2020 Taycan 4S vs 2021 Ford Mach-e GT

chrisk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
980
Reaction score
1,021
Location
California
Vehicles
2020 Taycan 4S
Country flag
My 2020 Taycan 4S with P+ battery has found a new home and I moved to a 2021 Ford Mach-e GT.
Here are my thoughts and comparison of these two cars
The comparison is based on my experience with my cars, and it does not apply to all Taycans and all Mach-es, or all owners.

Taycan wins these categories
  • Range: I could get 260-300 miles on the Taycan depending on the weather easily beating the EPA estimate. I haven't driven the Mach-e a lot but its range seem to be around 250miles, so less than EPA. (Btw both have 20 inch wheels but the Taycan has wider tires).
    • I believe the difference is mostly from highway driving where the Taycan shines with its 2-speed transmission. Also the lower drag coefficient factor and the heat pump help. .
  • DC fast charging: Taycan is a king (when EA stations work). It charges fast even beyond 85%. The Mach-e drops to 12KW after 80%! Ford plans to make it better with an OTA, so let's see.
  • Handling: Probably unfair to compare a sedan with summer tires against an SUV with all-seasons. The Mach-e handles well for a heavy SUV but it is nothing special.
  • Ride quality: Porsche's air suspension is amazing. My Mach-e has a steel suspension which is good but again nothing special. Porsche is noticeably better. If you spec the Mach-e GT with the Perf package you get MagnaRide which is adjustable and closer to Taycan's. If it wasn't for the car shortages I would have gone for that option.
  • Steering feel: Taycan's steering is probably as good as it gets for an electric steering rack. The Mach-e is good but not at Porsche level.
  • Tires: The Taycan's Michelin 4S summer tires were great. My Mach-e has Continental All-Season and they are underwhelmed by the power of the car. There is wheel spin when you push the pedal hard so you cannot put down all that power. The GT Perf package adds summer tires to the Mach-E and I heard that it makes a difference.
  • Instrument Cluster: Taycan's instrument cluster looks great. The Mach-es is very basic, small, non-customizable and it feels like they just had to add something there.
  • Exterior Appearance: In my opinion the Taycan is the most beautiful car on the street. The Mach-e GT in blue with glossy black accents looks very nice but the Taycan is a class of its own.
  • Brand name/exclusivity
  • Service intervals: The Mach-e has a scheduled maintenance (just inspections) at 1 year which is a bummer. Taycan's first scheduled service is at 2years. Cost-wise the total cost for the Ford might be cheaper even with the extra visit, but still I would prefer if I did not have to go.

Mach-e wins these categories:
  • Throttle Response: The Mach-e feels more responsive than the Taycan 4S. It feels like a Taycan Turbo. Even on the soft mode, if you press the pedal it pulls really hard. The Taycan has a sluggish throttle response and even when you floor it does not have the same immediate response. The GT has a lot more torque according to factory specs so that might be the reason.
  • Practically: The Mach-e has more space, more legroom and headroom, a usable rear bench that can fit 3 people and a more accessible trunk. It is also much easier to get in and out.
  • Easier to drive around town: MAch-e has bigger side mirrors and better all around visibility making it easier to maneuver and park. Mach-e's camera is also very good, while the Taycan's camera image is distorted and shows inaccurate distances.
  • Infotainment system: Mach-e's infotainment is more responsive, the maps load fast, the phone connects immediately and so far I have not seen any of these annoying bugs that the Taycan had. The Mach-e also has wireless Android Auto which is great.
  • Interior Build Quality: This is surprising but true. The Taycan had rattles from everywhere (door panels, speaker covers, driver seat, b-pillar, EVERYWHERE). It was so annoying. The Mach-e has no rattles so far and it seems to be well built.
  • Charger: Ford Mobile charger is more "mobile" than Porsche's PMCC and it does not overheat. It is a simple charger, no screen, no settings which is good. Less chance of problems. Btw the pigtail is AWG 8 which is more appropriate than Porsche's AWG 10 which overheats. Unfortunately the Ford charger cable is only 20ft long, not the standard 25ft.
  • Other: The Mach-e has physical Homelink buttons which is great and you can actually program more than one door!! Yay
  • Value: At about half of the 4S price you get a bigger battery, same or a little more power and a well built car.

Cannot compare yet:
  • Overall software quality: Taycan has several software issues (12v drainage, automotive power loss while driving, many small annoyances) and Porsche does not address them as fast as I expected. Many bugs are still there. Although I have not experienced any bugs on the Mach-e I should wait a few months until I declare it a winner.
  • OTA updates: I have only seen maps and weather/calendar app OTA updates in the Taycan which are close to useless to me. Every major software update required a visit to the dealer. I have heard that some Mach-e owners received OTAs and there is a rumor that Ford is planning to release an OTA that will increase the usable battery by 3KW (~10 miles range extra) and improve the DC charging speed after 80% but until I see it I don't believe it.
  • Phone as a key: Mach-e supports phone as a key. I read mixed reviews about it and I haven't tried it yet. But if they make it robust then this will be a win.


Porsche Taycan 2020 Taycan 4S vs 2021 Ford Mach-e GT 20211012_082106



Highway driving
Porsche Taycan 2020 Taycan 4S vs 2021 Ford Mach-e GT Screenshot_20211010-230239_Video Player_compress94



City driving
Porsche Taycan 2020 Taycan 4S vs 2021 Ford Mach-e GT 20211012_083127
 
Last edited:

kailifish

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 7, 2021
Threads
8
Messages
103
Reaction score
92
Location
Taiwan
Vehicles
21 Taycan Turbo S
Country flag
the Mach-E looks quite stunning in the blue, congrats!

Any reason for the switch? Was it just for the added practicality?
 

kort

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2021
Threads
43
Messages
2,211
Reaction score
1,462
Location
32082
Vehicles
'21 taycan 4s
Country flag
  • Phone as a key: Mach-e supports phone as a key. I read mixed reviews about it and I haven't tried it yet. But if they make it robust then this will be a win.

FWIW;
the tesla model 3 uses the phone as the key and I never had an issue with it other than sometimes having to reload it.
if you have a keycard like the tesla did it would be wise to stick it in your wallet

good luck and enjoy the new car
 
OP
OP
chrisk

chrisk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
980
Reaction score
1,021
Location
California
Vehicles
2020 Taycan 4S
Country flag
the Mach-E looks quite stunning in the blue, congrats!

Any reason for the switch? Was it just for the added practicality?
Thanks!
Practicality and half the cost to own for a car that I don't drive much were certainly factors. But if wasn't for all the rattles and software bugs I would have probably kept it. This is also after owning a Macan with many serious problems at the third year of ownership and Porsche NA not the customer support I expected. So I feel I have lost faith to the brand.

I am not saying that the Mach-e will be problem free, but I will give it a try. If it ends up having many issues, then I plan to move ton an i4 M50i :)
 
Last edited:


OP
OP
chrisk

chrisk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
980
Reaction score
1,021
Location
California
Vehicles
2020 Taycan 4S
Country flag

FWIW;
the tesla model 3 uses the phone as the key and I never had an issue with it other than sometimes having to reload it.
if you have a keycard like the tesla did it would be wise to stick it in your wallet

good luck and enjoy the new car
You can set a pincode and use instead (there is a pinpad at the door and you can also turn on the car with the pin), so that's the backup. Other owners say that Phone as a key is still not on par with Tesla so we will see. I don't mind carrying the keyfob.
 

TomC

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tom
Joined
Nov 28, 2020
Threads
9
Messages
161
Reaction score
404
Location
Cambridge, England
Vehicles
MY2022 Taycan Turbo S
Country flag
Thanks for the write-up, Chris. I'm sorry to see you leaving us, but could the writing on the wall as over the last year your enthusiasm levels went from 11 to completely-fed-up. Porsche has not lived up to anywhere close a premium brand for you, so in a way I'm pleased to see you replace your Taycan. Whilst I appreciate Porsche lose no money this way, it' still bad publicity for them and it's one of the few ways they will learn when they see people being prepared to trade in for a car at half the price.

Please do keep dropping back with further comparisons though. We've been thinking to get a Mach-E as a second car, but currently we're waiting to see what happens with the BEV Macan.
 
