My comparisons and impressions on my 2023 Taycan GTS Sport Turismo

[tdm3]

First off, this is a long form post/essay. If you don't like long posts this isn't the one for you. If you are a prospective buyer and want some details, impressions, comparisons, read on..

I've always appreciated the detail in some of the posts I've seen here, and I wanted to contribute a detailed look from my perspective once I had it. The posts here made the 18 month wait for my Taycan GTS sting slightly less. Hopefully my decisions, reasons, and comparisons help the next person trying to decide to take the plunge and ease the stress of the wait for a custom Porsche Taycan.

The Taycan is my first Porsche. I'm coming from a long line of Audis I've had over the years (S5, S6, S5 SB, etronGT) and that one time with a Tesla Model S Performance... Needless to say the Taycan GTS ST is the best all around car I've ever driven, including the lambos and Ferraris I've played with briefly. Once I decided that I very much dislike gas stations and love instant torque, the field for viable cars I'll spend money on narrows considerably.

I’ve had the car since April, and have about 3k miles on it, including one small road trip. So just enough I think to have an opinion on the car. So far, no issues. Miraculously dodged both the battery and heater holds and issues, and hoping my luck holds true for any future issues.

My spec is a bit crazy, but I went with pretty much every option that has anything to do with performance or uniqueness to Taycan as I waited quite a while for the GTS announcement and then for an allocation itself here in the US for the Sport Turismo variant. The car did not disappoint. I’m happy I did not settle or give up, as the drive is every bit Porsche as I hoped (though I don’t know how much PDCC and RAS I specced are contributing to this). Performance is that extra bit of punch I missed in the etron GT, without being so violent it hurts like my old Tesla Model S Performance.

In comparison to the other sport sedans I've owned:

Audi S5/S6/S5 SB/SQ8
I absolutely love Audi for the typically elegant design, stunning led headlights, and great technology and interior design. Actually driving the cars aggressively though, I always longed for a little more power, a little more steering feel and handling, and a little more noise (back when I wanted noise). But overall I still like Audi. If you have one of these cars and love Audi, your likely looking at an etronGT. And the etron GT is a great option, until you want a little more power and look at the sticker on an RS model.

Tesla:
When the Tesla Model S performance came out I test drove it and I was indeed blown away by the 2.2 sec 0-60, and bought it. The Tesla was amazing at first but after a year or two the acceleration novelty wore off, the touchscreen software glitches got annoying, the lack of carplay infuriating, and the handling on anything resembling a curve absolutely abysmal. The final straw was when the car itself would make noise going over inclines or areas that torqued the suspension. I will not return to Tesla. In my opinion the quality really is sub par, I thought I could overlook it but living with it I hated remembering the kind of money I spent on that interior. The software features are nice, but it wasn’t enough to keep me as I wanted to actually drive my car. If you have a Tesla now and want a driver's car, this is it.

Audi E-tron GT:
I bought this when I realized the taycan allocation was a year plus away. I really like the bold design of this car, and do kinda miss it a little. The handling was also so much better than both the tesla and the gas audis I've owned, and fully electric torque is perfect. The Porsche underpinnings shined through in the drive as it is unlike any other Audi I’ve owned in the handling dept. By that I mean the Etron GT is demonstrably and noticeably better, and will let you kick the rear end out a bit if you want. I only occasionally longed for more power, but everything else (highly specced as a prestige model) was fantastic. Really not much bad I can say about this car except that I wanted the GTS sport turismo for the power, backseat and hatchback, because I find the eTRON GT and taycan sedan trunks not big enough to be usable. But id still be driving that if I didn't have the taycan.

Taycan GTS:
But I do have a taycan, and it is the better driving car. I specced RAS/RWS, PSCB, and PDCC, and it could not handle any more perfect than it handles now. It's kinda magical honestly, passengers comment on how flat it stays through corners. It is a true Porsche (at least as much as a guy who plays with 911's at PECATL yearly can claim that), and comparable to the 911s I've driven… as much as a much heavier and bigger car can handle like a 911, it does. I know some folks will balk at this statement, but I do wholehardedly believe it. It hides its weight very well in my opinion, and to date the only time I can feel the weight is when I need to stop quickly from (very) high speed. I believe even that could be rectified by PCCBs or driving more sanely (LOL). I don't think I would be disappointed in the handling or power departments if I were coming from a 911 daily driver honestly. Power is also noticeably higher than base etronGT, and I do feel it's the “sweet spot” for taycan - I haven't once thought I should have gone for the turbo after taking delivery of the GTS, but there were definitely times before I actually had the car that I wondered if I had made a mistake.

