Taycan as a daily driver for a working hands-on guy?

[Needsdecaf]

I've always bought my cars and kept them until almost run into the ground. We bought the I-pace because I was commuting to and from a ranch/farm and racking up huge miles on the Hummer H2 and then a Honda HRV.....my wife wanted me in something nicer and something EV (for the environment). The I-pace was the only vehicle that looked like a regular car (not ugly) and seemed plausible. To my point: it was the first car I ever bought and figured I could do like many of my friends and just 'get rid of it' in a year or so if I didn't like it.

This may sound ignorant but I bought the I-pace having NO IDEA it has some serious power and handling.....to my shock, it carves the canyons almost on par with my Ferrari, it is a vastly under-rated vehicles for it's performance. Everything else I fell in love with: the cruise control and adaptive steering, the silent non-shifting smooth operation, driving by gas stations and not caring about the price. I never thought I'd love this car as much as I do!!

Truth is, the most practical solution is to do what many families do and simply get a 2nd I-pace....but I find that boring so I want something else. I don't care for the forced "Welcome to the year 2,500" of the Tesla, the interior is just bland as if to suggest this is how modern cars will be. I don't want the bulk of the Hummer EV, the Rivian looks ugly and thing uglier will be that combination of a stealth fighter, el camino and car from Back to the Future that Tesla will eventually make....the one with the shatter resistant glass that broke at the unveiling.

The Taycan will be my daily but if I need to hit Home Depot or the feed store, or haul stuff home.....I'd best plan on taking another vehicle that day. The Taycan is too nice and upscale to commit to the adverse conditions I sometimes place upon a vehicle.

That said, the dealer told me this morning that a sales associate is working with some out-of-state buyer on the same car I'm interested in so this deal may slip away. There's another one at Beverly Hills that may be an option. Seems the Turbo S don't move so quickly, probably due to their price point.

I do appreciate the input and being allowed to vent my thoughts, thanks guys!

Maybe get a BMW i4? I understand your thought process of not wanting to trash an expensive car. Even if you can afford it, it somehow seems wrong. But the BMW offers "similar" performance, both in handling and acceleration, at nearly half the price. And it's a hatchback with that inherent versatility. Or you could move to an iX, which is similar to an X5 outside but has a good amount of room and by al accounts drives probably pretty similarly to your iPace. But now you're closing in on Taycan pricing so you're back into the same boat.

If you're really after an EV that is practical and you don't feel too badly abusing, the new Huyndai / Kia / Genesis triplets are a very solid offering. For the price, the range, performance, utility and features are quite good.

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[philbur]

Get a Taycan CT (Wagon) - It has the utility, sportiness and class you are looking for. Ours is my wifes car and our family wagon for our 2 kids (7 & 9) + standard poodle (fits perfect in the back - outside of needing to lie down due to G forces! ). we use as our Ski vehicle, road trips etc. does everything amazingly!

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

I've always bought my cars and kept them until almost run into the ground.
[...]
The Taycan will be my daily but if I need to hit Home Depot or the feed store, or haul stuff home.....I'd best plan on taking another vehicle that day. The Taycan is too nice and upscale to commit to the adverse conditions I sometimes place upon a vehicle.

Nah, it's a car. If I helps, I've seen a Taycan or two at my local HD, and I fully plan on using mine to haul whatever I need - it just needs to fit in/on.

 

[Ambroos]

You could consider an e-tron. They're very practical trunk-wise (even the Sportback), significantly cheaper than the Taycan and more comfortable. Much easier to clean too. Even though it's a more practical SUV / coupé-SUV, they're less wide and less long than the Taycan. You get 200 miles of range and still very fast charging.

I miss mine occasionally. The Taycan is more fun to for real sporty driving, but that just gets you speeding tickets. The e-tron is extremely good for long drives / driving to get things done in serious comfort.

 

[JAGMAN]

Those are 12ft boards.

 

[philbur]

Those are 12ft boards.

This is why the taycan wagon has the tie down points all over the place. Keeps things in place when you launch it

 

[TDinDC]

Those are 12ft boards.

