One week after 6 years in Tesla Model S to Taycan Turbo

[anonymouse]

Some thoughts after a few days and some extensive driving in the Taycan (which I absolutely love so far) coming from a 2018 Tesla Model S:

FORWARDS
- Road holding is just superb and you soon realise what you miss in the S
- Acceleration from zero is a bit peculiar and will take some getting used to. The S just zooms forward. The Taycan does a massive gear change and gives you an unnecessary kick a second after you hit the accelerator. I'm learning to squeeze the accelerator more slowly.
- Acceleration once moving is a clear win for the Taycan - there is a sense of real power there all the time
- Actually we have become rather fond of the fake sports sound, which at first I thought was silly. It does add quite a lot to that visceral acceleration feeling

BACKWARDS
- OK, I see that some more experienced posters here rather like the fisheye reversing camera. I think it is very weird, but I'm sure I will figure it out eventually - if I don't bump the car first

COMFORT
- Fabulous seats (with the 14-way "option")
- Surprisingly quiet vs regular S (although I've not tried the new S with noise cancellation)
- Very minimal under-trunk storage

TECH
- Lack of PIN-to-drive is a major miss by Porsche. I really want the reassurance that if someone steals my key they can't have my car! And it would be so simple to implement it.
- Otherwise really quite surprised at how good the Taycan's software is
- Takes quite some time to find all the options. While the Tesla puts almost everything under one nice simple menu with errors in clear text, in the Taycan you are looking at several panels of buttons all over the place (bizarrely some haptic, some real buttons, some no feedback at all) and a wide range of strange icons which you have to memorise. Also the data the driver might want to see is scattered around the car - eg the rather important "charge level at destination" is on the far right (hidden by the steering wheel) or on a hidden popup screen in the nav system
- Audio is far superior (with Bose or the markedly better Burmester)
- Charging system is a bit strange - you don't seem to be able just to say "at this stop let's charge to x%", instead you have to fiddle with charging profiles
- Seems to be some gaps in what it stores per profile, and how it associates profiles to keys. Not as straightforward as Tesla
- Apple CarPlay can be very useful, although there are some quirks - eg if you push the Phone button on the main console you get an error message saying you need to make phone calls through CarPlay. This makes it a bit more complicated than it might seem at first
- Inbuilt navigation is OK, although it is harder to see traffic jams along the route than it is in a Tesla (or almost any other map app)
- Big clunky key per 1990s rather than Bluetooth phone unlock!

AUTOMATION/ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS
This is the biggest difference between the vehicles. Some drivers will not care, others will really miss what Tesla offered.
- I used Autopilot extensively on long motorway journeys and also as a speed control in urban areas. After a long learning curve I sort of understand how Porsche's version (ALK + LKA + Innodrive) operates
- Porsche essentially leaves the driver support on most of the time. This is great because if you steer into another lane, or correct temporarily to the edge of a lane, it will pick up where you left off (vs Autopilot disengaging and reengaging very obviously)
- Porsche's recognition of speed limits is better than Tesla. In particular, with Innodrive engaged it will predict an upcoming speed limit reduction and begin to decelerate so it is going at the correct speed as you pass the sign. Tesla steams on at full speed until it has passed the sign, which is illegal and can get you a fine on some UK motorways where they have put a camera right on the gantry above the sign
- I think the driver assistance systems navigated corners etc pretty well, but I was too scared to let it do the work most of the time (see below)
- However on several occasions the Taycan simply disengaged the assistance systems WITHOUT TELLING ME which I think is a significant safety issue. One moment I'm driving along with the car doing the steering, the next moment I'm heading into the hedge or crossing the centre line. The only indication is a little green steering wheel light which silently goes out. An audible warning, at least, would be helpful.
- There are many situations where Tesla will identify a hazard and Porsche will not. The Taycan manual lists many of them. While Tesla's paranoia can be irritating (eg it will slow if it sees a pedestrian who *might* be going to cross the road), the Taycan can't be trusted. That's fine in theory, because the driver is in charge ... but I felt safer in the Tesla.

Great car. Really enjoying it.

