Pros and Cons of Variable Light Control roof option

masmole

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I have a Taycan on order with this option box checked. Mainly because it looked cool in the youtube videos I've seen but I'm fully aware that it's more gimmicky than useful, similar to the Porsche electric sport sound. Some will like it, but I'm sure most are fine with the just plain tinted pano roof or no glass roof at all. Me - I like it and will most likely just show it off to friends a few times then completely forget about it and leave it at whatever setting I prefer and not change it again.

Pros:
- looks uniquely high tech and cool to show off to others
- offer actual natural light control options into the cabin
- may actually reduce heat build-up versus regular pano roof on a hot summer day?

Porsche Taycan Pros and Cons of Variable Light Control roof option i-9n53C


Cons:
- expensive ($4760 USD option)
- one more techy thing that can break
- may delay production dates on early builds
- And here's the biggest CON that has me considering actually removing this option from my build: According to Porsche's description on the configurator, the roof automatically sets itself to the frosted setting when the vehicle is turned off and parked. Just like how I like my suspension height set at the lowest setting so it looks good parked, having a frosted central section of the roof seemed like it might ruin the parked car esthetic. It would look like the photo below when parked, which kinda gnaws on my OCD tendencies.

Porsche Taycan Pros and Cons of Variable Light Control roof option i-37Sq9Qh-X3


Having it default to a frosted when turned off and parked kinda bothers me... at least with these renders. Would it bother you? I wish the frosting were darker or black but I guess frosted is most effective for sun light rejection.
Porsche Taycan Pros and Cons of Variable Light Control roof option i-mDfcr
 

Atipical

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The price alone was the main turnoff for me. I took it off of my build. As a "nice to have but not at all necessary" option, ~$3k on top of the panoramic sunroof is above my threshold. I put that money towards PSCB's.
 

spicyypenguin

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I remember seeing a YouTube video showing that it looks the same from the outside of the car (e.g. same appearance on the outside whether the roof is set to clear or frosted setting). Let me see if I can find it.

I’ve also spec’d this on my Taycan GTS. I wasn’t that crazy about it at first, but my fiancé was adamant about it - her reasoning was that backseat passengers (kids) may get annoyed with the sun coming down directly on them, she’s also very protective of her skin and deathly afraid of the sun. So alas, added this option last week and it didn’t seem change the build or production date on my vehicle.

Edit: here's that video (at 9:37, although the entire segment on the electrochroamatic sunroof is pretty neat to see in action.)
 
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Jiggins

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I haven't seen it on the UK configurator but the cost of it would put me off, plus the limitation of not being able to have the front section 'open' whilst the rear is shaded seems like a missed opportunity to me.
 

tbinmd

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Price is just nutty. Don't forget car has pre heat/cool.
 


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masmole

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Price is just nutty. Don't forget car has pre heat/cool.
Exactly what I'm thinking. Description says it becomes frosted when car is powered-off... but I wonder if there will be an option for it remain unfrosted when off by default since the car has pre-heat/cool anyway? That's a $3k+ chance I'd be taking though because if there's no option to do that, it would likely ruin the esthetic for me. I wouldn't want to diminish the car's sexiness when parked when I look back at it 3-4 times :CWL:
 

porcha

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I saw a Taycan today on the street that had this roof - and due to the overnight cold - it looked brown for some reason...
 

bah1590

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I remember seeing a YouTube video showing that it looks the same from the outside of the car (e.g. same appearance on the outside whether the roof is set to clear or frosted setting). Let me see if I can find it.

I’ve also spec’d this on my Taycan GTS. I wasn’t that crazy about it at first, but my fiancé was adamant about it - her reasoning was that backseat passengers (kids) may get annoyed with the sun coming down directly on them, she’s also very protective of her skin and deathly afraid of the sun. So alas, added this option last week and it didn’t seem change the build or production date on my vehicle.

Edit: here's that video (at 9:37, although the entire segment on the electrochroamatic sunroof is pretty neat to see in action.)
Your likely to get more damaging rays from the front windshield and side windows unless you tint then the sunroof. The sunroof filters out all the UV damaging rays.
 


spicyypenguin

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Your likely to get more damaging rays from the front windshield and side windows unless you tint then the sunroof. The sunroof filters out all the UV damaging rays.
Oh yeah, I totally agree and told her that the regular panoramic roof already filters out 100% of the harmful UV rays. She was really persistent about it though, so I ended up added it to the build to avoid future headaches and complaints.
 

batteredhaddock

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I'm just bloody relieved it wasn't an option when I was still continually adding bits right up until lock. I'm assuming I'll get on just as well with the base pano as I did with the iPace one. Liked the light it let in, never had heat issues, never really looked out of it mainly being the driver. Now would I like the fancy new one, hell yes but in reality I know it would have been another £4k to show off to my friends with...
 

batteredhaddock

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I saw a Taycan today on the street that had this roof - and due to the overnight cold - it looked brown for some reason...
These already on the road or just the way the light was reflection off the standard pano's coating?
 

Ambroos

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I think you really just get it for the cool factor or if $5000 is an insignificant amount of money to you. It doesn't actually block out any additional light as far as I can tell, it just diffuses it. It's like a privacy feature for the 'window' that needs it least.
 

Mike in CA

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I prefer the look of the car with the lightweight aluminum roof so that's how I ordered mine. I suppose that reveals my thoughts on the matter. ;) Whatever floats your boat, though....
 

EJM22

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I’m actually waiting to order a MY ‘23 RWD for this option specifically. I like the gimmick and cool factor of it. I don’t think it defaulting to frosted mode when turning off will bother me, I’ll be out of the car. It remembers the last setting when turned back on, so I think that suffice.
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