For those awaiting delivery, my experience after my first week...

[W1NGE]

First, the device doesn't have to be actually connected 24/7 in order to be vulnerable. As long as it's connected, it can be attacked from the internet. New vulnerabilities are found every single day in various software packages (one source https://www.cve.org/ ), and fast patching is key to proper cybersecurity maintenance.

Side note, even though I don't have a Taycan, I would not assume "privacy mode" blocks all connectivity. For example, does your car get real time traffic information or is able to do music streaming while in privacy mode? Just because your app cannot connect or you cannot retrieve your own location via the internet, does not mean your car is not connected. Now, I don't have a Taycan yet to verify, I am slowly assembling some Taycan guts on my bench while I'm bored waiting for Porsche to build mine, but I haven't scored a component Porsche calls a "conBox-High" yet from some poor crashed Taycan. I'll update if I confirm myself or find some reliable source, but my money is it's always connected. Devices nowadays are always connected, even in "airplane mode" phones do occasionally turn on some of their radios.

Privacy mode doesn't even have to mean you don't get updates either. I know with Tesla, your car is still connected and gets updates, you just get an error message if you try to connect to the car with the app. I also happen to have designed an OTA system which works on devices in privacy mode (passes GDPR) - the device connects to an ephemeral server which helps determine the appropriate update, then complete wipes all knowledge of the device's connection, the device then goes and anonymously downloads the update and applies it. There is no personally identifiable information stored anywhere outside of the device, the manufacturer's cloud has no idea your device updated, but you have the latest software.


Ah, but there is the gotcha. Imagine a large cyber security hole is discovered in a Taycan, where a malicious actor can connect to your car when it's parked (whenever it is actually online, perhaps not 24/7, maybe 10/6), and initial remote parking with sensors disabled. Imagine someone is doing it to the cars and Porsche saying "please wait while we qualify a fix, then get in line for an appointment, until then park your car deep underground to prevent connectivity, nothing we can do for you".

Consider the false alarm issue Taycan's have been experiencing for last few months. While it does not have as dire consequences, if Porsche had fast OTA's, they could have deployed a new option to permanently disable the internal sensor. They could deploy it to a few cars, see if users report any issues, and if not, do the next wave, then the the next. Worst case scenario, you deploy a revert back to the previous version.


Delivery method for OTA is very insignificant. An update is an udpate, whether it's delivered via WiFI, LTE, sattelite, of a USB stick.


Porsche needs to learn how to deploy OTA's to avoid carnage. You never deploy to everyone. You deploy to test cars first, then a random sample of customers, then more customers, etc. If at any point you run into issues, you stop the deployment of that update, assess the situation, and mitigate (which may include issuing a revert OTA). Now, if Porsche OTA is not yet mature and got itself into a situation where an over the air update broke the car and broke the OTA capability with it, well, that is the one scenario you always have to test - after update the car has to boot up and be able to accept another update, everything else (even ability to drive) is secondary.

Good luck with your conBox exploits!

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[w1z]

Hello everyone. I wanted to share some first impressions after one week of ownership. First, a little background. Eight years ago I bought an early generation (15,365th)Tesla Model S and have driven it for 165,000 miles with much success. Very little maintenance except the tires that seem to need replaced every 12,000 miles. As Tesla’s grew in popularity, they seemed to be everywhere here in Charlotte. I’d pulled up to an intersection and there would be one on every corner, especially as the Model 3’s grew in popularity. I was ready for something new, especially as Tesla didn’t update the Model S body style and although, it still looks good, I was tired of how it looked.

After doing a ton of research and watching every YouTube video ever made on the Taycan, in May of last year, I decided to purchase. I contacted Hendrick Porsche here in Charlotte and was able to secure a July allocation for an August delivery. Then came agonizing over all the options and colors. I finally decided on a dolomite silver 4S. I selected some options, that I’d come to second guess while waiting for the car, but once receiving I’m ecstatic how the car looks. My car finally went into production in July, but then sat, for some explained reason, and never completed production until December.