Sponsored

 

[f1eng]

Some thoughts after a few days and some extensive driving in the Taycan (which I absolutely love so far) coming from a 2018 Tesla Model S:

FORWARDS
- Road holding is just superb and you soon realise what you miss in the S
- Acceleration from zero is a bit peculiar and will take some getting used to. The S just zooms forward. The Taycan does a massive gear change and gives you an unnecessary kick a second after you hit the accelerator. I'm learning to squeeze the accelerator more slowly.
- Acceleration once moving is a clear win for the Taycan - there is a sense of real power there all the time
- Actually we have become rather fond of the fake sports sound, which at first I thought was silly. It does add quite a lot to that visceral acceleration feeling

BACKWARDS
- OK, I see that some more experienced posters here rather like the fisheye reversing camera. I think it is very weird, but I'm sure I will figure it out eventually - if I don't bump the car first

COMFORT
- Fabulous seats (with the 14-way "option")
- Surprisingly quiet vs regular S (although I've not tried the new S with noise cancellation)
- Very minimal under-trunk storage

TECH
- Lack of PIN-to-drive is a major miss by Porsche. I really want the reassurance that if someone steals my key they can't have my car! And it would be so simple to implement it.
- Otherwise really quite surprised at how good the Taycan's software is
- Takes quite some time to find all the options. While the Tesla puts almost everything under one nice simple menu with errors in clear text, in the Taycan you are looking at several panels of buttons all over the place (bizarrely some haptic, some real buttons, some no feedback at all) and a wide range of strange icons which you have to memorise. Also the data the driver might want to see is scattered around the car - eg the rather important "charge level at destination" is on the far right (hidden by the steering wheel) or on a hidden popup screen in the nav system
- Audio is far superior (with Bose or the markedly better Burmester)
- Charging system is a bit strange - you don't seem to be able just to say "at this stop let's charge to x%", instead you have to fiddle with charging profiles
- Seems to be some gaps in what it stores per profile, and how it associates profiles to keys. Not as straightforward as Tesla
- Apple CarPlay can be very useful, although there are some quirks - eg if you push the Phone button on the main console you get an error message saying you need to make phone calls through CarPlay. This makes it a bit more complicated than it might seem at first
- Inbuilt navigation is OK, although it is harder to see traffic jams along the route than it is in a Tesla (or almost any other map app)
- Big clunky key per 1990s rather than Bluetooth phone unlock!

AUTOMATION/ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS
This is the biggest difference between the vehicles. Some drivers will not care, others will really miss what Tesla offered.
- I used Autopilot extensively on long motorway journeys and also as a speed control in urban areas. After a long learning curve I sort of understand how Porsche's version (ALK + LKA + Innodrive) operates
- Porsche essentially leaves the driver support on most of the time. This is great because if you steer into another lane, or correct temporarily to the edge of a lane, it will pick up where you left off (vs Autopilot disengaging and reengaging very obviously)
- Porsche's recognition of speed limits is better than Tesla. In particular, with Innodrive engaged it will predict an upcoming speed limit reduction and begin to decelerate so it is going at the correct speed as you pass the sign. Tesla steams on at full speed until it has passed the sign, which is illegal and can get you a fine on some UK motorways where they have put a camera right on the gantry above the sign
- I think the driver assistance systems navigated corners etc pretty well, but I was too scared to let it do the work most of the time (see below)
- However on several occasions the Taycan simply disengaged the assistance systems WITHOUT TELLING ME which I think is a significant safety issue. One moment I'm driving along with the car doing the steering, the next moment I'm heading into the hedge or crossing the centre line. The only indication is a little green steering wheel light which silently goes out. An audible warning, at least, would be helpful.
- There are many situations where Tesla will identify a hazard and Porsche will not. The Taycan manual lists many of them. While Tesla's paranoia can be irritating (eg it will slow if it sees a pedestrian who *might* be going to cross the road), the Taycan can't be trusted. That's fine in theory, because the driver is in charge ... but I felt safer in the Tesla.

Great car. Really enjoying it.

Interesting how different your pluses an minuses are to mine.
I would rather risk my car being nicked than have to key in a PIN before I can drive it each time.

Using a phone as a key wouldn’t work for us since after several tries my wife found the exasperation of owning a mobile phone outweighed its utility and abandoned the idea. Now she hasn’t got one, which is more inconvenient for me and the family than it is for her, of course.

