Drove RWD basic spec - no air suspension or battery+

[LuigiF1]

Just drove in person the first RWD car the dealer got in yesterday. The dealer did their precheck today and took it off some lock mode (will only go 10mph since left factory)Didn’t know about that.

It was a really the most basic spec’d car. He said they were using to entice business leases. No performance options. no rear axle, battery+ no air suspension no chrono no ptv+ did have sport sound Bose.

Just had the 20 sport aero wheels, metallic paint, pano roof, and some leather bits for a sticker of $93k

I have only had 3 test drives in 4s’s to compare, but even without any performance options it was still great on a rainy day. Especially as a unbelievably fun daily driver. The steering was still so tight and responsive. I did about a 20 min drive down 40 mph frontage roads and onto 65mph 8 lane hwys. Just felt fabulous with the ride even without air suspension. Could feel a little lighter in the front steering pointing into corners w/o motor up front but not that noticeable from 4s. I’m coming from 981 Cayman S so more used to rwd braking late deep into corners letting back end to limit a little loose on accel.. (I know weight about 1700lbs different 2900 vs 4600). Acceleration without battery+ was still very good. Just linear up to “speed limits??”. Just really came away with if anyone is on the fence the rwd and wants to go lightly spec’d with no performance options. Don’t fear. It still was incredibly rewarding to drive around town. Still really drove tight, handled, and accelerated great for passing in city hwy daily driver. Tons of Fun.

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[Jhenson29]

I’m wondering if I should have spec’ed a RWD. I’m just really concerned with not having AWD in snow.

 

[nav1]

that's a relief; I ordered the red without air suspension - a bit of a gamble - hope it pays off- was it still a smooth ride?

 

[hshm]

that's a relief; I ordered the red without air suspension - a bit of a gamble - hope it pays off- was it still a smooth ride?

I made the same gamble ?

Even with steel springs, we still get PASM so I expect the ride will still be smooth. It won't be as "cloud-like" as one with air suspension, but I'm hoping it will still have a great feel. FWIW, our BMW X5 has air suspension and I test drove the same model with steel springs. I didn't notice a difference on normal roads; only when going over speed bumps.

But I'm still interested to hear more from @LuigiF1: Have you driven a Taycan with air suspension versus the RWD with steel springs? If so, any thoughts on the difference?

 

[taycan_sportturismo]

I’m wondering if I should have spec’ed a RWD. I’m just really concerned with not having AWD in snow.

Snow tires + RWD is better than all-seasons + AWD, but most people don't have the time or money to switch out sets of wheels every season.

 

[LuigiF1]

Yes in Minnesota with very cold winters(can go -20F a couple weeks and up to +90-100 degree F in the summer) I had summers pilot sport 4S and a separate set of BBS wheels with winter high performance tires that I drove my 981 Cayman S year round no problems at all. Actually fun spinning the rears and then regaining grip solidly. I would expect to get winters set for New Taycan on order also. Very pleasantly surprised on how good no spec'd RWD demo at Minneapolis Porsche drove.

 

[Rcrewse7]

Also drove a RWD at my local dealer today...said I was the first one to drive it as it just got on the floor this afternoon.

It too was set up with the performance battery, coil springs, and 20” wheels, so probably about as light as a Taycan gets.

Similar to LuigiF1, I thought it was a fun drive, particularly steering wise. The front seems to feel...a little lighter is how I’d describe it. More willing to be tossed about compared to their 4S demo car I’ve driven a couple of times which weighs about 500 pounds more. I thought the coil springs allowed a bit more road feel, and I would have been OK with that on my 4S order if the air suspension wasn’t standard.

Acceleration matched what I expected from everything I’ve read and watched...quick, more so at speed, but not explosive. Very smooth build up of speed overall with a slight jolt from a stop with launch control, but never explosive like the 4S feels. To be clear, the car is NOT slow like some suggest, and would probably be fine for most daily duties if you don’t get on it often. Would be nice to test a RWD with the Performance Battery Plus as Porsche specs on their European websites suggest a greater impact accelerating at speed vs. the smaller battery relative to the 4S with the different batteries.

I will say that I turned off traction control and hammered it around a corner (my sales advisor didn’t care), and the rear end did squirm a bit, which was fun, but it still cuts the fun short so the rear end just slides a little. I can only imagine how much of a blast this car would have been with a Turbo S rear motor supplying nearly 200 lb. ft. more torque...maybe someday.

Overall, a VERY nice car that will make many people happy. For myself, I’m now more satisfied with the step up to a 4S from my original RWD order having not driven the RWD at the time. Definitely see a market for the RWD and am sure Porsche will sell more than a few of them.

 

[mandoyoda]

LuigiF1 and Rcrewse7, thanks both, I've been looking for real world RWD experiences.

Rcrewse7 why did you decide to step up to a 4S? I've put in an order for the RWD, but my RWD build is close to a base 4S, so I'm thinking of making the jump, albeit finances permitting.

I'm in the business lease cohort, but I want a great driving experience at the same time. My RWD build includes the larger battery, air suspension and rear axle steering.

 

[Rcrewse7]

LuigiF1 and Rcrewse7, thanks both, I've been looking for real world RWD experiences.

Rcrewse7 why did you decide to step up to a 4S? I've put in an order for the RWD, but my RWD build is close to a base 4S, so I'm thinking of making the jump, albeit finances permitting.

