2025 RWD vs 2022 RWD Impressions (Long and Nerdy)

[Avantgarde]

I had a 2025 RWD as a loaner while my car is in for service. Had the full weekend to test it out. The differences are bigger than I thought so thought I'd share some impressions.

My car: 2022 PB+ with 21" Mission Es on Steel Suspension, PSCBs
Loaner: 2025 PB with 21" RS Spyder wheels, Gen2 Air Suspension, standard brakes

Overall a better car, improved on many fronts with one significant downside.

Refinement (2 notches better): There is better sound insulation, especially on the rear side. Noticeably less noise coming from powertain components as well as the rear tires compared to old generation. The Gen 2 air suspension is shockingly way more comfortable than the steels in previous Gen. Hard to tell to what extent this is driven by Gen 2 vs Gen 1 air suspension or just air suspension vs steel. I generally find the steels to be very comfortable at highway speeds. Where the loaner shined was stop-n-go traffic, or looking for parking spot in a mall. Low speed braking/accelerations and turns feels tiring in my vehicle after a while while they felt A LOT more elegant in this car (wife and the kids not complaining after 15 minutes of looking for parking is another indication). As a daily driver this makes a huge difference. Overall it just feels like a more relaxed, hushed, luxury vehicle (there is another side to this though, which I talk about below).
I did note a slight wind noise coming from A pillars, which I did not have in my car. Either because of change in aero or maybe more noticable given the car is quieter.

Handling & Steering Feeling (1 notch worse): This was probably was the biggest surprise. I did expect to lose some handling feel on the margin due to air suspension but did not expect it to be this pronounced. The car did not feel as precise (comparatively speaking). Especially at highway speeds. What always amazed me with my Taycan is how tight/connected the steering felt at any speed, very similar steering feeling to the Cayman I had before. Lets you position the car with milimetric precision on the road. Loaner had this "floatiness" with a 1-2 inch dead-zone on the road (specifically at highway speeds). It was a windy day when I exchanged the cars, and on the way back, loaner needed noticeably more steering input to keep straight on the middle of the lane at 80 mph. Somewhat un-porshe. My car usually keeps warning me to keep my hands on the steering wheel (when they actually are!), as for long stretches it cuts the lane dead straight like a Japanese knife with no need for any steering input at all. You also "feel" the road much better with the older car. Again something I did not appreciate with my car until now. Now the slight dancing on the road may be aero related or Air vs Steel. I can't tell. But the road feedback feel must be Air vs steel suspension. I am surprised they eliminated steel suspension all together. It's not a small difference. I can see how many people may prefer the comfort of air but there is something definitely lost with the absence of steel suspension...

Power/Performance (2 notches better): The new vehicle has much better and usable power band. Loaner had the small battery with only 408hp, that is available all the time (vs my 380hp/476hp with LC), but felt a lot more lively especially in day to day driving. Now oddly the difference in flatout 0-60 accelerations (both with and without LC) felt less dramatic vs the old gen. I used the max G meter to confirm this. My car would give you max 0.55G w/o LC and 0.64G with LC. Loaner reported 0.64 and 0.70G respectively. Now these differences are smaller than what the torque differences would suggest (340/356NM ivs 410NM in the new car). I discovered the reason why, using the new Torque/Power screen in Gen 2 PCM, which gave me couple interesting insights:

1. Max torque is only enabled in second gear: Basically in the Gen2 (and maybe in Gen1 too) max torque of 410NM is only enabled in second gear. During flat out accelerations, when the car starts in 1st gear (or downshifts), torque keeps creeping up but tops at 350NM (without LC and 370-380NM with LC), and when the car kicks in to the second gear you immediately get the flat-line 410nm torque curve. Very interesting. I have couple theories on why they have done this.

