JacobDK

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The day arrived when I had the time, when the Corona precautious ways of living permitted it and also the dealer actually having a tester Taycan 4S ready for me all came togehter in best way imaginable (with fantastic weather in the Greater Copenhagen area Denmark).

The car - a pretty basic 4S - standard (small) battery pack, standard seats and stereo. Upgraded leather, 20" inch alloys, rear axel steering, innodrive and minor visual tweaks was what the dealer had in store for me for the 3 hour testdrive.

I tried the car on the roads I drive on a daily basis, drove the fun roads and blasted the motorways without being inconsiderate to others and safety, did the bumper-to-bumper car traffic and city driving all within the limited time.

What were my thoughts.

First - I have no regrets having ordered a Taycan based on paper alone - this I a true Porsche but way better than most I've tried. The comfort is beyond what in any reasonable way can be expected of a car with this level of performance and roadholding. The testdrive did also reveal some areas which Porsche can and should do better. The car in itself is true to concept and therefore will be attractive to some but certainly not all car buyers. Practicality is not top notch - actually it's only just acceptable, but id rather have a car that fits my daily needs than one that serves 1 drive per year.

My background is - well I'm a true petrolhead/carnut - drove a million miles with BBurago toy cars, Tamiya remote cars, drove carts, and all the cars I could get near. I‘ve always had fun cars though at different budgets! I was a roadtester on 2 car magazines and did during that time have the fun and experience of driving Lamborghinis with Valentino Balboni, go sideways in +150 km/h in Ruf Porsches, did the Mille Miglia in a Ferrari 575, drove all kinds of performance cars and dozens of daily drivers through the years. But Porsche has always had a special place in my mind - due to the fact that they made cars which could be used everyday while beeing true to the feeling of driving. They had performance but moreover they always had driveability and a certain purity to the interaction between driver and car. The kind of interaction only a racecar, a go-kart, or some italian supercars give you (Ferrari 355/360/458 or Pagani Zonda).

I actually bought the Taycan based on trust to the Porsche engineers ability and track-record.

So what did I find.

Let's start with the areas which should be improved or are weakpoint with the car! The HVAC system is not up to the standard that should be expected and it’s ability to keep the cabin comfortable left room for improvement. Its really way to complicated to adjust which would all be "fine" if the automatic functions were doing the job - but as an example the "sun sensor" is not doing its job so depending on your orientation to the sun, temperature has to be adjusted (a lot!) - a bit like a Maserati Quattroporte from 1998! As a result my spec must have the upgraded tempered glas added! The standard stereo sucks. It's actually way worse than a Kia which is just plain redicoules prices taken in to consideration. I'm happy my spec has the BOSE system, I trust it to be acceptable. The fake performance/engine noise is just to artificial so that's deleted in my spec. Standard sounds are actually really nice. The standard seats are not supportive enough for me - my back is really hurting if the support is insufficient, moreover you're not being held enough in the shoulder area when pressing on hard through the bends (corners). My spec must As a result include the sports seats. The panoramic sunroof is really dark and only little light gets through - its an option deleted for me. Lastly its more a 2+2 seater than a limosine - if you see it as a 911 with acceptable room for passengers in the rear then all will be fine - but 4 adults on a cross european tour is not in the cards!

Now the strong points. Damn - its just the most fantastic car I've ever driven. The only car that will ever come close is the BMW M5 E39! The energy consumption is really impressive. I did a lot of different driving and made many fast accelerations, drove at really spirited speeds on country roads etc, but only used 23 kWh/100km during the 3 hour drive. Its just plain impressive! The suspension and driving comfort (sound insulation and complexity in suspension) is really second to none. I bet its more comfortable than even the best Mercedes S-class out there. The grip in corners is beyond belief and brake power (standard 4S brakes) are really powerfull (no need for upgrade). Actually the tyres (efficient) actually are the limiting factor with the braking ability. The acceleration out of corners, and the way the Taycan puts down the power individually on the axels is just beyond what any car I've ever driven is able of producing - the Taycan feels like it has unlimited amount of grip, the balance is so gratifying in regards to supporting the emotion of driving.

