Pete85

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I had already planned to order my RWD Taycan today. I was though very lucky as my salesman called me in the morning and said, that they have a RWD Taycan for a few hours and I could test drive it. It is the press car for Finland and a very nice looking one in Neptune blue color.

I drove it for about 2 hours and here is what I think about driving it:

It drives very nicely and the steering seems a little lighter than in the 4S, probably because of the weight in the front missing.

Steering in fast corners is excellent, though I had to be careful as it was little slippery. We have about -6C in Helsinki area now but there were many dry parts on the highways, too.

Having traction control on even partially led to the acceleration being really bad, as only rear wheels have power and it was slippery. I did not ask the salesman if it had PTV Torque Vectoring but I will ask tomorrow when I go back to the shop. The acceleration got much better when I took PSM off totally but you have to be really careful as there is power in the rear. In general though acceleration was disappointing. Especially in higher speeds the difference to the 4S was monumental and much bigger than I thought it would be. I had already fixed my order with all nice options to the RWD thinking that Porsche might be sandbagging the acceleration figures but I actually don't think so. They should be in the ballpark of 5 sec+ and 13.5. sec.

So now I am quite puzzled what I should do. But as this is going to be my most expensive car I ever have bought, I probably will order a "stripped" down 4S tomorrow. Straight line speed is not super important for me but the RWD felt slower than I would have expected and if I spend so much for a car, I really need it to be perfect in every way. Here is where I am going to save a little:
-went to normal black leather interior
-no PASM needed as it is standard
-I feel I do not need the PTV for a 4-wheel drive car
-no lane changer assist
-no display for co-driver
-seat warmers only for the front seats (crazy this is not standard)
-no mobile charger connect needed
-no parking assist

Its still 16000 eur more than rwd.....
 

Kingske

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I had already planned to order my RWD Taycan today. I was though very lucky as my salesman called me in the morning and said, that they have a RWD Taycan for a few hours and I could test drive it. It is the press car for Finland and a very nice looking one in Neptune blue color.

I drove it for about 2 hours and here is what I think about driving it:

It drives very nicely and the steering seems a little lighter than in the 4S, probably because of the weight in the front missing.

Steering in fast corners is excellent, though I had to be careful as it was little slippery. We have about -6C in Helsinki area now but there were many dry parts on the highways, too.

Having traction control on even partially led to the acceleration being really bad, as only rear wheels have power and it was slippery. I did not ask the salesman if it had PTV Torque Vectoring but I will ask tomorrow when I go back to the shop. The acceleration got much better when I took PSM off totally but you have to be really careful as there is power in the rear. In general though acceleration was disappointing. Especially in higher speeds the difference to the 4S was monumental and much bigger than I thought it would be. I had already fixed my order with all nice options to the RWD thinking that Porsche might be sandbagging the acceleration figures but I actually don't think so. They should be in the ballpark of 5 sec+ and 13.5. sec.

So now I am quite puzzled what I should do. But as this is going to be my most expensive car I ever have bought, I probably will order a "stripped" down 4S tomorrow. Straight line speed is not super important for me but the RWD felt slower than I would have expected and if I spend so much for a car, I really need it to be perfect in every way. Here is where I am going to save a little:
-went to normal black leather interior
-no PASM needed as it is standard
-I feel I do not need the PTV for a 4-wheel drive car
-no lane changer assist
-no display for co-driver
-seat warmers only for the front seats (crazy this is not standard)
-no mobile charger connect needed
-no parking assist

Its still 16000 eur more than rwd.....
Wouldn’t 4-wheel drive be highly desirable if you live in a Nordic country? Plus, you would also have the air suspension.
 

Jeke74

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I had already planned to order my RWD Taycan today. I was though very lucky as my salesman called me in the morning and said, that they have a RWD Taycan for a few hours and I could test drive it. It is the press car for Finland and a very nice looking one in Neptune blue color.

I drove it for about 2 hours and here is what I think about driving it:

It drives very nicely and the steering seems a little lighter than in the 4S, probably because of the weight in the front missing.

Steering in fast corners is excellent, though I had to be careful as it was little slippery. We have about -6C in Helsinki area now but there were many dry parts on the highways, too.

Having traction control on even partially led to the acceleration being really bad, as only rear wheels have power and it was slippery. I did not ask the salesman if it had PTV Torque Vectoring but I will ask tomorrow when I go back to the shop. The acceleration got much better when I took PSM off totally but you have to be really careful as there is power in the rear. In general though acceleration was disappointing. Especially in higher speeds the difference to the 4S was monumental and much bigger than I thought it would be. I had already fixed my order with all nice options to the RWD thinking that Porsche might be sandbagging the acceleration figures but I actually don't think so. They should be in the ballpark of 5 sec+ and 13.5. sec.

So now I am quite puzzled what I should do. But as this is going to be my most expensive car I ever have bought, I probably will order a "stripped" down 4S tomorrow. Straight line speed is not super important for me but the RWD felt slower than I would have expected and if I spend so much for a car, I really need it to be perfect in every way. Here is where I am going to save a little:
-went to normal black leather interior
-no PASM needed as it is standard
-I feel I do not need the PTV for a 4-wheel drive car
-no lane changer assist
-no display for co-driver
-seat warmers only for the front seats (crazy this is not standard)
-no mobile charger connect needed
-no parking assist

Its still 16000 eur more than rwd.....
was it this car?

