Help me spec out a Taycan

Novaman

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Greetings!

new to the forum here. I’ve been a happy Porsche driver for 15 years. First a Boxster S convertible and currently a 991S Carrera Cabriolet.

I‘ve gotten great joy from my 911. I love driving with the top down, zipping along the winding backroads near my house, running the car through its gears with the 7 speed stick. But it might be time to move on.

my wife is starting to grumble. the 911 can’t comfortably seat four adults, the ride is rough for passengers, the cabin is noisy, I can’t safely drive the rear wheel drive 911 in inclement weather, and she hates driving a stick so has literally driven my car once in 7 years. Our youngest has taken our third car out to San Fran, and my wife is tired of my always using her Volvo XC90 and wants me to get a different car that would be a bit more practical.

I’ve been looking at possible replacements for the 911, and the Taycan seems to fit the bill. The car is fun to drive, can comfortably seat four adults, the cabin noise is nil, the ride is refined, and my wife would be happy to drive the car.

So the question is, how should this car be spec’d out?

I know I want at minimum a 4S because AWD is a must living in the Northeast. But what features have you Taycan owners found to be useful must haves, and what have you found to be a waste of money?

I might try to look for a gently used Taycan coming off a lease, or I might just order a car the way I want it. In any event, I’d appreciate any input.
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whan

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For a 4S (which comes with standard stuff already like air suspension that's not on RWD), I think the three most important options to have are larger performance plus battery, full leather, and adaptive cruise control (if you are in a traffic prone area or drive in traffic often)

Large battery as the range on these cars is better than EPA, but still nice to have more, particularly in areas that get colder

Full leather because it actually makes a big difference IMO, for a car of this price point. Particularly if you option one of the two tone full leathers

Generally other purely cosmetic options are ones to tone down on, unless you're very picky, but they won't contribute to resale as everyone's preference on those items are different
 

SergeyIndy

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Welcome to the forum, as you come to the right place to get everything you need to build your Taycan and get all your questions answered.

I would say, start spinning up a build and share your build code with the forum, make a few choices that matter with rationale, and then make some that you may not sure about with questions, and then we can help from there. I am in the group of researching, driving loaners, looking at every detail on lot cars, building and re-building for endless hours since it came out but only now pulled the trigger on the order with arrival estimated this May.

The first decision is the trim: Sedan or Cross Turismo that come in 4S form but then there is a Sport Turismo that is only a GTS that is basically a Cross Turismo without the off-road package.
 

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I would add Rear Wheel steering. The Taycan is huge (much more than a 911) and it helps behaving like a smaller car. For me it's one of the best price/happiness ratio ,)
 

B61

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Welcome to the forum, as you come to the right place to get everything you need to build your Taycan and get all your questions answered
Welcome…just be prepared, that you’ll probably spend some more money, following our sugestions 😝🤣.

My must have list for your 4S:
- rear wheel steering
- night vision
- full leather
- pdcc
- matrix lights
- 21” wheels for summer tyres (and 20” for winter, if needed)
- ambient lights
- passenger’s display
 


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Greetings!

new to the forum here. I’ve been a happy Porsche driver for 15 years. First a Boxster S convertible and currently a 991S Carrera Cabriolet.

I‘ve gotten great joy from my 911. I love driving with the top down, zipping along the winding backroads near my house, running the car through its gears with the 7 speed stick. But it might be time to move on.

my wife is starting to grumble. the 911 can’t comfortably seat four adults, the ride is rough for passengers, the cabin is noisy, I can’t safely drive the rear wheel drive 911 in inclement weather, and she hates driving a stick so has literally driven my car once in 7 years. Our youngest has taken our third car out to San Fran, and my wife is tired of my always using her Volvo XC90 and wants me to get a different car that would be a bit more practical.

I’ve been looking at possible replacements for the 911, and the Taycan seems to fit the bill. The car is fun to drive, can comfortably seat four adults, the cabin noise is nil, the ride is refined, and my wife would be happy to drive the car.

So the question is, how should this car be spec’d out?

I know I want at minimum a 4S because AWD is a must living in the Northeast. But what features have you Taycan owners found to be useful must haves, and what have you found to be a waste of money?

I might try to look for a gently used Taycan coming off a lease, or I might just order a car the way I want it. In any event, I’d appreciate any input.
Given you’re interested in a 4S at minimum, I’d also spec out a GTS to see what the difference is. If they’re close, I’d then strongly consider stepping up to GTS. I always recommend people do Premium Pack at a minimum…along with a few other nice touches (like Crest of Headrests; Aluminum Pedals & Door Sills; Heated GT Steering Wheel; Sport Chrono; etc).

If you’re interested in ordering and would like an allocation, or want to bounce around spec ideas, you’re always welcome to PM me!
 

