Christ0pherus

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Overview
After 8 long months of anticipation, I finally took delivery of my Taycan GTS last week. Despite a supply chain crisis, a war, and a shipwreck, I was lucky enough to receive the car just 1 week later than my original delivery estimate with no markup. Redwood City Porsche was incredibly communicative and helpful throughout the process (props to Rudy!).

The first time I got behind the wheel felt amazing. I’ve driven plenty of Teslas, Benzes, and BMWs, and despite similar 0-60 times, they cannot come close to the level of presence this car has. It just feels so special. Being able to own this car is my childhood dream come true.

Photos
Before getting into my lengthy spiel, here are some glam shots taken right after PPF installation and ceramic coating were done.
Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4396

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4399

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4403

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4391

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4388

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4410

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4372

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4360

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4390

Porsche Taycan A Blissful First 10 Days Living With My GTS - Photos, Thoughts, and More IMG_4381



First Impressions & Thoughts
Features and options are bolded.

DESIGN & QUALITY

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s clear that the design is second to none. I also love the GTS accents, from the gloss black rear diffusers to the side skirts and Satin Black Spyder rims. Like many GTS buyers, I opted for Chalk/Crayon paint to accentuate the black accents.

I also went for the GTS interior package with Carmine Red stitching. Race Tex is a controversial choice, but as someone who never eats in the car and has no kids or dogs, I was not worried about my ability to maintain it. I also felt like I was missing out if I got a GTS without the GTS interior. It’s comfortable and, despite what some photos suggest, does not look overbearing in person. The red stitching, seat belts, and clock also spruce up the interior a lot. If you are a clean freak like me, I highly recommend speccing the GTS interior package. I used to hate dark interiors but I absolutely love this one and wouldn’t have it another way. For me, it was worth the extra $$$.


COMFORT
Suspension is smooth and supple, even on poor roads with the chassis set to Sport+. I read a handful of journalist reviews suggesting the GTS was harsh. My experience could not be more different, having driven comfortably over pothole ridden San Francisco streets already. My BMW M340i would have given me a back ache in the same situation.

The thermally and noise insulated glass also makes the car feel like a sanctuary. It’s supremely quiet at high speeds, save for a slight wind whistle that’s only there when you listen for it. When you roll the windows down, you can see the extra layer of acoustic film sandwiched between the window panes. I haven’t driven a Taycan without it but I’m sure it does something.


HANDLING
Incredible as you might expect. This was the least surprising part yet still the most satisfying element. The steering is surgically precise and confidence inspiring. I also spec’d it with PDCC and Rear Wheel Steering. PDCC flattens body roll and you can toggle PDCC in the instrument cluster to watch the chassis magic happen. I’m sure it already has neutral cornering even without PDCC, but it’s one of those things where I would’ve felt FOMO for not getting it.

Rear Wheel Steering and Power Steering Plus also work in concert to make the turning radius like a bus. Navigating tight spaces and U-turns is so much easier than it was in my BMW. RWS also makes the car noticeably more planted when going through high speed twists and turns.


ACCELERATION
Lightning fast, though hard to discern from a 4S in everyday driving. I haven’t tried launch control but the fact that I can put trucks and Priuses in my rear view mirror in the blink of an eye without spewing exhaust and obnoxious fart sounds is a great feeling. Speaking of sounds, the Electric Sport Sound is awesome. I had a rear passenger who found it to be a bit too loud in sport mode but it adds a nice visceral element for front seat occupants. The GTS Sport sound is definitely louder and deeper than in other models. However, I wish there was a way to turn it on by default rather than configuring it in individual mode and twisting the sport chrono dial every time I start the car. Strange choice from Porsche not to save the setting…


PARKING
This is my one driving criticism. Backing up out of steep driveways was a bit tricky at first. My driveway has a downward grade, so backing uphill is tricky since the car’s e-brake kicks in when you press tap the brakes on an incline, and then the car will jerk because it can’t decide whether to keep reversing or to stop. This will take some getting used to.


BRAKING AND REGEN
I did not spec $9k PCCBs as I was counting on using regen most of the time. But I do find it odd that, like Electric Sport Sound, you have to manually enable regen every time you start the car. When it is enabled, modulating the brake pedal feels very natural like an ICE car. But I do feel a slight click whenever pressing the brake lightly, and I’ve heard others in the forum report something similar. It doesn’t bother me but I do wonder why that happens. I also suspect regen is throttled since Porsche wants the brakes to be “bedded” first. I will reassess in a few hundred miles.