Porsche Taycan 2021 Taycan RWD base model reviews are here! F5E80F75-2511-4661-8D99-C3F212F62724
 

Rcrewse7

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Rob
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I had already planned to order my RWD Taycan today. I was though very lucky as my salesman called me in the morning and said, that they have a RWD Taycan for a few hours and I could test drive it. It is the press car for Finland and a very nice looking one in Neptune blue color.

I drove it for about 2 hours and here is what I think about driving it:

It drives very nicely and the steering seems a little lighter than in the 4S, probably because of the weight in the front missing.

Steering in fast corners is excellent, though I had to be careful as it was little slippery. We have about -6C in Helsinki area now but there were many dry parts on the highways, too.

Having traction control on even partially led to the acceleration being really bad, as only rear wheels have power and it was slippery. I did not ask the salesman if it had PTV Torque Vectoring but I will ask tomorrow when I go back to the shop. The acceleration got much better when I took PSM off totally but you have to be really careful as there is power in the rear. In general though acceleration was disappointing. Especially in higher speeds the difference to the 4S was monumental and much bigger than I thought it would be. I had already fixed my order with all nice options to the RWD thinking that Porsche might be sandbagging the acceleration figures but I actually don't think so. They should be in the ballpark of 5 sec+ and 13.5. sec.

So now I am quite puzzled what I should do. But as this is going to be my most expensive car I ever have bought, I probably will order a "stripped" down 4S tomorrow. Straight line speed is not super important for me but the RWD felt slower than I would have expected and if I spend so much for a car, I really need it to be perfect in every way. Here is where I am going to save a little:
-went to normal black leather interior
-no PASM needed as it is standard
-I feel I do not need the PTV for a 4-wheel drive car
-no lane changer assist
-no display for co-driver
-seat warmers only for the front seats (crazy this is not standard)
-no mobile charger connect needed
-no parking assist

Its still 16000 eur more than rwd.....
I changed my RWD order to 4S at the last possible moment last Sunday. I’m sure my dealer didn’t mind the up charge!

In agreement with your own assessment after driving a RWD (lucky!), I poured over newer RWD reviews that have been coming out since the initial batch were released to confirm that I made the right choice with the RWD.

First, there was a German review (happy I still remember some German and can use Google translate) that timed the acceleration at or slightly slower than Porsche quoted times...a little disappointing when pretty much every other car Porsche builds has sandbagged times. Also, I don’t see Porsche making meaningful or free power improvements a la Tesla; They’ve mastered the art of charging for extras!

I also watched a UK review where the whole point was to fish tail and drive the RWD with the traction control off to have fun, but the electronic nannies never fully turned off and cut the fun whenever it was just getting started and sliding, breaking loose, etc.

In light of not having had the opportunity to test drive a RWD since they won’t really be available to test drive until late March (dealer showed an estimated 3/19/21 EPA approval date for them, restricting the ability to have them on the road even though they’ll be here), I leaned on these reviews and felt I would have regretted not spending the extra $$$ for the 4S. Was really hoping for a mid-high 4 second 0-60 car, not that 0-60 is all that matters, but just as a general barometer of acceleration. Good job Porsche by releasing the RWD which lured me in, and then upselling me to the 4S! I know I won’t have any regrets with the performance of the car, just some minor regrets parting with the extra $$$ from the bank ?
 


PanameraFrank

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I am the last person to tout 0-60 times but 5 seconds+ just won't feel that fast in an EV. It feels fast when you're rowing gears and an NA engine is spitting in your ears, but glacial in a silent EV.

I'd buy the eTron GT over the RWD Taycan. I think it'll be a better luxury car and better value for the money. Buy the Taycan if you want the sportiness, but you'll want the 4S or Turbo.
 

Rcrewse7

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I am the last person to tout 0-60 times but 5 seconds+ just won't feel that fast in an EV. It feels fast when you're rowing gears and an NA engine is spitting in your ears, but glacial in a silent EV.

I'd buy the eTron GT over the RWD Taycan. I think it'll be a better luxury car and better value for the money. Buy the Taycan if you want the sportiness, but you'll want the 4S or Turbo.
No doubt the E-Tron GT is a better value relative to the 4S or an optioned up base. Just checked the Audi Germany website and the configurator is up. Between having the panoramic roof, 93kw battery, and 2+1 seating as standard in the back, it adds quite a bit in standard features that I had to pay for on my 4S build.

With that said, I went through the option list and, as to be expected, the ability to personalize the vehicle (and spend more money!) is vastly reduced from what you can do with the Taycan. Also, while the 0-100km acceleration time of the e-Tron GT is conveniently 0.1 seconds behind the Taycan 4S, i.e., negligible, what surprised me is that the 0-200km/h time for the E-Tron GT quoted in European articles is 15.5 seconds, well behind the 12.9 for the 4S with the battery +, or the 13.3 with the standard battery. In fact, the Taycan RWD is listed at 16.5 seconds 0-200km/h, not far off the AWD Audi. Clearly Audi must fall in line with the VW corporate pecking order....
 

rich_r

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Interesting. Frankly I’m surprised they allowed the etron GT to be even that close to the 4s in performance. But the wide gap in pricing between the RWD taycan and 4s makes more sense now that etron GT has arrived. It sort of fills the spot that a “taycan 4” might.
 


Zillion27

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In addition to the beautifully shot “smoking tire” one above here is another new good ones for our admins to add to the list by editing the initial post:

 

tuxic

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New review of the Taycan RWD on the german Autobahn:
 
 




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