OzzieT
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Oz
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2022
- Threads
- 15
- Messages
- 286
- Reaction score
- 295
- Location
- Sydney
- Vehicles
- 2023 Taycan GTS
- Thread starter
- #1
After a 16 month wait, I am delighted to write this post on my 2023 Taycan GTS which I collected on the 29th of June. As it so happened, the following day I had to leave on an extended business trip, so it was great to finally get back home and do a little driving. I always look forward to the first wash of the car, as it is a chance to carefully inspect the car beyond the dealer showroom. Importantly I also got my home EV charger working and completed the first charge of the car. I’m a first time Porsche owner, after 5 consecutive BMW’s, so there are a few comparisons in this post to BMW as that is all I’ve known for a long time.
DELIVERY EXPERIENCE & CONDITION
Excitement was not the predominant feeling arriving at the dealer, more relief the wait was over, with a dose of anxiety of how the spec would turn out in real life. My sales executive was on time and we quickly moved to the delivery area, where my car was held on the floor under the black nylon cover. Off went the cover and my first reaction was one of relief, it looked fantastic, the adrenalin kicked in and I started to get a lot more excited. The car looked to be in perfect condition inside and out. I was presented with my keys, each on a nice Porsche leather key ring, one in blue and one in black, together with an espresso coffee set, Porsche umbrella, log books and EV charger.
Then I was given a patient, detailed overview of the car from the outside in. We went through the setup of the car, connection to My Porsche, complimentary EV charging services and then a full run through of the vehicle capabilities. A lot of thought and care went into this. My sales executive took a lot of photos and was effusive of the spec, as was his manager and another sales executive. Whether they say that to all the new owners I don’t know, but it certainly made me feel good about the spec. The car wash, and very deep clean of the inside of the car, confirmed it was in perfect condition. Amazing after such a long journey. The highlight without a doubt, was driving away from the showroom. All of the feelings from the test drive returned. Real excitement kicked in.
LIKES
Driving Experience: I describe this to my friends as a next generation driving experience, and maybe that is what I have been missing all of these years with Porsche. Seating position, steering wheel position, proximity to the road, steering and handling, suspension, ride quality, acceleration and just the overall driving vibe of this car. Outstanding. It’s what everyone on this forum bangs on about and the driving experience is the undeniable truth of this car.
Cabin Ambience: It’s just a lovely place to be. Snug in the seats, surrounded by displays, information and quality. Quiet when you need it and a great environment to listen to music.
Layout: While there has been a lot of mixed reviews on the screens and the lack of physical buttons, I really like the layout, configuration options and automation. I saw a video review which explained Porsche designed the vents to be electronic so different driver profiles would automatically adjust the climate and vent settings. Good feature, but there’s only going to be one driver of this car.
Steering Wheel: Just love it. It’s smaller than my past BMW steering wheels and feels more like a racing steering wheel. You get great road and driving feedback and I like the control buttons and layout. I went with a leather wheel over standard GTS race Tex.
Roof: This was one item that immediately caught my eye at the unveiling. I ordered a metal roof is I did not like or want a panoramic glass roof, mostly because I’ve not been in a car with a glass roof in the Australian summer which I’ve enjoyed. I did not at the time compare the look of metal roof, which has a lovely sculpture to it, compared to the flat curved glass roof (see photo). Opinions may vary on this but that’s mine.
Boot Close & Lock: There are two buttons on the underside of the boot lid. One to close the boot and another to close the boot and lock the car. Smart feature. Will use it a lot.
Reversible Boot Mat: I ordered this as an option. Previously I’ve installed in my boots the grippy carpet underlay to stop things slipping and sliding around. This mat is beautifully made and a lovely fit (see photo). I have it with rubber side up. It has a horizontal Velcro strip to anchor the mat. Good option.
Burmester: If you like your music, order it. My favourite car sound system was the B&O in the 6 Series I owned, the sound output was magnificent. For looks the Bowers+Wilkins in the 8 Series was a work of art, it sounded pretty good as well. I’m not sure the Burmester has the looks or sound of either of these systems, but it is very very good.