I find any driver automated aid more stressful than sitting next to a novice learner driver and wondering what it/they will do next - mostly OK but on high alert just in case. I’d rather drive myself.

I chose torque vectoring, rear wheel steer and active anti roll bars but not Innodrive or even adaptive cruise, which was irritatingly inconsistent on other cars but wasn’t optional.
I do like the car doing clever chassis stuff but want it to be only me who decides when it accelerates, brakes and steers.

I had previously been exasperated by the Porsche options list but eventually was pleased it allowed me to avoid the ubiquitous adaptive cruise and privacy glass.

 

[Amelio]

I agree, I don’t think the PCM is as bad as people make it out to be …

Some thoughts after a few days and some extensive driving in the Taycan (which I absolutely love so far) coming from a 2018 Tesla Model S:

FORWARDS
- Road holding is just superb and you soon realise what you miss in the S
- Acceleration from zero is a bit peculiar and will take some getting used to. The S just zooms forward. The Taycan does a massive gear change and gives you an unnecessary kick a second after you hit the accelerator. I'm learning to squeeze the accelerator more slowly.
- Acceleration once moving is a clear win for the Taycan - there is a sense of real power there all the time
- Actually we have become rather fond of the fake sports sound, which at first I thought was silly. It does add quite a lot to that visceral acceleration feeling

BACKWARDS
- OK, I see that some more experienced posters here rather like the fisheye reversing camera. I think it is very weird, but I'm sure I will figure it out eventually - if I don't bump the car first

COMFORT
- Fabulous seats (with the 14-way "option")
- Surprisingly quiet vs regular S (although I've not tried the new S with noise cancellation)
- Very minimal under-trunk storage

TECH
- Lack of PIN-to-drive is a major miss by Porsche. I really want the reassurance that if someone steals my key they can't have my car! And it would be so simple to implement it.
- Otherwise really quite surprised at how good the Taycan's software is
- Takes quite some time to find all the options. While the Tesla puts almost everything under one nice simple menu with errors in clear text, in the Taycan you are looking at several panels of buttons all over the place (bizarrely some haptic, some real buttons, some no feedback at all) and a wide range of strange icons which you have to memorise. Also the data the driver might want to see is scattered around the car - eg the rather important "charge level at destination" is on the far right (hidden by the steering wheel) or on a hidden popup screen in the nav system
- Audio is far superior (with Bose or the markedly better Burmester)
- Charging system is a bit strange - you don't seem to be able just to say "at this stop let's charge to x%", instead you have to fiddle with charging profiles
- Seems to be some gaps in what it stores per profile, and how it associates profiles to keys. Not as straightforward as Tesla
- Apple CarPlay can be very useful, although there are some quirks - eg if you push the Phone button on the main console you get an error message saying you need to make phone calls through CarPlay. This makes it a bit more complicated than it might seem at first
- Inbuilt navigation is OK, although it is harder to see traffic jams along the route than it is in a Tesla (or almost any other map app)
- Big clunky key per 1990s rather than Bluetooth phone unlock!

AUTOMATION/ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS
This is the biggest difference between the vehicles. Some drivers will not care, others will really miss what Tesla offered.
- I used Autopilot extensively on long motorway journeys and also as a speed control in urban areas. After a long learning curve I sort of understand how Porsche's version (ALK + LKA + Innodrive) operates
- Porsche essentially leaves the driver support on most of the time. This is great because if you steer into another lane, or correct temporarily to the edge of a lane, it will pick up where you left off (vs Autopilot disengaging and reengaging very obviously)
- Porsche's recognition of speed limits is better than Tesla. In particular, with Innodrive engaged it will predict an upcoming speed limit reduction and begin to decelerate so it is going at the correct speed as you pass the sign. Tesla steams on at full speed until it has passed the sign, which is illegal and can get you a fine on some UK motorways where they have put a camera right on the gantry above the sign
- I think the driver assistance systems navigated corners etc pretty well, but I was too scared to let it do the work most of the time (see below)
- However on several occasions the Taycan simply disengaged the assistance systems WITHOUT TELLING ME which I think is a significant safety issue. One moment I'm driving along with the car doing the steering, the next moment I'm heading into the hedge or crossing the centre line. The only indication is a little green steering wheel light which silently goes out. An audible warning, at least, would be helpful.
- There are many situations where Tesla will identify a hazard and Porsche will not. The Taycan manual lists many of them. While Tesla's paranoia can be irritating (eg it will slow if it sees a pedestrian who *might* be going to cross the road), the Taycan can't be trusted. That's fine in theory, because the driver is in charge ... but I felt safer in the Tesla.