INFOTAINMENT / PCM
The Head Up Display is better than I thought. Coming from a BMW I thought I would be disappointed, but it turns out to suit my needs just fine. The height and layout are pretty customizable and show you the basic info you need. Also, polarized sunglasses wash out my BMW’s HUD but not the Taycan’s.

The Passenger Display is also a nice touch. My partner is an aviation/map geek so he loves to mess with it when I am driving. When there are no passengers, it just shows a “Taycan “ screensaver which is a nice aesthetic touch. Note that you cannot use this display unless a passenger is present.

The PCM functions reasonably well, with CarPlay, Android Auto, HomeLink, SmartLife, and Nav all working as expected. However, there is one big software gremlin: I am still unable to access my Porsche account on the PCM unit. It keeps forcing me to proceed in Guest Mode and disable private mode EVERY time I start the car. My account is authenticated, but when I switch to it, the loading screen appears forever and then times out with an account activation error. I’m getting this checked out in a few weeks at the dealer (and yes, I’ve scoured the forums and did everything they suggested to fix the issue, with no luck). This is my biggest gripe so far because I cannot use any of the remote functions on the My Porsche app. It mistakenly indicates the car is in Private Mode (side note- if anyone else experienced this issue, please let me know).

The Bose Stereo is nothing to write home about. It's exactly like any Bose Sound System should be and gives you the basic controls to configure Surround Sound. It's good, but not surprisingly so.


RANGE AND CHARGING

When I took delivery, my starting range was around 213 miles at 100% SoC. I did a lot of joyrides on highways so I think it’s a low estimate. When I resume regular daily driving, which is predominantly local city streets for just a few miles to and from work, I think I can get closer to to 270 miles.

Charging is easy, for the most part. I installed the Mobile Charger Connect unit with a 14-50 NEMA socket and it sustains a 9-11 kw current. One thing I did not find intuitive, though, is that if you want to schedule the battery to charge overnight and stop at say, 85%, you need to enable two things: 1) General Profile to set your preferred charging times and 2) Charge Timer with a maximum desired SoC.

I also have two Electrify America stations within a mile of me, so I enabled Plug and Charge and tried it out. I know EA has its share of issues but it worked great for me.

My only minor regret is not having gotten the power charge port. It’s a gimmick worth having and adds contrast to an otherwise homogenous side profile. It’s plain cool. As a consolation, I did opt for the “electric” lettering on the side, which I know some people don’t like, but it has gotten a fair share of compliments!


BONUS
I got this car to fulfill my passion, not for the status. But a side effect (or benefit, if that’s your thing) is that the car attracts a great deal of attention. In Chalk guise, it’s different enough from white such that people notice, and the louder GTS sport sound makes onlookers think a UFO is about to abduct them :). Even in the SF Bay Area, a mecca for Porsches, the car turns lots of heads.


Anyway, if you actually read this far, thanks for enduring my long spiel. I hope it was helpful. Here’s to many more happy miles!
 

NJ-Taycan

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Amazing and well written honest review. Glad to hear that you’re enjoying your new Tycan. Best of luck with your GTS!
 

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It keeps forcing me to proceed in Guest Mode and disable private mode EVERY time I start the car.
Firstly, congrats on the car. I ordered a GTS in Chalk with all the electric charge port cover, mirror base and door handles all in gloss black.

Secondly, that Guest mode bit I quoted would seriously piss me off. I've been subscribed to Porsche Drive (the program where you can drive whatever Porsche car you want for a monthly fee) and because I'm in and out of these cars and flip often, I keep it in guest mode and it's super annoying. I can not imagine having to do that daily on my own car! Take it to the dealership, have them fix it, and don't leave till they do! LOL
 

tbinmd

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You only need to push the region button when you don't want to coast. After the first couple of miles regen is used when braking, just watch the power meter. Turning the regen on just slows the car down when you lift all the accelerator. The auto regen mode will let the car coast until there is another car in front then it will slow down.

nice looking car!!
 


mangobay

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Great write up and lovely car. Sorry if you already know this but if you get really annoyed with having to turn the sport sound on you can always configure it as one of the diamond buttons and then it’s a quick flick on when you want it. That way you can control both regen and sound with two buttons that are next to each other on the wheel when you start driving.
 
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W1NGE

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Nice car and review.

A couple of pointers for you: braking recuperation is always on and kicks in a few miles after. Overrun recuperation is manually selectable and on by default in Sport / Sports Plus drive mode. Coasting will be more efficient overall and braking regen will put more energy back into the battery.

Passenger display to my understanding can be enabled for certain modes (screen saver) without a passenger. Search the forum for the discussion. I can't check myself as I don't have the option (didn't see the value) but pretty sure you have options.

Enjoy the car!
 

outie

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Did your dealer release the car to you with a stop sale on PCM remote functions? About 1000 vehicles produced at the time were affected.

My GTS produced in April had a stop sale on that, and Porsche didn’t have a fix for it until early June. Fortunately by the time my car arrived in California the fix was available so they updated the car and cleared the stop sale during delivery prep.
 


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Christ0pherus

Christ0pherus

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Firstly, congrats on the car. I ordered a GTS in Chalk with all the electric charge port cover, mirror base and door handles all in gloss black.

Secondly, that Guest mode bit I quoted would seriously piss me off. I've been subscribed to Porsche Drive (the program where you can drive whatever Porsche car you want for a monthly fee) and because I'm in and out of these cars and flip often, I keep it in guest mode and it's super annoying. I can not imagine having to do that daily on my own car! Take it to the dealership, have them fix it, and don't leave till they do! LOL
Thanks! Yeah, I have it scheduled for service in a couple of weeks. Fortunately I don’t have to reprogram all my settings every time I start the car, so it’s just a matter of two extra screen taps. It’s the lack of remote app access that bugs me most, though.
 
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Christ0pherus

Christ0pherus

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Have you got the variable light roof or standard?
I have the standard roof. It blocks out sun just fine. I also did not want to risk a delayed delivery date by opting for VLC in case there was a missing part or something. And it wasn’t worth the extra few grand for me personally but definitely a cool feature! Did you spec it on your GTS ST?
 
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Christ0pherus

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Great write up and lovely car. Sorry if you already know this but if you get really annoyed with having to turn the sport sound on you can always configure it as one of the diamond buttons and then it’s a quick flick on when you want it. That way you can control both regen and sound with two buttons that are next to each other on the wheel when you start driving.
Yep. I have the steering wheel’s diamond button set to the next music track and the instrument cluster shortcut set to Homelink. I set the sport sound with my individual mode so I just turn the dial to enable it. But I just found it a bit odd that when you do turn it on in normal mode for example, it doesn’t remain on indefinitely.
 
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Christ0pherus

Christ0pherus

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Did your dealer release the car to you with a stop sale on PCM remote functions? About 1000 vehicles produced at the time were affected.

My GTS produced in April had a stop sale on that, and Porsche didn’t have a fix for it until early June. Fortunately by the time my car arrived in California the fix was available so they updated the car and cleared the stop sale during delivery prep.
Hmm no there was never a stop sale put on the car. It was built in May after the cutoff for the recall. It’s updated to the latest software during PDI afaik. Hopefully this is an easy fix. I suspect Porsche’s servers didn’t properly update and it might not even be the car’s problem. Will find out when I take it in soon.

Did you experience a similar issue on yours?
 

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Great writeup - thankyou! Makes the wait a little easier for mine :)

You need to change your signature from "GTS Sedan (Ordered)" to "(Delivered") :D
 

W1NGE

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Thanks! Yeah, I have it scheduled for service in a couple of weeks. Fortunately I don’t have to reprogram all my settings every time I start the car, so it’s just a matter of two extra screen taps. It’s the lack of remote app access that bugs me most, though.
Access is an ongoing issue from the get go. The gremlin has come back to mine for over a week now.
 

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I have the standard roof. It blocks out sun just fine. I also did not want to risk a delayed delivery date by opting for VLC in case there was a missing part or something. And it wasn’t worth the extra few grand for me personally but definitely a cool feature! Did you spec it on your GTS ST?
Yes but still waiting for a proper user review🤓….hoping it was going to be you😀
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