Why is the Taycan so long?

[trogger]

I realize this is a bit of a strange question (how long should a piece of string be?), but as I await my Taycan CT arrival, I am trying to figure out how to rearrange my garage and other adjustments that might be ahead. But when I look at the measurements, it strikes me that the Taycan is as long as some full-sized SUVs. Yet it doesn't appear to have enormous amounts of leg room, or unbelievable cargo space. Now I knew all of this ahead of time (and am not complaining), but kind of wonder where all that space went, and why the designers chose that.

What do you all think? Is it that they wanted it to be wide, and to get the right proportions wide → has to be long, and then curves take up room (eg at the back where the bottom is much longer than the top)? Or some other considerations.

My last Porsche was a Boxster, and my current car is a Golf R, so this will be by far the longest car I have ever owned...

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[mikezhang31]

Yes, it is wider and longer than my Range Rover sport which it replaced lol

 

[Throb]

I realize this is a bit of a strange question (how long should a piece of string be?), but as I await my Taycan CT arrival, I am trying to figure out how to rearrange my garage and other adjustments that might be ahead. But when I look at the measurements, it strikes me that the Taycan is as long as some full-sized SUVs. Yet it doesn't appear to have enormous amounts of leg room, or unbelievable cargo space. Now I knew all of this ahead of time (and am not complaining), but kind of wonder where all that space went, and why the designers chose that.

What do you all think? Is it that they wanted it to be wide, and to get the right proportions wide → has to be long, and then curves take up room (eg at the back where the bottom is much longer than the top)? Or some other considerations.

My last Porsche was a 981 Boxster, and my current car is a Golf R, so this will be by far the longest car I have ever owned...

The primary concern from day one would be creating enough space between the axles to house the required battery capacity. The rest of the design would follow that. A shorter car would result in a smaller battery capacity and therefore unnacceptably low range.

 

[trogger]

Also: do people find this frustrating in tight parking spaces, eg hospital parking garages or mall parking? Don't want to spend all my time trying to find a park to protect my precious

 

[rim23]

Also: do people find this frustrating in tight parking spaces, eg hospital parking garages or mall parking? Don't want to spend all my time trying to find a park to protect my precious

No issue in Finland

 

[SergeyIndy]

I was wondering about this as well as it certainly seems out of character if I am looking at Model S or Lucid in terms of interior and cargo, but no expert on any of this. I opened the books and these are the measures of length x width (mirrors out):

Taycan: 195.4 x 84.4
Macan: 185.0 x 76.1
Cayenne: 194.0 x 86.4

So the Taycan will be longer than the Cayenne but figuring having the leg room of a Macan.
I will see if I can find legroom measurements as these are not in the official brochures.

 

[TDinDC]

I actually don't think they are "that" long. In fact, they are only 15" longer than a 911, which honestly doesn't seem like much to me, particularly given all of the extra interior space.

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

Also: do people find this frustrating in tight parking spaces, eg hospital parking garages or mall parking? Don't want to spend all my time trying to find a park to protect my precious

It's a _BIG_ car - not just long: it's wide, pretty tall in the front (not overall) and yes, long. Makes the Macan look like a stilted-up Golf.

To your earlier points:
- i'd say it has ample leg room, front and rear. Granted, for my small frame (5'7) but on the rare occasion I sit in the back (to admire the view, of course) I find that there's a downright wasteful amount of space there - knees, head etc.
- lots of storage space as well - the trunk is deep and it's a few inches shorter (height wise) than the Macan; the aggressively raked hatch robs it a bit of its utility (and the rear shelf does the rest)

Re: parking:
- it's wide, so choose your spot carefully, and the line even more so
- it has a massive blind spot in the rear quarter view, so take your time. it's got wide hips/the cabin is significantly narrower above the belt line, and so imagining the corners/extremities of the car takes some adjusting (still work in progress for me, I'd say I nail 2.75 of any 5 attempts to back into a slot.) The cameras aren't much help, they're not meant for precision work.

 

[RAHRCR]

The Taycan is a pretty large car given that it is so “cozy” inside. This is the biggest design demerit I assess to this model.

 

[KensingtonPark]

You first start with the size of the battery, which has to be a certain size, as @Throb correctly notes. Look at smaller EVs (eg., Audi Q4 e-tron), they all have less range than the Taycan even though they are not set up to be as quick as the Taycan.

Then, you decide whether you want a second row of seats/rear doors. You could make the current Taycan the same length as a 911 if you dispensed with the rear seats and doors and the "foot garages" that they have in the battery pan.

Now that you've decided big battery and 4 doors, I think the way to think about it is to look at the current Toyota Prius. Any attempt to make a car that prioritizes aerodynamic design eventually gets to look like the Prius unless you make it bigger from that base.

• You can make it wider to add more horizontal curves and shapes.
• You can make it longer to allow the addition of curves and shapes; how long dictates how the shapes flow.

The only way in which they don't necessarily get "bigger" is in height. Then you end up with a car about the size of the Taycan.

 

[andix]

The dimensions are a consequence of the design criteria, such as
* ride quality (--> length)
* corner dynamics (--> width)
* range, interior space, two trunks…

That's basically it.

 

[or1]

Practically, I think the length is not a problem on the road or when parking it. Width is more problematic, care and wide spaces are needed.

The length I imagine resulted from (1) desired wheelbase for battery, comfort and interior space. Then (2) the low nose and longish bonnet and bumper curve added a few inches in the front that could have been avoided, but looks and family resemblance had been worse. The styling choices at the rear (3) also add a bit that is not strictly necessay.

But a Taycan isn’t «necessary» anyway.

 

[Jayyvr890]

The dimensions are a consequence of the design criteria, such as
* ride quality (--> length)
* corner dynamics (--> width)
* range, interior space, two trunks…

That's basically it.

Don't forget for an EV - side of battery dictates car shape too

 

[WuffvonTrips]

The styling choices at the rear (3) also add a bit that is not strictly necessay.

I'd guess that the extended monkey-butt has an aero function for the underbody airflow.

 

[or1]

I'd guess that the extended monkey-butt has an aero function for the underbody airflow.

Agree with that.

And they could have chosen to have the upper part of the rear end further back too, for a bigger boot, but chose not to for styling reasons.

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