5 minute read
2021 Porsche Taycan PBP
from Sin46th Magzus.org
by Thomas Swift
2 0 2 1 P O R S C H E T A Y C A N P B P ~ B Y T O N Y Q U I R O G A
Base Hit
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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 buyers face when sifting through a car’s various models. For a car like the Porsche 911, spending more money yields an obvious improvement in handling, appearance, and engine character. But when it comes to the $87,030 Porsche Taycan Performance Battery Plus (PBP) and the $186,350 Taycan Turbo S, the only real distinction is acceleration.
Stomping the accelerator leads to two very different experiences in these EVs. The 469-hp Taycan PBP hits 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, while the 750-hp Turbo S nearly halves that time with 2.4 seconds of neck strain. (The absolute lowest-rung Taycan has 402 horses, a smaller battery, and an $81,250 price.) But when you’re not using the Turbo S’s extra power, that car rides, looks, and acts just like a base Taycan with a few key options. Also, the Taycan PBP’s 4.7 seconds to 60 and 12.9-second quarter-mile aren’t exactly slow, even if they’re behind most of the premium-EV competition.
The base car we drove in L.A. came with 20-inch wheels ($2380), air suspension with adaptive dampers ($2200), and four-wheel steering ($1620). It enjoyed the
t h e n u m b e r s same refined isolation and sharp steering as the Turbo S. No matter Vehicle Type: rear-motor, rear-wheel- how you spec them, the solid struc-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan Base/As Tested ...... $87,030/$96,830 ture is identical, and the battery in Motor: permanent-magnet synchronous the floor puts a thick layer of insuAC, 469 hp, 263 lb-ft Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, lation between the driver and the 83.7 kWh road. The PBP car even has more Transmission: 2-speed automatic range, 280 miles at 75 mph by our Dimensions measure. The Frozen Berry Metallic • Wheelbase ....................................... 114.2 in • L/W/H ........................... 195.4/77.4/54.9 in Taycan that provided our test num• Curb Weight .................................. 4820 lb bers lacked all the chassis upgrades, but even then wasn’t too far off the t e s t R E S U L T S feel of the Turbo S. 60 mph ................................................. 4.7 sec Interior trim differs, but com100 mph ............................................. 10.3 sec mon to both are a modern design 1/4-Mile 130 mph ........................ 12.9 sec @ 115 mph ............................................. 16.4 sec and a floating digital instrument Results above omit 1-ft rollout of 0.3 sec. cluster. Unfortunately, similarities Rolling Start, 5–60 mph ............... 5.1 sec Top Speed (gov ltd) ..................... 147 mph extend to the obtuse infotainment Braking, 70–0 mph ............................ 159 ft system that makes finding some setBraking, 100–0 mph ......................... 324 ft tings—such as how to stop the seat Roadholding, 300-ft Skidpad ..... 0.89 g from moving whenever you switch
C/D Fuel Economy
• Observed ..................................... 85 MPGe off the car—a snipe hunt. Best prac• 75-mph Hwy Driving ................ 97 MPGe tices call for storing your preferred • Hwy Range ...................................... EPA Fuel Economy 280 mi configuration to a memory setting • Comb/City/Hwy ............ 75/71/80 MPGe and using Apple CarPlay to avoid • Range ................................................ 225 mi the native software. At the track, the lesser car can’t match the Turbo S in terms of skidpad and braking numbers, but on the street and even in the canyons, it won’t fall too far behind. While it lacks the option of active anti-roll bars and only the rear wheels are driven, 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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