Before today, buying a Porsche Taycan in the United States was a six-digit layout. Porsche’s first full battery electric vehicle was offered only in packages from $ 103K for the Taycan 4S to $ 185K for the Turbo S (reviewed here).
Today, Porsche is opening the floodgates for Taycan’s property with a basic model that starts at $ 79,900. With federal and state EV incentives, the price could drop below $ 70K. But what did Porsche cut to get that price?
‘Accessible’?
Porsche sold 20,000 Taycans in its first year and is already Porsche’s best-selling model.
Now, the “affordable” Taycan finally reaches the shores of the United States, saving 200 pounds by removing that awkward front engine and offering a smaller battery option of 79.2 kWh. To date, Porsche has not even said whether it would release the Taycan base in the United States, let alone when it will reach its home continent, Europe, where it will cost £ 70,690 in the UK and similar in Continental Europe. Therefore, today’s news is welcome.
The US $ 1,350 destination tax and the $ 7,500 federal tax credit deduction will put most buyers at or close to $ 73,840 before state and local incentives appear, as well as the electrical savings on usage. of the gas.
The spec sheet for the basic model of the Porsche Taycan is still very impressive, whether it’s the 79.2 kWh performance battery or the $ 5.600 93.4 kWh “Performance Battery Plus” upgrade. Porsche is known for using LG packages on its Taycan.
The standard performance battery provides the power to produce up to 402 horsepower (300 kW) and 254 pound-feet of torque from the Taycan’s unique rear engine. When equipped with the optional Performance Battery Plus, the engine can produce up to 469 hp (350 kW) and 263 lb-ft of torque. Regardless of the battery configuration, the Taycan can accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 5.1 seconds and has a maximum track speed of 143 mph. With the standard battery, the Taycan covers the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds, while the larger package shortens the sprint to 13.5 seconds.
The 0-100 km / h (0-62 mph) time of 5.4 seconds was given to the Chinese variant, but it is not clear whether this represents a slight improvement over the last few miles per hour.
Porsche Taycan loading
Like its more expensive siblings, the Taycan base will charge up to 270 kW at compatible charging stations. The smaller battery option will only charge 225 kW, however.
Regardless of size, both take just 22.5 minutes to charge from 5% to 80% when the battery’s proper state of charge and temperature are met, and the car is connected to a compatible high-speed DC fast charger.
At 50 kW stations, it will take 93 significant minutes to make the 5 to 80% load gap and domestic chargers will charge at 9.6 kW in just under 10 hours.
Porsche had originally claimed a 350 kW Taycan charging capacity and promised an upgrade when it became available.
Taycan loses front engine
As we mentioned, losing the front engine will likely drop 200 pounds of the vehicle’s gross weight. Interestingly, Porsche notes that its front trunk will not get bigger (just 2.8 cubic feet) with the subtraction of its front engine, but the rear will retain its 14.3 cubic feet of cargo space (above 12, 9 cubic feet of Turbo / S). It remains to be seen what kind of effect this has on range, as the AWD Taycan uses its front engine predominantly for eco-driving.
Taycan wheels and brakes
Even if only half of the wheels are able to brake the standard Taycan again, Porsche says it will still be able to recover 265 kW by doing so, a very healthy stopping force. But it’s also a lot for two tires to absorb without slipping, especially in snow or gravel.
In addition, for fans of calipers, the brakes will be black on the standard Taycan compared to red on the 4S and yellow on the more expensive Turbo models.
The Taycan comes standard with 19-inch Taycan Aero wheels, six-piston front brakes and four-piston rear brakes. This configuration is similar to the Taycan 4S, but the color of the wheels and calipers are different. The Taycan will feature black calipers and alloy wheels painted in shiny silver as standard, while the 4S is equipped with red calipers and polished alloy wheels with high-gloss black spokes. As with other Porsche Taycan models, Porsche surface coated brakes and Porsche ceramic coated brakes, as well as 20 and 21 inch wheels are optional. Regenerative braking via the brake pedal remains, as does its class-leading 265 kW recovery rate.
Porsche Active Suspension Management with dashboard controls is standard, but adaptive air suspension can be ordered as an option. The air suspension allows the Taycan to lower its impressive drag coefficient from 0.24 to 0.22.
Complete specification sheet
The same features found in other Taycan variants are all here: Porsche Connect with Apple CarPlay, Function on Demand, Plug and Charge, Apple Music, air updates and three years of free Electrify America charging – all included in the car as standard. Additional optional equipment such as Porsche InnoDrive with Traffic Jam Assist, a 19.2 kW charger on board, Head Up Display, 14-position seats with massage functionality, updated audio systems and various external colors and interior finishes are available to choose from – all in a typical Porsche sports car train-drive layout. Taycan buyers will be able to follow the progress of their cars from their smartphones, from construction to delivery, through the Porsche Track Your Dream service.
Electrek’s Take
I think Porsche will sell a ton of these $ 80,000 variants, and here’s why: Aspiring people will want this beautiful car without having to break the bank in spec. Let’s face it, these are specifications that they may not necessarily need on a daily basis. For example, the top speed on the basic model of the Taycan drops from 155-161 mph from its higher priced siblings to a mere 143 mph. As for 0-60 times, you are predicting a drop of 2.3-4 seconds down another second to 5.1 seconds for the base model. Noticeable, but entering the highway will still be a cinch.
It is also interesting that this happens now that the sister company Audi is ready to launch the Taycan-based Audi GT.
For me, the biggest difference here is the size of the battery. With only a hair below 80 kWh, the Taycan base is unlikely to reach that magical 200-mile baseline (EPA numbers are close to the announcement, according to Porsche). I say “likely” because Porsche is saving weight and efficiency with a smaller battery and no front engine. On the other hand, the Porsche Taycan 4S / Turbos would use its front engine for road efficiency in the most environmentally friendly environment. In addition, Porsche is known for artificially reducing its declared EPA range. Because? Some speculate that they want a larger buffer to fulfill the warranty.
The AWD Taycan 4S with the same battery has 199 EPA miles. If I had to guess, I would say that the EPA’s range will be around 215 for the $ 80,000 model and 245 with Performance Battery Plus. Those are respectable numbers, but for many, the 300-400 mile range Tesla touts on similarly sized Model S batteries will be hard to ignore. The Taycan RWD in China is rated at 489 km (303 miles) NEDC, but this is quite optimistic compared to the EPA’s mileage.
The other part of this equation is billing options. At Electrify America’s 350kW stations, 20 minutes is fantastic and you can’t even use the bathroom. But at the most common 50 kW stations, it will take 90 minutes to charge, which is a long time, even if you plan to have a meal or shop while you’re still.
But, as we said in the past, there is a lot of room on the market for Porsche here, and they are likely to attract most new Taycan customers from the sports car and ICE sedan alternatives.
Porsche Taycan vs. Tesla Model S
As someone who owned all the S-3-XY models and who drove the Taycan’s higher spec variant, I can say unequivocally that there are undeniable advantages here. Fit and finish, style, handling, interior / exterior design, CarPlay, comfort and customer service come to mind. Range and cargo availability are the obvious big wins for Tesla.
In fact, if I’m a typical Porsche customer, the only thing that keeps me from buying a Taycan is the prospect of a brand new Macan AWD electric SUV that many believe will be announced this year and will be on the road in 2022.
Oh, and one last thing that Porsche wanted us to know: the Taycan is the most powerful standard model variant that Porsche has ever made. So it’s not a bad package, and dare I say “tempting”?
You can find local offers on Porsche Taycans including the new $ 80,000 model here.
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