Every night before I went to bed, I read this forum and the people who also had lost July cars commiserated with me, but here’s the punchline...it also majorly freaked me seeing all the issues that my fellow forum members where having. I doubted the decision and half expected my car to arrive with no heat, alarm issues, PCM glitches and throwing other alarms every few miles. I know that I’m only a week in, but I wanted to share my experience after 350 miles and in the event anyone else was worried as they await delivery. This has been my experience...

Pros:

1. The car‘s software has been bulletproof since I’ve taken delivery. I received the ‘activate’ email one day prior to when I was to take delivery and activated my MyPorsche account. When I got to the dealership, the set up was effortless and took less than five minutes.
2. The PCM software is definitely a work in progress and the UI is no where close to the Tesla one, however, I used the PCM simulator a few month before I got the car and felt amazingly comfortable from day one. If you’re waiting, I’d highly recommend using the simulator a bit before taking delivery as it will help a great deal when you get in the car. Here is the link... https://your-digital-co-pilot.com/en
3. As many have said, sitting in the car the first time, was truly remarkable. The cockpit design is amazing and the build quality of the interior far exceeded my expectations. I’ve had a Cayenne eHybrid in the past and Porsche has definitely upped its game.
4. I did not upgrade from the standard leather and was worried about that, but the standard black seats are really nice and I’m incredibly happy with them. I have the premium package that came with the 14 way seats and they are very comfortable and adjust every way that I could imagine. Not sure what additional the 18 way gets you, but the standard 14 way are amazing.
5. I ordered the Paldao wood trim and again, was second guessing the decision, but I love it. I think it makes the cabin more rich looking and the wood against the black interior makes a striking combination. The configurator pictures don’t do it justice and are much lighter than reality.
6. First drive was shear bliss. The 4S is wicked fast without being nausea inducing. A friend of my has a Plaid and it takes about an hour to recover after launching. I didn’t upgrade to rear wheel steering or any of the suspension additions, but the I’m really impressed with the the steering and suspension especially in Sportplus mode.
7. One addition I would highly recommend is the sports crono package. I could live with or without the clock, but having the drive mode selector on the steering wheel is amazingly handy and I actually have been driving in sports plus most of the time. Can’t imagine going into the menus to change drive mode.
8. I know I might get panned for this one, but I love the sport sound too. Coming from the Tesla after eight years, it is so nice to have some engine noise and I think it sounds fantastic. It’s really unique in the market and driving trough a parking lot with it on definitely gets a lot of looks.
9. The car itself is just beautiful as you all know. I got the front PPF wrapped and full ceramic and want to try and protect it as long as possible. It gets a ton of thumbs ups, and smiles. It’s just a beautiful car all around.
10. I ordered the Mission E wheels and think the wheels make the car. I didn’t paint match them and the silver looks good with the dolomite. The tires are massive and I dread thinking about what replacements will cost. The dealer tried to sell me a $3,800 wheel insurance package, I opted against it. On a negative note, the car came with Goodyear Eagles. I was hoping for Michelin Pilot Sports and when I change them, will definitely switch to Michelin’s as I’ve had good success with those on the Model S.
11. One splurge that I probably didn’t need, but happy that I got is the PCCB’s in yellow. It was an expensive option, but I love the look of those massive calipers behind the Mission E wheels.
12. Plug and charge seems to work well so far...no issues at all.
13. I’ve done 12 OTA software updates and they all worked smoothly with no issues.
14. I love these all too and they work really well: Apple CarPlay, smart lift, the interior LED lights, homelink, Bose stereo...

