A Taycan GTS owner drives a Taycan base model loaner - comparison observations

[Avantgarde]

For all the poor unfortunates with a “BASE” Taycan

Interesting discussion. Don’t know where anyone lives but I live in Orlando and we have these pesky things called speed limit signs which are difficult (and unwise) to ignore and are not merely looked upon as suggestions. My black 2021 “Base” has the small battery, the premium package and 21” wheels. It was $92K out the door. It might only make it 185 miles on a charge, can’t go from zero to 180mph in two seconds and is the poor man’s entry model, but is a perfect car for my needs and exhibits the Porsche snob appeal as well as the $200K Taycans. Personally the additional $120K +/- that could be spent on all the “superfluous” goodies or accessories available and considering its outrageous depreciation would be better off invested in anticipation of my next Porsche purchase.

I refuse to believe anyone “Tracks” their Taycan (that would be as silly as entering it in a tractor pull) so where does everyone use all these performance control features?

I am with you and not sure where is this "Porsche badge minimum speed" regulations are coming from. My previous Porsche was a 2.9 liter "base" Cayman which was slower than my current Taycan RWD in all metrics, I still think it was a great sports car and regret selling it.

Now if someone really wants to be a pure Porsche elitist, the real thing that uniquely distinguishes a Porsche from other cars is the lack of drive train elements (and the associated weight) on that front axle. If you go back to ICE world, many other brands have massively fast cars, but there is no other car, for example, that has 4 seatbelts and no engine on the front axle other than a 911 (someone correct me if I am missing anything). This gives the car a unique personality which I could define as "a willingness of the front to change direction and let the back follow" that is not found in any other car. And this feeling of lightness and responsiveness is something different than simply how you would rate the "handling or trackibility" of a car on a 1-10 scale. It is something you can enjoy even when not on a track, when simply changing lanes on a free way, it is a feeling of freedom that reminds me the joy of skiing. For example I recently drove in the M3 competition of a friend testing the limits of the car, it is an amazingly planted car and would easily out track a Taycan with amazing lateral G forces and a back-breaking suspension, however you can still feel the weight sitting at the front of the car. The reality is anything above RWD in the Taycan range is a compromise to the unique feeling. And "stiffer suspension, RWS, PDCC" are all things can make the car "handle & track better" but can't fix what I am talking about. I am hoping they'd come up with a "GTS 2" with nothing but the larger motor at the back with the mid cycle refresh.

Sponsored

 

[MrTossYoSalad]

Thank you for this comparison!

 

[Hirschaj]

@MrTossYoSalad ... um ... have you spent some time in prison? Do you prefer jelly or maple syrup?

 

[Jhenson29]

but there is no other car, for example, that has 4 seatbelts and no engine on the front axle other than a 911 (someone correct me if I am missing anything).

Lotus Evora off the top of my head.

 

[Electra Glide In Blue]

In the US, the RWD base is $91K and the GTS starts at $139K. A $48K difference. If, as stated here, the GTS has $20K in extras not found on the RWD, that would make the car worth about $111K. Zuffenhausen margins on that "motor sound" of course, and more power to Porsche.

My skinny-optioned RWD at $114K ($86+28) can't touch the GTS for all of its goodies at $140K. It's not a $5K difference - dollars or pounds. I have no interest in depreciated value and the pull of its persuasion to go cheap(er) on a car that is designed to be built to an individual's desires. And yes, everyone has a budget. The pure joy of driving a machine spec'ed and built for me has no price. And no comparison.

"The cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing." - Wilde

 

[mystermykee]

In the US, the RWD base is $91K and the GTS starts at $139K. A $48K difference. If, as stated here, the GTS has $20K in extras not found on the RWD, that would make the car worth about $111K. Zuffenhausen margins on that "motor sound" of course, and more power to Porsche.

My skinny-optioned RWD at $114K ($86+28) can't touch the GTS for all of its goodies at $140K. It's not a $5K difference - dollars or pounds. I have no interest in depreciated value and the pull of its persuasion to go cheap(er) on a car that is designed to be built to an individual's desires. And yes, everyone has a budget. The pure joy of driving a machine spec'ed and built for me has no price. And no comparison.

"The cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing." - Wilde

I couldn't agree with this more! On point. However, there are some options that make the driving dynamics of AWD Taycans different from another AWD Taycan. IMO, RWD is totally different. Power aside, it depends on what the driver wants, especially with the lighter front end.

But two things that stand out from the RWD loaner I had:
Always starting in first grear. I'm not sure I like the car upshifting or downshifting in normal driving. Brake feel/engagement is also different. Instead of using all regen for normal braking, RWD more so than AWD has to blend rear regen with mechanical brakes--for obvious reasons.

 

[luv4eternity]

I'm poor and I can only afford the base.
The base is enough to get me in trouble on a daily basis .

