2 02 1 P O R S C H E TAYC A N P B P ~ BY T O N Y Q U I R O G A
Base Hit
Highs: A few options make it handle and ride as well as the Turbo S, refined silence, a relative value. Lows: Not terribly quick for a premium EV, obtuse infotainment, only a relative value.
What’s the difference? It’s the question
same refined isolation and sharp the numbers buyers face when sifting through a steering as the Turbo S. No matter Vehicle Type: rear-motor, rear-wheelcar’s various models. For a car like how you spec them, the solid strucdrive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan the Porsche 911, spending more ture is identical, and the battery in Base/As Tested ...... $87,030/$96,830 Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous money yields an obvious improvethe floor puts a thick layer of insuAC, 469 hp, 263 lb-ft ment in handling, appearance, and lation between the driver and the Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, engine character. But when it comes road. The PBP car even has more 83.7 kWh Transmission: 2-speed automatic to the $87,030 Porsche Taycan Perrange, 280 miles at 75 mph by our Dimensions formance Battery Plus (PBP) and the measure. The Frozen Berry Metallic • Wheelbase ....................................... 114.2 in $186,350 Taycan Turbo S, the only Taycan that provided our test num• L/W/H ........................... 195.4/77.4/54.9 in • Curb Weight .................................. 4820 lb bers lacked all the chassis upgrades, real distinction is acceleration. but even then wasn’t too far off the Stomping the accelerator leads test RESULTS feel of the Turbo S. to two very different experiences in Interior trim differs, but comthese EVs. The 469-hp Taycan PBP 60 mph ................................................. 4.7 sec 100 mph ............................................. 10.3 sec hits 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, while the mon to both are a modern design 1/4-Mile ........................ 12.9 sec @ 115 mph 750-hp Turbo S nearly halves that and a floating digital instrument 130 mph ............................................. 16.4 sec time with 2.4 seconds of neck strain. Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec. cluster. Unfortunately, similarities Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ............... 5.1 sec (The absolute lowest-rung Taycan extend to the obtuse infotainment Top Speed (gov ltd) ..................... 147 mph system that makes finding some sethas 402 horses, a smaller battery, Braking, 70–0 mph ............................ 159 ft Braking, 100–0 mph ......................... 324 ft tings—such as how to stop the seat and an $81,250 price.) But when Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ..... 0.89 g from moving whenever you switch you’re not using the Turbo S’s extra C/D Fuel Economy power, that car rides, looks, and acts off the car—a snipe hunt. Best prac• Observed ..................................... 85 MPGe • 75-mph Hwy Driving ................ 97 MPGe just like a base Taycan with a few tices call for storing your preferred • Hwy Range ...................................... 280 mi key options. Also, the Taycan PBP’s configuration to a memory setting EPA Fuel Economy 4.7 seconds to 60 and 12.9-second and using Apple CarPlay to avoid • Comb/City/Hwy ............ 75/71/80 MPGe • Range ................................................ 225 mi quarter-mile aren’t exactly slow, the native software. even if they’re behind most of the At the track, the lesser car can’t premium-EV competition. match the Turbo S in terms of skidThe base car we drove in L.A. came with 20-inch pad and braking numbers, but on the street and even in the canyons, it won’t fall too far behind. While it lacks the option wheels ($2380), air suspension with adaptive dampers of active anti-roll bars and only the rear wheels are driven, ($2200), and four-wheel steering ($1620). It enjoyed the the 4820-pound Taycan PBP is 426 pounds lighter than the Turbo S. A lot of that mass is low in the vehicle, giving the driver the sensation that the car is tethered to a cable in the center of the earth. No one ever wonders what the extra cash spent on a 911 GT3 buys after sending its tach to 9000 rpm. A highstrung naturally aspirated flat-six sounds, acts, and pulses differently from a base 911’s turbo six. In the Taycans, supercar-versus-sports-car acceleration is really the only differentiator. We love a good drag race, but it’s just one part of the experience. The challenge to EV makers will be to offer something more than just thrust. Until that happens, we’d be more than happy with a base Taycan.
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THE RUNDOWN
PHOTOG RAPHY BY ANDI HEDRICK ~ NOv EMBER 2021 ~ CAR AND DRIv ER
