Taycan 4S First Thoughts

MARTY7

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I owned a Model 3P - traded it for the Taycan

Taycan is a better car
Model 3 is a better EV

Model 3 is a great car for the price and has a stellar fast charging network
the Taycan is a great car

Model 3 has better "tech"
Taycan has better brakes
Model 3 has better efficiency
Taycan has a better interior

would you prefer a nicely equipped Camry or a lux. BMW sports 5 series?
I am preaching to the wrong crowd, that's for sure. Everyone has their own needs/thoughts, these are just mine and some of the bad I listed are inexcusable at this price point and car level.
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MARTY7

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MARTY7

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Old German expression that Porsche obviously missed (translation may not be exact)
There is that, I wonder if my opinion would be swayed to the Taycan if I didn't have kids!
 

manitou202

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I will wait for the Taycan Mk.2.

Peace :)
I think the only "Bad" that will change by Taycan Mk2 are gremlins, charging infrastructure, and the charging ports.

Everything else is either part of owning a Porsche (limited visibility, poor UX, poor innodrive, no Nexflix, and the spoiler), or the purpose of the 4S versus higher spec models (acceleration).

Edit: I'm not trying to be a jerk FYI and I understand those are the two cars you are interested. But you have to admit it's a rather odd comparison. Tesla are impressive. I owned a Model X for several years, and have spend a decent amount of time in a Model S and Model 3. They are just such a different vehicle for such a different market I just struggle to compare then to the Taycan outside of charging infrastructure, and maybe charging speed.
 
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Cilviloze

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I don't think it's about comparing Taycan to model 3.
It's simply the fact that Taycan, at this stage, has too many flaws for him. Unlike most of us, including myself, UX, autopilot, etc. matter to him. So he's willing to wait.

But mind you, that perfect car might never come. Like Manitou said, most of them are part of owning a Porsche.
 

Singularity

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1. For a car with limited rear glass to look through, the reversing camera is diabolical; not only is it an extra but it isn't worthy of a £100k car even if it was included as standard. Porsche isn't on its own with this as I found the same in an Aston Martin.

3. The 4S isn't as fast as the lowly M3P, it's not even close off the line. If you didn't have launch control on and in sport mode, it would be worlds away. M3P is fast all the time without any fiddling of dials or pressing of brake pedals -that complaint goes for the Model S and X as well. I wonder if you put all these EV cars in a line, in their standard everyday settings without launch control, without sport/insane/ludicrous, which one would hit 50/60 first (I bet it would be very close!).

5. The powered charging port covers are temperamental and broke down multiple times when test driving the car. Its been out a while now so no excuses there.
Couple of comments on these points.

1. I recommend the 360 camera system. It's pretty good and easily an improvement on the parking aids of my previous cars. Rear camera is not brilliant yes, but I don't have any issues with it myself.

3. I personally don't get the obsession with off the line acceleration. Did you not compare high speed accelerations / overtake accelerations? This is the area where it matters in my opinion and for me it was one of the key factors in getting excited about the Taycan in the first place. At high speeds fast ICE cars have generally crushed electric cars but Taycan is a game changer. The 4S (especially with the larger battery) is A LOT faster than M3P in high speed accelerations. More significantly than the difference in these off the line launches which are definitely slightly in favor of M3P.

5. I've now driven 7000km with my Taycan which has the powered charging port covers and I've had no issues to speak of. Also not heard from anywhere that this is a common issue. The only slight issue has been that on heavy rain, if the outside sensor is wet, it may take a few swipes to open. A very minor issue. So my conclusion is that whatever issues you experienced they are likely related to the specific car and rare.
 

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Horses for courses innit. As an appliance a Model 3 makes a lot of sense, particularly while Tesla has a lead in charging infrastructure over other manufacturers. I can also see why someone would go for that option and keep a lot of money in their wallet.

It certainly isn't, for me at least, an exciting proposition. The driving dynamics in the Taycan are on a different planet, and as you point out the styling and interior are really at different ends of the market. Yes a Model 3 goes like weasel-sh*t off the lights but a 4S is hardly slow, and you get to enjoy the important bit - the corners.

Like I say, different cars for different use cases.
 


manitou202

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@MARTY7

I'll add one more thing about my Tesla to Taycan experience (now you are making me turn this into a Model 3 versus Taycan debate. ;)).

I was blown away when we first bought our Model X. It felt unlike any car I had driven before. Even things like the fart app were a huge hit with our kids. I was really convinced that this was so much better than everything else out there, I was almost mad that how could the other automakers be so far behind. I also felt really guilty about driving gas powered cars (I know not everyone will agree), and wanted to support electric vehicles as much as possible. So buying a Model X was the perfect choice for us.

