Model S Plaid to Taycan

[Slyevo]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. After dropping my car again for service (more creaks/clicks/rattles, rear seat won't unfold (again), loud brake spring noise), I test drove the 2026 4s today and it felt well built. Didn't get a chance to test out the handling but I thought the speed was sufficient for the street. It's definitely more of a driver's car than a tech car, but I think I actually prefer that more.

Now I'm just waiting to see how the lemon law action plays out -- so one option in lieu of a buyback is for Tesla to give me some money (thinking ~$10K for me to keep the car; atty says Tesla is stingy and may offer like $5K max). If I do the "cash and keep" option, I forgo future lemon law claims for the same issue. I'm only considering this because I already spent money on ceramic tint, ppf, new wheels and other cosmetic pieces.

If they do the buyback, I'm strongly considering a '25 CPO 4S given my budget. Any thoughts on CPO '24 GTS v '25 4S?

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[Watchesandburgers]

The ‘24 GTS and ‘25 4S have similar straight line performance. However, the newer car has a bigger battery and more range, which is a big plus. Does the ‘25 car have Active Ride? If so, that’s HUGE as well. Though I have a GTS and love it, the advantages of the ‘25 model year cars may push you that way.

For the record, I came from a 2013 Model S. The Tesla had (has) better software overall, but the Porsche drives significantly better, even compared to new Teslas. Also, with Apple CarPlay, the software differences are less relevant. My 2c….

 

[JTMC]

I came from a P100D and I've driven a Plaid. One solo, spirited drive of a Taycan had me converted and I've now had a Turbo S for a year. For the ultimate comparison, I took the Model S on the same back road immediately after returning the Taycan and tried as hard as I could to try to pull off the comparable speeds and handling. The holes in the MS were evident from the outset.

Whilst I agree that the software side is a little bit clunkier (which is perhaps a big deal if you're looking for a computer rather than a car), I disagree entirely with the nonsense about the regen being weak or that the suspension on the MS is superior and even that it is ultimately faster.

The MS is vastly underbraked to the point of being borderline dangerous IMO. Unless you spring for the track pack, good luck stopping it.

I don't find the suspension in the MS refined at all. It, and the seats, are way too bouncy/soft and the car rolls noticeably when taking corners at appreciable speed. I don't feel connected to the car and that's quite an issue with that level of performance.

The MS pulls, no doubt about that, but I fitted my Turbo S with a Map EV tune so now I run launch control power all the time. That gives me more than adequate power for the straights, certainly beats my P100d anyway. It wouldn't beat the Plaid but Andreas Preuninger said something along the lines of 'the straights are the boring bits between the corners'. I've just come back from a 3 day driving trip to the Norwegian mountains so these days I entirely agree! A Plaid has a comparable (slightly slower?) time to the stock Gen 1 Taycan round the Nurburgring (without a Map Ev tune! ) Should tell you everything.

What good is all that straight line power, by the way, if your braking point is so early because of your brakes being utterly inappropriate? The Plaid has no rear wheel steer so getting it round the aforementioned corner is akin to maneuvering a cruise ship, which is ironic, because a ship is exactly what the enormous steering wheel reminds me of. I won't even mention the yoke.

The regen on a Plaid peaks at 90kw. The regen on a Taycan peaks at 265kw on the J1. 1 and 400kw on the J1.2. When you're pressing the brake pedal it's the regen doing the braking and Porsche have done a splendid job of making it feel like a disc. I don't mind having to use two pedals...because it reminds me of... actually driving a car?

If you want a driver's car, try the Taycan. If you want a computer on a barge and wish to cruise around mainly straight roads with resplendent bouncy-castle levels of comfort stick with the Plaid.

 

[Maggo321]

Wait......what? Are you saying that when I brake in my Taycan, I'm not actually using the brakes and that is the regen coming on? And that the Tesla tops out at 90kw whereas the Taycan tops out at 265kw???

If that's true then yes.........I take back what I said about the regen, however they could add a regen 'plus' mode to allow it to happen when you lift off more aggressively.

Oh and another plus on the Taycan is the lack of phantom drain which my Tesla suffered from quite bad.

 

[JTMC]

Wait......what? Are you saying that when I brake in my Taycan, I'm not actually using the brakes and that is the regen coming on? And that the Tesla tops out at 90kw whereas the Taycan tops out at 265kw???

If that's true then yes.........I take back what I said about the regen, however they could add a regen 'plus' mode to allow it to happen when you lift off more aggressively.

