Consolidate Model 3 DD and 997 Turbo S weekend into Taycan....Would you?

[Needsdecaf]

Hello all. Long time lurker, infrequent poster. Wanted to get your thoughts on the following:

I've owned a Porsche now for over 9 years, starting when we bought my wife a new Cayenne Diesel. Still have it, still love it. When it came time to replace my DD in 2016, I was shopping for the usual suspects in my price bracket...F80 M3, C63, etc. when I just said YOLO, why don't I get a 911? The search was on and I ended up with a CPO 991.1 C2S Cab. Immediately upon getting that car I realized that for what I did (construction) it was a horrible choice of vehicle for a daily. Driving a car with a Pebble gray interior (including carpets!) onto construction sites on a near-daily basis wasn't going to be too swift; so I kept the 911 as a weekend toy and got a GTI.

Fast forward and I still have a similar arrangement, but now it's a Model 3 Perfomance for the daily and a 997 Turbo S for the weekends. I love the Model 3...and I hate it. And I love the Turbo S....but I don't drive it enough. A year ago I switched jobs to one that's only 8 miles from my house, and I no longer go to jobsites on a regular basis. I've started taking the 997 more but an 8 mile drive through the suburbs of The Woodlands TX is pretty freaking boring. Flat, straight, not much to see.

Current situation: I've got a Cayenne E Hybrid on order for my wife to replace her CD. It's unanimous that the Model 3 is going to go when the new Cayenne gets here. If you have Tesla experience, you know why. I love, LOVE, having an EV as a daily but I've long grown weary at all the Tesla downsides vs. their powertrain goodness. So no surprise there. The CD will be going to my son, so that leaves me with a choice: daily the 997 Turbo S or switch to something? And that something would likely be a Taycan.

I've driven multiple Taycans. I've liked them, a lot, but they've never gotten "under my skin" during a test drive. Compared to the Model 3 I definitely feel all the Porsche goodness there. The fit / finish, handling, etc. But I also notice the weight and size compared to the Model 3 and it's left me a little wary?

The pros of having a 997 Turbo S as a daily are that it's a freaking Turbo S! A very dailyable 911, and one of the last built to the "old Porsche" standards. It's holding value well, and is a hoot when you hoon it....

...but I can't really hoon it that much. It's laggy and the first gen PDK isn't up to snuff compared to the newer gen and leaves me a little frustrated. And then when you get going, you're doing 80 in a 45. It can't be used to go to lunch with more than one co-worker, and I can't fit much kid sports gear in it. I can't road trip it up to Dallas or Austin without making my ears bleed (seriously this thing averages 80 dB on TX concrete roads despite brand new PS4S's. It's LOUD. And there are ZERO and I mean ZERO good roads where I live. I get together with the awesome LSRPCA guys every month or every other month and we do a good loop out into the area that's almost hill country NW of Houston headed toward Austin (Chappel Hill area, etc.) And those drives are fantastic, especially in a group. But they are a 45 minute transit followed by a few hours of driving and another 45 minute transit home. In a little over 2 years I've put barely 5,000 miles on it. I most often find myself driving it alone now that my kids can't fit in the back (well at least my son can't, my 12 year old daughter still can). My wife and I take it out on date nights, but if we go to Houston and back, again, it's LOUD and that's all freeway. Hardly Turbo roads.

Trading in the Turbo S on a Taycan would solve a lot of those issues. But...would I warm to it? Would I get bored of not having a weekend ICE classic car? I can imagine something like a 4S would be able to keep up with the driving groups just fine, and the range would work out. But is that a fun use case?

Keeping both is not an option financially, nor garage space wise. As I said my son is about to turn 16 and will be getting the CD so having 4 cars wouldn't work and would be too costly. So it's definitely an either or. I should say of all our current cars, ironically the oldest, driven the least, Turbo S costs the most to insure by about $100 per 6 months. And yes, I've checked Hagerty, Grundy, etc. and it's no savings.

So for those of you who have experience with the above, what are your thoughts?

Thanks!

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[TxnBluDvl]

Honestly, the Taycan is a big car. Really long and though I have RWS, I liken it more to a lowered, car-like SUV. The GTI, Model 3 and 911 are all much smaller in that regard.

As long as you’re ok with that, which no amount of RWS can change, then it’s great.

I find with Porsche driving dynamics, no gas guilt, the benefits of torque/naturally low CoQ of EV’s, and the suspension tuning is fantastic (IMO) — it’s the car I reach for the most. And that’s good enough for me for a DD.

I do still have 911’s in the garage, so the need to scratch that itch is always available. Though I don’t reach for them as often as I used to without a Porsche DD.

 

[RingoDingo]

If you hadn’t said you were nonplussed by driving it, I would have said it’s an obvious choice to replace what you currently have and for your current needs.

 

[Needsdecaf]

If you hadn’t said you were nonplussed by driving it, I would have said it’s an obvious choice to replace what you currently have and for your current needs.

