The Base Taycan is a gem... drove it and was blown away

[Irish Guy]

Lol I’m being serious, it really isn’t fast

115 trap speed in the quarter mile isn’t fast in your book?!

It’s hard to believe that you’re seriously comparing to a hot hatch. For a laugh, though, I’ll bite. The Golf R is properly quick. It does 111 in the quarter - well behind the Taycan RWD. The Veloster does 104, the Suburu WRX STI 102, and the GR86 101. Not in the same universe. 30-50 and 50-70 passing times are obviously night and day different.

The Taycan RWD 0-60 is misleading only because Porsche software limited power below 30. After that, it flies.

Sponsored

 

[rich_r]

Although 0-60 times can give you a rough indication as to how fast a car will feel, I'm not sure how useful or relevant they actually are since few people are doing launch control drag races on public roads. It's really more about the psychological/ego element. You dont want to tell your friends that your new 100k taycan has a 0-60 time of "only" 5 seconds. I'm guilty of this as well. But if you're honest with yourself, try a base taycan and like it then go for it! And let's be honest, there's plenty of stuff that Porsche probably "should" include on any 100k car but doesn't. It's just how it's always been and always will be. If I play the "should" game on the configurator, I quickly get myself to a 130k Taycan CT...and then to a 160k GTS ST. But if I think what I'd need to actually enjoy the car, it'd be a base Taycan specced to just under 100k. Does it bother me to think that a 90k RS5 (or pick your choice of fast sub 100k cars) would have more stuff and be quicker? Yeah, kinda. But would I actually prefer owning and driving that car as much? No ...I guess i wouldn't.

 

[Mattyh]

115 trap speed in the quarter mile isn’t fast in your book?!

It’s hard to believe that you’re seriously comparing to a hot hatch. For a laugh though, I’ll bite. The Golf R is properly quick. It does 111 in the quarter - well behind the Taycan RWD. The Veloster does 104, the Suburu WRX STI 102, and the GR86 101. Not in the same universe. 30-50 and 50-70 passing times are obviously night and day different.

The Taycan RWD 0-60 is misleading only because Porsche software limited power below 30. After that, it flies.

Golf R mk8 1/4 mile in 12.44
Taycan rwd 13.28, 0-60 5.2 something

Tell me again how that isn’t in the same universe? Golf gets a remap it will destroy the rwd

 

[Fish Fingers]

The threads drifted away from the original post about the driving characteristics of the RWD and turned into 0-60 / 1/4 mile Top Trumps.

I've had my RWD 18 months and used launch control once. To try it out.

So what's the 0-60 without launch control?

 

[Irish Guy]

Golf R mk8 1/4 mile in 12.44
Taycan rwd 13.28, 0-60 5.2 something

Tell me again how that isn’t in the same universe? Golf gets a remap it will destroy the rwd

I’m not sure what you’re getting at here. You claimed that the Taycan RWD isn’t fast, and are now backing that claim up by comparing it to what is - by almost any measure - a very quick car and perhaps the fastest hot hatch you can buy. And even that comparison falls flat because, as I said, the base Taycan is in another league.

You say nothing about the trap speed - the measure that captures how hard a car actually pulls at speed (as distinct from launches, which is the one thing that we can all agree the RWD Taycan doesn’t do well). At the quarter, the RWD is pulling significantly harder - showing, to my point - that, yes, the base Taycan is a quick car.

In the real world, when you put your foot down anywhere other than in a dig, the RWD Taycan will leave that Golf R for dead. 30-50 (1.9 vs. 2.7), 50-70 (2.6 vs. 3.6). As I said, not in the same universe. The Taycan will be gone before the Golf has finished downshifting and will be pulling harder all the way to the quarter mile. And, remember, that Golf is bloody fast.

You seem preoccupied with launch . If you’ve read this thread, you’ll see many people explain that the RWD comes to life after 30 mph when the power comes on. I love that.

Maybe you haven’t driven the RWD. Unless you’re coming from something obscenely powerful, it’s hard to imagine how one can describe it as not fast. I drive my GT3 as often as I can - a car that’s another level of speed. Even coming from that, I felt that the RWD is surprisingly quick.

