TaycanNJ

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I want to share this for anyone who is interested, because my wife can't listen to me talk about this car anymore! I just got my 4S on Friday and it's a surreal experience after having dreamt about this moment since the Mission E was revealed. I never got to test drive the 4S (only the Turbo S was available for demo) so I was somewhat apprehensive, but I had a good enough idea of what to expect. I owned a Model S P90D ludicrous for three years and while I loved the power, smoothness of the electric motors and effortless feel - I missed the build quality, design and handling that I had come to know having German sports sedans before this. My biggest concerns were the difference in power (the Tesla did 0-60 in 2.8 seconds and the 4S is claimed at 4.0 second) and the self-driving capabilities (more on that below). I wasn't so concerned about the range because I have a short commute and another vehicle to use for longer drives.

After just 250 miles behind the wheel, I am very happy with my choice. Regarding the power, the Tesla had a bit more "snap" off the line, but for daily driving it will be mostly unnoticed and I'm sure as the memory of the Tesla fades, it will not even be something I think about. Most importantly, everything else about the Taycan is so much better that the minor difference in off the line acceleration is almost irrelevant. (Would I like to have a Turbo S? Absolutely, but I couldn't justify an additional $60k just for a bit more snappiness). My car has the bigger battery and the performance package and the handling is almost supernatural from anything else I've driven, including my 2016 GT3. It is going to take some time to get used to the dynamics of it all, but I know it will only get better and faster as I get more comfortable.

The range was not really a concern for me, but I was surprised that it was so low compared to Tesla's offerings. I had a feeling that it would be more of a "true range" than Teslas though, and I was definitely correct. On cold days with aggressive driving in the Tesla, I would get as low as 55% of the claimed range. My first drive in the Taycan, I did 120 miles and I was driving fairly aggressively (hard accelerations and turns and cruising speed over 80mph for most of the drive) in sport plus mode and it only used 110 miles of range. That NEVER happened in the Tesla, even when driving in “chill mode” with range mode ON it would use more range than actual mileage driven. I don’t know how Tesla gets away with it, but the EPA ratings are not accurate and this will definitely be a drawback for those people that are comparing these cars that are “not meant to be compared”.

When it comes to "self-driving" capability, there is no question that the Tesla is one of the most advanced in that area, but I was surprised with the lack of information and clarity from Porsche on this topic. Obviously, this car is not advertised as "self-driving" or "autopilot" or any of those things and they keep saying it was not made to compete with Tesla, but my main concern was having a system that can handle traffic situations with minimal driver input and I think the Adaptive Cruise Control with Lane Keep Assist will work fine for that. What I'm still not clear on is how the Innodrive system plays into this. I watched every video I could find on it and still wasn't 100% sure what I was getting and what I would be missing without it so I just ordered it with it. In my short amount of time behind the wheel, I am starting to think that was a waste. I was hoping it would enhance the steering input accuracy of the lane keep assist system in some way, but it seems like it's only purpose is monitoring speed and GPS info for turns to allow you to use the adaptive cruise control on back roads or highways with constantly changing speed limits (more common in Europe). On the highway, it kept setting the cruise control back to 50mph when it would see a sign which would unexpectedly slow me down in the middle of traffic - I am going to need to experiment with this more. I didn’t buy this car to be driven around, but living in the NYC area, traffic is a reality the majority of the time I am on the road and it is a feature I came to love in the Tesla (Also, I am addicted to my iPhone and it was nice to flip on autopilot when I needed to respond to an urgent text). My wife has a Volvo with Pilot Assist and it does just as well as the Tesla. From my limited testing, the Taycan is not as good as either at highway speeds, but I’m sure it will be fine in slow moving traffic which is when it is needed most.

Overall, it is truly a masterpiece of a car in my opinion. The performance and handling are incredible, the design and build quality are top notch, and this car is an absolute dream as a daily driver that is both sporty, luxurious and incredibly quiet and comfortable. I cross-shopped this with just about everything out there while waiting over 2 years from putting down the deposit and there was nothing that comes close to checking all the boxes this car does. It’s not even really possible to cross-shop this with a gas powered car because nothing comes close to the smoothness you experience with electric motors with no gear changes (or just one hidden one in this case). I was close to moving to a gas car after a couple years with the Tesla because I was fed up with the quality issues, but I am very happy I waited. If you are on the fence, go for it!

Just my two cents! I appreciate any counter points or questions. I could talk about this stuff for days.

Porsche Taycan Former Model S P90DL owner comparing it to my new Taycan 4S IMG_3556
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TobiZH

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hi there,
I had a x P100D L for the last three years and have a taycan turbo since 10 days. I honestly would never want to go back (unless for the sheer amount of stuff you can fit in the X). The taycan is so much fun to drive and has an amazing attention to detail.

In contrast to your report, I think InnoDrive is amazing. it is so much better in predicting/adjusting corner-speeds, slowing down on crossroads and when approaching stop-signs. Therefore it is quite useful here in Switzerland. Lane assist is not as reliable as in the Tesla, but I also feel less „forced“ than on the auto-pilot. it feels more natural, also phantom breaking when going under a bridge is a thing of the past…
 

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In contrast to your report, I think InnoDrive is amazing. it is so much better in predicting/adjusting corner-speeds, slowing down on crossroads and when approaching stop-signs. Therefore it is quite useful here in Switzerland. Lane assist is not as reliable as in the Tesla, but I also feel less „forced“ than on the auto-pilot. it feels more natural, also phantom breaking when going under a bridge is a thing of the past…
This is my experience too (in Norway).
 
