W1NGE

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These reviews are pretty much what one would expect based on the specs of the base Taycan. Still a beautiful car that drives and handles and brakes great, but slower and less thrilling power than its big brothers. If you can live with 1-1.5 seconds slower 0-60mph and quarter mile times, this is a great way to save $20-30k. I think the true "sweet spot" for this car is the 4S version, (yes, I am biased and that's the one I bought). The 3.5 second 0-60mph and 11 sec quarter mile times along with all-wheel drive safety and handling, and great range at a lower price point than Turbo or Turbo S will fit the bill for most people. I'm not sure where the Turbo fits in, as I would imagine most people who opt to spend that much would just go all the way to the Turbo S and get all the performance possible? I drove a Turbo S before I drove the 4S, and I think it is the most special and fantastic sports sedan I've ever driven, but only marginally more so than my 4S, and definitely not justifiable based on price difference for me. I definitely understand someone with unlimited resources going that route though and loading up a Turbo S and driving the hell out of it! I think a lot of people will be very happy with a base Taycan, but I would recommend all of them drive a 4S, and a Turbo S if possible before purchasing and make sure the performance is acceptable and what you expect before you purchase. Thanks for posting the reviews!
I suspect the GTS variant when it comes will be the pinnacle of the range....need to go some to steal that title from the 4S mind you!
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Vim Schrotnock

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I suspect the GTS variant when it comes will be the pinnacle of the range....need to go some to steal that title from the 4S mind you!
Kind of hard to see what they would do to the GTS that would give it quicker lap times than the Turbo/Turbo S. Bigger, normally aspirated engine for better response...whoops. Also difficult to see what they would do to the suspension/steering/brakes that would make it better than the Turbo models. Weight reduction is possible, but that would come with range reduction as well. I'm sure they'll come up with something besides making the sport package standard along with Alcantara and some badging. Maybe they'll juice up the sport sound...:rolleyes:
 

Miwa

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The GTS would be slower than the Turbo/Turbo S, but would likely get all sorts of goodies that are standard on the Turbo. It'd be priced cheaper than getting a 4S and adding on all those extra bits. Then add in a few GTS-only packages, and you have what a GTS is, which is a late-cycle sales boost for a platform that comes in before a refresh.

I loved my Macan GTS, and absent the existence of a Taycan, I would've bought a 911 GTS 4. If there'd have been a Taycan GTS, that's probably the sweet spot I would've bought over the Turbo (depending on what it came with)
 

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@Vim Schrotnock I think he meant value wise. The GTS will spec in under the Turbo but if it bridges the performance gap & discounts some options (the typical Porsche GTS formula) it could be the best bang for your buck Taycan.

Replace some of the plastic bits with GTS swap, add in Chrono/PTV+, meet in the middle of the 4S & Turbo HP/torque wise for +$25k vs the +$48k for the Turbo? Sign me up.

I'm willing to wager they can get that much of a power bump without having to even swap to the Turbos beefier rear motor.
 

Vim Schrotnock

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@Vim Schrotnock I think he meant value wise. The GTS will spec in under the Turbo but if it bridges the performance gap & discounts some options (the typical Porsche GTS formula) it could be the best bang for your buck Taycan.

Replace some of the plastic bits with GTS swap, add in Chrono/PTV+, meet in the middle of the 4S & Turbo HP/torque wise for +$25k vs the +$48k for the Turbo? Sign me up.
Yes, that could definitely be the case. I loved my Panamera GTS - lots of good stuff was standard.
 


PerPower

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Always loved the GTS version. I think that version is the closest you get to Porsches racing DNA. It will probably also have the newly introduced Race-Tex center console and seat consoles included.
 

Zillion27

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Video review from Autocar: another one saying the base Taycan is the very best of all the Taycan to drive:
 


rich_r

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FWIW. I think the RWD base is a really nice option to save money if you don't need AWD.. but you're losing a LOT of oomph from the 4S & you'll have worse range, plus no AWD. Going from 3.4 0-60 to something in the high 4s, maybe not even breaking 5, is a lot slower.

It's a great budget option but you do get a lot for your money moving up to a 4S. 1+ second 0-60, I'd wager around 7-15% range, and AWD. You get less for your money the further up the chain you go, but those three things are easily worth $15-20k to me.

I've maintained the Turbo S is too fast but the 4S & Turbo hit the sweet spot of the Taycan range.
Why do you think the 4s will have better range than the rwd? The RWD model is about 200 pounds about lighter so my guess is that it will nearly equal the range of a 4s with the bigger battery even with the base battery. With the larger battery it will be the longest range taycan.
 

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Why do you think the 4s will have better range than the rwd? The RWD model is about 200 pounds about lighter so my guess is that it will nearly equal the range of a 4s with the bigger battery even with the base battery. With the larger battery it will be the longest range taycan.
I think you're probably losing efficiency overall without the AWD & a front motor only Range mode.

I could certainly be wrong on that, I'm curious to see what the testing reveals. (By testing I mean Bjorn, about the only reliable source of EV range; the major publications all suck at it.)

