Taycan 4S - 1 year later: owner's feedback / review

[moon]

Mine MY22 has 20500 km.
Without any major complaints, nice to drive, great range for my needs.
And snow? Not an issue

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[hifi239]

New-ish NE owner here with zero problems, but with some nits about certain design quirks. Thanks very much for the PPF recommendation (who is good?) and for all the rest.

>> it just never slows down
Because of that, I'm convinced it isn't just coasting, I think there is a little juice going in. I do find that the regen or auto-regen modes make driving easier in "stop and go" and heavy traffic. Also, cruise control on the highway takes care of regen for you on the downhills.

>> I have gone to ... New Hampshire
My parents' property is in the NH white mountains. I ventured into this DC desert for the first time. The north-most DC charger of any network is in Manchester, just about where the state claims the start of the "alternative fuel corridor." I will need to put in L2 at their house to do this trip comfortably. There are Volta DC chargers in Tilton, and these are lit up, but don't work. Looking forward to those and/or superchargers opening in this area.

 

[Bughouse]

Great write up. I bought a 2020 used turbo 6m ago and have really enjoyed it. I love coasting. But I also have a Tesla model 3P and love one pedal driving in that car. But the Taycan coasts so beautifully, I just love doing it.

My experience with EA hasn’t been as good. I’ve always gotten a charge but have often (>50%) taken 15-20 minutes to start charging (phone call to EA or having to move to different units). Tesla is much better here. Over the last 3Y, it has been 100% arrive, plug in and charge. Much better.

The driving dynamics of the Taycan is what sets it apart. The way it handles corners and the pure comfort is incredible.

 

[magnitude]

I love the Auto-Recuperative mode, have it on almost all the time so far. It allows me to coast when the road is free, and often saves me from reaching for the brake pedal at all when someone's in front of me.

 

[KayOx]

my 4S CT is 14 month old. 34k miles. I dd this car and drive it everywhere/every chance I get.
On my 2nd set of tires.
Took dealer 3 tries to fix center tube display rattle, but glad it's finally fixed.
No other issues. PPF the whole car. worth it, do it. I did a matte PPF and it adds a little specialness to the Gentian Blue.

EA is a gamble every time, new EA station by my house, and I try to use it whenever I can. first 6 months was great, all working. Now it's down to 1 working charger, and now seems like the whole city has EVs. Always fight for a charge spot. Mustang MachEs, Ioniq 5s, EV6s, Lucid, Bolt, a bazillion ID.4s, and the whole year, I probably saw 2 Taycans charging, sedans.

would buy again.

-ThinkMac-

My CT4S also Gentian Blue, should arrive in a few weeks. Im planning to do PPF but wasn't considering Satin till i saw your post.
Do you mind sharing a few pics, preferably taken in day light to see how it looks.. Thanks

 

[Wattsjr9]

Thank you, OP, for taking the time to share - and very well said.

Re coasting - I’ve resorted to using the regen button on the steering wheel when I’m approaching traffic (in town or highway). Works a treat. Almost muscle memory at this point.

What regen button on the steering wheel?

 

[WasserGKuehlt]

What regen button on the steering wheel?

(Was it my choice of words - regen vs recuperation - that caused the confusion?)

 

[Mr. 2021 Taycan]

Very similar positive 4S experience (January 2021 delivery). Very reliable after initial software glitches (now addressed with updates) and failed HVAC hardware. Routine reported range at 85% charge is 250 miles. Warm climate.

Only remaining issue is that Mobile Charger Connect was remotely downgraded below specification and Porsche NA will not do anything about it. They say it is a safety issue (potential over heating) but you would think that would prompt a full replacement and recall. This is not consistent with Porsche's Gestalt.

 

[Chuck J]

Mr. Taycan: Are you talking about the fact that it only charges at 6KW no matter how high you set the amp setting? I wondered about that.

Chuck J

 

[kort]

I love the Auto-Recuperative mode, have it on almost all the time so far. It allows me to coast when the road is free, and often saves me from reaching for the break pedal at all when someone's in front of me.

I use it like that as well, my only complaint is that it needs to be set every time you do into drive

 

[magnitude]

I use it like that as well, my only complaint is that it needs to be set every time you do into drive

Mine too. I've set it up in the INDIVIDUAL driving mode, but you always have to set that using the sport chrono wheel as well when getting in, right?

