Is the Porsche Taycan better than a Tesla?
I've driven various iterations of Tesla's for the last 5 years, the Model S, X and now a Model 3 Performance - but, as with my interest in switching from iPhone to Android - I find myself wondering if there is another electric car out there that can rival the absolute domination that Tesla has seen in recent years.
Today, the good people at the Porsche Centre in Portsmouth, have given me a Porsche Taycan for a few days so I can compare and genuinely, think about whether I'd switch away from my Tesla for a Porsche.
INTRO
If you're new here then hi my name is Pete, and on this website, we help busy entrepreneurs find the best tech, be productive and stay safe online. This is by far definitely one of the most expensive, but also the most fun piece of tech that I've had on the privilege to review on my website.
The Porsche Taycan comes in at almost 100,000 UK pounds, which includes all of the specs you will see on the video review for those of you who want to nerd out - but we're going to put price aside for now and then come back to that at the end.
LOOKS
Firstly from the outside, there is no denying it, this is a very sexy-looking car. From its big wheels, smooth lines, and cool lights, I'll already give this to the Taycan. They look better than a Tesla.
Sorry Tesla people - my opinion, but it just does.
FRUNK
You still get a good-sized trunk and space in the front, or Frunk as everybody calls it.
Strangely, you also get 2 charging ports. Not quite sure why they've done that - but both of them use AC Charging for your slower rate of charging when at home or stopping over somewhere. On the passenger side the DC charging port which gives you rapid charging.
Speaking of rapid charging - the Taycan can charge at 225kW which is very near Tesla's current V3 Supercharging standard of 250kW.
INTERIOR
Inside the Porsche Taycan, it's pretty much the same story as outside. It's got a very plush interior with comfortable electric memory seats and a center console armrest. The dashboard driving position layout is just incredibly comfortable, again - more than any Tesla I've driven.
In terms of tech and screen real estate, you have a display in front of you, in the center, also a touch display near your spare arm for quick access to controls like air conditioning, and you can also add on yet another screen for the passenger, which looks really slick.
The driver's screen is fairly similar to Tesla's Model S where you can show any combination of maps or music, stats on the car, and so forth.
AUDIO
Speaking of music - I have to say that I love the sound system in this car. It does have an upgraded Bose sound system which is an extra £956, but I love it. It is head over heels far better than the Premium Sound system in both my Model 3 and S. It also one-ups Tesla for having Apple Carplay, both wired and wireless. However, Android Auto support is not YET available, though they've announced support for that to appear sometime in 2022.
I found myself pretty much living inside Apple Carplay because the interface is really simple, whereas the Porsche infotainment interface.... not so much. So many menus, so many options, and I found myself hunting around constantly to find the right menu.
However other than the menu system itself, the sound system is incredible.
So far it's all looking really good in general - but there are a couple of things straight away that bugs me with the inside of this car...
1. BUG
Firstly thee touch screen to adjust heating controls. It is neat and it gives you haptic feedback when you press items on the screen - but I found it took some getting used to, to know how much pressure was needed for it to register the press. Because it's touch, I also found myself needing to look first to find the right area to touch. Whilst driving this can be pretty distracting, particularly when you don't have anything as good as Tesla's Autopilot in one of Porsche Taycan's yet.
2. BUG
Secondly, I'm not a Porsche driver but really? Why would you have the gear selector upon the weird thing that kinda looks like it's where the key should go? It's so awkward for me when driving - yes because I'm not used to it. Question to those reading who drive a Porsche already, is that standard? Do you get used to it?
To me it feels awkward when you're in that standard driving position of one hand on the wheel and one arm resting on the console, forcing you to shift position to shift into reverse. Whereas on the Tesla they're on the right stalk, which makes it easy to switch whilst driving.
CABIN NOISE
OK so inside the car now, let's get to Cabin noise. It Is SO much better in here. It's quieter overall, and you still get to hear the electric whine noise that I've come to love too much when you accelerate.
By the way, acceleration in this model is just... OK. It's officially a 0-60 in 5.1 seconds car, which is 2 seconds MORE than the Tesla Model 3 Performance, though don't forget that this is the base model of the Taycan. But I was a little surprised that it's a significant difference to the Model 3.
Also for those dinosaurs who like making vroom vroom, you can still switch on a fake engine noise which, is again, kind of OK. It basically uses the speakers in the car to play fake engine noises so when you accelerate anybody in the car gets to pretend they have an engine. Except it doesn't sound like an engine, it just sounds like more electric motors to me. Each to their own.
Because of the cabin noise, and the really great sound system, those of you important businessy type people who are driving a lot and on important businessy type phone calls will be delighted to know that I've never heard phone calls clearer whilst in a car, than in the Taycan. Whether it's a mixture of Apple Carplay sending clearer audio, the speakers, or the quieter interior, it's just so much easier to have a conversation with somebody. In the Tesla I find myself having to turn up the volume to hear people and then shouting back at them sometimes, which is a bit awkward.
CHARGING PORTS
Now let's talk about one of my biggest concerns with Porsche - because as you probably already know, Tesla has by far THE best charging networks around not just the UK, but pretty much the entire globe. They boast over 2,500 locations worldwide and over 25,000 individual superchargers.
Porsche, for now, you'll be needing to rely on the myriad of third-party charging networks, which all come with their own issues of reliability, cost, and of course waiting. At most motorway service stations, Tesla will have a bank of say, 10 Chargers, but EVERY other EV on the road will have their choice of just1, MAYBE 2 chargers and that's it.
There's also a second problem. Because according to Elon Musk, Tesla is opening up their charging networks to another car manufacturer later this year. If you're a Porsche driver you'd think that was fantastic.... except...
There's a problem there to be fixed, somehow?
PRICE
Next is the elephant in the room, and probably the biggest debate ever, which is price.
The Porsche Taycan costs twice as much as a Model 3 Performance, and this is just the base model with a few extras.
Actually, the base cost of this car is the same price as the Model 3, but once you add on all of the extras, which with Porsche is basically everything as an optional extra, it doubles the price of the car. That's kind of a good thing because this does make it the most customisable Porsche ever. But also, it's a bit of a nightmare going through the 90 options that you can configure.
Therefore, weighing up whether I would get a Porsche Taycan over my current Tesla Model 3 Performance is difficult.
POSITIVES
For Positives well - I LOVE the look, it's definitely one that turns heads as I had with my last Model S which was wrapped. I LOVE features like the wireless Apple Carplay, the comfort, fit, and finish, It's got little nods to Tesla too like the door handles that present themselves when you walk up to it.
THE NEGATIVES
The negatives for me is that the Porsche Taycan is double the price, the infotainment system is overcomplicated, but perhaps you get used to that, and even on this particular model it's missing things like adaptive cruise control, a 5th seat in the back, and doesn't come with Tesla's famed Autopilot unless you add their advanced cruise control and even the charging cables are an optional extra with the Porsche. This would take this car to well over £100k once you'd added those options.
But the negative that is probably the deal-breaker for many Tesla drivers, is the charging network. Currently, Tesla is the only car that you can confidently drive from one end of the country to the other without ANY concern about charging.
The only final negative around this car is its availability. If you were to order one today, I've been told you're looking at late 2022 before you'll actually get it.
So, what do you think? Would you buy this car over a Tesla and why? Let me know in the comments down below. If you're curious to know more about Tesla then check my other videos below.
Otherwise, thanks for reading, head over to my channel and subscribe, and I'll talk to you in the next one. Bye-bye.