Noise Insulated Glass: While I’ve not owned a Taycan without this feature, around town the car is super quiet. I was also pleasantly surprised that aside from the two front windows, all of the glass is factory tinted to a nice dark shade. This maybe unique to Australia or hotter climates, the BMW equivalent is sun protection glazing.
InnoDrive & ACC: Like them both. Accurate, precise and functional. Just the right amount of assistance on the longer highway drives and a pleasure in heavy, stop/start traffic.
Washing: Those rounded, sloping curves just make it easy to wash and dry. You don’t get a massive amount of soap/water under the door sills. I like how with an open and close of the boot you are able to extract the residual water in the boot seal in one go. Not a lot of those residual annoying drips either.
Spyder Wheels: Quality (see photo). So pleased they came with Pirelli’s. I like the matt black finish, versus the gloss look. The coating is teflon like in that water and muck rolls off pretty easily. I also like the look of the black rims against the silver paint. Comfort, feel and grip is top notch.
Dark Silver Trim: I selected this option in the configurator over the standard gold neodyme for the door handles/finishes. In the configurator it appears more of a light silver colour. But it is fact a gun metal grey and it looks very cool with the black interior.
Olea Leather Looks: Very happy with the appearance. I did my best to eliminate hard plastic finishes with leather options where possible, to give the inside a softer and more lux feel.
GTS Door Sills: These are in matt black. I can’t recall if I ordered these or not but I like the look and prefer over stainless steel.
Rear Seats/Legroom: I went with the two seat option in the rear given there is only four of us in the family, completed a trial fitting and drive with everyone. Happy faces. The rear seats in my 8 series coupe were unusable so its nice to have a four seater again.
Passenger Display: Presented this as a ‘gift’ to my wife and she was very taken with it. I may be forced to listen to a lot more Celine Dion, but happy wife, happy life. It works when you are stationary and when someone is sitting in the seat. Offers the same functions as the main screen.
Auto Hold: It is a different implementation to the BMW, and much has been written about this already in earlier posts. I like how it is activated and it is centered around driver initiated control.
PCSB Brakes Looks/Dust: They look great and with the Spyder wheels you can actually get in with wheel cleaning wand to clean them and polish them. No brake dust at the 200km mark, at least none that I could find.
NOT SURE YET
Seats 18 Way: Very stylish with lots of buttons and controls. Memory function and entry/exit assist all works well. Ventilation works well with good adjustments. But still figuring them out a little. I’m comfortable, certainly not uncomfortable, but haven’t quite got them right. Maybe they just need more hours of sitting to soften them up a little more.
Air Conditioning: A Sydney winter, so its not very cold, and not a chance to drive to a hot location. So things will have to wait for a full workout. The pre-heat/cool function is sweet but more to come on the air cond.
Olea Feel: It’s not a soft leather. Maybe the leather needs some wearing in to soften it up a little more.
EV Charging: Have not been to a super charger yet. Tesla have the best network of super chargers in Australia. The complimentary ChargeFox network of super chargers are few and far between. So I’ll also be testing the Tesla network to see if I can connect. Also need to do a long road trip to test the EV charging network.
PCSB Brakes Performance: On the way home from the dealer with my car, I had a near miss as I gave the car a bit of squirt and a bus moved lanes on me ahead of expectations. I touched the brakes in 8 series mode but it was nowhere near enough brake pressure. Very near miss. Need more time to perfect the brakes.
DISLIKES
Deal & Delays: No discount, no deal and no trade-in advantage with change of manufacturer. Just squeaked in for a FY23 delivery, weeks before FY24 production start. Delays, no different to most of you on this forum. Disgraceful and embarrassing importation delays at Port Kembla (near Sydney).
My Porsche: No remote camera view of the vehicle from the app. BMW have had that for many years. Don’t get it.
Unlock Button Pin Light: The unlock button on the drivers and passenger front doors, have a tiny pin light (see photo) which is bright during the day and then turns into a powerful disco like strobe light. It is a cheap and nasty piece of crap, no doubt driven by the Porsche safety and compliance advisory committee. The black permanent marker is going to be my tool of choice.