Cons:

1. The Porsche Connect / My Porsche app is complete garbage. I’ve tried them both and I’d say conservatively, it is able to connect to the car about 10% of the time. Forgot the really limited functionality, if you can’t connect to the car, it does no good. I’m really hoping this improves over time as it’s not good right now. It think for an EV where it’s a necessity to monitor charge level, this is a requirement and I hope they get it sorted quickly.
2. I’m not sure about range yet. I upgraded to the 93 kilowatt battery and when I charge to 85%, it says I have 176 miles of range. My Model S that’s 8 years old changes to 202 at 85% and it’s only an 85 kilowatt battery. Now maybe the Taycan‘s 176 is really 176 and Tesla’s 202 is 150, but with the bigger battery, I was expecting to see more range out of the gate. Again, too early to tell. Having had a BEV for a long time, I don’t really worry about range as I plug in at night and she’s topped off in the morning, but it is curious.
3. I hate the fact that the Taycan doesn’t lock and shut down automatically if you walk away with the key. After having the Tesla so long I got used to just putting the car in park and walking away. It powered down and locked automatically as it should. I’m constantly doing that with the Taycan and the car power stays on and it doesn’t lock. Yesterday I took my son to Panaera for lunch. Came out car was unlocked and fully powered. Now, I don’t think you can drive without the key present, but having to remember to power down the car and then actually use the key to lock it is a drag and is definitely going to require some reprogramming on my part.
4. Need the forum help here. How in the world do you clean the inside of the rear window? Mine is dirty and the slope of the window and high shelf make it impossible to clean. Any suggestions would be helpful...
5. This isn’t a Porsche thing, but I installed a Nexar Pro camera which uses WiFi to connect to my phone so the only way that I can use CarPlay is a wired connection. Incidentally, I purchased the ProClip Taycan phone holder for the rail and it works incredible well. I paired it with a magnet that I got on amazon and the phone is right at my finger tips.
6. Because of the chip shortage, only receive one key and inductive phone charger doesn’t work, but again, don’t really need it.

I hope, for those of you waiting, these comments were helpful and happy to answer any question. I had a ton, but I’m so unbelievably happy with the purchase and you will be too. For me the waiting was so difficult, but happy to finally be behind the wheel!!!

Such a great write up , thank you very much for sharing. I don't get my car until hopefully March but your story is very similar to mine so it was great to read through. Can't believe I have atleast another 6 weeks of endless scrolling through this forum and watching every YouTube Taycan video created.

 

[Bajas21]

Such a great write up , thank you very much for sharing. I don't get my car until hopefully March but your story is very similar to mine so it was great to read through. Can't believe I have atleast another 6 weeks of endless scrolling through this forum and watching every YouTube Taycan video created.

I’m telling you, the waiting was awful. Especially since it was due in August!! It will be worth the wait and I wish you great luck with it!!

 

[farazkhu2]

I’m telling you, the waiting was awful. Especially since it was due in August!! It will be worth the wait and I wish you great luck with it!!

But it is worth it !

Great write up by the way, I have got close to 2500 miles on mine and still can't stay away from it.

 

[snstevens]

You beat me to it! I was planning on a write up after 9 days of having the car but I will piggy back on this thread. Same objective, to calm the fears of people who are on the forum and hear the horror stories. Not to diminish those who are having bad experiences as they sound pretty bad. I do not want to tempt fate but I would hope that these are in the minority. I created a poll on here and saw that over 85% of the responses said they were either very happy or car exceeded expectations:

https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/taycan-owners-how-happy-with-purchase.5843/

So here are my observations after a mere 200 miles...

Firstly, I absolutely love the car. I owned a Tesla Model S and did about 32k miles in 4 years. At first I loved the acceleration and the software updates but the overall build quality and comfort was severely lacking. The Taycan is far ahead in those areas and has that German car feel that I have adored since I first sat in a VW Jetta many years ago. This car makes me want an excuse to go out and drive it!

My SA seems pretty sharp and when I went to pick up the car, I saw that the dreaded SOS light was not red bit rather was green. When he tried to log me in, I had a feeling of impending doom as it failed. So he had me complete the paperwork with finance while he resolved with his tech and when I returned, they had solved the issue. They set me up with the PIN to log me in then we turned that off.

