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Why did I trade in my 911?
Last year, I had the use of a Taycan 4S loaner car over Labor Day weekend. The car made an impression on me. I put 430 miles on the car and yes, that’s a heck of a test drive.
I had previously driven a variety of Tesla EVs (3, S, X) and they always left me cold. For me, the Teslas never felt like real cars, they weren’t built like real cars, and driving them felt like using an appliance. The Taycan was something completely different. As a driving enthusiast, the Taycan won me over to EVs by demonstrating that an EV can be fun and engaging to drive.
You learn a lot in a 430 mile test drive. I seriously contemplated trading in my 911 at the time, but didn’t want to make a rash decision. While I wasn't ready to do the swap, I knew that we needed to add a non-Tesla EV to our "fleet".
I wasn’t yet prepared to throw down Taycan money on an EV, but I immediately started shopping for lower cost EV options. Everything was on the table. I looked at the Bolt, Leaf, e-Golf, etc, both new and used. If I was going to buy an EV, I wanted something fun and engaging. That shopping journey led me to the Mini Cooper SE. I had never driven Mini’s EV, but at around $20k after tax credits and state/local rebates, it’s the cheapest new EV in the United States. From my research, it looked like a lot of bang for the buck and the reviews were stellar. Having never driven the car, I put in a custom order and a few months later, the Mini arrived.
The Mini itself was a revelation. While the 114 mile range (pessimistic EPA) gets the review headlines, the car weighs only 3100lbs and drives like a proper Mini. Within a week of ownership, my wife stopped driving her Mercedes and used the Mini to go wherever she needed. The car made her an EV convert – especially, when it came to how quickly the Mini could warm up on a cold winter day.
Hey, why all of this talk about the Mini? Well, a couple of months ago, we were headed out on a Sunday drive for some backroad adventuring. I was starting to grab the fob for the 911 and then decided that I wanted to take the Mini instead. This drive was a classic use case for the 911, but I just thought that the Mini would have been more fun and it was… more fun. Yes, the Mini is that entertaining.
Mini’s EV made me question my whole relationship with the Porsche 911. It was time to swap out the 911 for an EV.
Making the swap
With the insane 992 market, I could trade in my 35k+ mile 911 C4S for a very nicely equipped Taycan 4S. So, I started looking and I didn’t have to search long. When I saw that my dealer had an inbound Taycan in the right color and right options, I contacted my SA. I called "dibs" on the car and we came to a deal on the trade-in. It was that simple. Shortly thereafter, the Taycan popped up in my Porsche app and Track your Dream allowed me to stalk the car from Emden through its journey to the United States.
I was extremely lucky. It was early February, before the Felicity Ace and the War in Ukraine.
With a busy travel schedule, I chose to pre-trade the 911 as I waited for the Taycan. The 2.5 years and over 35k miles in the 911 cost me basically nothing in depreciation. On delivery day for the Taycan, no cash out of my own pocket was required and I was in my new 2022 Porsche. Having paid below MSRP for the 992 in 2019, I did especially well on the transaction.
What are the specs of my Taycan 4S?
http://www.porsche-code.com/PN5G2UR2
Will I regret this swap?
When you get to drive a 992 Carrera 4S for more than 35k miles for 2.5 years, through 18 states, and at pandemic autobahn speeds nonetheless, there’s not much to regret, especially when you got to do all of that for basically free. I’ve got more seat time in a 992 than more than 99% of owners and enjoyed some astounding adventures. With all of that, I was ready for a change.
If I traded in a 992 with 5k miles or 10k miles, there would be something to regret. The Taycan is one of five cars in our household. If I need to drive around a raw gasoline powered toy, I also own an Alfa Romeo 4C Spider.
What do I think of the Taycan?
From my extended “test drive”, I knew what I was getting into and frankly, couldn’t have been more excited to get one of my own.
