Sport/Gravel button

[W1NGE]

Honestly where I drive I’ve never needed the extra clearance even on gravel roads. There is a button you can press to lift the car that I use where I park in the ski resort to avoid the snow banks and it remembers the setting and now automatically lifts. I have used the gravel mode a couple of times on a gravel mode and on snow but it’s a gimmick IMO whereas I use Sport mode every time I drive up that hill.

Remember that it does more than 'lift' the car (depending on options fitted e.g. PTV+) - agree its a bit 'meh' however there needs to be something to differentiate the CT from the ST (GTS and others to follow) and that the ST is not even going to pretend it is a soft roader.

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[ciaranob]

Honestly where I drive I’ve never needed the extra clearance even on gravel roads. There is a button you can press to lift the car that I use where I park in the ski resort to avoid the snow banks and it remembers the setting and now automatically lifts. I have used the gravel mode a couple of times on a gravel mode and on snow but it’s a gimmick IMO whereas I use Sport mode every time I drive up that hill.

I believe that, as @W1NGE mentions, there is more to Gravel mode than simply the high lift position - the car is pretty decent in respect being 4WD capable in this mode albeit SW simulating electronic locking differential, impressive wheel drops and recalibration of the ABS to allow for better tractional control etc. I don't think all of these elements work together in the same way when out of Gravel mode (but could be wrong?).

The Out-Of-Spec vid demo'ing this mode is a bit of fun to watch unless you cringe at minor scrapping

 

[Swissbob]

I believe that, as @W1NGE mentions, there is more to Gravel mode than simply the high lift position - the car is pretty decent in respect being 4WD capable in this mode albeit SW simulating electronic locking differential, impressive wheel drops and recalibration of the ABS to allow for better tractional control etc. I don't think all of these elements work together in the same way when out of Gravel mode (but could be wrong?).

The Out-Of-Spec vid demo'ing this mode is a bit of fun to watch unless you cringe at minor scrapping

yep that’s a great video and for sure I’d be using gravel mode if I dared to take my CT on a road like that. But the point was that a dedicated button for a mode I suspect most of us use very rarely is a gimmick rather than a sensible use of the precious buttons

 

[Olav]

Yeah, gravel mode makes a noticeable difference driving on gravel at high speeds.
I have an uncle that lives on a farm where you drive on 500 meters of gravel road and with some fun corners. I love to visit him as fast as possible and as often as possible

 

[ciaranob]

yep that’s a great video and for sure I’d be using gravel mode if I dared to take my CT on a road like that. But the point was that a dedicated button for a mode I suspect most of us use very rarely is a gimmick rather than a sensible use of the precious buttons

Well I guess we’ll agree to disagree . This is a key differentiator between the CT and the GTS and makes sense to highlight to me.

 

[Boss Hogg]

I have 'Gravel' in the soft key position and use the sport chrono wheel for sports modes. The appearance of Gravel or Sport as a soft key may depend if the car has sport chrono or not.

I use Gravel mode on minor roads that have lots of lumps, bumps and undulations where the car is at risk of bottoming out when pressing on. Gravel mode also feels like it stiffens the suspension as well as raising it.

 

[chylld]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. If you can spare 13 seconds of your time, please head over to this simple poll that I've made to unravel this mystery.

 

[W1NGE]

I have 'Gravel' in the soft key position and use the sport chrono wheel for sports modes. The appearance of Gravel or Sport as a soft key may depend if the car has sport chrono or not.

I use Gravel mode on minor roads that have lots of lumps, bumps and undulations where the car is at risk of bottoming out when pressing on. Gravel mode also feels like it stiffens the suspension as well as raising it.

The survey would bare that out - no SC = Sport and SC = Gravel

 

[whitex]

I saw a freshly arrived '22 CT4 a the dealer today, no chrono package, center console button said SPORT.

 

[Jrkennedy37]

From the owners manual, mystery solved:

 

[DrT]

From the owners manual, mystery solved:

This is the Taycan sedan manual, there is no mention of Gravel mode in there. I was also given the sedan manual with my Cross Turismo, apparently.
Marketing material makes me believe that CT always has gravel mode, atleast that is what is written on Porsche website.

 

[W1NGE]

From the owners manual, mystery solved:

Thx but this doesn't totally clarify.

Taycan no sports chrono and not a Cross Turismo or Sports Turismo - what does the soft key display then - I suspect it will be 'Sport'. Cars with Sports Chrono offer 4 places (PCM - configured My Screen, PCM - Vehicle - Drive Mode, Mode Switch and Centre Console) to set Sport rather than 3 (PCM - configured My Screen, PCM - Vehicle - Drive Mode, and Centre Console).

This is the Taycan sedan manual, there is no mention of Gravel mode in there. I was also given the sedan manual with my Cross Turismo, apparently.
Marketing material makes me believe that CT always has gravel mode, atleast that is what is written on Porsche website.

Check the Porsche Good to Know App - cut and paste of text BUT Gravel mode gets a mention elsewhere in the notes so it is 'current'.

 

[DrT]

https://media.porsche.com/mediakit/taycan-cross-turismo/zh_hant_tw/taycan-cross-turismo/highlights

The Taycan Cross Turismo comes as standard with the additional Gravel mode driving programme for journeys on light off-road terrain such as gravel tracks or muddy road surfaces. In this mode, the ride height is raised by 30 millimetres compared with the saloon. Gravel mode also influences the Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), Porsche Traction Management (PTM), Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV+) and Porsche Stability Management (PSM) chassis systems, as well as the rear-axle transmission. The shift operations of the latter are optimised to ensure maximum traction. The car’s throttle characteristics have also been designed specially for off-road driving in terms of power delivery and control precision.

 

[Swissbob]

The survey would bare that out - no SC = Sport and SC = Gravel

another reason not to get Sport Chrono!

 

[Jrkennedy37]

Here’s the rest of the page mentioning gravel mode and the cross turismo:

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