Buying advice for 4S/Turbo

[ash707]

Hi folks,

I am new to this forum, used to be active on rennlist few years ago. I am in the market for a Taycan, which will be replacement of 970.2 Panamera GTS. I am drawn to Taycan's buttery smooth driving experience, effortless power, modern interior and such. Would appreciate some advice from the forum in order to make a sound purchase decision.

Driving smoothness - recently I drove this 2024 RWD and 2025 Turbo. The RWD felt a lot smoother and easier on rough roads vs the Turbo. I wonder what are the reasons for that, and those factors would help me in finding the right car. The power difference was night and day, which is a different topic.

I am thinking of 2021-23 4S/GTS/Turbo. Initial research indicates to opt for Performance Plus battery, but that's so rare on 4S models. Should that be a big factor? I intend to use for short commutes on city and highway. Not much long road trips. Does the bigger battery provide noticeable performance difference

Sport chrono package - I have a similar option in PGTS. Not many 4S models have it. However, for EV does it make much of a difference given the instant torque. The clock is not a factor for me, and neither is the sound or suspension stiffness which could be altered with the steering wheel control. Am I missing out on some feature?

Charging - Given my primary use case of city/highway driving (seldom long road trips) - would a level 2 charger at home be sufficient

Price - Research also indicates EVs are a tough sell these days. How negotiable are the prices on autotrader/cargurus as an example

I plan to only look for Porsche Certified vehicles to have peace of mind. Any other perspective I should be familiar with? For example, some vehicles are not listed as Porsche certified, could that be negotiated if the selling party is a Porsche dealer? This will help in creating the right search query

Thank you for all the inputs!

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[whitex]

Turbo will have way more power than a 4S. GTS is same hardware as Turbo, but detuned (there are aftermarket upgrades to more power than Turbo without aftermarket upgrade - YMMV as far as doing that, the cost and warranty risk). It may seem less smooth if you drive it in SportPlus mode which has a very sensitive accelerator, which combined with a lot of power, can make it seem "twitchy". If you prefer the less power, smoother acceleration, go with lower models and drive in Normal mode. Also, Sport and Sport Plus modes learn the optimal throttle mapping from the driver, so how twitchy, or responsive, the car is to the accelerator pedal will depends on the drive history.

I don't think you will find a GTS or Turbo without a Perf+ battery. I'm surprised you found many 4S'es without Perf+ battery. It was standard on all CT/ST's IIRC. Perf+ battery will provide you with more range and power, though from your post perhaps power is not something you desire. The only advantage of non Perf+ battery is less weight, and of course price.

Main advantage of Sport Chrono is the drive mode switch on the steering wheel, SportPlus and Individual driving modes. Only Individual mode can be customized with pesrsistance (i.e. it remembers the next time you drive the car). The software to time race laps is also part of it, but I personally never use it, so cannot comment on its usefulness.

Charging, you'll be way good with Level 2 charger for nightly charging. Standard Taycan can charge at 11KW Level 2, with the 19.2KW upgrade available on some cars (or via available retrofit, but that can be expensive due to a lot of labor hours required). Either gets you a fully charged car every morning, assuming you have an EVSE in your garage to provide the power Taycan can take. At 11KW, you can charge from 0 to 85% in 8 hrs. Upgraded charger (again, providing you install a matching upgraded EVSE) will do it in ~4hrs. That said, unless you drive 200+ miles a day, you're not coming home at 0% state of charge, so charging will take less. To give you a frame of reference, I've been driving EV's for over a decade, I have 19.2KW for both our cars, but for the longest time I was using a 9.6KW EVSE in my garage because it was more convenient to plug in to the Model S I was driving back then, and even at 9.6KW, my car was always ready to go at 90% SoC every morning. Today I plug into the 19.2KW (Taycan has a charge port on the front, vs. Tesla on the back, so the 19.2KW is more convenient), the faster charging comes handy maybe once a year when I do multiple long distance drives (like to the airport around holidays) back to back, or if I choose to park on the driveway and have to keep the garage door open to do charge (so I can finish charging and close the garage door sooner).

Price - do your research, check this forum too, sometimes people share what deals they got.

 

[W1NGE]

Hi folks,

I am new to this forum, used to be active on rennlist few years ago. I am in the market for a Taycan, which will be replacement of 970.2 Panamera GTS. I am drawn to Taycan's buttery smooth driving experience, effortless power, modern interior and such. Would appreciate some advice from the forum in order to make a sound purchase decision.

Driving smoothness - recently I drove this 2024 RWD and 2025 Turbo. The RWD felt a lot smoother and easier on rough roads vs the Turbo. I wonder what are the reasons for that, and those factors would help me in finding the right car. The power difference was night and day, which is a different topic.

