Taycan test drive was a snooze-fest, is this the future?

Taycan test drive was a snooze-fest, is this the future?

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SCO

Original Poster:

203 posts

233 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
quotequote all
Apologies in advance for offending the Taycan owners on here, but we have a deposit down on a 2WD and finally got round to test driving one. Annoyingly, despite insisting on testing a 2WD the dealer produced a 4S on the day.

Anyway, cut a long story short, it is the first electric car I have driven and I was disappointed by the 4S. It was nicely put together but just very dull to drive at normal speeds. It felt heavy, limited feedback because no engine noise (silly artificial electric sound thing aside).

I get that you can put your foot down and travel very quickly but that wears off after time and is not something you can do day to day in the real world. I think car reviewers have been very kind to it so far, maybe other EV's are just so poor?

The Cayenne we have is exceptional considering it is a 4x4 and I assumed Porsche would do the same for EV"s.

Was I expecting too much?

I actually got quite depressed afterwards thinking future generations are not going to know what they missed.

ds666

2,605 posts

178 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
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Have you cancelled your order ?

EV's are what they are - they have no " soul " but can still be very enjoyable to drive . I can't see me ever having another ICE as a daily .
I agree about the acceleration but they don't half make overtaking a doddle - much safer than significantly more powerful ICE cars due to the way the power is delivered .

SCO

Original Poster:

203 posts

233 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
quotequote all
Seriously considering cancelling it, the tax benefits make it very attractive to run through the company and the Cayenne is going to start costing money. So it makes sense from a "head" point of view, but not from a "heart" point of view.

Maybe I just need to accept that it is a consumer product like anything else and enjoy the fun cars on the drive while I can.

Discombobulate

4,793 posts

185 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
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I am a full convert to BEV for daily driving ( I don't have to cover large distances) but am lucky enough to have some great ICE cars too. I can't see myself buying another ICE, but nor will I sell the ones I have.

And having driving both the Cayenne and Taycan I am surprised you didn't like it. I was left thinking it's the best saloon on the market at the moment - for combining refinement and drive. As a benchmark I am a serial M5 / RS owner.

Though the new E63 looks good....

ds666

2,605 posts

178 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
quotequote all
SCO said:
Seriously considering cancelling it, the tax benefits make it very attractive to run through the company and the Cayenne is going to start costing money. So it makes sense from a "head" point of view, but not from a "heart" point of view.

Maybe I just need to accept that it is a consumer product like anything else and enjoy the fun cars on the drive while I can.
I'm with you .
An F90 M5 was on my radar for a while but I seriously haven't given one a second thought since getting an I pace ( that isn't quite true .. )
And I've had 8 M cars ...

Take the Taycan and get a nice toy with the tax savings smile

hunter 66

3,886 posts

219 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
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Discombobulate said:
I am a full convert to BEV for daily driving ( I don't have to cover large distances) but am lucky enough to have some great ICE cars too. I can't see myself buying another ICE, but nor will I sell the ones I have.

And having driving both the Cayenne and Taycan I am surprised you didn't like it. I was left thinking it's the best saloon on the market at the moment - for combining refinement and drive. As a benchmark I am a serial M5 / RS owner.

Though the new E63 looks good....
Agree , they are just different and having had EV for 4 years ( wife car ) I like it . and easy to use . Soon in cities ICE cars will be priced out

Jaguar99

517 posts

37 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
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I can’t comment on the Taycan but my first electric car experience was a few months ago when my brother got a Tesla Model 3 company car

Once the novelty of the instant acceleration wore off it was just a quietish (road noise was loud enough it would have drowned out any ICE) comfortable car. The sensations were flat and the interior too plain. As a passenger it felt like being in one of those automated monorails at the airport. Doesn’t help that the Model 3 looks like a ten year old Mazda from most angles...

So, my EV experience so far - decent mode of transport, probably - good car, not so much

All of the above combined with the currently still high prices and a range well short of a tank of carbon juice means it will be some time before I will be test driving anything electric

DanoS4

863 posts

193 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
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Interesting.