2.LC still gets you more torque: Gen 2 RWD has the same MAX HP and Torque regardless of the LC mode, but as you can infer from my previous note, there is still a notable difference in acceleration when you enable LC, as it enables more torque in 1st gear (even though you are still below the max torque you get in 2nd gear)

3. Gen 2 shifts up earlier: Shift to second gear comes at dead 60 mph vs close to 80 mph in the old RWD. Big difference but also not surprising given the Torque/HP relationship went upside down. New car has higher torque & lower HP, which makes shifting early more beneficial, basic math. What is notable is the "kick" is 2X more pronounced, as the torque jumps to 410nm from about ~290nm at the highest RPMs of 1st gear. During day to day driving you spend most of your time in 2nd gear and that's where the new car shines vs the old one, as you can totally feel the benefit of the 20% increase in torque.

3. Pedal mapping is more aggressive: I strongly think Porsche updated Taycan accelerator pedal mapping sometime in 2023, and made it more aggressive even with the older gen. However I could not prove this until now. With the new screen i could see just 1/3 of pedal travel takes the car to max torque at low speeds (again in normal mode, when the car is in 2nd gear). This totally is not the case with my car. I feel like I belabor my foot twice as much, as there is still more torque you get linearly towards the end of the pedal travel. This makes acceleration a lot more effortless.

I took various pictures of the torque curve from the PCM screen and will post it here.

Overall, definitely a better car, properly addressing the biggest criticism in previous RWD (torque). Feels like they made the car more hushed and moved it more to "luxury" in the spectrum, which came a bit at the cost of losing the "raw porsche" feeling. Now I am torn between upgrading to next gen, or simply getting my car tuned with Red-Shift Performance The two are definitely different propositions.

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[Mr.Smith]

Your thoughts on steel suspension vs air are shared by Lucid which is why they chose not to use Air suspension.

If you put on your luxury driving hat, how does it feel if you were just driving around town compared to the steel suspension?

 

[f1eng]

But the road feedback feel must be Air vs steel suspension. I am surprised they eliminated steel suspension all together. It's not a small difference. I can see how many people may prefer the comfort of air but there is something definitely lost with the absence of steel suspension...

Reviewers in the sporty orientated publications here preferred the feel of the steel suspended RWD to other Taycans, and the Porsche development driver said it was his preference in an interview, but most people don't actually drive that way and the "market has spoken" about air suspension.
I like a sporty chassis myself but ride comfort is more important on 90% of my trips, and I have a sports car too if I need to scratch that itch.

 

[f1eng]

1. Max torque is only enabled in second gear: Basically in the Gen2 (and maybe in Gen1 too) max torque of 410NM is only enabled in second gear. During flat out accelerations, when the car starts in 1st gear (or downshifts), torque keeps creeping up but tops at 350NM (without LC and 370-380NM with LC), and when the car kicks in to the second gear you immediately get the flat-line 410nm torque curve. Very interesting. I have couple theories on why they have done this.

This will almost certainly be traction control system limited.
The actual thrust at the tyre is motor torque multiplied by gear ratio and probably in second gear the tyre thrust is no longer near grip limit so max motor torque can be transmitted.

In my tests, admittedly on racing cars with far more power, initial acceleration is grip (hence tyre) limited more than power limited and it is only possible to transmit full power in higher gears.

 

[Watchesandburgers]

Thanks for the insight. A well written review. ?

 

[2P168S]

Thanks for posting this! Very interesting. It helps reduce my FOMO of not having a newer model. I am generally oriented towards sportier driving and already feel my steel suspended 2022 RWD is biased more towards luxury than I would prefer.

 

[Bill33525]

I had a 2025 RWD as a loaner while my car is in for service. Had the full weekend to test it out. The differences are bigger than I thought so thought I'd share some impressions.

My car: 2022 PB+ with 21" Mission Es on Steel Suspension, PSCBs
Loaner: 2025 PB with 21" RS Spyder wheels, Gen2 Air Suspension, standard brakes

Overall a better car, improved on many fronts with one significant downside.