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TaycanNJ

TaycanNJ

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This is my experience too (in Norway).
Both of these comments on Innodrive are good to hear! I'm sure I will appreciate it more when I get some more time behind the wheel. Very convenient if it also recognizes stop signs at intersections (I wasn't aware of that at all). Also, I believe that the Active Lane Keep option is only available with Innodrive so that justifies the addition of the option even if I am not using the Innodrive speed adjustment feature.
 

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I'm going for a test drive on Thursday. Coming from a Tesla Model 3 P. I initially thought it would be really tough to justify a Taycan purchase from a value perspective, but we'll see. It's growing on me because people are saying the ride is so amazing and there aren't any real competitors for it, which makes it easier to charge whatever you want for a unique experience.

I was waiting on the Tesla Roadster release, but it looks like that's pushed to 2022, so realistically the only option for a really high performance luxury sports car is the Taycan. It's just realllly tough to have an electric sedan that does 0-60 in 3.2s for $60k and then tell myself it's worth double to have a bit better handling, nicer interior, and look cooler.
 


svp6

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I'm going for a test drive on Thursday. Coming from a Tesla Model 3 P. I initially thought it would be really tough to justify a Taycan purchase from a value perspective, but we'll see. It's growing on me because people are saying the ride is so amazing and there aren't any real competitors for it, which makes it easier to charge whatever you want for a unique experience.

I was waiting on the Tesla Roadster release, but it looks like that's pushed to 2022, so realistically the only option for a really high performance luxury sports car is the Taycan. It's just realllly tough to have an electric sedan that does 0-60 in 3.2s for $60k and then tell myself it's worth double to have a bit better handling, nicer interior, and look cooler.
Same here. But then I remind myself the P85D I leased was 125k, and nowhere near to how the Taycan looks like. Please post your impression after the test-drive.
 

ron_b

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Enjoyed reading your review @TaycanNJ. I saw your disappointment with Lane Keep Assist and I agree that only provides a ping-pong like driving behavior between land boundaries. Have you tried Active Lane Keeping which is the setting that will keep you centered in the lane. Most people report on it as being quite near tesla-style autopilot. You control it on the same stock but with a different action, you can see the difference written up in the Good to Know Porsche app. Maybe you have traded and that is what you're speaking of but I'm hoping you may not have discovered it yet.
 

epirali

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I just want to chime in and say that even with limited time on InnoDrive (hey I want to drive dammit!) it is very much auto pilot like. The difference is it is not “beta” and unlike Porsche it is not oversold or overhyped, both because well its irresponsible and because of safety concerns.
 


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TaycanNJ

TaycanNJ

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I just want to chime in and say that even with limited time on InnoDrive (hey I want to drive dammit!) it is very much auto pilot like. The difference is it is not “beta” and unlike Porsche it is not oversold or overhyped, both because well its irresponsible and because of safety concerns.
I'm happy to hear you and @ron_b saying the same. I look forward to using it more when I get my car back. I'm getting Xpel paint protection film on the front and the doors (so I can remove the little patch of film in front of the rear wheels). My time with Active Lane Keep was very limited so my comments are based just on initial impression.
 

Taycan4S

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Spot on with my experience. I come from a Tesla P85DL and lastly the Tesla 3P.

Regarding the innodrive, it works pretty much like Autopilot in the Teslas. The Autopilot too sets speed wrongly according to speed limits, just as the Taycan.

My 2 cents:
Disable the speed-adjust on InnoDrive (in the infotainment menu) and enable "Active Lane Keeping" (in the cluster menu, the underneeth button on the cruise control stalk). This option is off by default. With this setting you'll have InnoDrive following traffic at your own set-speed as well as following the road just like Tesla's Autopilot.

When InnoDrive Lane Keeping is enabled, there is a visible green steeringwheel in the instrument cluster.
(image attached in Norwegian)

Porsche Taycan Former Model S P90DL owner comparing it to my new Taycan 4S 96288194_10157946474735609_8859511040421920768_n
 

epirali

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Only thing I wished for is that Innodrive would let you set a margin over the speed limit adjust so it didn’t drop to the speed limit, but something over. I usually drive 10 over and it would be nice to be have the same margin kept. It is good to have it see and slow down into a speed reduction if I miss it, so that is why I won’t just turn it off.
 

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Only thing I wished for is that Innodrive would let you set a margin over the speed limit adjust so it didn’t drop to the speed limit, but something over. I usually drive 10 over and it would be nice to be have the same margin kept. It is good to have it see and slow down into a speed reduction if I miss it, so that is why I won’t just turn it off.
I had read that it had that feature in a few places. I cannot find it quickly in the Good to Know app but here is an article that speaks of that functionality. As I do not yet have the car I cannot tell you from personal experience. :(

https://www.motorauthority.com/news...rive-first-drive-review-automating-enthusiasm

In that way, it's less like Pilot Assist or Tesla's AutoPilot and more like a dynamic version of adaptive cruise control, right down to the (finicky and unintuitive) control stalk it shares with the ACC. InnoDrive locks in a speed—it defaults to the speed limit and can adjust automagically to higher or lower limits, or the driver can override and set a maximum speed—slows for a curve, will downshift if necessary, and then accelerates back up to the limit. Everything is well within a driver's comfort level.
 

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There is a setting but it does not apply to InnoDrive, could be in an update.
 

Chuck J

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Thanks for the review, we don't get enough of them with the 4S.

Chuck J
 

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Thank you for the review! My wife has a model X and the poor buying experience and quality issues we’ve had with it turned me off of electric. On a whim I stopped into the dealer and checked out a Turbo S and he said “if you have time, take it for a spin.” I ordered a Turbo two days later. Tesla almost killed EV’s for us but now we’ll be a full EV house. Bizarro land!
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