Oh and another plus on the Taycan is the lack of phantom drain which my Tesla suffered from quite bad.

If you look at your central power meter there's a greyed out band, when you brake harder you'll see the green band eventually fills the grey band and that is the point when you're starting to use the physical brakes. You'll notice if the battery is cold or if you're near 100% the grey band is very short because the battery can't handle large influxes of current at that temp or SOC.

I've seen some reviews that disagree, but I think they've done a great job of making the blend in braking feel very natural when crossing from regen to physical - perhaps hence your comment!

All good mate!

 

[anonymouse]

Oh and another plus on the Taycan is the lack of phantom drain which my Tesla suffered from quite bad.

Yes, that is certainly true. However the downside is that because the Taycan is “shut down” when asleep it is often hard or at least very slow to reach from the app.

Also while we are on minor non driving experience things, you can sit in a lovely air conditioned Tesla all day if you need a mobile office but the Taycan irritatingly shuts down with a thump every 30 minutes which is disruptive if you are in a meeting.

 

[tomdfw1]

Hi all,

I currently have a '24 Model S Plaid. Purchased new (demo) and have been dealing with numerous qc issues and now serious safety restraint codes that have required many service center visits. Talked to a lemon law attorney and he is certain Tesla will buy my car back. Despite those issues, I still love the car but now the new MSP is $100K+ (Mine was $86K w/ discounts). I'm thinking I may keep the car if they offer me a decent cash price, but if not, I'll jump over to the Taycan.

I've been contemplating which Taycan is better: a 2024 GTS CPO or a 2025 4s CPO? I really love the new redesign and it seems everything is improved on the J1.2 model. I also like the package of the GTS but I think the 2025 model will be out of my budget.

Thanks in advance for any advice/insights.

Get a used one. Save the depreciation loss and let someone else get it. The Driver Assist and PCM (communication manager) on Porsche is garbage ESPECIALLY compared to Teslas.

 

[4424]

Sorry you got unlucky with a lemon S. I have a 2023 Tesla Model X Plaid that is faster 0-80 than my wife's 2025 Taycan 4S...anyway, my X has been perfect (lemon-wise). Any car company can make a lemon, including Porsche. I'd get a new (slightly upgraded) 2026 S Plaid if you can. I hate the Porsche software, lack of autopilot, etc. With that being said, we've had both a 2020 Taycan 4S and 2025 and the 2025 is much better software-wise.

 

[Tighlines]

You'll be missing a lot of power... If you dont mind, go for it.

Impractical power.
The horsepower between 700-1,100 only factors on paper. Totally useless in the real world.
Get the GTS and tune it if you really need all that HP.
Id much rather have a car with 700hp that can handle it, than a car with 1,100 that can't handle it. My bicycle has better brakes than a plaid...

 

[DerekS]

My take (I haven’t driven a Plaid)

I found the base Taycan to be a bit underpowered and I also wasn’t wowed by the 4S performance.

The GTS performance finally satisfied my itch for performance. It is the fastest Porsche I’ve ever had (by a lot) and I feel like it’s finally enough. I don’t feel any need to go upstream to a Turbo or Turbo S. To me it’s the sweet spot.

 

[WadeP]

I am always surprised when people try and compare the two. The only thing they have in common as that they are electric. It seems from Tesla owners comments on all the threads It is pretty simple equation....Tesla owners are looking for a car that takes out the driver...Porsche owners want a car that makes you a driver... When I get behind the wheel the last thing I want to think about is the software.

 

[EXOTIC3]

I’ve owned in past 8 years
Plaid -Taycan - Lucid GT - Fisker Karma
Overall considering all aspects as a Daily driver……
Best top to bottom
1. Plaid - with track pack ( brake upgrade)
1A. Taycan………..



3. Lucid
4. Fisker

 

[Lee Chiacos]

And then there's that odor of musk.

 

[DerekS]

And then there's that odor of musk.

Agreed. Amusingly that’s also a literal problem in the first gen Model 3. Every year it would start to smell like old socks until we got the AC cleaned out.

We called it “Elon’s Musk.”

The current gen 3 isn’t showing signs of doing that, thankfully.

 

[Zcd1]

I am always surprised when people try and compare the two. The only thing they have in common as that they are electric.

I'm equally surprised when people suggest that they're not comparable, given near-identical exterior dimensions, market positioning and overall performance...

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