I was behind one the other morning in my 996 (feeling very much the poor relation).

But tbf, the Taycan has some serious road presence, even from the back.

Would love to try one.

SCO

Original Poster:

203 posts

233 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
quotequote all
Discombobulate said:
And having driving both the Cayenne and Taycan I am surprised you didn't like it. I was left thinking it's the best saloon on the market at the moment - for combining refinement and drive. As a benchmark I am a serial M5 / RS owner.
To be fair, I think I make allowances for the Cayenne being a 4x4 but I remember when I tested it and I was amazed that a car like that could drive so well. I just didn't get that with the Taycan (in the context of being an EV).

I also have a 997 and that is a car that is fun without doubling the speed limit. I thought that was an unfair comparison though.


Terminator X

14,921 posts

203 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
quotequote all
SCO said:
Apologies in advance for offending the Taycan owners on here, but we have a deposit down on a 2WD and finally got round to test driving one. Annoyingly, despite insisting on testing a 2WD the dealer produced a 4S on the day.

Anyway, cut a long story short, it is the first electric car I have driven and I was disappointed by the 4S. It was nicely put together but just very dull to drive at normal speeds. It felt heavy, limited feedback because no engine noise (silly artificial electric sound thing aside).

I get that you can put your foot down and travel very quickly but that wears off after time and is not something you can do day to day in the real world. I think car reviewers have been very kind to it so far, maybe other EV's are just so poor?

The Cayenne we have is exceptional considering it is a 4x4 and I assumed Porsche would do the same for EV"s.

Was I expecting too much?

I actually got quite depressed afterwards thinking future generations are not going to know what they missed.
Every EV I see without exception is being driven slowly so I can only assume the warp factor to 60 element gets boring very quickly. Only nerd need apply imho.

TX.

Grantstown

952 posts

86 months

Monday 3rd May 2021
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Having recently taken part in a Taycan enthusiasts meet this weekend, I can tell you that it can be a lot of fun on the right roads. The rest of the time just enjoy the Bose and the incredibly good ride.

I have a 911 as well, so I’ve got something to compare it to. Love them both.

Sierra Mike

877 posts

194 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
quotequote all
SCO said:
Seriously considering cancelling it, the tax benefits make it very attractive to run through the company and the Cayenne is going to start costing money. So it makes sense from a "head" point of view, but not from a "heart" point of view.

Maybe I just need to accept that it is a consumer product like anything else and enjoy the fun cars on the drive while I can.
Exactly. If it wasn’t for the tax benefits, I’d probably be going for a Panamera GTS as a daily driver to replace my Cayenne. However, I plan to take advantage of the low BIK for EV for as long as it’s available, so Taycan it is.

The only electric car I’ve driven is an i3 which I quite liked. My only expectation is that the Taycan is at least as good. By all accounts, I shouldn’t be disappointed.

IMI A

9,410 posts

200 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
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You could have 700bhp cross over back in 2014. Fabulous, comfortable and uber reliable to waft around in.

Don't understand all the fuss about electric cars with agriculture and farm animals, people, heavy industry, aerospace, defence, mining, and they're onto us for our cars? The switch to electric cars is a wheeze. The whim of unelected and elected blithering idiots not fit to govern. Go buy an AMG and remap. Oh and a Porsche for when you're not with the family smile




SCO

Original Poster:

203 posts

233 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
quotequote all
Sierra Mike said:
The only electric car I’ve driven is an i3 which I quite liked. My only expectation is that the Taycan is at least as good. By all accounts, I shouldn’t be disappointed.
I would say that hoping a near 100k car is as good as a city runabout that you “quite liked” is a pretty low bar for it to get over. I doubt you would have the same attitude to an ICE powered vehicle.

One of the problems with this car is that the tax situation is distorting the buying decision. If there was no tax help it would be an easy “no way”, but with the tax break it is borderline for me.