WuffvonTrips

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I know I want at minimum a 4S because AWD is a must living in the Northeast. But what features have you Taycan owners found to be useful must haves, and what have you found to be a waste of money?
If you go for the added practicality of the Cross Turismo, that comes in a 4 (so AWD) version that sits below the 4S (assuming it's available in the US).
Take all the recommendations you'll get for "must-haves" with a pinch of salt- the Taycan is still a great car at any trim level with minimal options.
I think I'm in the minority that say the Rear Axle Steer is nice to have rather than essential (I opted for it)- the car's not too big to manoeuvre as standard- but noting your local twisty roads availability I think that RAS would be beneficial.
PDCC- I don't recall seeing a compelling proven case for it on the Taycan.
 

B61

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RWS. Depends on your environment, ie. where you have to park, how to maneouver on your driveway, etc….but it’s almost 5m sized car, and i know the difference with my previous cars.
I tried rws on renault talisman, felt in love, so it was no brainer for me.

PDCC: i can see every day how it works, how it goes (flies) through corners…and it’s seen on a display as well. I tried test vehicle without pdcc and it’s definitely different. Hard ot explain, probably hard to believe - but it’s different.
 


gusone

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Sports chrono waste of money. Looks crap.
Rear steering
Dimming and folding mirrors
4+1 seats
All red in and out as a homage to Satan
Minimum 21" wheels. The rest are crap
Air suspension waste of money unless standard.
RWD is the best Taycan
Big battery 🔋
150w on board charger for non U.S. and Tesla supercharger
Bose
Grey tint windscreen
Matrix lights
Blackened rear windows
Ceramic brakes
Panoramic roof waste of money as the people in the front get no benefit
HUD display. Must have
Carmine red. The only colour. Everyone else specs Bailey's Cream
360* view surrounded park assist
Automatic parking. It works great.
Porsche Tracker and an elite steering wheel lock
 
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JimBob

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Without specifying a budget you're going to get a money is no object wish list, or people saying what they wished they would have got but didn't.
 
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xyeahtony

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All you guys suggesting Matrix Lights as must have dont realize that the OP is in the USA, where matrix lights have zero functionality and he will basically be wasting $1500+ on absolutely nothing. Solid advice.

My Two Cents:

Must haves are the Active Cruise Control. Everything else is a "luxury" and isn't absolutely essential to enjoying the car. Which means get what you like.

This is my 4S-CT Build for reference:
Porsche Taycan Help me spec out a Taycan 1674850349582


Originally i did not spec massage seats because they seemed so ridiculous but i plan on road tripping this car like a crazy man and everyone on here has said they feel great so why not? I got remote park assist not because i need help parking but because its the only option that includes rear cross-traffic radar/alerts when backing up, which i find essential. Night vision assist because i live in louisiana where there are no sidewalks on a lot of streets so there are always people/bicyclists/creatures on the road at night.
 
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For a 4S (which comes with standard stuff already like air suspension that's not on RWD), I think the three most important options to have are larger performance plus battery, full leather, and adaptive cruise control (if you are in a traffic prone area or drive in traffic often)

Large battery as the range on these cars is better than EPA, but still nice to have more, particularly in areas that get colder

Full leather because it actually makes a big difference IMO, for a car of this price point. Particularly if you option one of the two tone full leathers

Generally other purely cosmetic options are ones to tone down on, unless you're very picky, but they won't contribute to resale as everyone's preference on those items are different
It's funny - I don't have two of the must-haves you mention, and I love my Taycan.

I think the true must-haves are surround view, LCA and electric mirrors. These should all be 100% standard on a car at this price point, and they'll keep you from getting in wrecks and spending a bunch of money on cosmetic repairs for this big boy.

If I had to do it over again, I'd get full leather (probably) but people slag on the standard interior unfairly... it's a very nice interior without the $4k upsell, and I don't know anybody who has been in the car that has said otherwise.

Not getting into the big battery debate here, but I agree for cold weather climates it makes a lot of sense. It doesn't for me and my 3 mile daily commute in mild Texas weather.

If I had to re-spec my car, I wouldn't get the panorama roof (and so would not choose the Premium Package and would get the other options individually). Of the options I don't have but would get on a re-do, I would get real axle steering and sport sound and Mission E wheels.

My favorite non-essential options that nevertheless "bring me joy" are the power electric port doors and the neodyme trim. I also find Sport Chrono to be a must-have for me.
 

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Welcome…just be prepared, that you’ll probably spend some more money, following our sugestions 😝🤣.

My must have list for your 4S:
- rear wheel steering agree
- night vision disagree
- full leather agree
- pdcc definitely disagree
- matrix lights disagree
- 21” wheels for summer tyres (and 20” for winter, if needed) disagree
- ambient lights disagree
- passenger’s display definitely disagree
;)
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