During the drive I made some notes - the sport setting firms suspension in the damping - but adjusting the ride height not so much (actually on just barely), regenative braking is less than a normal petrol car in standard setting (its coasting) if turned up - it's only a bit more noticable and not in any way enough to make 1 pedal driving possible - but (a small hack) if the Active Cruise Control is turned on - and adjusted to a low speed the regeneration will actually improve vastly. I won't make use of it - the standard setup is more to my liking.

But as the day came to an end, the car was back at Porsche Center Copenhagen, and I was already missing the Taycan experience. I'm so excited and looking forward to december when I'll get my very own. It will have the bigger battery and more top end power, the color just changed from grey to gentian blue, the window surrounds to black, the panoramic roof was deleted, the seats upgraded to full 18-way sports seats and the rest of my spec just remains the as prior to the drive. Porsche ended the day by sending me an email to acknowledge the support to staying on the Taycan program in spite of Covid-19 and offered free service for 2 years, and the day ended in a tranquile way in my garden with rays of evening sunshine and calm spot to enjoy a "due Espressi" served in a Taycan coffee cup. It was one of those days, that makes it alle worthwhile.

Stay safe out there - let's be sensible and get back to the life we all miss and care for!
Jacob

Porsche Taycan Long wait - Long drive - 4S shows what a fantastic car it truly is. NFZ+0ReqRkur2whNFeSWnA




Porsche Taycan Long wait - Long drive - 4S shows what a fantastic car it truly is. fullsizeoutput_6447
Porsche Taycan Long wait - Long drive - 4S shows what a fantastic car it truly is. fullsizeoutput_6444
Porsche Taycan Long wait - Long drive - 4S shows what a fantastic car it truly is. fullsizeoutput_6449
Porsche Taycan Long wait - Long drive - 4S shows what a fantastic car it truly is. fullsizeoutput_6450
Porsche Taycan Long wait - Long drive - 4S shows what a fantastic car it truly is. fullsizeoutput_644f
Porsche Taycan Long wait - Long drive - 4S shows what a fantastic car it truly is. fullsizeoutput_644
 
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svp6

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Very nice summary, thank you for taking the time to post it. How does the 4S feel compared to Tesla in terms of acceleration? Closer to standard models or to performance models?
 

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Very Nice summary @JacobDK! The car has had all the reviews to be a true Porsche and this again reaffirms it. I will be picking mine up on Tuesday once we have started unlocking the lockdown on Monday! I guess things here in France On Monday will be like the Cow release in Sweden after a long winter.



A coupe of questions.
Was the HVAC really that bad? It is much warmer here in the south of France so that does not bode too well in that case. I am surprised since the German cars normally have very good systems for that. My BMW M5 is very stable in temperature during the summer. Our Tesla M3 is not as good, maybe because of the glass roof, even if it has heat reflective film on it?

You also mentioned that practicality is not top notch. I see you mention the rear seats as suitable for short trips only. I also see the standard seats were not up to your expectations. But was there anything else that you thought of?

I am absolutely fine with the car being a sport sedan and having rear seats that are useable for short trips. I very seldom have the need for more than 2 persons in the car. But our grandkids have grown so tall now that they complain about the rear seats of a 911 even for shorter trips.

The Blue colour looks fantastic so congratulation on the change. I have seen it on a 992 Carrera S and it is beautiful in the sunlight.
 
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JacobDK

JacobDK

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Very nice summary, thank you for taking the time to post it. How does the 4S feel compared to Tesla in terms of acceleration? Closer to standard models or to performance models?
well actually I have no reference since i’ve only driven very few teslas. I find Teslas are impressive but they somehow do not appeal to me. My brother was along for most of the drive, he’s a carjournalist, and he said the Porsche is more brutal at moments but not ultimately as quick as the fastest Teslas. Its comperable to the P85 in his opinion. But one thing is doing one acceleration - but the continous deployment of power is where the 4S shines.
Its got plenty of power as I see it and after some quick driving om back roads, my body kindly asked me to take it more relaxed.
If anything i think a bit more power at higher speeds would be great - but thats were the performance battery comes in.
 
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JacobDK

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Very Nice summary @JacobDK! The car has had all the reviews to be a true Porsche and this again reaffirms it. I will be picking mine up on Tuesday once we have started unlocking the lockdown on Monday! I guess things here in France On Monday will be like the Cow release in Sweden after a long winter.