Honestly, a lot of people get an entirely misleading impression of the base Taycan because they see that 5.1 to 60 stat and think slow. But it’s truly misleading. It is slow, but only below 30. Everywhere else - i.e., where you spend your time actually driving - it’s blazes fast. And that’s why quoting 0-60 stats, hot hatches or otherwise, misses the point entirely.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a37853137/2021-porsche-taycan-pbp-by-the-numbers/
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a37200521/2022-volkswagen-golf-r-us-drive/

 

[gt3dude]

Initial review of driving a RWD & 4S today;

I’ll start with the rwd first. The car is absolutely limited off the line 10000%. The car is by no means super fast however I completely noticed what everyone was talking about, after 30mph the car is not too far off the 4s. It’s actually not bad at all. The car drove like a Porsche, super smooth comfy and just overall awesome!

The 4S was a world of difference from a dig, it was much more violent and faster then a rwd, however once they both pickup the difference gets much much less. It was very surprising. I did feel like AWD was not as fun for sure. I just don’t know if the car is worth 130-150k it’s asking.

At the end of the day I decided to save 25-30k and proceed with my original rwd build because there just isn’t much room to open these car up in LA anyway. If my 992 gt3 was not in the garage I would 100% without a doubt to for the 4S. So happy to finally be done with my Tesla and back into a true drivers car again as a DD.

 

[Archimedes]

115 trap speed in the quarter mile isn’t fast in your book?!

It’s hard to believe that you’re seriously comparing to a hot hatch. For a laugh though, I’ll bite. The Golf R is properly quick. It does 111 in the quarter - well behind the Taycan RWD. The Veloster does 104, the Suburu WRX STI 102, and the GR86 101. Not in the same universe. 30-50 and 50-70 passing times are obviously night and day different.

The Taycan RWD 0-60 is misleading only because Porsche software limited power below 30. After that, it flies.

The ‘22 Golf R does 0-60 in 4.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 12.6. The ‘22 Taycan base with the larger battery does 0-60 in 4.7 seconds and the quarter in 12.9. And while the Golf R is proper quick, nobody would call it a fast car. It’s a quick hot hatch. Which I believe was F1eng’s point.

And the reason 0-60 matters is because most people spend the vast majority of their driving time in that speed range, not at 115. Even if one isn’t launching off stoplights, that low end punch is useful all the time. When I drove a Turbo, I wasn’t impressed by its speed advantage over my 4S on the freeway, it was in town from 15-50 where I could really feel it.

 

[Irish Guy]

Initial review of driving a RWD & 4S today;

I’ll start with the rwd first. The car is absolutely limited off the line 10000%. The car is by no means super fast however I completely noticed what everyone was talking about, after 30mph the car is not too far off the 4s. It’s actually not bad at all. The car drove like a Porsche, super smooth comfy and just overall awesome!

The 4S was a world of difference from a dig, it was much more violent and faster then a rwd, however once they both pickup the difference gets much much less. It was very surprising. I did feel like AWD was not as fun for sure. I just don’t know if the car is worth 130-150k it’s asking.

At the end of the day I decided to save 25-30k and proceed with my original rwd build because there just isn’t much room to open these car up in LA anyway. If my 992 gt3 was not in the garage I would 100% without a doubt to for the 4S. So happy to finally be done with my Tesla and back into a true drivers car again as a DD.

It sounds like you and I had parallel experiences and share the good fortune to drive a 992 GT3! Congratulations on picking up a RWD. I’m getting one for April delivery. Can’t wait.

 

[tomtom901]

It sounds like you and I had parallel experiences and share the good fortune to drive a 992 GT3! Congratulations on picking up a RWD. I’m getting one for April delivery. Can’t wait.

What build did you go with @Irish Guy and @gt3dude. Also, Taycan is all fun and games, but jealous of that GT3..

 

[Irish Guy]

The ‘22 Golf R does 0-60 in 4.0 seconds and the quarter mile in 12.6. The ‘22 Taycan base with the larger battery does 0-60 in 4.7 seconds and the quarter in 12.9. And while the Golf R is proper quick, nobody would call it a fast car. It’s a quick hot hatch. Which I believe was F1eng’s point.

