Learning to drive in a Taycan Turbo

[YWGT3]

A thoroughly entertaining read, which brings to mind the experience of purchasing my first vehicle. With a newly minted driver's license and my first job right out of college, I decided to purchase a BMW. Without giving much thought, I decided on a manual transmission car, having absolutely no knowledge nor experience in handing the five-speed shifter, let alone the clutch. However, I did get some brief instruction from the salesperson that sold me the 3 series. Needless to say, I gave the folks at the dealership much entertainment and laughter as I demonstrated my bucking bronco prowess while exiting their driveway. I'll have you know that I did manage to tame the beast a few hours later! Albeit with a dreadfully worn-out clutch and gears with fewer teeth.

Sponsored

 

[TomC]

If I remember well from your earliest posts, you are the guy who flew in a modern Russian fighter jet, so speed should be no stranger to you.

Well remembered. I also flew through the Alps doing aerobatics with Yves Rossy - the big difference is that my life was in the hands of someone that knew what they were doing.

Someone has to ask…..how was the first conversation with the insurance company??

What’s insurance? No, no, I’m better than that.

There was no conversation involved - I just added myself as a new driver online. I fulfil the minimum criteria required to complete the form: 0 years and 1 month of having a license.

• It’s £2k/y with myself and my wife (driving license of 14 years) as named drivers.
• Without my wife on the insurance it was just under £3k.
• With just my wife it was about £1050

It was actually quite a hassle to get insurance, but not for the reasons you think - it was because my wife, as the primary insurance holder, had never owner a “super car” before. A-Plan and Novo denied her on that basis, but Admiral had no issue with it. I’m unsure if the crossover to “super car” is at the Turbo point, I’m just guessing as I never had any issues in getting quotes when I originally ordered a 4S.

 

[Jhenson29]

Heads up Display meant I never had to look down and could clearly see that I was doing 3mph the entire time. I'm very pleased I specced it.

I’ve got your next build all lined up…
http://www.porsche-code.com/PMZ7XJA9

 

[Reg]

Great post, thanks for the fun read!

it did give me the idea of putting up signs on my car That says “student driver” or “be nice, I am learning”. Would be fun to see how people react.

 

[Fish Fingers]

Great Post OP!

Did you use the Taycan to take your test..... ?

It would be fun flooring the throttle as the instructor tries to do the 'emergency stop - hitting his clipboard on the dash' thing and instead pinning him into his seat unable to move. ?

 

[TycanNewHampshire]

If I had a Taycan Turbo as my 'learner' car when I was 16, I honestly don't think I would have made it to HS Graduation and perhaps could be buried 6ft under by now.
Although the 'fast cars' of my time, did not have all the stability and safety features as the Taycan does, but they only can do so much.
Honestly, have fun, but most importantly, respect-the-ride and if you want to whip around the street, go get yourself a manual VW GTI, or Golf/Jetta, or perhaps an older 944 N/A. You can only go so fast in those, but still get all the fun with up/down shifting, redlining, 50/50 weight shifting, over/under-steer (get adj cambers, coilovers, upper/lower strut tie-bars) and learn the 'wheel flick and spin.
Don't forget to practice your 'e-break 180's as well as the 'rockford's' as 'essential' learning skills

 

[TomC]

Did you use the Taycan to take your test..... ?

I considered it, however the exam backlog is so large that if I failed the next slot was nearly 4 months later. My experience of driving the Taycan prior to Monday evening was parking in an almost empty car park with my nearly 70 year-old Dad as a passenger. Minutes earlier he was launch controlling it, so I consider myself the real hero in this story.

With needing L plates (which are magnetic and they don't stay on the Taycan as there's no flat surface) and another interior mirror for the examiner, it seemed that my 15 minutes of fame were not to be.

Don't stop now, sign up for track day lessons, or go to the Porsche Driving Experience at Silverstone.