A coupe of questions.
Was the HVAC really that bad? It is much warmer here in the south of France so that does not bode too well in that case. I am surprised since the German cars normally have very good systems for that. My BMW M5 is very stable in temperature during the summer. Our Tesla M3 is not as good, maybe because of the glass roof, even if it has heat reflective film on it?

You also mentioned that practicality is not top notch. I see you mention the rear seats as suitable for short trips only. I also see the standard seats were not up to your expectations. But was there anything else that you thought of?

I am absolutely fine with the car being a sport sedan and having rear seats that are useable for short trips. I very seldom have the need for more than 2 persons in the car. But our grandkids have grown so tall now that they complain about the rear seats of a 911 even for shorter trips.

The Blue colour looks fantastic so congratulation on the change. I have seen it on a 992 Carrera S and it is beautiful in the sunlight.
Congrats - I’m certain you will be amazed and happy with the Taycan.

The HVAC leaves room for improvement in my mind. On my drive I drove a testroute which made us change the orientation towards the sun frequently. The change of sun to shine through the windows made the percieved temperatur rise and fall, which in response made me change the temperatur from 19,5-20-20,5-21 degrees. As a result I will select the tempered glass option, since i believe this will make the sunrays less intrusive. I believe the HVAC has enough cooling and heating power but have not testet this. BMW M5s (and many other large BMWs) have an excellent HVAC system, with near perfect sunsensors, moistsensors etc. The other thing I took notice of is that the ventilation is hard to adjust in the direction where the air should go. Its unnessecarily complicated to adjust (you have to go in to a menu) and the resulting adjustments the system makes, make little difference in the airdistrbution. As result my left arm was chilled even though I adjustet the direction of air to go to the windscreen only.

Practicality. I‘m 193cm so room behind me is tight! I did have all the space I needed as driver. For two people its great In my view - and for occasional trips with kids/grandkids all will be fine as I see it. But the boot (trunk) is not large, the acces is somewhat restricted, the doorbins are narrow, there are only two cupholders up front - an none in the rear if the armrest is not in use (with 3 kids in the rear). But if you wan’t a practical car, an SUV is way better.
 


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Very Nice summary @JacobDK! The car has had all the reviews to be a true Porsche and this again reaffirms it. I will be picking mine up on Tuesday once we have started unlocking the lockdown on Monday! I guess things here in France On Monday will be like the Cow release in Sweden after a long winter.



A coupe of questions.
Was the HVAC really that bad? It is much warmer here in the south of France so that does not bode too well in that case. I am surprised since the German cars normally have very good systems for that. My BMW M5 is very stable in temperature during the summer. Our Tesla M3 is not as good, maybe because of the glass roof, even if it has heat reflective film on it?

You also mentioned that practicality is not top notch. I see you mention the rear seats as suitable for short trips only. I also see the standard seats were not up to your expectations. But was there anything else that you thought of?

I am absolutely fine with the car being a sport sedan and having rear seats that are useable for short trips. I very seldom have the need for more than 2 persons in the car. But our grandkids have grown so tall now that they complain about the rear seats of a 911 even for shorter trips.

The Blue colour looks fantastic so congratulation on the change. I have seen it on a 992 Carrera S and it is beautiful in the sunlight.
My experience is a bit different. While I agree that certain aspects of setting the HVAC are overly complicated, the system itself does work. After setting everything I have not made any adjustments to the temperature or fan despite some wide fluctuations in temperature during the past couple of weeks. Is it the most responsive or powerful HVAC system, maybe not, but I have not had to override the AUTO setting to maintain the interior at a comfortable temperature. That being said, I do have the heated and ventilated seats, so some of my personal comfort can be addressed with the seats. If you decide to upgrade the seats, I highly recommend the massage seats. It continues to be one of my favorite options and will come in handy during the longer drives.

As far as the rear seats, unless you are very tall, the back seats can fit adults. Children are absolutely no problem. If I had to drive adults friends to dinner with me, I would not hesitate to bring them in the Taycan. The one part that is a little tricky with the rear seats is getting in due to the slope of the roof and the angle of the door opening. For children absolutely no problem.

