LivingWithPorsches
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Dustin
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2019
- Threads
- 10
- Messages
- 50
- Reaction score
- 76
- Location
- Seattle area
- Vehicles
- ‘20 Taycan 4S (July '20), ‘66 Porsche 912, ‘11 987 Spyder
- Thread starter
- #1
Today was the big day! Bellevue Porsche let me take their Taycan Turbo out for 2 hours. My 4S delivery is scheduled for late April/Early May. I wanted to share some impressions and videos and photos I took. The weather wasn't particularly nice and the car was already dirty from people taking it out earlier, so the photos don't look awesome. I also used my 360 degree camera and uploaded those to YouTube. It's a fun way to look at the car inside and out. As a point of reference, I've owned lots of Porsches (including a modern 9114S and Panamera 4S) and owned a BMW i8. I only add that to say I've got a pretty wide range of driving different cars and Porsches to compare against.
The Car
The car at the dealership is a Taycan Turbo in Gentian Blue, 20" Aero Wheels, Race-Tex Black (Leather-Free) interior. It wasn't heavily outfitted with options as the sticker price was $166k. Most notable was sport-chrono, premium package, adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane keep assist and sport sound. There were a few other boxes checked also, but I didn't think to snap a photo of the window sticker. I did notice the Turbo didn't have the automatic door for the electric charge port. I thought it was standard on a Turbo.
Initial Impressions
It's a beautiful car, but we all know that already. It looks familiar, yet different at the same time. I can see how to the casual observer, they may not even realize this is such a rare beauty. Personally I love the size. It's not too big and not too small. I had my entire family with me (wife and 2 teenage boys) and everyone was very comfortable. The car sits low and has a great stance to it. The back actually looks better than I expected. The front of course looks fabulous.
Sitting Inside
It's spacious and comfortable. The glass panel roof makes it feel very open. My kids, who are not large at about 5'8" sat very comfortably in the back seats. The steering wheel is really nice, although I'm glad mine won't have the race-tex on it (I prefer the natural leather). My salesperson Stephen gave me a quick tour of the interior controls such as 'you push the button to start, hold it for 2 seconds to turn off.' He also showed me how to change the driving modes and a few fun tricks. One that stood out was on the interior vent controls, you actually use the touch screen to 'drag' the direction you want to air flow to go on each vent in the cabin. Not sure you'll do it that often, but a fun party trick. Personal preference is a lighter, two tone interior (I ordered Black/ Limestone Beige), so I wasn't totally impressed with the Race-tex interior. Nothing wrong with it of course, just not how I would spec it. I didn't spend much time, thus never figured out how to change the display behind the steering wheel. That left me with one of the dials being a goofy display that had round circles on them, that I couldn't really figure out what the point was. Anyway I was too excited to care. The cabin is so quiet and the ride so perfectly comfortably, you constantly have to watch your speed. It's easy to do 50 MPH in a 35 MPH without even intending to speed. The road noise is low and the entire thing is just silent, but in a good way.
Driving Experience
Well, this is why we buy Porsche's right? I got to say, it's really unlike anything I've driven. The car is low, planted and fast as hell. The Turbo S must be such a beast, because this is already insane. I did a few launch controls, which made my wife quickly panic The kids loved every second of it though! My wife got me back when she drove however. As a passenger when the driver stomps on the accelerator even when you are already going 50MPH it's a OMG moment. That immediate torque is intoxicating. The roads were wet today and of course it's not my car, so I never pushed it very hard in the corners. We took some windy backroads that I'm familiar with but kept it at very safe speeds. You can tell it just has so much to give though. The steering is precise like a Porsche should be and as we've all read by now, feels much lighter and more nimble than a car this heavy. My Panamera 4S was great to drive, but even with all the suspension aids, it never would fool you into thinking you are in a 911. This car is totally different. We drove it for about 2 hours both on the freeway, suburbs and backroads. The car is exceptional in all situations. Even on bad, rough roads, it just quietly absorbs it like, 'no big deal.' The car had the ACC with the feature where it lightly takes over the steering controls lane keep assist). I was actually trying to just test the adaptive cruise control when I realized the car was automatically turning the steering wheel. It was kind of a 'what the heck' moment, but cool at the same time.
Range
Someone was driving it right before we arrived, so the range was at 212 miles when I got into the car. After two hours of non-stop cruising, about 3 launches and a lot of 'step on it' situations, when I returned to the dealer it was at 165 miles. Having never had a fully electric car before, I'm not sure how I'd translate that into anything useful mathematically. Certainly it didn't feel like a crazy amount given how long I was driving for and how much I was cruising around.