And the reason 0-60 matters is because most people spend the vast majority of their driving time in that speed range, not at 115. Even if one isn’t launching off stoplights, that low end punch is useful all the time. When I drove a Turbo, I wasn’t impressed by its speed advantage over my 4S on the freeway, it was in town from 15-50 where I could really feel it.

Recycling 0-60 stats doesn’t advance the discussion at all. We’ve covered that ground, and they are what they are. Those numbers mask an experience, including that - at full thrust - the RWD pulls (pushes?) a hell of a lot harder than the launch stats would suggest.

I can’t speak to how you drive, but - for me - punch at 30+ is more important than from zero. The 115 number speaks to a strong top end, and the 30-50 and 50-70 numbers show that the RWD is seriously fast in real-world driving scenarios. Again, I don’t know why you or anyone else would persevere with the suggestion that the RWD is anything other than fast. It simply isn’t true, and an analogy to any hot hatch is just silly.

I’m not saying that the 4S isn’t a lot faster from a dig. It is. And I’m not saying the 4S isn’t worth it. For many people, it is. What I am saying - and to return to my first post - I think the RWD offers something different than the others. I really enjoyed the ramp-up in power in the RWD. And at full song, it really moves.

Interesting comment about the Turbo vs 4S. I think the 4S offers a compelling value proposition over the Turbo.

 

[NuJerzPorsche]

You don’t think there are lots of fairly pedestrian cars that are faster than the Taycan RWD? Here are just a couple hundred…

https://www.zeroto60times.com/4-second-cars-0-60-mph-times/

Certain dudes in here still don’t get it after all these pages . My first comment on the first page of this thread is stil 100% fact. Dudes are just delusional and just making an argument out of nothing. RELAX lol

 

[Irish Guy]

What build did you go with @Irish Guy and @gt3dude. Also, Taycan is all fun and games, but jealous of that GT3..

I won’t lie - the GT3 is one of a kind. It’s thrilling and visceral in a way that no other car I’ve driven can hope to be. To return to the theme of the day, it’s not about outright power and speed - it’s the chassis, turn-in, manual transmission, intensity, and, above all, the thrill of chasing a seemingly endless amount of revs as the engine’s song builds. It’s the only car I’ll almost certainly never sell.

But every car has its purpose, and a daily commuter car in bumper-to-bumper traffic is not the GT3’s happy place, lol. The Taycan RWD will be just perfect for that, and fun for nearby trips with the kids at the weekend.

Would love thoughts on my build. It doesn’t lock for another couple of weeks!https://configurator.porsche.com/porsche-code/PPJZ9YG3

 

[Archimedes]

Nobody is saying the RWD isn’t a great car. It’s just not a fast car. It’s at best quick by any metric other than top end. There are a lot of folks in this thread that have ‘don’t confuse me with the facts while I’m making subjective comments’ attitude. But the facts are black and white. It’s got all the quickness of a Volvo XC 90 Recharge. Which is a hybrid SUV. Is that a fast car?

And while your butt dyno might make you think it’s wicked fast 30-70, the truth is that it is still 27.5% slower 30-70 than the 4S, and only 2/10ths faster than, you guessed it, a 2020 Golf R.

 

[gt3dude]

Feel like a lot of people are being being protective here. Let’s all agree that the RWD is not fast. It is a very complete car though.

I really love new cars to my exact spec, right now a 2021 4s is same price as a new rwd model.

 

[ben1]

Must have been an interesting meeting between marketing and engineering in 2019 at the Porsche office in Stuttgart:
-Engineer: "Marketing guy, we have problem: The RWD with the small battery is faster than the RWD with the big battery"
-Marketing: "How is that possible ? We cannot sell a slower, more expensive car. Porsche buyers will not accept to pay more for a slower car"
-Engineer: "It is just physics. It is lighter. It has the same motor. So it is faster. Can't change it."
-Marketing: "Please find a hack"
-Engineer reluctantly adding a software hack.....

One week later:
-Engineer: "The AWD with the big battery is slower than the RWD with the small battery. The extra motor and the battery add extra weight and make it slower. We cannot compensate that with the extra power of the extra motor."
-Marketing: "grrrr, you again. I told you already: We can not sell a car that has the cost of the extra motor and the extra battery for more money, if it is slower. Add more software hacks."

Sponsored