From a software point of view, there have been two minor glitches - there is a warning that says "power button error" every time I power on which clicks off with the right hand scroll wheel but doesn't seem to cause any problems as yet. Plus my front cup holder illumination keeps going out (not a real problem but surprisingly annoying!) Will get these checked out by service shortly.

I am getting used to the features and functionality but still a bit to go before I feel totally satisfied that I know everything. I also charged at EA a couple of times without an issue and also used the timers at the airport which worked pretty much as expected. I have found that so far the connect app has been connecting and has failed to connect a similar number of times as my Tesla app failed. In reality, the timer function while confusing actually seems to provide more control than the Tesla app does for charging.

Good stuff - launch control WOW! build quality, sheer enjoyment from driving, cabin comfort, smoothness of pickup, handling, smartlift, turning off comfort access from the keyfob

Weird/bad stuff - inability to save settings like electric sport sound (which was a waste of money IMO), regeneration, sport mode, center console design & inability to stay fully open, no forward/back music on steering wheel (and programmable fastkey doesn't seem to work with spotify)

Overall, if you are worried about buying this car, I would say don't. Like any new car purchase, there is always a chance that things go wrong. Make sure you are comfortable with your SA as mine seems to be very good and ahead of the issues. I would ask for the SA that has sold the most Taycans and has the most knowledge of the car.

Try using the Individual mode to save settings of interest like sports sound specific suspension settings or regeneration settings.

 

[snstevens]

Nice write up OP.

Cleaning rear window question....

I ended up using a (new) floor mop thingy with a swivel head on the end of a handle and doing it from the front seat.

It hasn't worked.
?

I’ve had good luck with folding down the rear seats and with a little bit of contortion cleaning the rear window. If you haven’t tried folding down the rear seat backs that’s a must if you’re going to get at that window at all.

By the way I’ve never had a car with an easy to clean rear window unless it was an SUV

 

[Henke]

Try using the Individual mode to save settings of interest like sports sound specific suspension settings or regeneration settings.

I don’t have the sports chrono which I believe is needed for individual mode

 

[DougL]

Thanks to everyone's comments on the Taycan. I ordered the new GTS for an August or September delivery. I have had a 2013, 2017 and 2019 Panamera, the last one was the 4S. I love my Panamera. After talking to a neighbor that has the Taycan since the beginning and reading the comments I decided to get another Panamera for a couple more years.
The biggest reason I chickened out is the luggage space. My wife and I go back and forth to the Jersey Shore every week and pack the Panamera. I could take my wife's Q8 but hate not driving my Panamera. The space in the trunk of the Taycan is so much smaller I was concerned that it would not work. I LOVE the look of the Taycan. There are very few of them in NJ and it really stands out. I am trying the Platinum Edition Panamera Hybrid for the first time so we will see how that works out. I did see that there is a possibility that the Panamera will be all electric in 2025. I am hoping in the next couple of years that Porsche can correct all their little issues on EV and extend the range.

 

[CellarDoor]

Awesome write up. I got my Cross Turismo around 2 weeks ago and had similar experience. Also from Hendrick Porsche in Charlotte by the way.

Thanks for the reply and tire info. I used a really reputable place here in Charlotte and paid $3795. He did full front PPF including mirrors and complete ceramic using Modesto. I’m really please with how it turned out. He wrapped all the edges and you can’t even see it.

I'm pretty sure it was your car there when I took mine for PPF installation. With David, right? I did full front, definitely worth the extra few $$

 

[Shigura]

I didn‘t wire to the fuse box, rather the 12v connection. Seems to be working well and initially goes into parking mode and then sleep As not to drain the 12v battery. Thanks for the feedback on range too. Oddly enough, the 85% charge rate seems to be slowly climbing.

I know this isn't the correct thread, but could I ask about the 12v connection? How is this connection made and does it power down when the car is switched off?

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