OP
OP
chrisk

chrisk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 3, 2020
Threads
17
Messages
980
Reaction score
1,021
Location
California
Vehicles
2020 Taycan 4S
Country flag
Thanks for the write-up, Chris. I'm sorry to see you leaving us, but could the writing on the wall as over the last year your enthusiasm levels went from 11 to completely-fed-up. Porsche has not lived up to anywhere close a premium brand for you, so in a way I'm pleased to see you replace your Taycan. Whilst I appreciate Porsche lose no money this way, it' still bad publicity for them and it's one of the few ways they will learn when they see people being prepared to trade in for a car at half the price.

Please do keep dropping back with further comparisons though. We've been thinking to get a Mach-E as a second car, but currently we're waiting to see what happens with the BEV Macan.
I think you confuse with the other Chris also in the Bay Area who had serious issues and Porsche is not buying his car back. I had annoyances but not very serous issues like his.

Anyway, I will probably update my review after I experience the Mach-e longer. The Macan EV is in my radar as well. I hope software reliability improves over time.
 
Last edited:


B61

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bine
Joined
May 31, 2021
Threads
7
Messages
2,377
Reaction score
1,553
Location
SI
Vehicles
CT4 (9/2021)
Country flag
Why leaving this forum, @chrisk ?
I'd be more than happy to learn from your experiences (with Mach-e) since it's quite possible that I'll follow your path (Macan EV or some other SUV) soon.

Disclaimer: after 2000km, I don't have any serious problems (no rattles, no "red alerts"... just few sofware glitches and annoying/unlogical behaviour), but I'm tall (and older every day) and it's quite uncomfortable to entry/exit (God , how low positioned are seats and B pillar is hard)...
No hard feelings Porsche, but software should be much (much) better in a such great vehicle.

Almost forgotten: congrats on your new toy ... wish you safe drive & enjoy! :like:
(btw: interesting statistics data about energy consumption)
 
Last edited:

dsak48

Member
First Name
Constantinos
Joined
Aug 20, 2021
Threads
1
Messages
19
Reaction score
36
Location
Athens Greece
Vehicles
BMW LEXUS
Country flag
This is definitely bad for the brand and obviously will be noticed within his circle.Dont ever underestimate the word of mouth that we provide within our groups about cars,watches,hotels even restaurants.
The whole issue in my opinion is to never touch a new model and especially a new technology as it will have many baby or even major issues .The Best purchase is always the face lift if each company.
I have read about many complains regarding the Taycan and combined with the ridiculous lead time of 8 months since my July order I am beginning to have second thoughts...
 

B61

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bine
Joined
May 31, 2021
Threads
7
Messages
2,377
Reaction score
1,553
Location
SI
Vehicles
CT4 (9/2021)
Country flag
Yep, early adopters are paying the price for others....
(but Ford mach-e is also "version 1.0", isn't it?)
 
Last edited:

Swissbob

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bob
Joined
May 3, 2021
Threads
35
Messages
445
Reaction score
610
Location
Switzerland
Vehicles
Taycan Cross Turismo
Country flag
On the flip side early adopters can also get some benefits. I put money down on both Model X and CT4 before they were released here in CH and both cars were delivered quickly and had/have quite a prolonged “wow” effect due to their rarity. I suppose the level of teething trouble determines whether this is worth it over waiting for a later release. I certainly don’t regret either purchase. You still hear people complaining on here about recent Teslas so waiting doesn’t necessarily solve everything and the service experience was awesome when there were only a few on the road.
 

B61

Well-Known Member
First Name
Bine
Joined
May 31, 2021
Threads
7
Messages
2,377
Reaction score
1,553
Location
SI
Vehicles
CT4 (9/2021)
Country flag
I'm not paying for "wow effect", I bought Taycan for my pleasure... and it's a great car, no regrets at all.
I just wanted to say that without early adopters, further progress would last longer...
 

Doc B

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
250
Reaction score
210
Location
UK
Vehicles
Taycan Turbo
Country flag
Thanks!
Practicality and half the cost to own for a car that I don't drive much were certainly factors. But if wasn't for all the rattles and software bugs I would have probably kept it. This is also after owning a Macan with many serious problems at the third year of ownership and Porsche NA not the customer support I expected. So I feel I have lost faith to the brand.

I am not saying that the Mach-e will be problem free, but I will give it a try. If it ends up having many issues, then I plan to move ton an i4 M50i :)
Sorry to see you go Chrisk, but congratulations on the new car.
 
 




Top