Feedback Please - "Bare Essentials" Porsche Taycan

[f1eng]

We have a Prius PHEV and I looked at a base Taycan as a matter of interest and decided which of the standard Prius features which are extra on a Taycan I could do without - to get a Taycan to standard Prius spec cost about 10 grand extra.
.
I positively dislike the glass roof, so that was an easy economy.
I stuck with the coil springs because test drivers have preferred them over the air for handling and the ride was, reportedly, OK, I haven’t driven one with coil springs personally though.

Deleting model designion costs nothing so cheaper the black paint.

I don’t like lane change assist, I switched it off the first day I drove the Prius and it hasn’t been on since, I also find the adaptive cruise control makes sudden changes it doesn’t really need to, so was glad to go back to the standard cruise in my Taycan - if you do a lot of busy motorway driving you may prefer adaptive, the only time it wasn’t irritating was in heavy traffic IME (but I still didn’t like it!)

I would save the money in the crest on the headrest as well, personally.

I find white shows the dirt (not as bad as black though) so I would spend the money saved on the above by choosing a colour.

It is a very B-I-G car, rear axle steering definitely helps.

I would have stuck with the standard seats too, they will be lighter, except I wanted ventilation and massage - nice but hardly vital.

In the UK auto dipping rear view mirrors were a cost option I wouldn’t miss - perhaps they are standard in the US.

Of all the standard features on the Prius I chose not to pay extra for the only one I miss is comfort entry - but I still don’t think it is worth what they charge for it!

We have kept the Prius and I still use it for short trips and anywhere where parking is tight.

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[tomtom901]

I positively dislike the glass roof, so that was an easy economy.
I stuck with the coil springs because test drivers have preferred them over the air for handling and the ride was, reportedly, OK, I haven’t driven one with coil springs personally though.

I have one with the coil springs, driven back to back with one on air suspension, it was 95% as good as the air suspension and one (expensive) thing less that could fail, so left this out of my build. However, in order to have RAS, you need to have air suspension (why that is, i don't know). So consequently I don't have RAS either. The turning circle I would say is good, even for such a big car.

I left the glass roof off as wel, ruins the car imo.

 

[RAHRCR]

Hi all,

For some context, I am upgrading from a Toyota Prius lol. So any Porsche will be a huge upgrade for me. With that in mind, I want a "bare bones" Porsche Taycan with only the most essential items.

Me: I will not take long trips in the car, and again I'm coming from a Prius, so the cornering/suspension of the base Taycan will probably be plenty for me. But if you think air suspension is a "must", I'm open to hearing why.

http://www.porschecode.com/PPEF8D60

What should I add? What should I remove? Thank you in advance!

Here are my options below:

Rear 2+1 Seats
Power Folding Exterior Mirrors
Model Designation on Rear in Satin Black
Air Suspension incl. Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM)
Fixed Panoramic Roof in Glass
Surround View
Lane Change Assist (LCA)
Ambient Lighting
Porsche Crest on Headrests (Front)
On-Board 150 kW/400V DC Charger (with reports of Elon opening up superchargers I figure its cheap future proof insurance)

As you can see, the feedback is a bit all over the place. Please share a bit more about why you would like to go bare bones (budget or something else…). This may help to further refine the feedback you get.

 

[Fish Fingers]

.....and where you live.
Location can be relevant for a number of reasons.

 

[DerekS]

Not everyone agrees, but performance battery+ is a must have IMO.

No such thing as too much range.

I've driven the spring suspension and the air, I thought the spring was just fine.
Note that coming from a Prius this thing is going to feel amazing on the road no matter how you spec it.

 

[DocTaycan]

I've also got a "bare bones" Taycan (wife explicity said she would crucify me if I went above 100k including tax!) and these were my options:

-power mirrors
-heated steering wheel
-sport chrono
-pano roof
-lane change assist
-20" turbo aero wheels
-ambient lighting

Of my options, I feel the strongest about the heated steering wheel (I live in the northeast), sport chrono (use it multiple times daily to adjust driving modes), and the 20" wheels (the base wheels bother me aesthetically).

The pano roof really doesn't do much for me. I felt it would look more premium with the pano roof, but honestly, I barely ever notice it since I'm driving. My kids sitting in the backseat think it's cool but is cool worth 2k?

If I could do it again, I'd probably get the Bose system (the standard can be weak at times), and consider the air suspension (although I really don't mind the ride comfort on steel springs) as well as RAS. I would also tick the damn storage package (only $280) so that you can place things under the center console (ridiculous that this isn't standard). There is also a small part of me that wishes I had opted for full leather interior since it would make the car feel that much more premium.

 

[mcdermottm]

Just a heads-up… Bose isn’t offered in RWD for the time being So need to look for or spec it.

 

[CarbonTax]

Hi all,

For some context, I am upgrading from a Toyota Prius lol. So any Porsche will be a huge upgrade for me. With that in mind, I want a "bare bones" Porsche Taycan with only the most essential items.