Top of Drivers Door: You know when you are driving and sometimes you like to rest your elbow (right in my case) on the top of the drivers door. Well it is painful in the Taycan. My 8 series was very comfortable as there was some padding under the leather. The Taycan door is as hard as a rock.
Burmester Looks: Appearance wise it’s a bit of dogs breakfast. The breakfast of an overweight, out of control, ravenous Labrador. You’ve got four different looks. The main door speakers, the mid door speakers, the front/rear speakers and the front pillar speakers. They are all different colours and have different appearances. Some are branded and some are not. The main door speakers are polished aluminium or stainless steel. They would look way better in a mat finish. They are also slightly recessed behind the base door storage wall. And then of course the stupid logo in italics on the units and on the display. The polished finish and italics make it look like something created for Beethoven. It has no brand styling connection to Porsche. Also the speakers do not have any backlighting.
Highway Road Noise: You definitely get a decent dose of road noise on a highway at speed with a blue metal surface. We have a lot of these road surfaces. Not sure the noise insulating glass makes much difference.
Centre Storage Lid: Designed by a drunken sailor. Look at the 8 series equivalent Porsche. The open button is a 12 o’clock. A gentle press and the lid open outward from the middle in two sections (middle to left and middle to right) and stays in position! Fix it.
Screen Prints/Dust: They will get a wipe over at the end of every day. I’ve got a high quality screen cleaner and cloth in the centre storage bin. It is what it is. Technology.
Recirculate Setting: This resets itself to outside air after every shut down. It is the first button I press before I drive off. Unnecessarily repetitive. In my 8 series I was able to code this to permanently on, which does not appear possible with a Porsche.
Soft Close Doors: There aren’t any. On a $300K plus car. The doors do take quite a bit of grunt to close and I miss my BMW feature a lot more than I thought. The Porsche doors do sound good when they close though.
Plastic Dome: Without a doubt the signal biggest item I dislike about the car, is the ultra cheap plastic dome on the dash above the steering wheel which holds the main console. It’s an absolute uckin’ disgrace for a car of this price and quality. No option to cover it in leather either. Why Porsche? Why?
OVERALL
What a car. Absolutely love it. A next generation driving experience. Privileged to be a Taycan owner. Delighted to be a Porsche driver.
DELIVERY EXPERIENCE & CONDITION
Excitement was not the predominant feeling arriving at the dealer, more relief the wait was over, with a dose of anxiety of how the spec would turn out in real life. My sales executive was on time and we quickly moved to the delivery area, where my car was held on the floor under the black nylon cover. Off went the cover and my first reaction was one of relief, it looked fantastic, the adrenalin kicked in and I started to get a lot more excited. The car looked to be in perfect condition inside and out. I was presented with my keys, each on a nice Porsche leather key ring, one in blue and one in black, together with an espresso coffee set, Porsche umbrella, log books and EV charger.
Then I was given a patient, detailed overview of the car from the outside in. We went through the setup of the car, connection to My Porsche, complimentary EV charging services and then a full run through of the vehicle capabilities. A lot of thought and care went into this. My sales executive took a lot of photos and was effusive of the spec, as was his manager and another sales executive. Whether they say that to all the new owners I don’t know, but it certainly made me feel good about the spec. The car wash, and very deep clean of the inside of the car, confirmed it was in perfect condition. Amazing after such a long journey. The highlight without a doubt, was driving away from the showroom. All of the feelings from the test drive returned. Real excitement kicked in.
LIKES
Driving Experience: I describe this to my friends as a next generation driving experience, and maybe that is what I have been missing all of these years with Porsche. Seating position, steering wheel position, proximity to the road, steering and handling, suspension, ride quality, acceleration and just the overall driving vibe of this car. Outstanding. It’s what everyone on this forum bangs on about and the driving experience is the undeniable truth of this car.
Cabin Ambience: It’s just a lovely place to be. Snug in the seats, surrounded by displays, information and quality. Quiet when you need it and a great environment to listen to music.