Either way, the current reviews have it as a sub-5 second car and I wouldn't consider purchasing it. Sub 5 seconds is slow for a sub 60k ICE sports sedan, let alone a six figure EV. A big problem with buying the Taycan as an "around town car" (as the base version would best be suited for IMHO) is that it's both impractically large for city use and has very little storage.
 

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Either way, the current reviews have it as a sub-5 second car and I wouldn't consider purchasing it. Sub 5 seconds is slow for a sub 60k ICE sports sedan, let alone a six figure EV. A big problem with buying the Taycan as an "around town car" (as the base version would best be suited for IMHO) is that it's both impractically large for city use and has very little storage.
0-60 time is the dumbest measure for anything other than a muscle car. The base Taycan with the upgraded battery is likely faster in a straight line than either of my R8's were.

There's going to be plenty of EVs out there that are eventually going to be faster than most Taycans in a straight line, as Porsche isn't going to make a version of anything that's faster than a 911 that costs less than 500k.
 

rich_r

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I think you're probably losing efficiency overall without the AWD & a front motor only Range mode.

I could certainly be wrong on that, I'm curious to see what the testing reveals. (By testing I mean Bjorn, about the only reliable source of EV range; the major publications all suck at it.)

Either way, the current reviews have it as a sub-5 second car and I wouldn't consider purchasing it. Sub 5 seconds is slow for a sub 60k ICE sports sedan, let alone a six figure EV. A big problem with buying the Taycan as an "around town car" (as the base version would best be suited for IMHO) is that it's both impractically large for city use and has very little storage.
Yeah I like his reviews as well. Other than the Turbo, i think the front and rear motors are the same on on the AWD taycans, so while running one of them would likely be more effficient in range modes, the lighter RWD with just 1 of those motors is going to do better in terms of range. Look at the (now discontinued) RWD long range model 3 vs the AWD model 3 for example. We will see though.

In terms of acceleration times, keep in mind that a 5 second 0-60 for an EV is roughly equivalent to low 4 seconds for ICE in real world conditions because the EV isn't going to have any lag waiting for turbos and revs. Look at Car and drivers 5-60 vs 0-60 tests as an example. Plus, comparing what you get for the $$ in terms of drag strip times is never a game that Porsche is going to win.

You will always pay a heft premium for a Porsche. Going to be even more true as EVs go mainstream. The upcoming Mustang Mach E GT will do 0-60 in the high 3s and cost around 60k, so about half the price of a 4s. So if having 0-60 bragging rights is important, I'd suggest not buying a porsche.
 
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Casparado

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We had a 4s all specced and the night before we went to pick it up in the showroom, all the reviews hit about the base Taycan. Next morning we were sitting with the salesman (Porsche Marin, USA) and our new 4s was parked no more than 20 feet away. I said I had believed I was already buying the base model, but now that the new one was announced, wanted that instead. It was not difficult to make the point, and our helpful guy transferred our configuration from the 4s to the Taycan. We have further modified the config, and now I have a gorgeous car, set up just as I like, about to enter the factory... will have to wait until May for delivery, and I can hardly wait. Yet I'm certain I made the right choice. With air suspension and rear wheel steering I doubt I'll miss the 4WD. After all, I'm very happy with my current Boxter GTS (2015) and I've never felt the need for 4WD on that one.
 

rich_r

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We had a 4s all specced and the night before we went to pick it up in the showroom, all the reviews hit about the base Taycan. Next morning we were sitting with the salesman (Porsche Marin, USA) and our new 4s was parked no more than 20 feet away. I said I had believed I was already buying the base model, but now that the new one was announced, wanted that instead. It was not difficult to make the point, and our helpful guy transferred our configuration from the 4s to the Taycan. We have further modified the config, and now I have a gorgeous car, set up just as I like, about to enter the factory... will have to wait until May for delivery, and I can hardly wait. Yet I'm certain I made the right choice. With air suspension and rear wheel steering I doubt I'll miss the 4WD. After all, I'm very happy with my current Boxter GTS (2015) and I've never felt the need for 4WD on that one.
Must’ve taken some self discipline seeing what could’ve been your 4s 20 feet away. But for a ~20k savings that’s quite understandable. What options did you add?

It does seem like there’s quite a gap between the 2 models price wise but I’m not sure how or if they’ll fill it. Normally they’d have RWD S and a regular 4 as well but that doesn’t really work with the taycan since adding AWD adds power as well. Maybe they’ll use the larger rear motor from the turbo to create an in between “S” version.
 

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We had a 4s all specced and the night before we went to pick it up in the showroom, all the reviews hit about the base Taycan. Next morning we were sitting with the salesman (Porsche Marin, USA) and our new 4s was parked no more than 20 feet away. I said I had believed I was already buying the base model, but now that the new one was announced, wanted that instead. It was not difficult to make the point, and our helpful guy transferred our configuration from the 4s to the Taycan. We have further modified the config, and now I have a gorgeous car, set up just as I like, about to enter the factory... will have to wait until May for delivery, and I can hardly wait. Yet I'm certain I made the right choice. With air suspension and rear wheel steering I doubt I'll miss the 4WD. After all, I'm very happy with my current Boxter GTS (2015) and I've never felt the need for 4WD on that one.
In California, that may be true.
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