First batter up against the Model S
Its been hinted at for quite a while. Finally, we have a legitimate direct competitor to the Tesla Model S. Or do we?
The Model S has been the defacto, pure electric vehicle that had range, beauty, price and technology going for it. Sure, there were other “electric” models in the market, but they were primarily hybrids or models that though they were “electric” did not have the range or infrastructure to truly be a direct competitor.
Well now we have the Porsche Taycan which really is the first ground up electric vehicle of any other brand in this new era of Tesla. Sure, there are others promised, but this is the first one to hit the market and aim directly at the Model S.
So, how did it do?
I’ve purposely waited a bit to put this brief comparison together. Sometimes news of a new model has eyes on it which can help or hurt it in real life. By waiting a bit to take a breath we can take a look and form some opinions. Even if it’s just my own.
Design
First off, I don’t mind the looks. It reminds
me of the Panamera for sure. But that’s to be expected. As seen in the flesh and on the street, it looks a bit lower and longer. The wheels have the appearance that they are pushed out to the corners more. I’m sure the look will evolve over time. Porsche always retains quite a bit of brand identity in their models and are slow to make any changes. Because of this I expect any future tweaks to evolutionary if any. Overall, the Taycan looks great. Especially on the street. Similar to the Panamera, but when you see it, you know it’s not.
Interior environment
Porsche does and Porsche does. The Taycan is pure Porsche. Although it’s “moderned” up quite a bit. The instrumentation is more screens as we’d expect than other Porsche models. To go against the competition, it must be. They did a good job here as well.
Interior design wins hands down over the Model S. The fit and finish and tactile responses are what we’d expect. It’s very high quality yet modern as a futuristic model should be.
Drive
Well it’s a Porsche. Going electric didn’t hamper its ability to be in the company of its sister models. Despite the weight penalty of an electric vehicle, it handles like a Porsche. It also has the torque benefits of an electric vehicle. Not as violent as the Model S can achieve, but again, representative for the brand.
Efficiency
This is the reason we’re here. The reason to develop the Taycan in the first place. Well, initially people were complaining about the range of the Taycan and how it wasn’t that good. Well I’m not one of them. True, it’s not Model S range, but what is? Tesla makes a living on ridding the conversation of any range anxiety.
For the Taycan, the advertised range is around the 200-mile mark, give or take a few. However real-world tests have come back all around those figures. Maybe less. That being said, like ANY vehicle, if you drive it right, you can pretty much exceed the manufactures numbers. By quite a bit. Not Tesla numbers, but pretty good.
So overall, the Taycan is a good start for other manufacturers in producing a pure electric vehicle from the ground up. As compared to the Model S, it has some benefits. These benefits are mostly in the Tesla’s weak points. Build quality and interior spaces. In my mind, that’s pretty much it. Design is pretty much a draw, though the Taycan looks great and the Model S is aging a bit.
In the other areas such as technology, Tesla take it by a mile. As it does with all other motor vehicles. Therefore, this is not surprise. Range goes to Tesla as well. The same for the charging process and the infrastructure. Though Porsche has a relatively fast charger, the new Tesla Superchargers are pretty good too.
In closing, I like this Taycan. It’s the first batter up to truly face the Model S and it represented itself well.