I never even knew that was possible until about a month ago when another forum member alerted me to it. I'm waiting for the booking to be confirmed, but will either 1) Let my Dad go or 2) Wait for the next pandemic, so there's no one else there

 

[rich_r]

I love this post because it kept reminding me of the car I learned to drive on. A 1978 Oldsmobile Delta 88. The differences between the '78 Olds and the '21 Taycan are subtle but if you look closely enough, you can spot them

Ha my grandfather had an 84 Olds 88. I still remember driving that thing for the first time. Boat-like doesn't do it justice... Kind of fun in a ridiculous way though.

 

[Fish Fingers]

I considered it, however the exam backlog is so large that if I failed the next slot was nearly 4 months later. My experience of driving the Taycan prior to Monday evening was parking in an almost empty car park with my nearly 70 year-old Dad as a passenger. Minutes earlier he was launch controlling it, so I consider myself the real hero in this story.

On a similar theme......

My Mum has been retired for many years now, but used to work for a major Utility Company.

She worked at the main head office and had to go in very early one day.
She was surprised to find just a single car in the massive car park at that time of the morning, as it was usually full the normal time she went in.

This threw her a bit as she was used to driving round looking for a space.....

So she decided to park next to the other car.

......misjudged it and crashed into it.
?

 

[Arno]

I’m sure you can suss out that after seeing the Taycan there was only ever going to be a winner, so in December 2020 I put down a deposit and subjected my wife to a car she didn’t want, which arrived at the end of March. Fortunately it was love at first sight between said wife and Taycan, so I was allowed to keep my testicles, and she has loved it ever since.

Great to hear you still got the pair of balls intact! You definitely gonna need them for later use . . . also for driving As I always say: Happy wife, happy life

 

[buruburu]

A thoroughly entertaining read, which brings to mind the experience of purchasing my first vehicle. With a newly minted driver's license and my first job right out of college, I decided to purchase a BMW. Without giving much thought, I decided on a manual transmission car, having absolutely no knowledge nor experience in handing the five-speed shifter, let alone the clutch. However, I did get some brief instruction from the salesperson that sold me the 3 series. Needless to say, I gave the folks at the dealership much entertainment and laughter as I demonstrated my bucking bronco prowess while exiting their driveway. I'll have you know that I did manage to tame the beast a few hours later! Albeit with a dreadfully worn-out clutch and gears with fewer teeth.

I did the same exact thing except in a Mazda MX-5 and in rush hour traffic. In those situation, you learn really quick.

 

[Wagon57]

There are so many threads on here about track days or how well the Taycan handles or driving experiences compared to other cars. Well let me give you another perspective: that of a learner driver.

Much to even my own disappointment, this is not the story of a teenager with rich parents, but a 34 year old man who suffers from acute physical laziness. I had zero interest in cars and pushed learning to drive so far down the priority list that it just beat out Train Station Spotting and watching some dried paint get drier.

All that changed when my wife became pregnant, we started looking into family cars and I realised that this car fad wasn't going away and might prove useful one day. The problem with my type of obsessive personality is that I can find almost anything interesting and get carried away in reading up on it, which is how I ended up spending the majority of lockdown 2.0/2.5/3.0 or whatever it was, with you fine folk.

I started taking driving lessons last year, but some event that I can't even remember now disrupted it. Were it not for Covid, I’m convinced I would have received my license at the perfectly reasonably age of 33, but instead I had to wait until the laugh-inducing, geriatric-esq 34 to take my test.

During this brief break in living, I was left in charge of finding the family car. I’m sure you can suss out that after seeing the Taycan there was only ever going to be a winner, so in December 2020 I put down a deposit and subjected my wife to a car she didn’t want, which arrived at the end of March. Fortunately it was love at first sight between said wife and Taycan, so I was allowed to keep my testicles, and she has loved it ever since.

http://www.porsche-code.com/PMY9USY6

Fast forward to June. I passed my driving test (first time, thank you for asking) and have spent the four weeks since trying to assess my survival instinct vs stupidity as to whether my first solo journey should be in a Taycan Turbo. Stupid won this round. In fact, it tends to win all of them. So last night I finally found the courage, and sensibly found it without going to the bottom of a bottle. I did say when I joined these forums I wouldn't be idiotic, but months of lockdowns spent reading of all your enjoyment has done me no good. What I’m saying is: this is all your fault.