Great car. Really enjoying it.

"The Enhanced Autopilot was really good on the highways. Innodrive isn’t quite as good as EAP, but in my limited testing, it does a good enough job."

Could you please tell me more about the differences between EAP and InnoDrive? EAP isn't perfect, but it's pretty good. Sometimes it gets confused with exit ramp lines etc, orange (contruction) lines, etc. But how is InnoDrive on long trips? My wife loves EAP and its the reason we take the Tesla over her Lexus on some trips, the Lexus is more tiring for us.

 

[anonymouse]

Innodrive sort of does the job of Extended Autopilot but not quite. It has a bit of a habit of disengaging by surprise. There isn’t that “click it on and it takes control for a bit (under supervision)” feeling. I am still learning to trust it (a bit).

 

[or1]

I do look forward to fully autonomous vehicles - for some trip occasions and some forms of transport. But we are far from there now. And as long as "autonomy" needs constant surveillance, I am more stressed by surveying than by doing all the driving myself.

Actually when testing InnoDrive, it took away some of the joy of driving as I didn't operate the accelerator pedal. I can't say I quite liked how it decellerated and accelerated either.

A Taycan gives the greatest experience when used for active "manual" driving.

 

[anonymouse]

when testing InnoDrive, it took away some of the joy of driving

After four years travelling all over Europe in a Tesla, I have got used to specific purposes of Autopilot. You are right that it takes away the joy of driving. But there are sections of any route which are joyless…. inching forward in traffic jams, looking away safely for a moment to put some music on or see a beautiful mountain, long straight stretches on empty motorways at the speed limit, etc. In a Tesla you can just flip a lever and the car will do the work (under supervision); you can relax your upper torso and put all your attention onto spotting the things that the car might miss. Porsche sort of does the same but so far I‘ve found it not quite solid enough to trust. it’s not quite smart enough. (But of course is absolutely brilliant at almost everything else.)

 

[anonymouse]

I would rather risk my car being nicked than have to key in a PIN before I can drive it each time.

If Porsche added this very simple feature, you wouldn’t HAVE to use it. As implemented on every Tesla, for example, PIN-to-drive is an optional thing (that’s “option” as in you can turn it on and off, not the Porsche definition of “option” which is $$$ ).

PIN-to-drive is very helpful in lots of situations -- it protects your car against relay theft from the key at your home and in public car parks, or the key being stolen from a handbag etc.

Many people would be willing to hit four buttons on the screen on entering the car in order to have their car better protected — far better than messing about with the big lump of plastic that comes with the Porsche immobiliser anyway!

 

[or1]

After four years travelling all over Europe in a Tesla, I have got used to specific purposes of Autopilot. You are right that it takes away the joy of driving. But there are sections of any route which are joyless…. inching forward in traffic jams, looking away safely for a moment to put some music on or see a beautiful mountain, long straight stretches on empty motorways at the speed limit, etc. In a Tesla you can just flip a lever and the car will do the work (under supervision); you can relax your upper torso and put all your attention onto spotting the things that the car might miss. Porsche sort of does the same but so far I‘ve found it not quite solid enough to trust. it’s not quite smart enough. (But of course is absolutely brilliant at almost everything else.)

I had a Tesla Model S 2015 and used it for six years. Tesla "autopilot" is probably improved in later models, but I found I did not dare trust it for even five seconds at a time. But that is me.

i (mostly) trust ACC, however, and that gives me useful help in some situations. You may say I am inconsequent then, using one assistance system and not others. But to me it is a question of how much complexity I find the car can handle safely itself, and how much I prefer to be in direct control.

 

[magnitude]

i (mostly) trust ACC, however, and that gives me useful help in some situations. You may say I am inconsequent then, using one assistance system and not others. But to me it is a question of how much complexity I find the car can handle safely itself, and how much I prefer to be in direct control.