I’m sorry but each time I see this picture, I keep hearing that stupid “oh no” song in my head and feel like a video leading to some catastrophe is about to happen.

 

[Steve R]

Every time I see this thread title I can't help but think about Eddie Murphy's Delirious. "That's nasty . . . "
I think a Cross Turismo would be better for your intended usage, and I think it would be fine. I'm not sure a normal Taycan would be a good fit.

LOL, I changed the title of the thread. As for the CT, I don't mean to offend anyone but the style/shape doesn't appeal to me. I'm looking for the bad-ass sports car. I frankly wish the Taycan was a 2-door. What's bothering me is that on occasion I'll need to use the car to haul some feed, buckets of avocados or fruit, building supplies and at the end of a long day I'll often be a bit filthy/dirty and climbing into such an elegant/upscale car in such a manner seems odd....but hey, it's nothing that doesn't clean easily.

Just go for it and have fun!

That's what I'm thinking. I'm 57 and whose to say I'll be one of those people who gets into my 70's or 80's......every year we hear of guys dropping young so I may as well have me some fun with my money. Besides, leaving money behind just causes family squabbles and spoils the kids! And it's not like they can't sell the car so it's not like I'm blowing it on ho's & liquor. Again. LOL.

Maybe get a BMW i4? I understand your thought process of not wanting to trash an expensive car. Even if you can afford it, it somehow seems wrong. But the BMW offers "similar" performance, both in handling and acceleration, at nearly half the price. And it's a hatchback with that inherent versatility. Or you could move to an iX, which is similar to an X5 outside but has a good amount of room and by al accounts drives probably pretty similarly to your iPace. But now you're closing in on Taycan pricing so you're back into the same boat.

If you're really after an EV that is practical and you don't feel too badly abusing, the new Huyndai / Kia / Genesis triplets are a very solid offering. For the price, the range, performance, utility and features are quite good.

Whoa, dude.....WAY too much practicality in that approach! LOL. Honestly, I wasn't even aware that BMW had an EV like the i4....but it's pretty much the same thing as the Jag I-pace. I'm looking to step away from the sedan. I think I'm looking to either splinter into the intense sportiness of the Taycan OR go the other direction with a utility vehicle, like a smaller Hummer EV. Like I say, if the new Ford Bronco came in an EV, I'd snap it up! The Rivian is fugly, the Hummer EV too wide (been there, drove that) and those Korean numbers are super-practical but just not pinging the cool factor. I think I just may be dumb enough to blow big coin on the Turbo S and simply borrow the Jag or another vehicle on days when I know I'll need more hauling capacity. Again; at both my ranch and beach location I have vehicles there ready to use so I'm not stranded with the Taycan when the need for grabbing some lumber or hauling some crops.

Get a Taycan CT (Wagon) - It has the utility, sportiness and class you are looking for. Ours is my wifes car and our family wagon for our 2 kids (7 & 9) + standard poodle (fits perfect in the back - outside of needing to lie down due to G forces! ). we use as our Ski vehicle, road trips etc. does everything amazingly!

CT not for me, just doesn't strike my fancy but I agree that the configuration is the perfect compromise based on what I'm expressing and looking for. I've never been into the station wagon concept.....

Nah, it's a car. If I helps, I've seen a Taycan or two at my local HD, and I fully plan on using mine to haul whatever I need - it just needs to fit in/on.

Good call....and I can always grab another vehicle is capacity is short. I think it's also the idea that at the end of the day I'm filthy and don't feel entirely right about crawling into such a fine vehicle. I could always keep a spare shirt and some shorts to change into. Where there's a will, there's a way....so I agree, I think I can make this work.

Those are 12ft boards.

Okay, now that's just visual pornography....LOL

I'd only do it in a pinch but huge respect for pulling that off! And thanks for sharing!

The other thing I've been trying to do is find a shop that'll help me convert an old '37 Plymouth pick-up truck from it's OEM 6-cyl gasser to an EV. All the conversion shops are backed-up for 2-3 years. I'm telling you: there's a HUGE market for EV conversion.....most people our age have our old car sitting around and once you go EV it's hard to go back. I'd LOVE to cruise in that old truck and roll on volts instead of wishful thinking!