Refinement (2 notches better): There is better sound insulation, especially on the rear side. Noticeably less noise coming from powertain components as well as the rear tires compared to old generation. The Gen 2 air suspension is shockingly way more comfortable than the steels in previous Gen. Hard to tell to what extent this is driven by Gen 2 vs Gen 1 air suspension or just air suspension vs steel. I generally find the steels to be very comfortable at highway speeds. Where the loaner shined was stop-n-go traffic, or looking for parking spot in a mall. Low speed braking/accelerations and turns feels tiring in my vehicle after a while while they felt A LOT more elegant in this car (wife and the kids not complaining after 15 minutes of looking for parking is another indication). As a daily driver this makes a huge difference. Overall it just feels like a more relaxed, hushed, luxury vehicle (there is another side to this though, which I talk about below).
I did note a slight wind noise coming from A pillars, which I did not have in my car. Either because of change in aero or maybe more noticable given the car is quieter.

Handling & Steering Feeling (1 notch worse): This was probably was the biggest surprise. I did expect to lose some handling feel on the margin due to air suspension but did not expect it to be this pronounced. The car did not feel as precise (comparatively speaking). Especially at highway speeds. What always amazed me with my Taycan is how tight/connected the steering felt at any speed, very similar steering feeling to the Cayman I had before. Lets you position the car with milimetric precision on the road. Loaner had this "floatiness" with a 1-2 inch dead-zone on the road (specifically at highway speeds). It was a windy day when I exchanged the cars, and on the way back, loaner needed noticeably more steering input to keep straight on the middle of the lane at 80 mph. Somewhat un-porshe. My car usually keeps warning me to keep my hands on the steering wheel (when they actually are!), as for long stretches it cuts the lane dead straight like a Japanese knife with no need for any steering input at all. You also "feel" the road much better with the older car. Again something I did not appreciate with my car until now. Now the slight dancing on the road may be aero related or Air vs Steel. I can't tell. But the road feedback feel must be Air vs steel suspension. I am surprised they eliminated steel suspension all together. It's not a small difference. I can see how many people may prefer the comfort of air but there is something definitely lost with the absence of steel suspension...

Power/Performance (2 notches better): The new vehicle has much better and usable power band. Loaner had the small battery with only 408hp, that is available all the time (vs my 380hp/476hp with LC), but felt a lot more lively especially in day to day driving. Now oddly the difference in flatout 0-60 accelerations (both with and without LC) felt less dramatic vs the old gen. I used the max G meter to confirm this. My car would give you max 0.60G w/o LC and 0.64G with LC. Loaner reported 0.64 and 0.70G respectively. Now these differences are smaller than what the torque differences would suggest (340/356NM ivs 410NM in the new car). I discovered the reason why, using the new Torque/Power screen in Gen 2 PCM, which gave me couple interesting insights:

1. Max torque is only enabled in second gear: Basically in the Gen2 (and maybe in Gen1 too) max torque of 410NM is only enabled in second gear. During flat out accelerations, when the car starts in 1st gear (or downshifts), torque keeps creeping up but tops at 350NM (without LC and 370-380NM with LC), and when the car kicks in to the second gear you immediately get the flat-line 410nm torque curve. Very interesting. I have couple theories on why they have done this.

2.LC still gets you more torque: Gen 2 RWD has the same MAX HP and Torque regardless of the LC mode, but as you can infer from my previous note, there is still a notable difference in acceleration when you enable LC, as it enables more torque in 1st gear (even though you are still below the max torque you get in 2nd gear)

3. Gen 2 shifts up earlier: Shift to second gear comes at dead 60 mph vs close to 80 mph in the old RWD. Big difference but also not surprising given the Torque/HP relationship went upside down. New car has higher torque & lower HP, which makes shifting early more beneficial, basic math. What is notable is the "kick" is 2X more pronounced, as the torque jumps to 410nm from about ~290nm at the highest RPMs of 1st gear. During day to day driving you spend most of your time in 2nd gear and that's where the new car shines vs the old one, as you can totally feel the benefit of the 20% increase in torque.