So as someone with driving experience measured in tens of hours, that now has approx 20 miles of solo experience, what are my impressions?

• I was terrified of the width, but found no issues and could clearly tell how close I was to the middle of the road
• Try as I might, you cannot put Learner/Just Passed tags on the Taycan
• The cameras make parking incredibly easy (I did try and cheat and use the auto-park, but it failed me)
• Heads up Display meant I never had to look down and could clearly see that I was doing 3mph the entire time. I'm very pleased I specced it.
• The touch controls definitely require some effort to learn. They were definitely not built in mind for a learner driver, who is trying to demist the cabin whilst driving. Come on, Porsche, don't discriminate against us pragmatically challenged.
• On that note, I recall being told that the Taycan can automatically demist for you, but it certainly did not work last night.
• I spent 10 minutes trying to figure out how to turn on the rear wipers, only to remember there aren’t any. It was raining last night, so there was zero visibility out of the back and I’ve just spent every lesson being taught to check the rear mirror, then side mirrors, so what a waste of time that was.
• There are so many safety features here that I might, just might, not die

Ignoring that my point of reference of cars is a 2021 Taycan Turbo and some 15 year old Vauxhall Corsa, I can conclusive say, with no hyperbole, that the Taycan is the greatest car…….in the world - by my standards.

Tom, you are both very brave and entertaining in equal measure. Good luck with the car and the impending family - both will change your life.

 

[TomC]

Sussed it! Now I don't feel quite as bad driving like a pensioner who forgot his glasses, although I suspect people see the symbol and think I'm taking the piss. That is, until they see me go around every corner with the brake pedal engaged.

I have been out a few more times and so far managed to retain all my limbs and even my no claims bonus. Compared to the almost fight-or-flight induced stress I suffered during my first solo drive, it now almost feels relaxing. Relaxing in the same way that going to a pub where someone was stabbed last year - you know it probably won't happen, but you're always glancing over your shoulder. I even decided to park next to another car, whereas before I made sure I was so far from anything, I probably had to walk 3 miles to get to where I actually needed to be.

• The lack of visibility out the back is not bothering me as much now - the side mirrors are so good
• Is the Bose any good? No idea, as I'm too afraid to have music on at this point
• I was in full focus mode when the traffic alerts came on, startled me and appeared to be attempting to be one of the first times that traffic alerts caused a traffic accident. I lived to fight another day.
• I was rather afraid that you would barely sneeze and end up flooring it, but the pedal is far more sensitive, so I always feel in control
• I will repeat: the safety features are absolutely superb, including Lane Change Assist, the proximity sensors and particularly the HuD - I really appreciate seeing my speed and navigation without needing to look down, otherwise I'd be driving like I was searching for something on the floor.

My friends think I'm mental, but the more time I spend in the Taycan, and due to not driving it like a Porsche (or a car that can hit 70mph), I don't see an issue in having it as a first car. In fact, everyone should have one as their first car. Let's start a petition and make it happen.

 

[charliemathilde]

I can't imagine what it's like to start with 600hp and 0-60 in 3 seconds. I started on a 100hp manual with a 0-60 of about 11 seconds. It probably saved my teenage life.

Even after 20 years experience, the first time I owned a real supercar, I still managed to get the nannies to bitch slap me back onto the road within 3 months. Hey, at least I had grown up enough to keep the nannies on full retard.

 

[TomC]

It probably saved my teenage life.

Teenager = I’m invincible!
34 year old married man = If I scratch this my wife will kill me

Say it with me: wives save lives

Sponsored