Porsche rightly calls the Taycan a “sports car”. While it sounds like marketing hyperbole, on a spirited drive it does indeed drive like a 911 that happens to have an extra set of doors. Driving position and view over the hood are classic Porsche. Steering feel (cough, EPAS programming, cough) is darn near identical. Hey, it even has a motor in the back.
The low cg does a great job of hiding the car’s mass and it feels much lighter than you’d expect staring at the spec sheet. That said, when you start really pushing it and sliding the car around, it feels like something substantially different than a 911 – not bad, just different. I would note that, at the limit, it still gives you the feedback that you’d expect from a Porsche.
I love the way that the car feels and drives. I also think that Porsche is onto something with the electric sport sound. It’s remarkable that such a small thing could have such a big impact on the feeling of engagement.
What modifications am I planning?
Aside from those things, I’ll probably do an intake, sport cats, and eventually big turbos on the car. LOL. Of course, none of those things are on the table.
What's been my approach to Porsche ownership?
I've owned Italian Cars and Motorcycles. I am pretty forgiving on matters of character. I don't expect things to be perfect. Porsche cars are brilliant, but they've also got tons of "character". People dream of, save for, and make that Porsche car purchase with the expectation that they're something flawless and more than a car. Truth be told, it's an unrealistic expectation. They may be fun to drive and exciting, but you need to remember that it's just a car. Treat it like a car. Heck, I consumed both Chick-Fil-A and Taco Bell in my 911, drove it down dirt roads, drifted it in the snow/ice of winter, and practically lived whole weeks out of thing on extended road trips.
A Porsche is not some fragile thing. It's meant to be driven. Once you get over the hang-ups and OCD, they're considerably more fun when enjoyed for what they are, incredible cars. That's why I love them.
Last year, I had the use of a Taycan 4S loaner car over Labor Day weekend. The car made an impression on me. I put 430 miles on the car and yes, that’s a heck of a test drive.
I had previously driven a variety of Tesla EVs (3, S, X) and they always left me cold. For me, the Teslas never felt like real cars, they weren’t built like real cars, and driving them felt like using an appliance. The Taycan was something completely different. As a driving enthusiast, the Taycan won me over to EVs by demonstrating that an EV can be fun and engaging to drive.
You learn a lot in a 430 mile test drive. I seriously contemplated trading in my 911 at the time, but didn’t want to make a rash decision. While I wasn't ready to do the swap, I knew that we needed to add a non-Tesla EV to our "fleet".
I wasn’t yet prepared to throw down Taycan money on an EV, but I immediately started shopping for lower cost EV options. Everything was on the table. I looked at the Bolt, Leaf, e-Golf, etc, both new and used. If I was going to buy an EV, I wanted something fun and engaging. That shopping journey led me to the Mini Cooper SE. I had never driven Mini’s EV, but at around $20k after tax credits and state/local rebates, it’s the cheapest new EV in the United States. From my research, it looked like a lot of bang for the buck and the reviews were stellar. Having never driven the car, I put in a custom order and a few months later, the Mini arrived.
The Mini itself was a revelation. While the 114 mile range (pessimistic EPA) gets the review headlines, the car weighs only 3100lbs and drives like a proper Mini. Within a week of ownership, my wife stopped driving her Mercedes and used the Mini to go wherever she needed. The car made her an EV convert – especially, when it came to how quickly the Mini could warm up on a cold winter day.
Hey, why all of this talk about the Mini? Well, a couple of months ago, we were headed out on a Sunday drive for some backroad adventuring. I was starting to grab the fob for the 911 and then decided that I wanted to take the Mini instead. This drive was a classic use case for the 911, but I just thought that the Mini would have been more fun and it was… more fun. Yes, the Mini is that entertaining.
Mini’s EV made me question my whole relationship with the Porsche 911. It was time to swap out the 911 for an EV.