Things I love:

• * uniqueness / looks: I have not seen another one on the road, which is perfect. People know it’s a Porsche, but they always ask WHICH Porsche is THAT? I love the funky uniqueness of the Sport Turismo Taycan for now while it lasts.
• - Ice grey color. It was between neptune blue or ice grey for me and I am SO HAPPY I went with ice grey. Neptune blue seemed too much like baby blue to me in person. I was concerned I'd have the same problem with ice grey that I had with suzuka grey on my etron in that you can't tell it from white, and that is NOT the case with ice grey. It is very distinctively not white in person, and not chalk to the trained eye either (which for me is good because too many cars are chalk color).
• - Bordeaux Red interior. It's the perfect balance for this car in my opinion. I found the GTS Racetex too much “racetex” and I specced the leather for the must have seat ventilation for hot summers here. I don't regret it at all. In pictures the red seemed like a very bright red which concerned me a little, but in person it's very tame, more of a wine color. It does remind me of the “arras red” I had in all the Audi's which is what I wanted here as well.
• - Power / handling, see above. Best drive ever. Pop it in Sport Plus and hoon, or pop it in normal and just coast on a silent cloud. It is the best balance I have ever experienced or know of in a car, period.
• - Interior quality is top notch, build quality is top notch.
• - Technology is also impressive with all the customization available in settings and HUD. PCM.. see below.
• - Variable light sunroof I was on the fence about, but specced it as I thought it was a really cool thing id maybe regret not getting, and I'm very happy I did. It makes a difference on hot sunny days and the car automatically dims sunroof when you leave the car to keep it cool. Love it and find it worth the $$ personally.
• - I normally drive in sport individual with sport suspension and GTS Sport Sound enabled. Handles perfect and sounds amazing. It really is the balance I was looking for with electric and a bit of soul. Pop it in sport plus and the car turns into a racecar. Lowered and hard suspension, and throttle response that is otherworldly. I use this on spirited back roads drives and enjoy it, but don't leave it on as fans really do kick up on the batteries, and if its hot outside, A/C to the cabin is cut off.
• - In normal mode the car is like riding on a cloud. Sport Sound disabled, Regen disabled, it just coasts for days and is very quiet and relaxing. This is the roadtrip mode I use.
• - Power. Coming from the Tesla Model S Performance, the etron GT wasn't enough power. I don't need 700hp, but I wanted more and the GTS is enough for me.
• - Power charging door. Love it. Had the manual one on the etron and fought with it daily to get it to open and close. No issues at all with the powered one.
• - PSCBs. This will change your life if you hand wash your cars. I’ve gone from truly terrible brake dust on the Audis (with the exception of the etronGT) to virtually none. Worth every penny to have these imo. I wanted the cache of the yellow PCCBs but not the cost. And this car likely will never see a track so that was overkill. PSCBs stop the car plenty fine, and I suspect I hardly ever use them.
• - Matte black 21 inch spider GTS exclusive wheels. I lost sleep over the choice between this and Mission E wheels, especially since I was already interested in the PSCBs. Overall I love the direction I went and don’t regret it. Not as flashy as the mission Es, which to me was a plus, but still very sporty. Also hoping I can bank on a little uniqueness with this combo for a while. In the future I may find an aftermarket wheel once I see more of these on the road. The only minor thought I've had about them is what if they were glossy black to match the glossy black everything else on the car. But that's a minor thing, still looks great.
• - Larger boot/trunk/hatchback. This was/is huge for me. I use it every day, and love the utility. I will say it's not as big as I was expecting, but loads more usable than the sedan trunk.

Things I'm on fence about:

• - I specced passenger display thinking it was on all the time and it's not. I wanted tech pkg so I think the math worked out that it was worth it, but I would skip if I didn't want the full tech package. Only time I use it is with an actual passenger on long trips for nav, as designed. For that purpose it's great. Everything else it's not used..
• - Specced the fire extinguisher, I love the novelty, but the lady hates it because it takes leg room. Have since removed it and put it in the trunk. Would skip next time.
• - Center console touch screen is fine. I do wish I had a knob for volume somewhere there, but the buttons are fine. Especially like the little hidden menu for PCM shortcuts that I saw in a YouTube video.
• - Burmester sounds amazing. Not sure it's better than the B&O 3D in my Audi's though, and so I wonder if it justifies the price. The Bose wasn't bad though, so if on a budget I'd go with that. I personally hear a difference between burmester and Bose, but don’t know if it justified the price, unless the best of the best is required. I just wanted to not have a big diff between my other car and this and went for it. I'm really splitting hairs here so make sure you have a listen
• - I suppose the backseat is better than that on the Taycan Sedan, but I still found it a little cramped especially in the leg room department, which surprised me. So I would say if you are looking for a ST specifically for its backseat, for the adults you regularly travel with… get an SUV. For kiddos it’s fine.
• - Range. It’s totally fine for day to day. But I’m noticing with AC on full blast in the summer, and the inevitable hit I’ll take in the winter, coupled with the fact I've never had a completely smooth EA session or gotten a > 100Kw charge session in one, big road trips are completely out of the question in this car. That’s fine for my use case, this isn’t the car I’ll take on long trips, at least not until there’s some guarantee I can hit working 350kw stations all along the way.
• - 18 way sport seats. I’m a bigger guy, and I also went back and forth several times on the comfort seats vs the 18 ways. Went with the 18 ways because I knew I’d carve up every corner I could find and would appreciate the bolsters. And I do. But I always wonder if I could carve up corners with the 14 ways, be a little more comfortable, and have the massage function going as well. Overall I don’t regret the 18 ways, but they are snug on me as a big guy (as designed), and I occasionally wonder about the 14s. On the Audi I had 18 ways that included the massage, and enjoyed that as well. What I've ended up doing is getting a wedge cushion for the seat, which is the comfort cheat code for me as a bigger guy in the 18-ways.

Things I don't love

• - the reverse fish eye camera is.. well it takes some getting used to. I've had the car months and I'm still not used to it after coming from crystal clear giant camera screens on Tesla and Audi. The options all have compromises in one way or another so I’m learning to live with it.
• - The carplay/PCM screen is a bit small/lower res than what I'm used to and I wish it were at least the size of the one in the Audi. But it's big enough and not a deal breaker.
• - I'm convinced the car absolutely degrades GPS on my radar, and LTE/5g on my phone due to thermally and noise insulated glass. I can take calls and stream, but I definitely get lower signal in this car than other cars, and I wonder about potential situations when I'm in an area with low service. I've had a call or two drop in the car and then get service when I park and get out of the car. This is becoming an issue that I'm considering some sort of signal booster.
• - The cars built in LTE also seems to be terrible - I have a hard time streaming the built in Apple Music/Spotify (it buffers, and never have this problem with my phone) so I'm forced to use carplay from my phone, instead of the built in Apple/Spotify. There’s also some bad logic in switching between audio sources, where it’s not quite all the way implemented or intuitive. In some cases my CarPlay does not automatically start playing when it should, for example. Built in Apple Music sometimes doesn’t load my entire playlist, as another.
• - Specced InnoDrive. Used it once and immediately turned it off. Terrible. But coming from Tesla and Audi I love active lane keep and thankfully you can use that independently. Would spec ALK separately if it were possible. Tesla and Audi ALK are better imo, but this isnt bad and I use it often. Just know the limitations and use as designed.

Mods I've made
- clear side markers must have
- PPF must have
- Ceramic coat must have
- 30% tint, ceramic, just enough to cut down on heat in the summer
- Aftermarket puddle lights (planned)
- Hardwired dash cam (went with blackvue)
- Hardwired radar

Things I wish I'd specced
- forgot to do glass black side mirrors to match glass black handles and trim that I did. Doh. But it’s not something that’s a deal breaker. The car is a head turner as-is

Things I’d put on my wishlist for my next Taycan
- soft close doors. I miss these from other big cars and I think this car is “big and luxurious enough” to warrant it.
- Some other exterior trim option between black plastic and sport design carbon fiber. I tried to rectify with all the gloss black options, but wish there was another design option.
- True matrix headlamps in US.
- Cross turismo blade wheels, but on a sport turismo with a slightly lower stance

Thanks for reading. Hopefully prospective buyers get value out of this

Sponsored

 

[snstevens]

Beautiful car - thanks for sharing! When it's time for. my next build I'll be sure to give this another look ?

Regarding the seats - the 14-way are working really well for me. I'm 6'1" and find the support is perfect so I'd go with that again. Never tried the 18-way, some some on the Forum have said they can't get comfortable with them and use a cushion to make it work - you're not alone.

Only disagreement is on high speed charging. Yeah, it is somewhat unreliable, but I've had great fun driving the Porsche on long distance trips, especially when hotels have destination chargers (pickup a Tesla Tap so you can use a Tesla Level 2 charger when that's all that's available). No question we need major improvements for reliable HS charging however.

 

[tayCanadian]

Beautiful ride! Love the ice grey sport turismo! If I had a chance to do it again, that's what I'd do!

 

[SergeyIndy]

Wonderful and detailed review and in line with my experience of only a few weeks and 500 miles in a sedan form. I just wanted to comment on the "volume control knob" wish, you can use two fingers to swipe up/down for volume adjustment on the lower screen if you do not want to use the volume roller on the steering wheel.

