Porsche Taycan 4S: An Electric Vehicle Good Enough to Earn the Porsche Badge
The Taycan 4S is a fast, well-built, and great handling sports sedan that can win the hearts of the staunchest internal combustion engine fans.
You could say I am arriving late to the electric vehicle party. Currently in my garage I have a 5.0L V8 Mustang GT, a track-modified Porsche Cayman S, and a 6-speed Porsche 911. I appreciate what electric vehicles can offer, and I have driven a few. However, I have not put up my own money for one. Yet. Friends and colleagues of mine own quite a few EVs and they rave about them. Those that I have driven have really impressed me. But as impressive as they are, I want a car with some soul. I want a car with some passion. I want a Porsche. Could the Taycan 4S be the car for me?
Being a huge Porsche fan, I was anxious to get behind the wheel of their first-ever fully electric vehicle. At a recent Taycan open house event sponsored by my local dealer, I finally got the seat time I wanted. I got to drive the Taycan 4S and get up close looks at the Turbo model as well. This was not a sales pitch event. I got to drive the car alone with my thoughts and draw my own honest conclusions. I came away astounded by the car. So much so that I am considering selling the Mustang and Cayman to put a Taycan 4S in my own garage.
Upon arrival to the event, I saw a large tent setup with a new Taycan Turbo sitting underneath it. The car was open, and I was encouraged to crawl around it as much as I wanted. I was also directed to a technical expert who could answer any questions I might have about it. Outside the tent was a line up of four new Taycan 4S sport sedans waiting for us to jump in for test drives. I started by looking at the details of the Taycan Turbo. My first impressions were that this is a really good-looking car. Electric or not, the car looks like a Porsche. Which is good because it is certainly priced like one, but more on the price later. The Taycan has the unmistakable Porsche DNA in its looks. However, it is also distinctive enough to clearly stand out from a 911.
Once inside the car I was immediately struck by how advanced it looked. This car is 5 model years newer than my Cayman. However, this Taycan Turbo looked like it was 25 years newer. My car instantly felt extremely dated. I have spent a decent amount of time in the new 992 generation 911 and even compared to that, the Taycan feels more advanced. Seating from the drivers seat the first thing you notice is the 16.8-inch curved display with touchscreen control for lighting and chassis functions. It is a beautiful display although it seemed a bit strange to sit in a Porsche without a large, tachometer in the middle of the instrument display. This display can be configured for multiple different views including three round instruments. However, none of those instruments are a tachometer for obvious reasons.
Sticking to displays for a moment. There is also a configurable 10.9-inch central display that handles audio, navigation and communication functions. Below that is a 8.4-inch center console control panel that also controls many of the same features as the larger screen above in addition to controlling the trunks and charging port doors. This Taycan also had the optional passenger display screen that I thought was a cool touch and could be useful for when you are travelling with someone. Need more screens? There was also the optional 5.9-inch rear touchscreen for rear passengers to operate their own comfort features. The screens look great and provide haptic feedback. However, sometimes you just want an old-fashioned knob to adjust fan speed or volume. When I was driving the car, it was more difficult to quickly control the fan speed than in my 17-year-old 911. Form over function.
As far as comfort goes, the car was very comfortable to sit in, visibility was great, and it felt like a Porsche. However, if you are regularly hauling four people, a Panamera might be a better fit for you. The sloping roofline that gives the car a coupe-like look eats into head room. It is not bad or uncomfortable in the back by any means. However, the Panamera will give you more space if that is a major factor in your buying decision. The rear truck I thought was a good size. Some folks complained that it is not a hatch, but I thought it was quite roomy and would be easy to load. Of course, the Taycan also has a frunk like many other Porsche cars that don’t have an engine upfront.
Time to get on the road. I now climbed into the black Taycan 4S that was waiting for me. The first thing I did was try to figure out if the car was even on. My Cayman has aftermarket headers, and I always know whether the car has been started. In fact, everyone in my neighborhood knows if my Cayman is running. To say the Taycan is quieter when it is on is an understatement. It is silent. I determined that the Taycan was in fact on and ready to roll. I flicked the little gear level behind the steering wheel to D and I was ready to go.
The Taycan 4S is now the middle range Taycan with the recent release of the base Taycan model. For those not familiar with Porsche nomenclature, the “4” in the model name indicates that power is sent to all four wheels. Power is supplied by a 79.2 kWh battery that generates 522 horsepower. A 93.4 kWh Performance Battery Plus option will up the figure to 562 horsepower. EPA range estimate is still being determined with this battery in the 2021 4S. However, Porsche claims it to be around 272 miles.
Like all electric cars today the Taycan is heavy, but center of gravity is low. At no time did the Taycan feel heavy or cumbersome. In fact, on the back roads I was cruising on, it didn’t feel much different than my Cayman which is nearly a ton lighter. The Taycan felt like a legit Porsche. We all know EVs can accelerate very quickly from a stop. But what impressed me most on my drive was the acceleration when already at speed. I would cruise at 40 mph and then stomp on the accelerator. Boom. I am doing 70 mph. The first time I did it, I felt a little tweak in my back. There was no warning, the car just rocketed forward. My Cayman in the same scenario would make a ton of noise, downshift and then go. You can brace yourself in that car. The Taycan just goes.
I was not on a closed course, so I was not going to push things too hard. However, I was driving on some lovely curvy backroads. I hustled the car as much as I would my Cayman or 911. The Taycan performed flawlessly. It performed like a Porsche. A very quiet Porsche, but a Porsche all the same. It was comfortable, and effortless speed. One feature unique in EV world is the 2-speed transmission. What this does is give the drive a sense of a gear change when accelerating. It goes a long way towards making the performance seem more like what you would expect from a traditional Porsche.
I am sure the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S are even more thrilling, but at no time did I feel like this Taycan 4S needed to be faster. I think the 4S is the current pick of the Taycan range. If you can’t have fun in the 4S then you are just not trying. It also won’t land you in jail quite as quickly as the Turbo models could. The Taycan 4S also felt very well-built. Everything seemed to be done to the same high standard that you would expect from Porsche.
The other thing you expect from Porsche is a high price. The Taycan 4S I drove was about $130,000. The Taycan Turbo was closer to $180,000. That is a lot of money. That is 911 Carrera S and 911 Turbo money. A Tesla Model S is significantly less expensive. However, as good as a Tesla might be, it is not a Porsche. For fans of the Porsche brand that alone can justify the price. Does is justify it for me? I am not sure, but I am leaning that way more each day. I was surprised at how impressed I was with the Taycan 4S. Yes, it has an entirely different propulsion system, but a Porsche is about more than just speed. It is a feeling. Drive one and you will understand.
Images: Joe Kucinski
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