Model S Plaid to Taycan

[DerekS]

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

If you want an electric sport sedan it’s not like there are a ton of options. Why -wouldn’t- you compare them?

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[Gino]

90% of your points have nothing to do with driving.
Porsche is for (sporty) driving, the rest is nice to have, like all Porsches.
You obviously don't understand what a Porsche is.
Tesla is for transportation but it's more like an iPad on wheels and it doesn't handle corners that well...

For me fit & finish are number one for me and Porsche is known for that while Tesla bodies & interiors are slapped together with little attention to detail.
once I get past the vehicles which have much better fit & finish then I move to the driving experience and I put my Taycan up there with the best of them especially as a sports sedan.
It’s not the easiest to get in and out of but once I’m in I’m in heaven and once I’m out I always glance back to admire her like a supermodel. Does she have some quirks I wish she didn’t have? Sure but I wouldn’t trade my 2021 Taycan for a brand new Plaid for free. I wouldn’t even do it if Tesla paid me to take a Plaid if I couldn’t turn around & sell it to buy another Taycan.
The fit & finish would drive me crazy on every Tesla which is why I’m happy to rent a Tesla but would never spend a dime to actually own one.

 

[azf100]

Curious why people harp on the software and infotainment. I get in my car and drive, maybe throw the navigation on, rarely need to dive into menus. If they made a Taycan with no screens and just a HUD, I'd take that. Same with our R1S, the extend of screen use is just to switch the suspension from soft to medium on occasion.

 

[prj]

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?

Take a facelift car. The 2024 could also be a facelift if it was built after 06/2024.
The 4S or the GTS does not matter.
With a tune you will have 940 PS out of either of those and they will be almost as quick as the plaid.

Just see what is better specced and go for it, and make sure it's facelift (J1.2).

 

[Freeewilly]

Curious why people harp on the software and infotainment. I get in my car and drive, maybe throw the navigation on, rarely need to dive into menus. If they made a Taycan with no screens and just a HUD, I'd take that. Same with our R1S, the extend of screen use is just to switch the suspension from soft to medium on occasion.

You forgot to mention about the backup camera, the world of difference.
The first few weeks of owning the Taycan, I thought I was inches away from hitting the car when I backup, but when I look at the mirror, it's like 30 feet away.

I absolutely pick Taycan over Model S right now
1. Taycan is the best looking sports sedan. Although refreshed MS looks nice, but I'm tired of driving a same design since 2012. Only Porsche is able to pull it off by refresh the same design for over 60 years.
2. Better drivers car over MS
3. Build quality is way better, reliability not so much, depends on owners luck.
I wish the list goes longer, but Porsche total dominance over other brands are shrinking quickly

 

[Dave Birch]

As Jeremy Clarkson said when comparing a BMW 850 and an Aston Martin ‘You would not want to lick a BMW’. I feel the same about Tesla. Taycan is pure emotion, art and heritage.

 

[Hirschaj]

Curious why people harp on the software and infotainment. I get in my car and drive, maybe throw the navigation on, rarely need to dive into menus. If they made a Taycan with no screens and just a HUD, I'd take that. Same with our R1S, the extend of screen use is just to switch the suspension from soft to medium on occasion.

Similar situation here. I get in the car, CarPlay automatically loads, I drive and interact mostly with CarPlay (which is rock solid in my Taycan). I basically don't need to touch any other controls in the PCM display on 99% of my drives.

 

[azf100]

You forgot to mention about the backup camera, the world of difference.
The first few weeks of owning the Taycan, I thought I was inches away from hitting the car when I backup, but when I look at the mirror, it's like 30 feet away.

I absolutely pick Taycan over Model S right now
1. Taycan is the best looking sports sedan. Although refreshed MS looks nice, but I'm tired of driving a same design since 2012. Only Porsche is able to pull it off by refresh the same design for over 60 years.
2. Better drivers car over MS
3. Build quality is way better, reliability not so much, depends on owners luck.
I wish the list goes longer, but Porsche total dominance over other brands are shrinking quickly

Well this true about the camera, but like everything else you get used to it. I have the 360 with the top down so usually use that when it tight spots. I was also just commenting about infotainment/software from a general standpoint. I personally would never consider a Tesla.

 

[Fish Fingers]

Just out of interest, I see Tesla have now completely withdrawn the Model S and Model X from sale in Europe.

Quietly withdrawn from the configurator, it's been reported this week.

 

[Caraholic]

While not an owner of a model s plaid I was heavily considering one for my next car. Was going to make the opposite switch Taycan turbo to model s plaid. It was very high on my list until I actually drove it.

Visually I think the model s is a very good looking car. It’s not Taycan level but it is very nice to look at both inside and out. The interior was very nice but did have some creaks to it. May of just been the test car though.

Tech was very straightforward, responsive, and easy to use. I am unlike allot of most folks it seems as I really don’t care about the Taycans infotainment. Never had a problem with it. I just open car play and that’s it I’m done and it works everytime. Now if you’re expecting all the other stuff that Tesla offers throughout its UI the Taycan does not have it. If you just want or care about car play or android auto then the Taycan will fit your needs.