The trunk is very usable. I can fit almost as many grocery bags in the rear as I can with my Maserati Levante SUV. I have fit a golf bag and a push cart in the trunk without dropping the rear seats or removing any clubs from the bag.

As far as the power, I usually lean towards getting trim levels that have more. I owned a Panamera Turbo and was always thankful that I had the Turbo model versus the Panamera 4S. With the Taycan, I have absolutely no regrets with regard to power of the Taycan 4S. There is more than enough to bring a smile to your face, and to make your passengers feel nauseous if you continue to mash the go pedal.
 
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JacobDK

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My experience is a bit different. While I agree that certain aspects of setting the HVAC are overly complicated, the system itself does work. After setting everything I have not made any adjustments to the temperature or fan despite some wide fluctuations in temperature during the past couple of weeks. Is it the most responsive or powerful HVAC system, maybe not, but I have not had to override the AUTO setting to maintain the interior at a comfortable temperature. That being said, I do have the heated and ventilated seats, so some of my personal comfort can be addressed with the seats. If you decide to upgrade the seats, I highly recommend the massage seats. It continues to be one of my favorite options and will come in handy during the longer drives.

As far as the rear seats, unless you are very tall, the back seats can fit adults. Children are absolutely no problem. If I had to drive adults friends to dinner with me, I would not hesitate to bring them in the Taycan. The one part that is a little tricky with the rear seats is getting in due to the slope of the roof and the angle of the door opening. For children absolutely no problem.

The trunk is very usable. I can fit almost as many grocery bags in the rear as I can with my Maserati Levante SUV. I have fit a golf bag and a push cart in the trunk without dropping the rear seats or removing any clubs from the bag.

As far as the power, I usually lean towards getting trim levels that have more. I owned a Panamera Turbo and was always thankful that I had the Turbo model versus the Panamera 4S. With the Taycan, I have absolutely no regrets with regard to power of the Taycan 4S. There is more than enough to bring a smile to your face, and to make your passengers feel nauseous if you continue to mash the go pedal.
Do you have the standard windows or with tempered glass?
 

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Do you have the standard windows or with tempered glass?
I have the standard windows. I usually don't order the tempered glass because I use a radar detector and a toll pass and don't want problems with the signal transmission. Due to the COVID-19 lock down, I haven't been able to have the side and rear windows tinted, but I will have it done not because of the heat but because of the look. I usually go with a fairly light tint.
 


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Even with separate HVAC controls in our other cars, my wife and I still disagree and play with the settings. In the Taycan we have both been happy. I am sure the tempered glass will help to keep the temperature more stable, but I haven't found it necessary for my personal situation.
 

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Congrats - I’m certain you will be amazed and happy with the Taycan.

The HVAC leaves room for improvement in my mind. On my drive I drove a testroute which made us change the orientation towards the sun frequently. The change of sun to shine through the windows made the percieved temperatur rise and fall, which in response made me change the temperatur from 19,5-20-20,5-21 degrees. As a result I will select the tempered glass option, since i believe this will make the sunrays less intrusive. I believe the HVAC has enough cooling and heating power but have not testet this. BMW M5s (and many other large BMWs) have an excellent HVAC system, with near perfect sunsensors, moistsensors etc. The other thing I took notice of is that the ventilation is hard to adjust in the direction where the air should go. Its unnessecarily complicated to adjust (you have to go in to a menu) and the resulting adjustments the system makes, make little difference in the airdistrbution. As result my left arm was chilled even though I adjustet the direction of air to go to the windscreen only.

Practicality. I‘m 193cm so room behind me is tight! I did have all the space I needed as driver. For two people its great In my view - and for occasional trips with kids/grandkids all will be fine as I see it. But the boot (trunk) is not large, the acces is somewhat restricted, the doorbins are narrow, there are only two cupholders up front - an none in the rear if the armrest is not in use (with 3 kids in the rear). But if you wan’t a practical car, an SUV is way better.
Interesting observation about the air flow and vents. I have heard they are a bit cumbersome to adjust so will look out for that and practice a bit adjusting them. I guess things get easier once you have learnt how it all works.

I am only 186 cm so my wife could sit quite comfortably behind my seat when we had a test drive. But I agree this was not for a long trip, but even going out for dinner with some friends and driving perhaps 50 km will be fine. Whenever the restaurants are allowed to open again though.