Final Thoughts
I don't care what your income bracket, this is a lot of coin to spend on a car. Anyone who bought it before seeing or driving it (like I did) took a leap of faith, trusting the brand and to a lesser extent, the professional reviewers. I knew Porsche wouldn't let us down and they didn't. Forget who has the fastest 0-60 or which car has the most range. This car has something you can't compare with simple math. It's an experience unlike any other. It looks like the future and drives like the future. I don't think it replaces the 911 as much as sits perfectly next to it. I hope this commentary provided at least some new nuggets of information. Long live Porsche!
One with the whole family
The Car
The car at the dealership is a Taycan Turbo in Gentian Blue, 20" Aero Wheels, Race-Tex Black (Leather-Free) interior. It wasn't heavily outfitted with options as the sticker price was $166k. Most notable was sport-chrono, premium package, adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane keep assist and sport sound. There were a few other boxes checked also, but I didn't think to snap a photo of the window sticker. I did notice the Turbo didn't have the automatic door for the electric charge port. I thought it was standard on a Turbo.
Initial Impressions
It's a beautiful car, but we all know that already. It looks familiar, yet different at the same time. I can see how to the casual observer, they may not even realize this is such a rare beauty. Personally I love the size. It's not too big and not too small. I had my entire family with me (wife and 2 teenage boys) and everyone was very comfortable. The car sits low and has a great stance to it. The back actually looks better than I expected. The front of course looks fabulous.
Link to 360 Video of Exterior - use your mouse or fingers to rotate video
Sitting Inside
It's spacious and comfortable. The glass panel roof makes it feel very open. My kids, who are not large at about 5'8" sat very comfortably in the back seats. The steering wheel is really nice, although I'm glad mine won't have the race-tex on it (I prefer the natural leather). My salesperson Stephen gave me a quick tour of the interior controls such as 'you push the button to start, hold it for 2 seconds to turn off.' He also showed me how to change the driving modes and a few fun tricks. One that stood out was on the interior vent controls, you actually use the touch screen to 'drag' the direction you want to air flow to go on each vent in the cabin. Not sure you'll do it that often, but a fun party trick. Personal preference is a lighter, two tone interior (I ordered Black/ Limestone Beige), so I wasn't totally impressed with the Race-tex interior. Nothing wrong with it of course, just not how I would spec it. I didn't spend much time, thus never figured out how to change the display behind the steering wheel. That left me with one of the dials being a goofy display that had round circles on them, that I couldn't really figure out what the point was. Anyway I was too excited to care. The cabin is so quiet and the ride so perfectly comfortably, you constantly have to watch your speed. It's easy to do 50 MPH in a 35 MPH without even intending to speed. The road noise is low and the entire thing is just silent, but in a good way.
Link to 360 video of interior - use your mouse or fingers to rotate video
Driving Experience
Well, this is why we buy Porsche's right? I got to say, it's really unlike anything I've driven. The car is low, planted and fast as hell. The Turbo S must be such a beast, because this is already insane. I did a few launch controls, which made my wife quickly panic The kids loved every second of it though! My wife got me back when she drove however. As a passenger when the driver stomps on the accelerator even when you are already going 50MPH it's a OMG moment. That immediate torque is intoxicating. The roads were wet today and of course it's not my car, so I never pushed it very hard in the corners. We took some windy backroads that I'm familiar with but kept it at very safe speeds. You can tell it just has so much to give though. The steering is precise like a Porsche should be and as we've all read by now, feels much lighter and more nimble than a car this heavy. My Panamera 4S was great to drive, but even with all the suspension aids, it never would fool you into thinking you are in a 911. This car is totally different. We drove it for about 2 hours both on the freeway, suburbs and backroads. The car is exceptional in all situations. Even on bad, rough roads, it just quietly absorbs it like, 'no big deal.' The car had the ACC with the feature where it lightly takes over the steering controls lane keep assist). I was actually trying to just test the adaptive cruise control when I realized the car was automatically turning the steering wheel. It was kind of a 'what the heck' moment, but cool at the same time.
Range
Someone was driving it right before we arrived, so the range was at 212 miles when I got into the car. After two hours of non-stop cruising, about 3 launches and a lot of 'step on it' situations, when I returned to the dealer it was at 165 miles. Having never had a fully electric car before, I'm not sure how I'd translate that into anything useful mathematically. Certainly it didn't feel like a crazy amount given how long I was driving for and how much I was cruising around.
Final Thoughts
I don't care what your income bracket, this is a lot of coin to spend on a car. Anyone who bought it before seeing or driving it (like I did) took a leap of faith, trusting the brand and to a lesser extent, the professional reviewers. I knew Porsche wouldn't let us down and they didn't. Forget who has the fastest 0-60 or which car has the most range. This car has something you can't compare with simple math. It's an experience unlike any other. It looks like the future and drives like the future. I don't think it replaces the 911 as much as sits perfectly next to it. I hope this commentary provided at least some new nuggets of information. Long live Porsche!
One with the whole family
Last edited: