatively gentle day to day driving there is probably enough regen from the rear of the RWD for it to be enough.

I wouldn't buy a 2WD then "ruin" it with the bigger heavier battery either, the extra range isn't worth it for me.

So I am conflicted over the extra weight but 4 wheel regeneration efficiency of braking of 4WD compared the weight benefit of 2WD when talking about EVs.

For IC engined cars 2WD is almost always a better handling choice and 4WD only actually faster for acceleration with engines powerful enough to break traction easily in higher gears.

Cheapest? Really? I am not sure how many people will buy the RWD for less than 6 figures. After driving all three models I paraphed the RWD purely because I felt it gave me the ride and handling I was looking for. I am not driving this car on a track to race it everyday so going a bit faster in the other models meant nothing to me (personal choice for all). But when you buy the RWD model and starting adding options you quickly hit the 6 figure mark! And that my friends in not "cheap".

Base Taycan is best - Road & Track review

tutis

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rs38

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