My car is an ex showroom car so not my specification, but was close to what I would have specified. It does not have either the ventilated seats nor the massage seats, but I have never had that anyway so I do not really know what I am missing. It has the sport seats though and it has the temp glass.

I am not too worried about trunk space since it is huge compared to what we have had in our Aston Martin DB9 Volante. The trunk space in that is a bit more than you get in a 911! But you have the rear seats as well because they also are minute. So we will be fine with all that storage space.

Only a couple of more sleeps now.
 

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Interesting observation about the air flow and vents. I have heard they are a bit cumbersome to adjust so will look out for that and practice a bit adjusting them. I guess things get easier once you have learnt how it all works.

I am only 186 cm so my wife could sit quite comfortably behind my seat when we had a test drive. But I agree this was not for a long trip, but even going out for dinner with some friends and driving perhaps 50 km will be fine. Whenever the restaurants are allowed to open again though.

My car is an ex showroom car so not my specification, but was close to what I would have specified. It does not have either the ventilated seats nor the massage seats, but I have never had that anyway so I do not really know what I am missing. It has the sport seats though and it has the temp glass.

I am not too worried about trunk space since it is huge compared to what we have had in our Aston Martin DB9 Volante. The trunk space in that is a bit more than you get in a 911! But you have the rear seats as well because they also are minute. So we will be fine with all that storage space.

Only a couple of more sleeps now.
It sounds like the Taycan is a terrific choice. I have a DB11. They are very different cars, but both bring a big smile to my face. Enjoy.
 

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Great summary. I am awaiting my delivery on a 4S as well, in the United States.

When I drove the Turbo S, I thought the power to be way too much for daily usage. The 4S with Performance Battery Pack Plus is more than enough for me.
 

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When I drove the Turbo S, I thought the power to be way too much for daily usage. The 4S with Performance Battery Pack Plus is more than enough for me.
As an owner of a Turbo S I COMPLETELY agree. In fact I would say it is actually not a safe option for most drivers. Its the combination of way too much power AND instantaneous delivery of power with almost no lag. Same with the Turbo as they really are not that different.

IMHO not only is it not needed but the price differential is simply not worth it. The 4S with a couple of options is more that enough and I believe achieves 90% of the experience for around 60-70% of the price.
 

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As an owner of a Turbo S I COMPLETELY agree. In fact I would say it is actually not a safe option for most drivers. Its the combination of way too much power AND instantaneous delivery of power with almost no lag. Same with the Turbo as they really are not that different.

IMHO not only is it not needed but the price differential is simply not worth it. The 4S with a couple of options is more that enough and I believe achieves 90% of the experience for around 60-70% of the price.
You just put into words my exact experience last week test driving a turbo S and a 4S. I honestly went in thinking it would be an inferior experience with the 4S, but I was still laughing aloud and thinking it was wonderful. The launch control on the 4S still left my scalp tingling! I’m coming from an Audi RS3 with similar acceleration times to the 4S, but the electric experience is just so fundamentally different that it made me conclude it‘s an immense upgrade and not just a lateral move. For me the Taycan will be a daily driver and the 4S will be much more than enough!
 
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JacobDK

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You just put into words my exact experience last week test driving a turbo S and a 4S. I honestly went in thinking it would be an inferior experience with the 4S, but I was still laughing aloud and thinking it was wonderful. The launch control on the 4S still left my scalp tingling! I’m coming from an Audi RS3 with similar acceleration times to the 4S, but the electric experience is just so fundamentally different that it made me conclude it‘s an immense upgrade and not just a lateral move. For me the Taycan will be a daily driver and the 4S will be much more than enough!
my brother said they TurboS is one of the fastest cars they have ever testet and actually a bit to much. A fun fact - Mercedes F1 racecar goes 0-100kmh in around 2,6 seconds - basically the same as a Turbo S. The 4S has so much performance that you do not need any more and I dont think your body actually can cope with it either for longer periods of time. In the 4S the full performance is actually useable on a blast down a country road, the Turbo S will probably be to fast. The torque is instantenous and relentless especially at legal speeds, but ou do notice the torque drops down at higher speeds which is why the large battery on the 4S will be the best choice as I see it.
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