The couple demo cars I drove were all long ranges so the plaid may be different. Performance wise the long range felt slightly more powerful than my turbo can’t really imagine what the plaid feels like.

After my test drives I came away taking it from the top of my list to completely off of my list. The model three was a much more enjoyable experience to me. Now my experience may be completely different than yours. I am located around allot of wonderful roads that I drive everyday. So if your standard commute is mainly straight lines my comments won’t apply as much. The first thing that I really disliked (after living with the Taycan for years auto regen) is the inability to be able to coast in the model s. I don’t mind one pedal driving but I find coasting in the Taycan to be so much better and convenient as the majority of the time I don’t have to have my foot on the gas.

The one that really killed it for me though is the feel of the car. Now while the limits of the car may be high the model s is completely devoid of any feel or feedback from the steering wheel or pedals. I played with all the performance and steering weight settings and it didn’t help this at all. Every turn just felt so sterile and I got absolutely no joy out of it. Now the vehicle is a more comfortable drive than the Taycan so it really depends on what you want out of the car. To me the model s is made to compete with a S class or an A8 where its just a fast luxury cruiser. The Taycan is a large 911 with the luxury comfort as secondary attributes.

As others have said if you’re looking for a sports car the Taycan is amazing. If you’re just looking for a nice looking comfortable cruiser I would stay with the Tesla. To me these cars are not in the same category.

 

[Slyevo]

It's nice to hear all of your feedback and experiences with both cars. I feel like if you have OCD, you should stay away from Tesla because of the horrible build quality; all of these mismatched panel gaps, rattles and creaks bother the heck out of me. My car's been in the sc so many times, things get fixed and you discover other problems lol. My wife's MX seems to be built solid and the 3P on the showroom floor looked and felt great though.

My previous car was a F80 M3 6MT so I miss the driver engagement. I don't trust Elon or FSD so I've deactivated almost all of the system controls (a few times it abruptly auto applied the brakes when I was driving a little aggressively).

I'll miss the tech and road presence of the MSP, but I think I'm ready to make the switch over. Hopefully the prices will come down some more by the time Tesla buys my car back; maybe there will be some '25 GTS available/within my budget.

 

[Maggo321]

For all those who say the software doesn’t bother them, please can you tell me how to lock my car with the key and not have the car immediately unlock because the key is in my hand and within a metre of the car??

Then tell me the software doesn’t bother them.

 

[jk981]

It's nice to hear all of your feedback and experiences with both cars. I feel like if you have OCD, you should stay away from Tesla because of the horrible build quality; all of these mismatched panel gaps, rattles and creaks bother the heck out of me. My car's been in the sc so many times, things get fixed and you discover other problems lol. My wife's MX seems to be built solid and the 3P on the showroom floor looked and felt great though.

My previous car was a F80 M3 6MT so I miss the driver engagement. I don't trust Elon or FSD so I've deactivated almost all of the system controls (a few times it abruptly auto applied the brakes when I was driving a little aggressively).

I'll miss the tech and road presence of the MSP, but I think I'm ready to make the switch over. Hopefully the prices will come down some more by the time Tesla buys my car back; maybe there will be some '25 GTS available/within my budget.

I guess I better plan on a Taycan then. I was considering a similar decision (plaid vs 4s or GTS maybe), and I can't stand rattles and creaks in my cars. I was hoping Tesla cleaned up their act in the more recent vehicles but I guess not?

Also it seems like the Model S is somewhat ignored as a low-volume seller. I have no idea what differentiates it from the 3 other than that it goes somewhat faster, is larger, and has air ride. Does it even have any other features exclusive to it? The software suite seems pretty standardized across the board.

Tesla also seems to want to engineer out the driver, with FSD as the true goal. I have zero interest in self driving stuff, so I've been leaning heavily toward the Taycan. 50+k more for a well equipped one is a tad painful though.

I have some issues with the Taycan though as a prospective buyer, mostly on longevity and support. It seems like the industry in general is pulling back from EVs a bit, so I hope the engineering money keeps flowing to improve the platform. Maybe I'll see what the electric Cayman looks like when it emerges from development hell.

 

[anonymouse]

For all those who say the software doesn’t bother them, please can you tell me how to lock my car with the key and not have the car immediately unlock because the key is in my hand and within a metre of the car??.

Or get out of the car and touch the "lock" button on the door but today something isn't perfect so it does nothing and you have to dig out your keys. (bug persists in J1.2).

Or try to set up "charge to 80% then stop" without reading this Forum first. (fixed in J1.2 with radically simpler user interface but not rolled out to the J1 fleet).

Or race outside in the rain because it says windows are open and the data was "just updated", only to find it was actually updated 10 hours ago while you were driving.

Or park the car on a road trip with tomorrow's destination in the satnav, plug in at the hotel, come back in the morning to find 0% added because it has decided you will stop on the morning's route instead.

 

[Lee Chiacos]

Yes, all these inconvenience features. My Chevy Bolt is more user-friendly.

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