 

[MissionE]

My Taycan GTS is in for an update and the battery sealing test, and I was given a base model Taycan loaner with 900 miles on the odometer. My comparison between the two might help a new buyer evaluate their options.

The dealer loaner car is a base model with the larger battery, air suspension, standard brakes, and 21" rims with the same P0 summer tires as my GTS. Unlike my GTS, the loaner has no Sport Chrono, no rear-wheel steering, no torque vectoring, and no PDCC.

Some impressions:

• The steering feel in the base model is a bit better than the GTS I think. The car also "feels" a bit lighter - and of course it is. Those are the two high points for the base model.
• Oh boy is the base model slow. It's definitely OK for relaxed driving, and yes it's better than many non-EVs, but it's just underpowered for anything with a Porsche badge. If someone says that the 4S is "fast enough" I won't argue, but the base model is objectively underpowered.
• The GTS air suspension is definitely firmer than the base model with air suspension. I prefer the GTS, but of course I'd say that.
• The GTS, perhaps because of the suspension tuning and perhaps also because of PDCC and torque vectoring and rear-wheel steering, feels quite a bit more "planted" than the base. I really notice the difference. Remember that the two cars have the same size rims and the same tires, and both have air suspension, so it's the extra bits that are making a difference.
• The loaner does not have the thermal/noise glass, nor does it have the race-tex headliner. The former, or perhaps both in combination, give the base model noticeably more road noise than my GTS with both.
• I don't know if the seats are 8-way or 14-way, but they aren't the 18-way seats that I have in the GTS. The 18-ways are definitely way more snug, and for my body type that's a big plus for them. The loner seats just don't feel very sporty, though they are comfortable. Someone on the wide side would almost certainly prefer the 14-way seats.

I wanted to like this car, and I do think the chassis does shine in the traditional sense, but this is a 5000 pound car with only 250 pounds feet of torque.

 

[sergey_ja]

An interesting comparison, thank you! Hands down, a GTS is way way way more fun power-wise when compared to an RWD.

I do have a 2023 RWD (standard body) and there are a few reasons why I actually went with it:

1) I live in Europe and in my country, the winter speed limit is 90. The summer speed limit is barely 110 Anything above gets you huge fines and points on the license, not even talking about cameras. Anything that catapults me to 100 in 2,5 seconds makes no sense whatsoever unless I am training to switch to an astronaut's career path lol.

2) The RWD got the best range out of those that I've driven (Turbo being the worst) and rides lightest. Not sure why, probably just the weight factor. 4s and the turbo felt like a tram.

3) It is my daily driver, while I love it and care for it, its purpose is transporting my butt from A to B and back. The thing depreciates fast. And while one might argue about less value retention for an RWD, I simply bought it new, slightly discounted, with all the options I needed. And, given that extra power is not usable anyway, it makes for a compelling daily. All the non-daily cars are still ICE. As of now, given that I'd drive the car every day anyway (currently at 8,8k km), with today's prices it lost about 10k in value vs. its purchase price. People with Turbos, for some reason, lost north of 60 to 70k in the same period, which is by all means sad.

So this was the logic on my end.

 

[BIll]

"The cynic is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing."

'The realist is a person who understands the value of everything, recognizing both its price and its significance in the grand scheme of things.'

 

[JAGMAN]

For the average driver, a 5 second EV is considerably faster than a 5 second ICE car. I’d venture to say even a 4 second ICE car (especially if it’s a manual).

 

[24Neptune]

I wanted to like this car, and I do think the chassis does shine in the traditional sense, but this is a 5000 pound car with only 250 pounds feet of torque.

One thing I’ve thought about, with an ICE, to fully realize all the HP and Torque you have to go WOT which even if you’re willing to do will trash the engine, sooner rather than later.

250 torque on EV available immediately =
ICE with 500 torque at 50% throttle, or
ICE with 373 at 2/3 throttle (my last vehicle was 370 which I rarely pushed to 2/3 and RWD T feels noticeably quicker)

250 on an EV not really sluggish at all…

 

[MissionE]

One thing I’ve thought about, with an ICE, to fully realize all the HP and Torque you have to go WOT which even if you’re willing to do will trash the engine, sooner rather than later.

250 torque on EV available immediately =
ICE with 500 torque at 50% throttle, or
ICE with 373 at 2/3 throttle (my last vehicle was 370 which I rarely pushed to 2/3 and RWD T feels noticeably quicker)

250 on an EV not really sluggish at all…

looks like they’ve improved some things with this latest rendition as far as power goes. And with a boost button who knows.

 

[DerekS]

One thing I’ve thought about, with an ICE, to fully realize all the HP and Torque you have to go WOT which even if you’re willing to do will trash the engine, sooner rather than later.

I have never hesitated to go WOT on my previous Porsches.
I get what you're saying, it does add wear, but I buy Porsches specifically for the performance.

I'm happy the Taycan doesn't care

Sponsored