Tesla Model S Plaid+ on the website for configuration

[oalsaker]

It appears this will only go fast in a straight line.

As is tradition for American performance vehicles?

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[Kingske]

As is tradition for American performance vehicles?

 

[feye]

In my old opinion, there is a balance point between having a few hard switches / buttons for the most frequently used things...

Exactly. All I meant was having the right tool for the job at hand. Fiddling on a touch screen to switch safety related features while driving just don't make sense.

 

[charliemathilde]

I suspect it’s an excellent daily driver and commute vehicle. Extremely skeptic the driving dynamics are fun by Porsche standards. One of my big fears for the roadster is that it’s designed by people who in their hearts would rather humans didn’t drive.

guess I kinda think about it like M5 vs 911.

 

[andrewket]

A vehicle with Tesla’s batteries, drive train, tech, and Level 3 charging network combined with Porsche’s design, suspension, and interiors ... yes please.

I’m about to give up my Model S P100D for a Taycan Turbo and I have mixed feelings about it. If we didn’t also have a Y (sold the X) and a 3 I don’t think I would do it. It’s great, however, that there is now some competition. It will force all the manufacturers to up their game.

 

[TESLABOY]

Live spy photo/ Feeling 2012?

 

[schwar]

I laugh every time someone calls a Tesla ugly, or when someone says the Taycan isn't worth the money. The model S, despite its designs age, is still a good looking car...

I know this is somewhat subjective, but do many people really think the Model S is at all decent looking? I find this completely perplexing as it looks like a bargain car to me.

The Taycan will be my first EV, not because any Tesla is a bad car, but because the cars' design is so absent. I would happily pay 50% more for a car which makes me smile as I walk up to it. Take the Model 3 Performance - sure, it is great, but it is as bland as a Ford Escort compared to the M4/C63 and Giulia Quadrifoglio - plus, it just looks properly cheap.

The technology in the Tesla is obviously great, better than the Taycan in many ways, but it is bland, bulbous and boring as a static object. All the weight of the design is in the wrong places. Compared to other American designs, it is lacklustre (at best) and, compared to the best of Europe and Japan, utterly uninspiring and forgettable.

Porsche have just about the worst track record of building attractive large cars, but the Taycan is just a completely different aesthetic level to any of the Telsa range... isn't it? The Audi too... the I-PACE even. I would be interested to hear how many people have been put off the Model S by the appearance?

Totally agree competition can only be a good thing, it will hopefully focus each manufacturer to improve the areas where they are weakest at the moment. ?

 

[NC_Taycan]

I for one think the exterior design of the Model S is still beautiful, even after 8 years. Model 3 not so much, and I really dislike the model 3 interior. Even the Model S interior is too spartan for me. I do like the Taycan!

 

[TESLABOY]

It looks like Vertru vs iPhone

 

[Kingske]

I for one think the exterior design of the Model S is still beautiful, even after 8 years. Model 3 not so much, and I really dislike the model 3 interior. Even the Model S interior is too spartan for me. I do like the Taycan!

I agree with @NC_Taycan on this: when it first came out the Model S was an attractive car, particularly compared to the more utilitarian EVs that were already on the market then (except perhaps the Fisker Karma). The Model 3 is more nondescript but still better looking than the Model Y which looks a bit like a frog. The Taycan beats all of those on design aesthetics. This being said, we owe Tesla gratitude for opening up the real EV market and they still are a shining example to Porsche for better designing and integrating the software, and for developing a great network of superchargers.

 

[schwar]

Sure the Tesla was a step in the right direction for EVs, but being the "looker" of that group back in 2012 isn't much of an accolade - it puts it just in front of a milk float.

Personally, I've always compared it to ICE and EV cars, especially given there are fewer drivetrain design compromises with an EV. Side-by-side with contemporary luxury cars back then, it didn't really compare aesthetically (inside or out) before you even account for the quality issues.

The UK press has never been kind about the looks - stating it looked like a Hyundai group car, that is to say, unassuming and forgettable (both of which could be seen as a bonus) but decidedly sub-premium. Sure, everything else did make it a killer product, and the industry is still trying to catch up, but imagine if it had been one of the better-looking saloon cars on the road (the Taycan certainly is).

Does anyone think the Model S is a better-looking car than the Taycan? Just really interested in how people see cars differently.

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

I have the greatest respect for Tesla and what Musk has done. I don't think we'd be enjoying the greatest EV ever made if it weren't for Tesla and the success they have had.

I do think the Tesla S is due for a new body style. While is it very attractive, it is not really 'eye catching' the way the Taycan is. I've mistaken them for your standard Japanese/Korean sedan. I also think the interior is very very bad. I just couldn't stand driving with a huge iPad sitting there in front of me. Don't like that at all.

I just don't think there is a lot of 'cross shopping' between cars. If you're looking for a practical, attractive and cost efficient car, the Tesla is it. If you're looking for the best driving experience you can have in an EV, it's definitely the Taycan.

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