Again, thanks for the input and thoughts. I really don't 'need' the Taycan but when blowing this kind of coin on a vehicle, the concept of practicality and reason shouldn't be applied. It's a passionate thing and the wife is a LOT less likely to divorce me if I buy this car as opposed to an affair. You can't argue with that logic! I've yet to meet a man who can afford a divorce, it literally seem to financially devastate anyone. Pass on the ho, pull the trigger on the Taycan: clear path to happiness and less change of contracting an STD : )

 

[Torv]

Hey guys,

The wife keeps stealing my Jaguar I-pace and I'm thinking about snapping-up a 2021 Taycan Turbo S at a local dealership. Actually, if you care to take a look it's a 2021 Black with about 1k miles listed as pre-owned over at Santa Barbara Porsche, looks pretty sharp and I they they are asking $175k. I'd like to describe my driving lifestyle to see if the Taycan can make sense for me.......

So here's the deal. I split my time driving to a ranch/farm and a beach house where I'm doing construction. Both sites have EV charging already. The thing is (as things go) I'm often stopping at Home Depot, picking up supplies, throwing my mountain bike in the back and even bringing containers of vegetables, fruit and other 'stuff' home from the ranch/farm. We also have 3 medium sized dogs and we have a cover that goes over the seats but the car gets exposed to some dog hair. Understand, my cars do get dirty/dusty and I don't have the time to routinely wash them. The Jag is working just fine. Believe it or not, I can still toss a few 10-foot pieces of copper pipe or even few 2x4's in a pinch. At both the farm and beach property I have a truck & trailer so I do have alternatives to haul stuff. So yeah, I'm using the car in a manner that few people would use a luxury/sport car for.....BUT with a quick wash and some vacuuming, it instantly returns to a polished & plush condition!

Not that it matters but I do have a trophy car, a 2001 Ferrari 360 spider and I hardly drive it anymore. And yeah, I've actually grabbed a few gallons of paint or picked-up a bag of chicken feed when the need presented itself. I don't think the Taycan is as 'precious' and delicate as a Ferrari but the Taycan is absolutely not a pick-up truck either.

I don't care of the interior of the Tesla and I know you'll tell me to look at the Hummer EV (which is not available yet) but I've done the Hummer thing (still have my H2) and I'm sick of having a huge/WIDE vehicle where finding a wide parking space sucks! I don't want the Ford Lightning truck either, I want to be able to seat 4 and I don't like open beds where supplies can fly out or be readily taken (and I don't want a shell).

I just want a 2nd nice EV so I have something when my wife steals my I-pace and I think I can make the Taycan work as my daily. On the the days I need the Jag I can let my wife roll in the Taycan, she's a great driver and very safe. So you think I can make the Taycan work or am I wearing a snazzy upscale business suit to dine at Chili's? Sorry for the long post, hope to get some input, thanks!

First off, a mountain bike won't fit in the back unless you remove both wheels and even then it may be a tight fit. If you have an e-mtn bike, forget it--you'll need a rack or roof mount.

 

[Steve R]

First off, a mountain bike won't fit in the back unless you remove both wheels and even then it may be a tight fit. If you have an e-mtn bike, forget it--you'll need a rack or roof mount.

E-bike? Oh hell no! E-bike is for senior citizens and invalids. My bike only moves when I peddle it! : P

I wouldn't use the Taycan for transporting the bike.

 

[JDNEPA]

I think you could make it work. I use mine daily and it works fine and is surprisingly easy day-to-day. One alternative is flip to Audi and do an RS e-tron GT. Very similar to the Taycan in most respects. Interior a bit more "car like" which may be a good thing based on your thought about the I-pace being more car-like. It's also cheaper with similar performance. You could look on the trunk and access to see if it fares better, I don't really recall if its a lot better but for dogs and beating it up, it'd be probably 20k less than the current car you're looking at with Turbo (not Turbo S power) but arguably plenty.

You can't go wrong and you'll enjoy the car you're looking at.. Ensure the TTS you're looking at gets the big ANA6 update before you pick it up (colored icons).

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