 

[new2porsche]

Thanks for the write up and I love your spec, would love to see photos of your interior. I also spec'd leather/deviated stiching over racetex. Really the color too!

 

[or1]

Thanks for the long essay! You have some more options than I have, but much is the same on my GTS ST (in Mamba green). Particularly liked your comments about coated brakes (PSCB), where I agree fully.

 

[JIP1080]

Great write up, beautiful car, and absolutely the right model!

uniqueness / looks: I have not seen another one on the road, which is perfect.

If those pictures are where I think they are, I'll apologize that there is another GTS ST on the way to the area shortly ?

 

[OzzieT]

Excellent post, lovely looking car. Very aligned to your views and commentary, although my comparisons have been from the land of BMW.

On the 18 way seats, the problem is the side bolsters in the base and I think the seat is out of alignment with the pedals by 10-20mm. So when you first sit in the seat you don't get an immediate natural alignment with the pedals and normally my right butt cheek (I'm in RH drive car) is resting too much on the bolster. So it is always a bit of bumm shuffling to get the position correct and comfortable.

On the AV interface/tech, it is rubbish. I'm using a USB C drive with mp3, and I can plug it into any BMW or Audi and it is just perfect. As I need to use Apple Carplay for my phone, every startup defaults from my USB drive to Apple music which I don't use.

The other irritant is the top of the drivers door, the area where you rest your elbow sometimes when driving. This is hard as a rock, the leather finishes in a number of areas need a little more cushioning to improve the comfort and lux feel.

But its a Porsche and the drive experience is next generation. And whenever the irritants get to me, I try to bring myself back to this core thought.

 

[tdm3]

Great write up, beautiful car, and absolutely the right model!



If those pictures are where I think they are, I'll apologize that there is another GTS ST on the way to the area shortly ?

Noooooo! But yes its likely exactly where you think they are. See you around!

 

[tdm3]

Excellent post, lovely looking car. Very aligned to your views and commentary, although my comparisons have been from the land of BMW.

On the 18 way seats, the problem is the side bolsters in the base and I think the seat is out of alignment with the pedals by 10-20mm. So when you first sit in the seat you don't get an immediate natural alignment with the pedals and normally my right butt cheek (I'm in RH drive car) is resting too much on the bolster. So it is always a bit of bumm shuffling to get the position correct and comfortable.

On the AV interface/tech, it is rubbish. I'm using a USB C drive with mp3, and I can plug it into any BMW or Audi and it is just perfect. As I need to use Apple Carplay for my phone, every startup defaults from my USB drive to Apple music which I don't use.

The other irritant is the top of the drivers door, the area where you rest your elbow sometimes when driving. This is hard as a rock, the leather finishes in a number of areas need a little more cushioning to improve the comfort and lux feel.

But its a Porsche and the drive experience is next generation. And whenever the irritants get to me, I try to bring myself back to this core thought.

Sport Plus and find a curve, you'll forget about the doors

 

[tdm3]

Thanks for the write up and I love your spec, would love to see photos of your interior. I also spec'd leather/deviated stiching over racetex. Really the color too!

I'll grab some interior pics shortly.

 

[tdm3]

Wonderful and detailed review and in line with my experience of only a few weeks and 500 miles in a sedan form. I just wanted to comment on the "volume control knob" wish, you can use two fingers to swipe up/down for volume adjustment on the lower screen if you do not want to use the volume roller on the steering wheel.

Thanks for this tip! I didn't know beforehand and this helps!

 

[jimithing]

I had very similar thought processes but I ordered before the GTS came out so ended up with a Turbo. I chose the PCCBs over the Burmester. They look amazing but I'm still not certain I made the right decision. Oh well.

I'm warming up to InnoDrive but you HAVE to use it with a programmed destination in the nav. They work together & it's way better if you use it that way. Give it a try.

 

[f1eng]

As I need to use Apple Carplay for my phone,

Sorry to jump in but why do you need Carplay for your 'phone - is it Oz service related?

I don't use carplay and my phone just links to the car and works like other hands-free systems I have had here in the UK.

I just use a USB stick for my music too.

 

[OzzieT]

Sorry to jump in but why do you need Carplay for your 'phone - is it Oz service related?

I don't use carplay and my phone just links to the car and works like other hands-free systems I have had here in the UK.

I just use a USB stick for my music too.

Your setup is exactly how I have always set up my cars. Have not been an Apple Carplay user. However the Taycan will only import email addresses from my phone book. I've spend countless hours trying to fix this. With an Android phone, no issues at all. But there is a gremlin with my iPhone.

Sponsored