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Before today, buying a Porsche Taycan in the United States was a six-figure arrangement. Porsche’s first full-battery electric vehicle was only offered in packages ranging from $ 103K for the Taycan 4S to $ 185K for the Turbo S (reviewed here).
Today, Porsche is now opening the floodgates for Taycan ownership with a base model starting at $ 79,900. With federal and state incentives for electric vehicles, the price could drop below $ 70,000. But what did Porsche cut to get the price there?
‘Affordable’?
Porsche sold 20,000 Taycans in the first year, and it is already Porsche’s best-selling model.
Now the “affordable” Taycan is finally making its way to American shores, saving 200 lbs by doing away with that pesky front motor and offering a smaller 79.2 kWh battery option. Until today, Porsche hadn’t even said if it was going to liberate the Taycan base in the US, let alone when it hit its European mainland, where it will cost £ 70,690 in the UK and similar in Europe. continental. Today’s news is therefore welcome.
The US destination fee of $ 1,350 and the federal tax credit deduction of $ 7,500 will put most buyers at $ 73,840 or nearly $ 73,840 before state and local incentives kick in. in force, as well as the electricity savings on the use of gas.
The specs for the base Porsche Taycan model are 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 to use LG packs in 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 single rear engine. When equipped with the optional Performance Plus battery, 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 to 100 km / h in just 5.1 seconds and has a top speed of 143 mph. With the standard battery, the Taycan covers the quarter mile in 13.7 seconds, while the larger pack shortens the sprint to 13.5 seconds.
The 0-62 mph 0-100 km / h (0-62 mph) time of 5.4 seconds was given to the Chinese variant, but it is not clear if this represents a slight improvement over these latter miles per hour.
Loading the Porsche Taycan
Much like its more expensive siblings, the Taycan base will charge up to 270 kW on compatible charging stations. The smaller battery option, however, will only charge at 225 kW.
Regardless of their size, both only take 22.5 minutes to recharge from 5% to 80% when the correct battery state of charge and temperature is reached and the car is connected to a DC fast charger. high speed compatible.
At 50kW stations it will take 93 minutes to close the 5-80% load gap and home chargers will charge to 9.6kW in just under 10 hours.
Porsche initially claimed a Taycan charging capacity of 350 kW and promised an upgrade when it becomes available.
Taycan loses the front engine
As we mentioned, losing the front engine would result in a 200 lbs reduction in gross vehicle weight. Interestingly, Porsche notes that its front trunk won’t 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 (up from 12 , 9 cubic feet of the Turbo / S). It remains to be seen what kind of effect this has on range since the Taycan all-wheel drive uses its front engine primarily for eco-driving.
Taycan wheels and brakes
Even though only half of the wheels will be able to regenerate the brake on the standard Taycan, Porsche claims it will still be able to recover 265 kW, a very healthy braking force. But it’s also a lot for two tires to absorb without slipping, especially in snow or gravel.
Also, for caliper fans, the brakes will be black on the standard Taycan versus 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 setup is similar to the Taycan 4S, but the color of the wheels and calipers is different. The Taycan will feature black calipers and glossy silver painted alloy wheels as standard, while the 4S will feature red calipers and polished alloy rims with glossy black spokes. As on other Porsche Taycan models, Porsche Surface Coated and Porsche Ceramic Coated Brakes, as well as 20 and 21 inch wheels are optional. Regenerative braking via the brake pedal remains, like its regenerative rate of 265 kW, the best in its class.
Porsche Active Suspension Management with dashboard controls comes standard, but adaptive air suspension can be ordered as an option. Air suspension allows the Taycan to lower its impressive coefficient of drag from 0.24 to 0.22.
Complete technical sheet
The same features found on other Taycan variants are all here: Porsche Connect with Apple CarPlay, On-Demand, Plug and Charge, Apple Music, Live Updates, and three years of free Electrify America charging – all included with the car as standard. Additional optional equipment such as Porsche InnoDrive with traffic jam assist, 19.2 kW on-board charger, heads-up display, 14-way seats with massage function, upgraded audio systems and several exterior colors and interior trim are available to choose from – all in a typical Porsche sports car drive train layout. Taycan buyers will be able to track their car’s progress from their smartphone, from build to delivery, through the Porsche Track Your Dream service.
Taking Electrek
I think Porsche is going to sell a ton of these variants for $ 80,000, and here’s why: Budding people will want this gorgeous car without having to break the bank on specs. Let’s face it, these are specs they don’t necessarily need in everyday life. For example, the base model Taycan’s top speed drops from 155 to 161 mph of its more expensive siblings to just 143 mph. As for 0-60 times, you plan to go from an additional 2.3-4 seconds to 5.1 seconds for the base model. Remarkable, but the merger on the highway will always be a snap.
It’s also worth noting that this is happening now as sister company Audi prepares to launch the Taycan-based Audi GT.
For me the biggest differentiator here is the battery size. At just a hair’s breadth under 80 kWh, the Taycan base will likely barely reach that magical 200-mile baseline (EPA figures are closer to the announcement, according to Porsche). I say “likely” because Porsche saves 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 ecological setting. In addition, Porsche is known to artificially reduce its declared EPA range. Why? Some think he wants a bigger buffer for warranty compliance.
The AWD Taycan 4S with the same battery is 199 miles EPA. If I had to guess I would say the EPA range will be around 215 for the $ 80,000 model and 245 with the Performance Battery Plus. These are respectable numbers, but for many, the 300- to 400-mile range Tesla touts on similar-sized Model S batteries will be hard to ignore. The RWD Taycan in China is rated at 489 km (303 miles) NEDC, but that’s pretty optimistic about EPA mileage.
The other part of this equation is about billing options. At 350kW Electrify America capable stations, 20 minutes is fantastic and barely enough time to use the restroom. But at the most common 50kW stations, it will take 90 minutes to recharge, which is a long time, even if you plan on having a meal or shopping while stationary.
But like we’ve said in the past, there’s a lot of room in the market for Porsche here, and they’ll likely attract most new Taycan customers from alternatives to sports cars and ICE sedans.
Porsche Taycan vs. Tesla Model S
As the owner of all S-3-XY models and having driven the more capable variant of the Taycan, I can say unequivocally that there are definite advantages here. Fit and finish, style, handling, interior / exterior design, CarPlay, comfort and customer service come to mind. Autonomy and charge availability are the obvious big wins for Tesla.
In fact, if I’m a typical Porsche customer, the only thing stopping me from picking up a Taycan is the prospect of an all-new Macan all-wheel drive electric SUV which many say will be announced this year and will be on the market. road in 2022..
Oh and one more thing Porsche wanted to let us know: The Taycan is the most powerful standard model variant Porsche has ever made. So not bad at all, and dare I say “tempting”?
You can find local deals on Porsche Taycans, including the new $ 80,000 model here.
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