I'm completely with you. ACC is still a very simple thing: It will use radar to gradually adjust speed to the car in front of you, if there is a car in front of you. There is no magic about that, and the car's inertia and rate of change is such that even if the ACC does something "weird" (I wouldn't know what, maybe a suddenly broken radar, but a suddenly broken transmission for example would be way worse), you just adjust.

It's the same with driving on a hill or when a curve appears. You're still the driver, part of the closed loop.

Some higher level assistance systems, on the other hand, leave you guessing about what the model thinks it needs to do.

 

[Needsdecaf]

Driving:
1. The Tesla can accelerate, but it doesn’t inspire confidence. And it handles like a boat with a horrible turning radius/feel. I curbed the rear wheels a couple of times (and I’m super careful).

What the hell is it about Teslas that makes it so easy to curb the rear wheels? In the 4 years I owned my Model 3's, I managed to curb both rear wheels and one front wheel...on BOTH of them. In my 30 years of driving, that is literally 6 times the amount of wheels I have curbed otherwise. I don't know if it's the speed of the steering or what, but man, it was so hard to place the rear of the car.

 

[TDinDC]

"The Enhanced Autopilot was really good on the highways. Innodrive isn’t quite as good as EAP, but in my limited testing, it does a good enough job."

Could you please tell me more about the differences between EAP and InnoDrive? EAP isn't perfect, but it's pretty good. Sometimes it gets confused with exit ramp lines etc, orange (contruction) lines, etc. But how is InnoDrive on long trips? My wife loves EAP and its the reason we take the Tesla over her Lexus on some trips, the Lexus is more tiring for us.

From my perspective, you cannot really compare the two. EAP is designed to drive for you (albeit under supervision and with hands on the wheel). You turn EAP on and EAP stays on unless it warns you very Audibly that it is not on or that you must take over (unless you have manually overriden it by turning, braking or accelerating). Innodrive, on the other hand, is not designed to encourage you to let the car drive for you: to the contrary, you MUST actively drive at all times because it gives no audible warning and only a mild visual warning that it is not driving the car. Innodrive is designed more to be a high-functioning driver assist technology. It will relieve stress and handle micro-corrections most times, and it is very good in that speed control/braking department, including by adjusting speed independent of speed limit (eg, slowing for curves).

In sum, EAP drives the car but you must be ready to take over in the event of an error, while Innodrive make it far easier for you to continue to actively drive the car.

 

[ithinkmac]

Wait. I thought PID only monitors speed, so it can vary speed depending on your driving and road topography. There is no lane control in PID. ALK does the lane controls. for something similar to Tesla EAP. You'll need PID, ACC and ALK.

Tesla EAP and AutoPilot is way better than PID (if we just group the 3 autonomous options together). One thing I hate about the Porsche setup, even with any assistance turned off. I can be driving, and suddenly car decelerates on its own and ask me to take over steering. When it's a perfectly clear road and plenty of gap between car ahead. freak drivers out who are behind me. There are certain spots where it does this consistently, I wonder if it's the environment confusing the system or if there's a geo-fencing (GPS data) that's causing this.

Tesla has phantom braking too, but a lot of less with newer OTA updates. Latest Tesla update even recognizes trucks/semis now, and cling on the left/right side of the lane when when it sense a truck next to you, then move back to middle of lane after passing.

And 1 incident occurred to me that still scared the crap out of me. Using PID, ACC and ALK. following a truck. There's a rest stop exit coming up. truck exit to rest stop. My Taycan decided that I should take over steering. It starts vibrating steering wheel, beeping, screen flashing red, and the seat belts start pull/release/pull/release. Scared my wife who was dozing off on the passenger seat. Gave me a jolt of adrenaline, step on the brakes, disengage everything, and continue driving. Only happened once. BUT, I do like the multi area of warning (in case some emergency does come up in the future). The seat belt tugging and releasing was a nice feature I find, and all the lumber and seat side cushions all squeeze together to hold you in place. Find this helpful, just wasn't sure why it was all engaged on this particular exit split on the freeway.

-ThinkMac-

 

[anonymouse]

My Taycan decided that I should take over steering. It starts vibrating steering wheel, beeping, screen flashing red, and the seat belts start pull/release/pull/release. S

I thought, per the manual, that the behaviour you describe is what happens when it thinks you don't have your hands on the wheel (as measured by receiving tiny inputs from you periodically)?