No shame, I traded in a Mercedes S430 for a 2nd gen Prius in 2006

stayed under $100k with (FBM) custom paint, painted 21" exclusive wheels, (US) premium package, storage, heated steering- no regrets

1 month later spent $2k on 3M ppf and window tinting

 

[Chris8536]

If I’m reading you right you live in the Bay Area like me. Here are my location dependent suggestions:

- air suspension is mandatory due to our crap roads.
- Rear axle steering is critical for city driving. This car is muuuuch bigger than you expect.
- surround view is critical due to the very large unwieldy nature of the vehicle in parking garages etc
- glass roof if you like a lighter cabin

not needed:
- heated seats/steering wheel. It just doesn’t get that cold here
- 2+1 unless you plan on putting seats down to trunk. Middle seat is almost useless.

nice to have:
- Perf+ battery
- ventilated seats (it does get hot here) esp south and east bay, a must if you have black seats
- interior lighting
- acc if you plan to commute in it
- 20 inch rims aero are the best looking options imo for cost
- Bose is with upgrade if you like music but I think no longer available at base.

If you plan to road trip this down highway 5 or anywhere else:
- charge planner
- 400v mayyyybbbeee

 

[RingoDingo]

I have a relatively bare bones 4S, as I wanted to stick around $120k before TTD.

What I use every day/view as essentials (mindful that it's a daily driver, I drive mostly locally and short distances, I value driving experience/handling/steering and I'm OCD about my cars):

1. Folding side mirrors. Big/wide car, tight spaces.
2. Sport Chrono. Use it all the time.
3. LCA (I presume this is the blind spot warning? You need this unless you're well versed in neck straining.)
4. 20" wheels for the look.
5. Bose. Standard stereo may be fine - I don't know.
6. 2+1. I have 3 kids and this gets the whole family in the car. YMMV.
7. Surround view cameras. See big car, tight spaces. Also helps me avoid scraping the front bumper on a daily basis.

• What I have but would change - panorama roof. I prefer the solid color roof and never use the panorama. I'd probably also go full leather vs. standard + Paldao, but I do love my interior and so far it's been kid-friendly and stood up to abuse. see above re OCD.
• What I wish I had but don't. RWS.
• What is debatable - big battery. I don't have it. If i traveled long distances, I think it'd be a must have, but in a year of ownership I've never needed it.

I presume the springs/vs air suspension affects your ability to raise the car's front end like a front axle lift? I scrape the car's bottom somewhat regularly, and that's with the air suspension able to lift the car. I find this feature invaluable.

These are nice to haves, but I doubt you'd miss them.

Ambient Lighting
Porsche Crest on Headrests (Front)

 

[mrfish]

To be honest, you don’t need to spec anything. If budget limited, I’d spend money only on things that you actually need, then stuff that makes you feel good when you get into the car:

4+1 seats - i have 3 kids
Paint - not much fun buying a 100k car in budget black or no imagination white. Fully kill the resale with frozen berry, mamba, cherry or light/dark brown.
Turbo wheels or wheel paint - actually the base wheels look OK if you repaint them platinum grey (Ove video) or paint part of each spoke black (see out of spec review’s silver Taycan range test).
Ambient lighting - Cos this is what you see when it’s dark.
Passenger screen - wife and kids like to DJ/navigate. Or just bring an iPad mini.

The rest - meh. My ten year old 911 has simple cruise, coil springs, basic sat nav and Stereo you can connect your iPhone to with a cable. And it’s better for it. It has sport chrono which I’ve never used. My Tesla S has everything, and to be honest, I mostly notice the poor fit and finish and annoying radar cruise control that I wish I could disable. Self drive is also over-rated. Driving yourself in the 911 is not more tiring, avoids stress and is much faster.

 

[RAHRCR]

To be honest, you don’t need to spec anything. If budget limited, I’d spend money only on things that you actually need, then stuff that makes you feel good when you get into the car:

4+1 seats - i have 3 kids
Paint - not much fun buying a 100k car in budget black or no imagination white. Fully kill the resale with frozen berry, mamba, cherry or light/dark brown.
Turbo wheels or wheel paint - actually the base wheels look OK if you repaint them platinum grey (Ove video) or paint part of each spoke black (see out of spec review’s silver Taycan range test).
Ambient lighting - Cos this is what you see when it’s dark.
Passenger screen - wife and kids like to DJ/navigate. Or just bring an iPad mini.

The rest - meh. My ten year old 911 has simple cruise, coil springs, basic sat nav and Stereo you can connect your iPhone to with a cable. And it’s better for it. It has sport chrono which I’ve never used. My Tesla S has everything, and to be honest, I mostly notice the poor fit and finish and annoying radar cruise control that I wish I could disable. Self drive is also over-rated. Driving yourself in the 911 is not more tiring, avoids stress and is much faster.

LOL….somehow I am having a ton of fun in a white Taycan. LOL….classic.

 

[HowDoYouChargeIt]

I know you said not going long trips but get the bigger battery! Range is already a shortcoming of the car when you have the bigger battery.

And get surround view. All else you can live without. That being said I wouldn't fault you on anything you listed.

Besides those two, RWS is my favorite option on my CT4S but in no way necessary unless you have to navigate tricky spaces on the regular

 

[Atipical]

In my opinion all you really need is the following:

A solid paint color
Premium package
Air suspension (I never realized how critical raising the car was until I started using it, it’s VERY low)

I would remove the following:
2+1 seats (the middle seat is a gag of a joke, and it adds another headrest in the middle which obscures the already obscure rear window visibility)

 

[nischalr]

Check out this video, might be helpful for this. he specs a Taycan for exactly 100k and explains his reasoning. It might help prioritize based on you preferences. btw, he has lots of other great videos on features and their use on the Taycan as well.

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