I am thinking of 2021-23 4S/GTS/Turbo. Initial research indicates to opt for Performance Plus battery, but that's so rare on 4S models. Should that be a big factor? I intend to use for short commutes on city and highway. Not much long road trips. Does the bigger battery provide noticeable performance difference

Sport chrono package - I have a similar option in PGTS. Not many 4S models have it. However, for EV does it make much of a difference given the instant torque. The clock is not a factor for me, and neither is the sound or suspension stiffness which could be altered with the steering wheel control. Am I missing out on some feature?

Charging - Given my primary use case of city/highway driving (seldom long road trips) - would a level 2 charger at home be sufficient

Price - Research also indicates EVs are a tough sell these days. How negotiable are the prices on autotrader/cargurus as an example

I plan to only look for Porsche Certified vehicles to have peace of mind. Any other perspective I should be familiar with? For example, some vehicles are not listed as Porsche certified, could that be negotiated if the selling party is a Porsche dealer? This will help in creating the right search query

Thank you for all the inputs!

PB+ for sure and is standard on a models except RWD and 4S.

Air suspension a must.

Porsche warranty essential.

21" wheels will look best but less rubber means a difference in ride quality.

Sports Chrono is a must - additional drive mode and makes mode switching easier.

Power Steering Plus a must.

Bose.

Panoramic Roof.

GTS or Turbo both have too much power as it is.

Buyers market.

 

[whitex]

GTS or Turbo both have too much power as it is.

Power, just like value, is always relative "to whom". Third party tuners would not exist if people didn't crave more power.

This may also be region specific. My guess, from reading posts here, is that there are more places to unleash even over 1000hp in the US highway system than there are in the UK. Personally I love to unleash max power for highway passing, as well as onramps/merging. It seems when overtaking cars with an overwhelming power advantage, the overtakee doesn't seem to put up any fight, but if you barely have a speed advantage, they end up flooring their accelerator to not let you pass, only to slow down as soon as you cannot pass anymore. I remember once doing a cross country trip in an ICE car, even a mobile home tried to race me when I was trying to pass him - I passed him in my Honda Civic back then, but I know he tried his best because of the amount of smoke that bellowed out of his exhaust as soon as he noticed I was passing him.'

The OP is from Washington state, where people merging at 10mph under the speed limit, cutting off everyone to get to the left most express lane, then camping out in that late at 10mph under the speed limit except in downhill portions where passing is allowed where they reach 30mph over speed limit just to not less people pass, is a common sight. Heck, I saw someone doing it in other state once on another cross country tip, I remember thinking "wow, so people do this in other states too", but then when I caught up to the car doing it, I realized it had Washington state license plates LOL

 

[Tooney]

Charging - Given my primary use case of city/highway driving (seldom long road trips) - would a level 2 charger at home be sufficient

Yes, level 2 at home is good.
Home charging. See https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/us-home-charging-recommendation-this-is-as-simple-as-i-can-make-it…honestly-bare-bones-least-amount-of-text….11745/
and:
https://www.taycanforum.com/forum/threads/us-over-the-top-the-well-equipped-ev-home-garage…for-those-that-wish-to-over-do-it-….2343/
and:
https://www.youtube.com/@StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney

 

[SergeyIndy]

2024 RWD with Performance Battery (small one) and Steel Suspension is the most basic version. I took one like it for a long drive as a loaner on different roads and highway and as you are describing, and it is buttery smooth and floaty in the comfort kind of way. The power from stop is not there but as you gain a bit of speed it is direct and smooth. Based on what you described your needs are this would be a perfect setup, but then you have to look at comfort options to see if you can at least get a leather interior, since standard interior is very spartan with lots of rubber like vinyl and on used examples, it looked very worn.

2025 model is a refresh model with Air Suspension standard and many other improvements, so if you find one you like you want to buy, we can tell you all about it then.

PB and PB+ differences are power, charging rate, and weight, but based on your case, less weight would be an advantage, where more power and extra weight will not.

Sport Chrono - others covered it at length with main advantage convenience of switching modes, Individual mode, and Sport+ mode, which is probably not optionable on a PB example.

Charging - Level 2 home charging is plenty sufficient for your case. Make sure you can get a 60Amp circuit to give the car 48Amps to charge at its max of 11kW. I am not going into the 19.2kW discussion option as it is rare and not necessary for your case.

Price - Buyers market with lots of good examples and deals out there, but many are hunting with good ones gone fast as we recently learned on the forum.

Certification - absolutely only get a CPO one to cover yourself from costly failures that can happen. Also, make sure you get a clear status on recalls completed or waiting on parts.

Post what you find as your buying options with miles and build details and we can provide feedback from there.

 

[Flying ace]

others have opined on options and charging question.