3. Pedal mapping is more aggressive: I strongly think Porsche updated Taycan accelerator pedal mapping sometime in 2023, and made it more aggressive even with the older gen. However I could not prove this until now. With the new screen i could see just 1/3 of pedal travel takes the car to max torque at low speeds (again in normal mode, when the car is in 2nd gear). This totally is not the case with my car. I feel like I belabor my foot twice as much, as there is still more torque you get linearly towards the end of the pedal travel. This makes acceleration a lot more effortless.

I took various pictures of the torque curve from the PCM screen and will post it here.

Overall, definitely a better car, properly addressing the biggest criticism in previous RWD (torque). Feels like they made the car more hushed and moved it more to "luxury" in the spectrum, which came a bit at the cost of losing the "raw porsche" feeling. Now I am torn between upgrading to next gen, or simply getting my car tuned with Red-Shift Performance The two are definitely different propositions.

I had a ‘22 RWD and agree with all your observations. The magic of the RWD w/steel is unparalleled by any car I know. My son, a BMW guy, had a big smile on his face in the first turn driving my car! There were many complications causing me to part with my car but will remember the good times I had with it.

 

[Avantgarde]

Your thoughts on steel suspension vs air are shared by Lucid which is why they chose not to use Air suspension.

If you put on your luxury driving hat, how does it feel if you were just driving around town compared to the steel suspension?

In town, air suspension is simply superior, more luxurious no question. It just felt a lot more relaxed vs steel in stop and go situations. Btw Porsche claims the Gen2 air suspension brings even more comfort with in-town driving (per their original promotion materials). Again not a whole surprise, but the difference (in both luxury feeling but also loss of steering feel) was bigger than i imagined.

 

[Mr.Smith]

In town, air suspension is simply superior, more luxurious no question. It just felt a lot more relaxed vs steel in stop and go situations. Btw Porsche claims the Gen2 air suspension brings even more comfort with in-town driving (per their original promotion materials). Again not a whole surprise, but the difference (in both luxury feeling but also loss of steering feel) was bigger than i imagined.

Not being a suspension engineer myself , I would like to understand why the Gen2, two chamber air suspension is better than the Gen1, three chamber air suspension.
Maybe @f1eng has some thoughts?

 

[f1eng]

Not being a suspension engineer myself , I would like to understand why the Gen2, two chamber air suspension is better than the Gen1, three chamber air suspension.
Maybe @f1eng has some thoughts?

No I haven't looked but I thought the J1 has 2 chambers which gives 3 rates, the third by combining both chambers.
If I buy another, which is unlikely because of my age, I would get active suspension.

 

[VONRichie]

great review, as a 2025 RWD owner it was interesting to see your comments on the improvements over the older model.

 

[Avantgarde]

This will almost certainly be traction control system limited.
The actual thrust at the tyre is motor torque multiplied by gear ratio and probably in second gear the tyre thrust is no longer near grip limit so max motor torque can be transmitted.

In my tests, admittedly on racing cars with far more power, initial acceleration is grip (hence tyre) limited more than power limited and it is only possible to transmit full power in higher gears.

This will almost certainly be traction control system limited.
The actual thrust at the tyre is motor torque multiplied by gear ratio and probably in second gear the tyre thrust is no longer near grip limit so max motor torque can be transmitted.

In my tests, admittedly on racing cars with far more power, initial acceleration is grip (hence tyre) limited more than power limited and it is only possible to transmit full power in higher gears.

I think It is possible porsche mandated a torque curve in 1st gear (with a head room) that would keep the vehicle clear of TC kicking in straight line in most dry road conditions. I can see them doing it from a “driving experience” standpoint.