One thing (I think) I have noticed is that when you give small inputs, the Porsche acts on them -- whereas the Tesla tends not to, until you "break" the firm grasp it has while in Autopilot. I had someone watch me from behind the other day, and we discovered that when I used my normal Tesla Autopilot driving technique (slight clockwise torque at all times so it knows I'm there) then the Porsche steered towards the right lane boundary and stayed there. So keeping ALK/PID alive on long straight roads requires an occasional tip to left or right which will move the car around the lane a bit.

 

[Amelio]

I find it wonders a bit, like humans do.

 

[whitex]

A decade, 2 Model S (actually 4, but 2 of them were my wife's primary car), switched to Taycan ~4 months ago ~5k miles. My thoughts on yours:

1. The Model S is a great looking car. The Taycan is in a different category of style and design.

To me, Taycan looks better, but as I waited 20 months from deposit to delivery, by the time I got it, it didn't look as exotic as it did to me when I decided to buy it. Also, I like elegant but not flashy cars. both Model S and Taycan looks work for me there.

2. The MS never felt solid. The way the car feels when you shut the door, hit a bump in the road, or drive down the highway - it always felt a bit thin and cheap. The Taycan feels SOLID. You feel the quality. You see the quality. I never felt like I was driving a luxury car with the MS. One close of the door in the Taycan and you know it’s in a completely different league.

I actually have more problems with Taycan door handles and the present/unlock on touch than I ever did on any of the 4 Model S'es I've owned - Taycan sometimes re-locks itself instead of unlocking when I touch the handle (not on the divit), or other times unlocks itself immediately after locking for no apparent reason. Actual door closing seems ok, matches my last Model S, though from one MS to another the feeling was definitely not consistent. Honestly, for the price I paid for the Taycan, I would have expected a soft-close mechanism (I know, more weight, but I'd still pay for the option) since figuring just the right amount of force to close and not slam the door in a Taycan is just as challenging as the Model S.

3. A lot of people give the Tesla software an edge. I’m not so sure the gap is that big. Wireless Apple Carplay is incredible - the latest PCM is fast and smooth - the customization of the various screens is awesome. Sure, there are things the Tesla is slicker with (like handling podcasts), but the Porsche has a HUD, the passenger screen, and the haptic feedback are really useful as well. It is actually easier to use at times because I’m not reaching across a 17in screen to do things. I was expecting laggy software from what I read, but everything has been smooth and super responsive.

Carplay is great, though sometimes it has hiccups continuously engaging Siri even though nobody said "Hey Siri". I love the HUD, glad I paid for it, even if sometimes it's distracting (hence I setup my diamond button on the steering wheel to turn HUD on/off). However, while Tesla software has its issues, PCM was a bit disappointing. I was disappointed at its responsiveness (for example, takes at least a full second from hitting the "Climate" button on bottom display to the right controls to show up). The backup camera is less useful, and I say that after figuring out the fisheye view - all of the camera views and parking aids are completely useless when parking within 6" of anything, while the overhead view is mostly useless when parking around anything taller than maybe 6" (like a curb). I mostly rely on mirrors to park. I also wish the Taycan had a bigger screen instead of 2 screens. Oh, almost forgot, the haptic feedback on the lower screen is great, except it gives feedback even if you hit a space with no function at all, so if you miss a button, you still feel like you pressed it.

4. The 18 way seats fit like a glove. I would feel fatigue in the Tesla seats (I’m 6’2” with long legs). These seats contour in every possible way and it’s incredibly comfortable.

I love the 18 way seats. To be completely honest, somehow I didn't end up adjusting much from the way it came (perhaps the tech doing the PDI had similar preferences) but I love the way the seat holds me in place when doing spirited driving.

5. The space inside and in the trunk is a little smaller, but it’s not an issue. I attribute this to the Tesla being a hatchback, but leg room/etc was pretty comparable. Rear seat head room is a little smaller so long drives with tall adults may be uncomfortable.