I don't think nonplussed is the right word, but I understand why you took that from what I wrote.
Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic car and it's cool as hell to drive. But perhaps I was expecting to want to sell my right kidney for one then and there? Maybe I've always been a little caught out by the size vs. the Model 3 and the 911? Combined with the air suspension, it's definitely a different experience.

But different doesn't mean bad. Part of the reason for me posting this as it's just so hard to understand what it's like living with a car day in and day out from a 5-10 minute test drive. Over my 4 years of Model 3 ownership, I've come to love things more than I thought, and really, REALLY be annoyed by things that I never really considered on a first drive. It's gotten to the point where I'm so annoyed by how cheap it feels and by how poorly it rides that I'm annoyed to drive it...which is kind of why I've been driving the Turbo more. But if I'm being honest with myself, for what I do day in and day out, the EV makes way more sense. I do a lot of short trips, a lot of idle waiting for kids to finish events, and a lot of driving on straight boring roads vs. a few hundred miles every other month tearing up the back roads. And I really keep coming back to how easy it is to live with the model 3 in those areas. It's just so nice not to have to worry about oil getting up to temp, to worry about the turbo lag in traffic or away from the lights, etc.

 

[masmole]

IMO, the Taycan is literally what comes out when a Model 3 and a 911 decide to have a baby together. Except the baby inherits both the Porsche dynamics AND the Porsche crap electronics and software, so it's a healthy swap of attributes. That's a fine consolidation of 2 cars into 1 in my book! Personally, I'd go for the same move in I were in your shoes

 

[RingoDingo]

I don't think nonplussed is the right word, but I understand why you took that from what I wrote.
Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic car and it's cool as hell to drive. But perhaps I was expecting to want to sell my right kidney for one then and there? Maybe I've always been a little caught out by the size vs. the Model 3 and the 911? Combined with the air suspension, it's definitely a different experience.

But different doesn't mean bad. Part of the reason for me posting this as it's just so hard to understand what it's like living with a car day in and day out from a 5-10 minute test drive. Over my 4 years of Model 3 ownership, I've come to love things more than I thought, and really, REALLY be annoyed by things that I never really considered on a first drive. It's gotten to the point where I'm so annoyed by how cheap it feels and by how poorly it rides that I'm annoyed to drive it...which is kind of why I've been driving the Turbo more. But if I'm being honest with myself, for what I do day in and day out, the EV makes way more sense. I do a lot of short trips, a lot of idle waiting for kids to finish events, and a lot of driving on straight boring roads vs. a few hundred miles every other month tearing up the back roads. And I really keep coming back to how easy it is to live with the model 3 in those areas. It's just so nice not to have to worry about oil getting up to temp, to worry about the turbo lag in traffic or away from the lights, etc.

Based on what you've described as your needs, it's maybe the perfect car... other than being slightly larger and heavier than you'd prefer (which is probably true for most of us... but can't have it all, I guess).

Edit - see if you can rent one for a few days to live with it. With no curves around where you live, you won't be making the most of the ownership as that's where the car really shines, but it's well built, beautiful, still (somewhat) unique and hits all the Model 3 performance positives that I came to enjoy without all the Model 3 negatives (poor build quality, poor interior materials (relatively), absolute ubiquity, humble looks). Then add in bad Porsche electronics and you have a complete picture.

 

[minstril]

I’ve got a GTS on order to replace my model 3 performance. Size difference is negligible imo (less than a foot longer) and the one area I usually feel that is turning circle, which is smaller on the Taycan even without RWS, and quite a bit better with. I’ll miss access to superchargers, and the big backup camera… that’s probably it.

 

[Needsdecaf]

Edit - see if you can rent one for a few days to live with it. With no curves around where you live, you won't be making the most of the ownership as that's where the car really shines, but it's well built, beautiful, still (somewhat) unique and hits all the Model 3 performance positives that I came to enjoy without all the Model 3 negatives (poor build quality, poor interior materials (relatively), absolute ubiquity, humble looks). Then add in bad Porsche electronics and you have a complete picture.

Not a bad ideal although the only one I see on Turo is a RWD and it's $300 bucks a day. And on the other side of town. Probably worth renting it on a Sunday and dropping it off after a weekday or two.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Mathys]

M5 Competition

 

[Redhot2474]

If your only going to have one car, the Taycan seems to be the car that does everything quite well. I sold my 911 and my A8 and went to a m3P. I didn’t miss the 911 all that much to be honest. I did miss the larger wheel base and comfort of the A8. My M3P sells this week while I’m waiting for my GTS Taycan. The perfect blend of sport/luxury IMO.

 

[zzy45]

I daily my Taycan GTS, between my son’s school, office and occasional site visit.

Taycan is the perfect car for my routine. I can drive quietly and enjoy the peace & music or spiritedly and get the adrenaline rushing with crazy acceleration.

I do want to get a fun ICE car for the weekend at some point.