But I can tell you it did not feel like TC is actually intervening and limiting the power. I had launches in many different conditions, and some in perfect dry asphalt. It is very noticable when TC kicks-in more slippery conditions (or when you slam with some angle on the steering. I was pretty sure it was not kicking in (at least after the first 15-20mph) In these instances. Also 350NM peak in 1st gear was pretty consistent with no LC in multiple tries on various surfaces (concrete, asphalt), you’d expect to see some variation if TC driven. You get 380NM as soon as you turn on LC on the exact same surface. Again i think you may be right in the sense that engineers thought there is a torque limit on first gear the RWD can handle in a predictable fashion and limited the car accordingly.

Here are two screen shots of the torque curve first w/o LC and the second with LC. You can actually see the torque level in NM live, but it disappears after the fact (i shot a video where i can exactly see what NM level at what speed, fun stuff

 

[f1eng]

I think It is possible porsche mandated a torque curve in 1st gear (with a head room) that would keep the vehicle clear of TC kicking in straight line in most dry road conditions. I can see them doing it from a “driving experience” standpoint.

But I can tell you it did not feel like TC is actually intervening and limiting the power. I had launches in many different conditions, and some in perfect dry asphalt. It is very noticable when TC kicks-in more slippery conditions (or when you slam with some angle on the steering. I was pretty sure it was not kicking in (at least after the first 15-20mph) In these instances. Also 350NM peak in 1st gear was pretty consistent with no LC in multiple tries on various surfaces (concrete, asphalt), you’d expect to see some variation if TC driven. You get 380NM as soon as you turn on LC on the exact same surface. Again i think you may be right in the sense that engineers thought there is a torque limit on first gear the RWD can handle in a predictable fashion and limited the car accordingly.

Not impossible but I doubt it, personally. Electric motors do have a wide and smooth power curve though and it isn't "fixed" like in an IC engine, it depends on acceptable temperature so is time as well as rpm linked.

Vehicle stability control can be very much more precisely controlled and much faster acting with an electric motor than it ever could be with a piston engine and with the exception of the conditions you mentioned probably acts entirely transparently to the driver.

Try switching it off and measure it again.

The difference in torque peak between with and without LC is interesting, the initial wiggles are probably vehicle stability control interventions and the ramp down probably to match thrust force at the gear shift point to reduce shock load in transmission and jerkiness in the cockpit.

The problem with using torque as a measure is that without knowing the gear ratio you don't know the tyre forces.

I don't know about now but at the Ferrari F1 team back when my mate was chief engineer they, as all teams do, got a total overload of applicants for engineering places and those that got as far as the interview were ususally very well qualified but they still were rejected if they got the wrong answer to the first question "what is more important power or torque?"

 

[whitex]

3. Pedal mapping is more aggressive: I strongly think Porsche updated Taycan accelerator pedal mapping sometime in 2023, and made it more aggressive even with the older gen.

Throttle pedal mapping on the Taycan is not fixed - it's "learning" over time. On my 2023 Taycan, I drive most of the time in Sport, so my car over time has learned I prefer a more aggressive throttle response in Sport. This resulted in my Sport Mode having a noticeably more aggressive throttle mapping on Sport than SportPlus. I even tried comparing against unfiltered throttle response (learning disabled), and my "learned" Sport response is even more aggressive than that. My style of driving is very quick accelerations, not a lot of braking - learned that when I had a 2 seater in high school (many, many years ago), max acceleration was great, but any stronger braking resulted in all my school books all over the floor and/or the windshield, so I learned to avoid that. It probably served me well as far as safe driving habits too.

 

[Chiu]

how about the Matrix LED headlights compare to Gen 1 Matrix LED headlights?
I saw the optical lens is smaller then Gen 1.

*Gne 2 equip with Matrix LED as standard.
*Gen 1 has LED headlight without Matrix but you can subscript PDLS+ from Porsche Connect.

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