 

[xyeahtony]

>> it just never slows down
Because of that, I'm convinced it isn't just coasting, I think there is a little juice going in. I do find that the regen or auto-regen modes make driving easier in "stop and go" and heavy traffic. Also, cruise control on the highway takes care of regen for you on the downhills.

Pure coasting should maintain speed for awhile, so that's what the car is supposed to do. If you've ever driven a manual transmission car and shifted into neutral, its basically exactly the same thing. Wtihout the resistance of the engine to slow the car down, all you have is the road. And well, the car is built for efficiency so its not going to slow down on its own haha.

 

[RGBArgee]

Just sharing a few random thoughts and giving some hope to future owners to balance some of the horror (and very true) stories shared here.

Ordered December 2021. Picked up April 2022. Paid MSRP. Felicity Ace sunk and manufacturing stopped for 3 weeks due to invasion of Ukraine in between. BTW, Ukraine, we haven't forgotten about you, I am sorry this continues.

My order came after Taycans were produced without electric steering columns or were delivered with just 1 keyfob. I got both.

My Taycan was built the 2nd week the updated PCM (colors) were added. The alarm issue was resolved a few weeks prior to my production so never had that issue.

I did get the uPdate but for me it was a minor one. Car dropped at dealer Monday morning, picked up that same day in the afternoon. That has been the 1 day my car has been at the dealer since I got it. About 11,000 miles now. The heater made it through the New England winter. No errors of any kind (and I hope I am not jinxing myself by posting today).

Range

20' inch wheels.

When picked up I was doing a once a week 240 mile round trip charging at home and at work. Real range was ~290 miles on a full charge. I could actually go round trip without charging but it was free charging at work.

I am in New England, range dropped to ~240 miles from mid-October through early April. About a week ago weather was back in the 70s F (21 C) for a day or two...New Englanders know better than to get excited about the weather too early. I had a trip to NJ, round trip 300 miles. Range back to 280+ miles. Very happy to see it come back.

Innodrive

Has worked well for me but ACC is probably enough. Interesting things it does: If you have it on in smaller roads (which is really completely unnecessary and have done mostly for testing) it will "almost" come to a stop if it detects a STOP sign. If you have the GPS on and your are going to make a left/right turn at a street corner it will slow down to the appropriate speed. None of it really that valuable. On highways it behaves very well. Verdict: Save some money, spend elsewhere.

Coasting and Braking

I have always been a coaster, I apply my brakes less often than the average person I think. On my previous car you could do this because it started slowing down relatively quickly. This is impossible to do on a Taycan, it just never slows down. I think brake a lot more than I used to. It is all regenerative so not a big deal.

Electrify America

It's New England so you travel shorter distances (I guess). I have gone to Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, New Jersey. Everyone of those trips never requires more than 1 stop at an EA station. I have been at an EA charger 7 times since I got my car. I am 7 for 7 on successful charges. The last trip to NJ the charger never got above 110Kw but that's the worst I have experienced. Otherwise mostly at home charging.

Tires

11,000 miles in still looking great. Would have never looked if it weren't for the threads on this topic.

Cost

A new Taycan, which is essentially the exact same car I am driving is now ~$7,000 more expensive than what I paid. The $7,500 EV rebate was still available. Car would have cost me $14,500 more a year later. To be fair when I ordered my car the $7,500 rebate was uncertain and I was still buying the car so rebates probably used better elsewhere (now if they could only come up with an approach to offer rebates that is less complicated that would be great).

Advice for new Porsche owners (or not really 'car person' types)

You are going to baby this car more than you have any other car before. You just are. I debated PPF but since I was in the 'this is just a car' camp I did not. You are going to get more chips than on a 'regular' car. I try not to follow trucks/car closely, etc...it's just unavoidable. My suggestion: Do it, full front PPF.

Final Comment

I won the Porsche Taycan lottery. If you are waiting for yours, I hope you do too. If you haven't been as lucky as me, I hope it is all behind you.

I picked up new Taycan Cross 4S in March 2022 and think I experienced all the issues. Heater, boot lock x2, black screens, range plunge from 240 - 186 after upgrade. Dealer was very good and I have a replacement which after a month has had but one warning flash up. Fingers crossed but range only 222 miles..

 

[ithinkmac]

My CT4S also Gentian Blue, should arrive in a few weeks. Im planning to do PPF but wasn't considering Satin till i saw your post.
Do you mind sharing a few pics, preferably taken in day light to see how it looks.. Thanks

 

[KayOx]

It's fascinating. Thanks for sharing