Layout: While there has been a lot of mixed reviews on the screens and the lack of physical buttons, I really like the layout, configuration options and automation. I saw a video review which explained Porsche designed the vents to be electronic so different driver profiles would automatically adjust the climate and vent settings. Good feature, but there’s only going to be one driver of this car.
Steering Wheel: Just love it. It’s smaller than my past BMW steering wheels and feels more like a racing steering wheel. You get great road and driving feedback and I like the control buttons and layout. I went with a leather wheel over standard GTS race Tex.
Roof: This was one item that immediately caught my eye at the unveiling. I ordered a metal roof is I did not like or want a panoramic glass roof, mostly because I’ve not been in a car with a glass roof in the Australian summer which I’ve enjoyed. I did not at the time compare the look of metal roof, which has a lovely sculpture to it, compared to the flat curved glass roof (see photo). Opinions may vary on this but that’s mine.
Boot Close & Lock: There are two buttons on the underside of the boot lid. One to close the boot and another to close the boot and lock the car. Smart feature. Will use it a lot.
Reversible Boot Mat: I ordered this as an option. Previously I’ve installed in my boots the grippy carpet underlay to stop things slipping and sliding around. This mat is beautifully made and a lovely fit (see photo). I have it with rubber side up. It has a horizontal Velcro strip to anchor the mat. Good option.
Burmester: If you like your music, order it. My favourite car sound system was the B&O in the 6 Series I owned, the sound output was magnificent. For looks the Bowers+Wilkins in the 8 Series was a work of art, it sounded pretty good as well. I’m not sure the Burmester has the looks or sound of either of these systems, but it is very very good.
Noise Insulated Glass: While I’ve not owned a Taycan without this feature, around town the car is super quiet. I was also pleasantly surprised that aside from the two front windows, all of the glass is factory tinted to a nice dark shade. This maybe unique to Australia or hotter climates, the BMW equivalent is sun protection glazing.
InnoDrive & ACC: Like them both. Accurate, precise and functional. Just the right amount of assistance on the longer highway drives and a pleasure in heavy, stop/start traffic.
Washing: Those rounded, sloping curves just make it easy to wash and dry. You don’t get a massive amount of soap/water under the door sills. I like how with an open and close of the boot you are able to extract the residual water in the boot seal in one go. Not a lot of those residual annoying drips either.
Spyder Wheels: Quality (see photo). So pleased they came with Pirelli’s. I like the matt black finish, versus the gloss look. The coating is teflon like in that water and muck rolls off pretty easily. I also like the look of the black rims against the silver paint. Comfort, feel and grip is top notch.
Dark Silver Trim: I selected this option in the configurator over the standard gold neodyme for the door handles/finishes. In the configurator it appears more of a light silver colour. But it is fact a gun metal grey and it looks very cool with the black interior.
Olea Leather Looks: Very happy with the appearance. I did my best to eliminate hard plastic finishes with leather options where possible, to give the inside a softer and more lux feel.
GTS Door Sills: These are in matt black. I can’t recall if I ordered these or not but I like the look and prefer over stainless steel.
Rear Seats/Legroom: I went with the two seat option in the rear given there is only four of us in the family, completed a trial fitting and drive with everyone. Happy faces. The rear seats in my 8 series coupe were unusable so its nice to have a four seater again.
Passenger Display: Presented this as a ‘gift’ to my wife and she was very taken with it. I may be forced to listen to a lot more Celine Dion, but happy wife, happy life. It works when you are stationary and when someone is sitting in the seat. Offers the same functions as the main screen.
Auto Hold: It is a different implementation to the BMW, and much has been written about this already in earlier posts. I like how it is activated and it is centered around driver initiated control.
PCSB Brakes Looks/Dust: They look great and with the Spyder wheels you can actually get in with wheel cleaning wand to clean them and polish them. No brake dust at the 200km mark, at least none that I could find.