Making the swap
With the insane 992 market, I could trade in my 35k+ mile 911 C4S for a very nicely equipped Taycan 4S. So, I started looking and I didn’t have to search long. When I saw that my dealer had an inbound Taycan in the right color and right options, I contacted my SA. I called "dibs" on the car and we came to a deal on the trade-in. It was that simple. Shortly thereafter, the Taycan popped up in my Porsche app and Track your Dream allowed me to stalk the car from Emden through its journey to the United States.
I was extremely lucky. It was early February, before the Felicity Ace and the War in Ukraine.
With a busy travel schedule, I chose to pre-trade the 911 as I waited for the Taycan. The 2.5 years and over 35k miles in the 911 cost me basically nothing in depreciation. On delivery day for the Taycan, no cash out of my own pocket was required and I was in my new 2022 Porsche. Having paid below MSRP for the 992 in 2019, I did especially well on the transaction.
What are the specs of my Taycan 4S?
http://www.porsche-code.com/PN5G2UR2
- Gentian Blue
- Limestone Beige Interior
- Mission E wheels
- Lots of nice little details including passenger display and neodyme interior trim
Will I regret this swap?
When you get to drive a 992 Carrera 4S for more than 35k miles for 2.5 years, through 18 states, and at pandemic autobahn speeds nonetheless, there’s not much to regret, especially when you got to do all of that for basically free. I’ve got more seat time in a 992 than more than 99% of owners and enjoyed some astounding adventures. With all of that, I was ready for a change.
If I traded in a 992 with 5k miles or 10k miles, there would be something to regret. The Taycan is one of five cars in our household. If I need to drive around a raw gasoline powered toy, I also own an Alfa Romeo 4C Spider.
What do I think of the Taycan?
From my extended “test drive”, I knew what I was getting into and frankly, couldn’t have been more excited to get one of my own.
Porsche rightly calls the Taycan a “sports car”. While it sounds like marketing hyperbole, on a spirited drive it does indeed drive like a 911 that happens to have an extra set of doors. Driving position and view over the hood are classic Porsche. Steering feel (cough, EPAS programming, cough) is darn near identical. Hey, it even has a motor in the back.
The low cg does a great job of hiding the car’s mass and it feels much lighter than you’d expect staring at the spec sheet. That said, when you start really pushing it and sliding the car around, it feels like something substantially different than a 911 – not bad, just different. I would note that, at the limit, it still gives you the feedback that you’d expect from a Porsche.
I love the way that the car feels and drives. I also think that Porsche is onto something with the electric sport sound. It’s remarkable that such a small thing could have such a big impact on the feeling of engagement.
What modifications am I planning?
- I just did paint correction, PPF and Ceramic coating. The car looks amazing. No factory paint is perfect. Always worth showing it proper love from the start.
- My clear turn signals just showed up at the dealer. Getting those popped in this week.
- I need to figure out how I am wiring a radar detector in this car. I might wait until my Uniden R8 arrives in a couple of weeks.
- At some point here, I will pick up a 20" winter wheel/tire set, because I am huge fan of weather appropriate rubber.
Aside from those things, I’ll probably do an intake, sport cats, and eventually big turbos on the car. LOL. Of course, none of those things are on the table.
What's been my approach to Porsche ownership?
I've owned Italian Cars and Motorcycles. I am pretty forgiving on matters of character. I don't expect things to be perfect. Porsche cars are brilliant, but they've also got tons of "character". People dream of, save for, and make that Porsche car purchase with the expectation that they're something flawless and more than a car. Truth be told, it's an unrealistic expectation. They may be fun to drive and exciting, but you need to remember that it's just a car. Treat it like a car. Heck, I consumed both Chick-Fil-A and Taco Bell in my 911, drove it down dirt roads, drifted it in the snow/ice of winter, and practically lived whole weeks out of thing on extended road trips.
A Porsche is not some fragile thing. It's meant to be driven. Once you get over the hang-ups and OCD, they're considerably more fun when enjoyed for what they are, incredible cars. That's why I love them.
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. Unaltered leaked pic bottom left.