The trunk space is somewhat smaller (narrower), plus the under-trunk is much smaller, but it's a trade-off I knew I was making. I have the CT so it's not the "trunk vs. hatch" effect. I can still fit a set of 20" wheels+tires on the back no problem (which I've done already). As for back seat room, Taycan wins that one as it definitely has more legroom for the passengers with its battery foot garage. My wife hates riding on the back of the Model S, but loves the Taycan. Again, I have the CT, so more headroom than the sedan on the back.

6. The ability to customize these cars gives each one uniqueness. Tesla has like 5 colors and two wheel types so nearly all cars look alike. Boring.

Taycan has way more options. Personally I don't care about number of exterior colors are all my cars have been white for at least the last two decades (my wife joined the white car club a little later), but Taycan just has so much more in terms of features I care about - HUD, RAS, PDCC, PTV, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, 18 way seats, matrix headlights (though not enabled in USA, will have to hack them to get them to work).

7. The one thing that Tesla is clearly better on is the charging software. The Porsche charger and software are not intuitive. Like, why make up a term like Direct Charging? The language is confusing (IE charge as fast as possible to a minimum charge of X). In the Tesla, they made it super simple to slide the charge level in car or at a charger.

Porsche charging is a complete fail, and a complete lack of user experience. The best I can tell is that it's a literal implementation and exposing of the ISO15118 spec and its programmer API - they probably just told engineers to implement the spec and add a UI to it, so they did. Porsche EVSEs (a.k.a. chargers) are also a complete fail. I put my PMC+ away without ever unpacking it, it's so much worse than what you can buy at 1/10 of a price out there - for mobile charger I use the Tesla Mobile Connector with a TelaTap Mini which I carry with as it allows me to use Tesla destination chargers. Side note, I also converted one of my Tesla HPWC's to J1772, so that they balance 80A in my garage between my Taycan and my wife's Model S.

1. The Tesla can accelerate, but it doesn’t inspire confidence. And it handles like a boat with a horrible turning radius/feel. I curbed the rear wheels a couple of times (and I’m super careful). The Taycan feels like an extension of my hand. I feel in absolute control on every corner, every turn, and I still don’t know the limits. This is an engineering marvel with driving dynamics. Driving enthusiast's understand that handling is more important than a 0-60 launch. So, I may not beat a Model S Plaid in a 0-60 shootout, but the Porsche is more exhilarating to drive.

I absolutely love the way my Taycan drives. My last Model S had the Sport Plus air suspension, and I enjoyed it a lot, but after driving the Taycan for a month (and 4K miles - 3.5K was my drive home from the dealer) when I went to drive my old Model S, it felt like driving a road cruiser - so imprecise, so "boat like". All that said, I did end up waiting 20 months for a Taycan Turbo because I knew a 4S just felt underpowered on highway accelerations when I test drove it. Could have had a 4S earlier.

2. I had the FSD with Tesla. It’s no where near ready for prime time so I won’t even review that. It’s actually dangerous that it’s out there being marketed as FSD. The Enhanced Autopilot was really good on the highways. Innodrive isn’t quite as good as EAP, but in my limited testing, it does a good enough job.

Tesla AutoPilot is better for lane keeping. There is a difference in approach between Tesla and Porsche. While with Tesla, the driver aids AutoPilot in driving, with Porsche PID aid the driver. The one thing I dislike the most is that Porsche ADAS disengages silently, with the only indicator being the small steering wheel icon on the dash or HUD. Also, most of the time, Porsche lane keeping drives like it's drunk, bounding from one side of the lane to the other. Tesla, even AP1, is much better there.

Make no mistake - Tesla changed the industry with the Model S and did a lot of remarkable things. I have a lot of respect for what they’ve accomplished. But Porsche has created the best performance electric car in the world. It’s 95% the performance of a 911 Turbo on a track but a luxurious daily driver. I LOVE this car. I enjoyed my Tesla. But I look for reasons to drive with the Taycan.

Hey, I look for reasons to drive my Taycan. I knew that would be the case, hence I chose to drive my car home 3,500miles instead of shipping it. HOWEVER, I also looked for reasons to drive my Teslas too, when I got them (drove my P85DL+ across the continent to visit family while my wife and kids traveled via a plane). Tesla did change the world, after Model S I could not go back to ICE car, purely for performance/drive/acceleration feel reasons. Taycan is the next generation of ultimate EV driving.

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