I'm in the business lease cohort, but I want a great driving experience at the same time. My RWD build includes the larger battery, air suspension and rear axle steering.

Here is what I posted in another thread:

Just watched this and feel better about my last minute move changing up from the RWD to the 4S. In my case, the car will be dual use between my wife and I, and the RWD would have been absolutely fine for her scooting about town, but I’m sure I would have regretted not stepping up to the 4S since the RWD appears to be missing just a bit too much torque from the low end.

I think that Porsche very intentionally made the 4S a meaningful jump up in low speed acceleration from the RWD in order to motivate buyers into the more expensive model. I say intentionally because I think the RWD is artificially detuned by software more than it should be at low speeds to maintain a pre-determined performance gap between the two models. It doesn’t seem so far away from the 4S at speed. With that said, if I didn’t regularly exercise my right foot on the accelerator of my vehicles, the RWD would have been plenty for normal driving duties. However after considering how much I was set to spend on the RWD and not meaningfully improving on at least the acceleration aspect of my last Audi, I would have had reason to regret not spending the extra $20K for the 4S to be content with the low end acceleration.

 

[mandoyoda]

I presume having a single motor makes the initial acceleration slower from a standing start to move 2 tonnes of metal?

Did you go with a high spec 4S in the end?

 

[RBGtaycan]

I presume having a single motor makes the initial acceleration slower from a standing start to move 2 tonnes of metal?

Did you go with a high spec 4S in the end?

Just drove in person the first RWD car the dealer got in yesterday. The dealer did their precheck today and took it off some lock mode (will only go 10mph since left factory)Didn’t know about that.

It was a really the most basic spec’d car. He said they were using to entice business leases. No performance options. no rear axle, battery+ no air suspension no chrono no ptv+ did have sport sound Bose.

Just had the 20 sport aero wheels, metallic paint, pano roof, and some leather bits for a sticker of $93k

I have only had 3 test drives in 4s’s to compare, but even without any performance options it was still great on a rainy day. Especially as a unbelievably fun daily driver. The steering was still so tight and responsive. I did about a 20 min drive down 40 mph frontage roads and onto 65mph 8 lane hwys. Just felt fabulous with the ride even without air suspension. Could feel a little lighter in the front steering pointing into corners w/o motor up front but not that noticeable from 4s. I’m coming from 981 Cayman S so more used to rwd braking late deep into corners letting back end to limit a little loose on accel.. (I know weight about 1700lbs different 2900 vs 4600). Acceleration without battery+ was still very good. Just linear up to “speed limits??”. Just really came away with if anyone is on the fence the rwd and wants to go lightly spec’d with no performance options. Don’t fear. It still was incredibly rewarding to drive around town. Still really drove tight, handled, and accelerated great for passing in city hwy daily driver. Tons of Fun.

I have ordered the base Taycan with the standard battery and with springs (only) and some other tweaks (roof etc). My theory has been that most of my driving is less than 50 miles (so battery is lighter but able to handle my driving situation). Lightness does NOT hurt speed (duh) and I will will have a nice electric Porsche for a "reasonable" price. Sounds like it is possible that I will not be disappointed!..(I have never had a Porsche I did not like - starting with a 356).

 

[mandoyoda]

Nice! When do you expect delivery? Which body colour and options did you end up going with?

 

[LuigiF1]

RWD springs and regular battery was a great drive. Anyone will love it. Satisfying at any level.

 

[BIll]

I picked up our Taycan March 27th. Got rid of my 2019 Cayman that my wife had a love/hate relationship with. It has a black ext, and black/beige int, basic no frills model with the premium package and 20" wheels 93K and change out the door. I absolutely love it but best of all my wife does too. (we are both 70 and have been married for 52 years)
Even when I was a moron teenager I never had the need to accelerate from 0-60 in 3 seconds unless on a drag stip. Still don't. And besides anyone who has owned a Porsche does not particularly relish driving in a straight line anyway. Since I live in a country with speed limits and motorcycle cop$ any desire to travel more than 5 mph over the speed limit is offset by possible financial ramifications. The traffic is usually so bad you couldn't speed anyway. As far as I am concerned (watch out the 'ol man's getten' fired up) the cost of the option for lifting your car up and down to enhance aerodynamics is silly. The difference it makes is insignificant as are all the gadgets available on the Taycan. If you like G force ride a roller coaster, it's less expensive. I like to drive, not fidget with gadgets. I may have a different attitude if I was dripping rich, but I doubt it. Drive a base model and a Turbo or 4S: You can't tell the difference between them in around town driving.
Although the Taycan is second to the Tesla in mileage there is absolutely no comparison whatsoever in craftsmanship and driving. Porsche is light years ahead of Tesla in that.

 

[farazkhu2]

But I'm still interested to hear more from @LuigiF1: Have you driven a Taycan with air suspension versus the RWD with steel springs? If so, any thoughts on the difference?

I may be too late to answer your question but I tried both, steel and air suspension back to back. I couldn't tell a difference between the two. One was 4S and other was the RWD with 20"s and standard battery.

I went ahead and ordered the one (cherry metallic ) without the air suspension and got a premium package and larger battery. I don't have much of a need of larger battery but the range anxiety is a thing for sure.

Hope it helps.

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