NOT SURE YET
Seats 18 Way: Very stylish with lots of buttons and controls. Memory function and entry/exit assist all works well. Ventilation works well with good adjustments. But still figuring them out a little. I’m comfortable, certainly not uncomfortable, but haven’t quite got them right. Maybe they just need more hours of sitting to soften them up a little more.
Air Conditioning: A Sydney winter, so its not very cold, and not a chance to drive to a hot location. So things will have to wait for a full workout. The pre-heat/cool function is sweet but more to come on the air cond.
Olea Feel: It’s not a soft leather. Maybe the leather needs some wearing in to soften it up a little more.
EV Charging: Have not been to a super charger yet. Tesla have the best network of super chargers in Australia. The complimentary ChargeFox network of super chargers are few and far between. So I’ll also be testing the Tesla network to see if I can connect. Also need to do a long road trip to test the EV charging network.
PCSB Brakes Performance: On the way home from the dealer with my car, I had a near miss as I gave the car a bit of squirt and a bus moved lanes on me ahead of expectations. I touched the brakes in 8 series mode but it was nowhere near enough brake pressure. Very near miss. Need more time to perfect the brakes.
DISLIKES
Deal & Delays: No discount, no deal and no trade-in advantage with change of manufacturer. Just squeaked in for a FY23 delivery, weeks before FY24 production start. Delays, no different to most of you on this forum. Disgraceful and embarrassing importation delays at Port Kembla (near Sydney).
My Porsche: No remote camera view of the vehicle from the app. BMW have had that for many years. Don’t get it.
Unlock Button Pin Light: The unlock button on the drivers and passenger front doors, have a tiny pin light (see photo) which is bright during the day and then turns into a powerful disco like strobe light. It is a cheap and nasty piece of crap, no doubt driven by the Porsche safety and compliance advisory committee. The black permanent marker is going to be my tool of choice.
Top of Drivers Door: You know when you are driving and sometimes you like to rest your elbow (right in my case) on the top of the drivers door. Well it is painful in the Taycan. My 8 series was very comfortable as there was some padding under the leather. The Taycan door is as hard as a rock.
Burmester Looks: Appearance wise it’s a bit of dogs breakfast. The breakfast of an overweight, out of control, ravenous Labrador. You’ve got four different looks. The main door speakers, the mid door speakers, the front/rear speakers and the front pillar speakers. They are all different colours and have different appearances. Some are branded and some are not. The main door speakers are polished aluminium or stainless steel. They would look way better in a mat finish. They are also slightly recessed behind the base door storage wall. And then of course the stupid logo in italics on the units and on the display. The polished finish and italics make it look like something created for Beethoven. It has no brand styling connection to Porsche. Also the speakers do not have any backlighting.
Highway Road Noise: You definitely get a decent dose of road noise on a highway at speed with a blue metal surface. We have a lot of these road surfaces. Not sure the noise insulating glass makes much difference.
Centre Storage Lid: Designed by a drunken sailor. Look at the 8 series equivalent Porsche. The open button is a 12 o’clock. A gentle press and the lid open outward from the middle in two sections (middle to left and middle to right) and stays in position! Fix it.
Screen Prints/Dust: They will get a wipe over at the end of every day. I’ve got a high quality screen cleaner and cloth in the centre storage bin. It is what it is. Technology.
Recirculate Setting: This resets itself to outside air after every shut down. It is the first button I press before I drive off. Unnecessarily repetitive. In my 8 series I was able to code this to permanently on, which does not appear possible with a Porsche.
Soft Close Doors: There aren’t any. On a $300K plus car. The doors do take quite a bit of grunt to close and I miss my BMW feature a lot more than I thought. The Porsche doors do sound good when they close though.
Plastic Dome: Without a doubt the signal biggest item I dislike about the car, is the ultra cheap plastic dome on the dash above the steering wheel which holds the main console. It’s an absolute uckin’ disgrace for a car of this price and quality. No option to cover it in leather either. Why Porsche? Why?
OVERALL
What a car. Absolutely love it. A next generation driving experience. Privileged to be a Taycan owner. Delighted to be a Porsche driver.
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