RE: pricing, having just purchased a pre-owned Taycan GTS, everything about pricing is negotiable. Best way to gauge how much room there is, use autotrader or cars.com pricing history feature. It'll give you an idea of the amount of listing pricing discount thus far and how long the car has been listed. Use an older listing's pricing history to gauge the approximate headroom that you have for a newer listing and the approximate periods of time the dealer is willing to sit at current pricing before reducing their price. You'll see many dealers adjust pricing every 2 to 4 weeks, signaling their willingness to take offers and the lack of current interest

In any case, I find it best to just make your preferred offer price that is reasonable to the dealer, and check in periodically. Save the car from the Cars or autotrader lisiting and the app will notify you of a listing price decrease. IMO, when the decrease occurs, call in (again) and offer your best price.

 

[W1NGE]

2024 RWD with Performance Battery (small one) and Steel Suspension is the most basic version. I took one like it for a long drive as a loaner on different roads and highway and as you are describing, and it is buttery smooth and floaty in the comfort kind of way. The power from stop is not there but as you gain a bit of speed it is direct and smooth. Based on what you described your needs are this would be a perfect setup, but then you have to look at comfort options to see if you can at least get a leather interior, since standard interior is very spartan with lots of rubber like vinyl and on used examples, it looked very worn.

2025 model is a refresh model with Air Suspension standard and many other improvements, so if you find one you like you want to buy, we can tell you all about it then.

PB and PB+ differences are power, charging rate, and weight, but based on your case, less weight would be an advantage, where more power and extra weight will not.

Sport Chrono - others covered it at length with main advantage convenience of switching modes, Individual mode, and Sport+ mode, which is probably not optionable on a PB example.

Charging - Level 2 home charging is plenty sufficient for your case. Make sure you can get a 60Amp circuit to give the car 48Amps to charge at its max of 11kW. I am not going into the 19.2kW discussion option as it is rare and not necessary for your case.

Price - Buyers market with lots of good examples and deals out there, but many are hunting with good ones gone fast as we recently learned on the forum.

Certification - absolutely only get a CPO one to cover yourself from costly failures that can happen. Also, make sure you get a clear status on recalls completed or waiting on parts.

Post what you find as your buying options with miles and build details and we can provide feedback from there.

..also range increase with PB+ being the most significant attribute

 

[ash707]

Thank you for the responses, super helpful!!

Re: Drove this 2024 RWD and 2025 Turbo. The RWD felt a lot smoother and easier on rough roads vs the Turbo
from the responses and research, there could be several factors including turbo having bigger tyres, air vs steel suspension, sound insulating glass, stiffer suspension by default. I drove both in Normal mode initially for a fair comparison. RWD just "ate" the imperfections on road, while Turbo provided more "feel and felt rougher". Coming from a very visceral and boisterous soundtrack of PGTS, I am leaning towards a different experience in EV, on the side of "buttery", "effortless power delivery".

Re: normal vs sport mode
Suppose I find 4S without the sport chrono package, this seems to be more common.
Does the sport mode have a different throttle response (ignore suspension for now)? I understand it would matter much more for ICE cars, I can attest to PGTS experience. Aren't EVs delivering 100% torque from standstill, or the 1st/2nd gear is making a difference. looking to learn here.

 

[Grim]

I think Sports Chrono gives customised Individual mode and makes switching modes easier using the on steering wheel dial - makes no difference to actual performance on my MY24 CT4S.

I didn’t have it on my previous CT4S which made switching modes less intuitive but not the end of the world.

The clock on the dash is a bit pointless in my view in everyday driving - not that easy to read so I rarely look at it.

 

[Grim]

The modes do change “throttle” response with Sport being more aggressive (sensitive). It also drops the car into 1st gear to aid acceleration whereas in Normal I think it only uses 2nd gear.

 

[amelen]

I've really enjoyed owning the Turbo and would buy one again if I had to make the decision again. There is something more special about owning a Turbo porsche of any kind. If you're interested, I'm selling mine (see signature) - it's going on Cars&Bids next week with a very reasonable reserve and they provide shipping.

 

[Gachnar]

I plan to only look for Porsche Certified vehicles to have peace of mind. Any other perspective I should be familiar with? For example, some vehicles are not listed as Porsche certified, could that be negotiated if the selling party is a Porsche dealer? This will help in creating the right search query

It's possible for a dealer to have a CPO eligible car that isn't listed as CPO so you can ask if you see one at a Porsche dealer that isn't CPO. There are other disqualifying things like a certain amount of repaired damage, or if the car is a manufacturer buyback (clean title is a CPO requirement).

If you are only looking at CPO vehicles, the finder on the Porsche website is the best place to look. It also lets you filter on the exact options that are must haves for you.

 

[KLHubb]

I traded my 2016 Panamera 4 for a 2020 Taycn 4S, and could not be happier.
I loved the Panamera, but I prefer the Taycan hands down, in all respects.
Get the Burmester audio system....it's worth the premium.

 

[ash707]

Are 2020 CPOs worth looking from reliability standpoint or 2021+ strongly recommended.
For eg, this CPO 2020 Turbo with 21 K miles meets a lot of my criteria.

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