The thing I can see happening is that EV’s are so dull to drive that we will all end up accepting self driving cars and then it is game over.

DMZ

1,382 posts

159 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
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You can pile lots of negativity in the direction of a Taycan if you feel like it. It's a 100k car that will only go a couple of hundred miles before you need to deal with charging. It's a 100k car that isn't very exciting. It's a 100k car that doesn't contain a single Porsche drivetrain component. It's a 100k car that largely does what a 50-60k car does from the competition.

On the other hand, you get a load of tax benefits on a luxury vehicle, it's better for those around you as it doesn't emit anything, it's comfortable, it's quiet, and it doesn't really cost anything to run.

ds666

2,605 posts

178 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
quotequote all
SCO said:
The thing I can see happening is that EV’s are so dull to drive that we will all end up accepting self driving cars and then it is game over.
I don’t agree they are all dull to drive . I’ve had an ipace for nearly 2 years and it is a great drive . Great to hussle round the bends and makes overtaking effortless - genuinely safer than any ice car I have .

The tax does distort the company car position massively . I haven’t bothered with company cars for years but the change to electric with low bik is a no brainer

thelostboy

4,562 posts

224 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
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You get a nice discount running one on the company, they look great, they have the right badge, and you get to virtue signal. That's more than enough for most people!

For their list price (only driven Turbo or Turbo S variants), I think the interiors are pretty ordinary. I haven't considered their practicality, but assuming it's not going to touch a Cayenne on that front. However, does make me smile to think someone is trying to make the case of the Cayenne being more of a Porsche experience. That wouldn't have gone down well here back in 2003!

Something I have learned is you get used to straight-line performance pretty quickly if using the car every day. Having said that, these EVs are almost alarmingly quick - I saw a Polestar the other day boot it from about 20mph and, I'm not sure if it's because it doesn't look like it should be fast, it accelerated as hard as I have seen any supercar.

dgswk

889 posts

93 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
quotequote all
SCO said:
I would say that hoping a near 100k car is as good as a city runabout that you “quite liked” is a pretty low bar for it to get over. I doubt you would have the same attitude to an ICE powered vehicle.

One of the problems with this car is that the tax situation is distorting the buying decision. If there was no tax help it would be an easy “no way”, but with the tax break it is borderline for me.

The thing I can see happening is that EV’s are so dull to drive that we will all end up accepting self driving cars and then it is game over.
I seriously considered a 4S as a daily, and chopping in my 992 for it. Even had test drives booked, but the lockdown put a stop to those so hung out for a bit. Glad I did, new company car scheme launched 1st March and whilst no Taycan's, a top spec Polestar 2 , which with the tax advantages referred to is effectively free given the miles I do (loss of allowance and a bit of electric v. almost no BiK, no diesel, and no need to run a work shed).

I havent test driven a Polestar either, but as its effectively free I really dont care, and lets be honest, any £50k car will be a very very nice place to be and I'm very lucky to have that option.

So the tax situation has certainly distorted my plans into re-entering a 3 year company scheme, which I'll no doubt opt out of when it starts to become expensive as the tax help gets eroded over the next few years. Which it absolutely will.


SCO

Original Poster:

203 posts

233 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
quotequote all
DMZ said:
On the other hand, you get a load of tax benefits on a luxury vehicle, it's better for those around you as it doesn't emit anything, it's comfortable, it's quiet, and it doesn't really cost anything to run.
But you get all that from the competition at a cheaper price point?

SCO

Original Poster:

203 posts

233 months

Tuesday 4th May 2021
quotequote all
ds666 said:
I don’t agree they are all dull to drive . I’ve had an ipace for nearly 2 years and it is a great drive . Great to hussle round the bends and makes overtaking effortless - genuinely safer than any ice car I have .

The tax does distort the company car position massively . I haven’t bothered with company cars for years but the change to electric with low bik is a no brainer
Off to test an I-pace as a comparison this week (as well as the Audi e-tron), Poletsar seems difficult to get a test drive unless you live in London or Manchester.