Then came the Taycan. Initially I had a deposit on one, and when it came out and it was time to place an order I test drove a Turbo at my local dealership. It was just like I expected from a Porsche (handling, build quality, the Porsche experience, etc) but I too noticed things like the UX and other aspects that felt behind in tech compared to Tesla. So as a result I cancelled my order and purchased an E-tron. I figured it was a cheaper way to experience electric vehicles from a quality automaker and still support the advancement of EVs.

After about 6 months of owning the E-tron, I realized that we were driving it way more than our Tesla. It was more comfortable, quiet, we had gotten used to the UX, and it's sound system was far superior. We were driving it because it had many of the more traditional aspects we had grown accustom to in a luxury vehicle. The Model X by comparison felt poorly built, had a lot of rattles, the fart app and fun tech had become old. I realized that a lot of those things were kinda gimmicky tricks, and in reality weren't of any real use. The biggest thing the Model X had going for it was the supercharging network.

A couple of months ago I started entertaining the idea of trading the Model X for a Taycan. I've had 6 Porsches over the past 10 years and really missed have a car I loved to drive. I ended spending more time with a Taycan Turbo and quickly realized it was what I wanted. I will admit it took spending more time in the car to really appreciate it. It's by far the best driving EV on the market and a true Porsche. Sure it had some compromises in terms of charging network and tech like over the air updates, but I got used to the UX, and actually began to prefer the more traditional display instead of the massive touch screen in the middle. Yes it was a bigger heavier sedan, but it really did drive like a Porsche. I wanted to get excited every time I got in the car to drive, not get in an appliance that made fart noises and could drive itself on the highway.

Tesla has changed the auto industry forever. They started the EV revolution and I couldn't be happier. But they have a long ways to go in terms of building cars that drive and feel like what many have come to expect for luxury cars. To be honest, Tesla may never need to concern itself with these type of vehicles anyway. They most likely will become the GM or Toyota of electric vehicles assuming they can get their quality up. The won't (and probably shouldn't care to be) be a direct competitor with manufacturers like Porsche. Their bread and butter will be mass consumer electric vehicles.

So, I guess you have to decide what you really want out of the Taycan or the Model 3P. For the money the Model 3 is hard to beat. It's a blast to drive and is perfect for a middle size sporty EV. It has some of the best tech in the industry and is possibly the best EV for driving long distances. But if you really appreciate the quality and driving experience of something like a Porsche, and care less about the latest tech, I can guarantee the Taycan will make you happier in the long run. But it comes at a HUGE cost difference (which is the case of all cars in this class). When I was younger I never understood these luxury GT sport cars. I had a Subaru WRX STI which could run circles around most of them. It also had a 6-speed manual and was a blast to drive. But it was also extremely loud and uncomfortable, shitty quality, began to lose it's appeal as I got older. As sad as it is I now like things like massaging seats in my car, and noise insulating glass so I can listen to my music of choice on a drive.

Sorry for rambling. :)

Good luck with your decision.
 

oalsaker

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I tried the Model 3 but hated the seats, so it was a no.
 

MARTY7

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@MARTY7.

Sorry for rambling. :)

Good luck with your decision.
Your rambling is extremely welcome and most enjoyable to read, thank you. I guess I will revisit in a few months when I start to look at the website again lol. I must ask though what's your opinion of the reversing camera and the self driving on motorways/interstate? They were my biggest dissapointments on a car I was trying to convince myself to buy (and still am). Its just so damned good looking!
 

manitou202

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Your rambling is extremely welcome and most enjoyable to read, thank you. I guess I will revisit in a few months when I start to look at the website again lol. I must ask though what's your opinion of the reversing camera and the self driving on motorways/interstate? They were my biggest dissapointments on a car I was trying to convince myself to buy (and still am). Its just so damned good looking!
The reversing camera isn't the best, but you get the 360 view which the Tesla doesn't have. I've gotten used to it now that I know the exterior limits of the car.

Self driving is a mixed bag. Tesla's autopilot is very impressive but I honestly only used it on longer highway drives. I rarely used it in town. The Taycan is good enough (same with our Audi) for longer highway drives, but it obviously doesn't have features like changing lanes and isn't as trust worthy. It's also decent for stop and go traffic. If this is a feature you really love about the Tesla, it's going to be hard to find an alternative.
 

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Your right about the camera. I need to give you that one. But comparing a 4S against a M3 isn’t a fair comparison. These are aimed at different customers. Innodrive is far from perfect but I would actually say it is better at some driving. Passing trucks, roundabouts and lane keeping in bad visibility is better and more refined than a Tesla.
 

MARTY7

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Your right about the camera. I need to give you that one. But comparing a 4S against a M3 isn’t a fair comparison. These are aimed at different customers. Innodrive is far from perfect but I would actually say it is better at some driving. Passing trucks, roundabouts and lane keeping in bad visibility is better and more refined than a Tesla.
Cant at least one of you put me off. I had pretty much put my mind to rest, now I am thinking about it again :CWL:
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