Just curious, wouldn’t a 16 yo prefer the cooler Tesla? Or you afraid it would be too fast for a young driver?

if I am in your shoes I will trade in the 911 and CD for a Taycan, leave the Tesla with the youngster. No point keeping 2 big SUVs at home…

 

[TxnBluDvl]

Love so much about this car but here are the things driving it that do annoy me. Take this list in context — it’s indicative of how little there is to hate IMO:

(1) I can’t have the reverse camera on and still activate the garage door opener at the same time. Why can’t I have regular homelink buttons on the rear view mirror? Needless tech solution.
(2) Ingress/egress a little tough since the b pillar is kind of in the way. Discussed on the forums in other threads.
(3) Can’t fold mirrors from keyfob.
(4) Precool / preheat activates sometimes when I walk by the car, but I have enhanced comfort access enabled.
(5) I wish the AC controls were physical. And wish the vents had physical controls.
(6) Massaging feature only stays on 10 mins at a time.
(7) Car shuts down in accessory mode after 30 mins.
(8) Suspension lift is painfully slow to use sometimes.
(9) SmartLift doesn’t work reliably.

Everything about driving the car itself is great. Love that. Most of these other things are human interface, electronic or design decisions. I hope they can fix some of these with future software updates (but I’m keeping my expectations low).

 

[Needsdecaf]

Just curious, wouldn’t a 16 yo prefer the cooler Tesla? Or you afraid it would be too fast for a young driver?

if I am in your shoes I will trade in the 911 and CD for a Taycan, leave the Tesla with the youngster. No point keeping 2 big SUVs at home…

Actually, he prefers the Cayenne much more, at least at this point. He's pretty cautious still, and he hasn't ever driven the Model 3 in full power mode, only Chill. But the Cayenne is such a better car, and even he can feel it at 15 and change.

There are a few other things to consider as well. First, the Model 3 is worth at least 15k more than the Cayenne, if not a little more, as a trade. But to us, the actual "value" of the two cars is in the favor of the Cayenne. Only my daughter prefers the Model 3, and that's because she likes how soft the seats are and she loves watching YouTube on the screen when we're waiting. Which I will actually miss. But otherwise, the Cayenne is just so much more vehicle, and we've grown to love the stupid thing. We've had it 9 years and been on so many adventures with it. Of course, if I get more service bills like the one I just got I might regret that decision.

But moreover, I've completely lost trust in Tesla. I firmly believe that they can't and won't stand behind the product based on all the stories I've heard, and things I've experienced in my 4 years of ownership. They have a tech company mindset and there will come a time when my car is too old and they will just stop supporting it, just like they did with the older Model S and X. And for a car that most of it's features is tech, that's big. Consider that from Dec 2018 to Dec 2020, Tesla pushed a crap ton of features out via OTA. But in the following two years, I'd say the amount of features is down by at least 75% and I realized that was much of what made owning the Tesla enjoyable....which says a lot.

Oh, and Elon's a giant douchebag (which I knew going in) and as long as he's in charge, I'm out.

Love so much about this car but here are the things driving it that do annoy me. Take this list in context — it’s indicative of how little there is to hate IMO:

(1) I can’t have the reverse camera on and still activate the garage door opener at the same time. Why can’t I have regular homelink buttons on the rear view mirror? Needless tech solution.
(2) Ingress/egress a little tough since the b pillar is kind of in the way. Discussed on the forums in other threads.
(3) Can’t fold mirrors from keyfob.
(4) Precool / preheat activates sometimes when I walk by the car, but I have enhanced comfort access enabled.
(5) I wish the AC controls were physical. And wish the vents had physical controls.
(6) Massaging feature only stays on 10 mins at a time.
(7) Car shuts down in accessory mode after 30 mins.
(8) Suspension lift is painfully slow to use sometimes.
(9) SmartLift doesn’t work reliably.

Everything about driving the car itself is great. Love that. Most of these other things are human interface, electronic or design decisions. I hope they can fix some of these with future software updates (but I’m keeping my expectations low).

Coming from a Tesla where the software is totally dialed in, this would certainly irritate. But the driving experience, it would seem, makes up for it.

 

[smohr33]

I would not trade a 997.2 TTS for a Taycan if I had other cars to use.

Does the Taycan scratch the 911 itch? Eh, not really, it's not the same. It's an amazing DD, quiet, comfortable, very good drive, a real Porsche, but not a 997.2 TTS. It's missing a lot of the drama and doesn't feel nearly as special. It's a way better DD than a 911 though, so it depends on what you value most.

I've owned two Taycans, and the biggest difference between them has been RWS, sport chrono, and 21 vs 20's, with my first Taycan having the 20's and no RWS/SC.

My current car feels smaller and lighter, steering feels better, ride is a bit firmer, grip is way higher. The car just feels more alive, in a way, it feels more 911 like. So maybe try to drive one with performance options, as it really does make a difference, and bridges the gap to a 911 a bit more than a base car.

 

[Needsdecaf]

I would not trade a 997.2 TTS for a Taycan if I had other cars to use.

Think you misunderstood my initial post. I will not have other vehicles to use. I mean, yes, I can use either of the Cayennes when needed, but i'm not going to send my son to High school in a brand new Cayenne or 997 Turbo if I "need" to use something other than a sports car.

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