The Porsche Logo, the top price of up to 1.798 million yuan, the 800V high-voltage battery system and the rear-drive two-speed transmission, in terms of luxury, technology and performance to create the ultimate Taycan, since its launch has been considered by many people to be the ceiling of pure electric vehicles. But this may also be just the wishful thinking of the Germans, in the face of domestic electric vehicle users who have long been hung up by various new power brands, is the Porsche Taycan really at the top?
With this question in mind, we got a test drive on the eve of the Spring Festival in 2022. Well... Although it is the lowest version of the Taycan without any suffix, the price is still very high. Its new naked car price is 888,000 yuan, plus 100,000 + optional, landing nearly one million.
What is the experience of a million-level luxury pure electric vehicle?
911's fan + Panamera's physique
Jump out of the picture and get up close and personal with the Taycan for the first time, and the first feeling is that the car is really big, and the feeling is not much worse than the Panamera. And the data is the same, the Panamera length is 5049mm, the width is 1937mm, and the Taycan's length has reached 4963mm, and the width is even worse, reaching 1966mm, although the positioning of the former is a D-class large sedan, the latter is A C-class medium and large, but visually it feels like a big difference.
At the same time, taycan uses a sports car design style similar to 911 in the body length of nearly 5 meters, and the overall shape is very dynamic and smooth, and the wind resistance coefficient is only 0.22cd. And all the latest elements of the current Porsche family can be seen in it, including four-point matrix LED daytime running lights, flat and narrow transverse taillights, and the four-door four-seat design provides a certain degree of practicality.
As Porsche's first pure electric model, the Taycan also broke the norm. For example, the headlights of the new car feature a flat rectangular design, which is very different from the 911's "frog-eye" circular light cluster. In addition, the corner of the eye of the light group continues to extend downwards, resembling a tear mark, and the inside hides the diversion port for heat dissipation for the front brake system. The above elements add a strong recognition to the Taycan, which can be seen at a glance and the difference between it and other Porsche models, and highlights a strong sense of futuristic technology.
Although the transverse taillight is now a popular design, on Porsche, through the undulating lines and bumpy shape, as well as the lighting shape and light effect texture, you can feel the sense of luxury at a glance.
The "Taycan" model logo at the rear reveals that it is a basic version of the single-motor rear-drive model, in addition to which the Taycan 4S, Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S are all dual-motor four-wheel drive versions.
The rear-drive version of the Taycan rim is relatively ordinary, and the two-color multi-spoke style is the first choice for many luxury cars. In order to improve the endurance and reduce the air resistance, Porsche added a nearly fully enclosed hub cover to this seemingly ordinary rim, and the dark black color scheme was hidden perfectly.
The tire specifications are very worthy of its sports car positioning, the front wheel 245/45 R20, the rear wheel is even more exaggerated 285/40 R20, the back looks quite wide from a distance, giving people a feeling of stability and speed.
Of course, "no options, no Porsche"! This 20-inch rim and tires are available at an additional cost of 23,300 yuan. In addition, there is the Picture of Moka Beige Metallic Paint - 10300 yuan, electric outer folding rearview mirror - 2800 yuan, electric charging port cover - 5800 yuan, and we all know, the rim center color Porsche logo - 1500 yuan.
Classic elements + technology atmosphere
In terms of interior, Taycan is more cutting-edge and more futuristic, and it is popularly said: fewer buttons, more screens! As for the layout and design, it is still a clear Porsche style.
The full LCD meter is Porsche's signature three-circle layout in default mode, and depending on your preference, you can also change it to a very "popular" middle display map mode, as well as a simple mode that only shows speed and power.
In order to make the user more focused on driving, all the settings related to the vehicle driving control can be completed through the steering wheel, such as the multi-function button on the left side to quickly open and close the energy recovery function, and the circular knob in the lower right corner can quickly switch the driving mode.
The lever-type electronic gear lever is located on the right side of the steering wheel, in addition to the synchronous switching prompt of the gear on the instrument, it will also be accompanied by a sound boost when you successfully switch to the D and R gears, which is very user-friendly.
The other three screens outside the instrument can be said to all perform their duties, the central control screen is mainly responsible for the car system settings, entertainment systems, etc., support Apple Carplay, the bottom vertical screen is mainly used for air conditioning, seat heating and front and rear cover control, with vibration feedback. The co-pilot screen is a paid option, the price of 9500 yuan, can allow the co-pilot to carry out navigation, entertainment and some operations of the car machine system, if not selected, here is a bright black trim panel. Since the features are not as rich and playable as Android car machines, it actually feels unnecessary.
When it comes to options, by the way, let's talk about what else needs to be spent on the interior part of this rear-drive version of the Taycan.
Black + Chuck Beige Leather Duplex Interior - 37700 YUAN, Panoramic Imaging System - 6800 RMB, Metal Neodymium Decorative Components - 5000 RMB, Chuck Beige Seat Belt - 4500 RMB (This is not included in the Dual Color Block Interior Optional Bag...). ), Porsche coat of arms logo on the headrest - 4200 yuan ..... Well, sure enough, Porsche doesn't pit the poor.
Driving is the real thing
The Taycan is a pure electric vehicle, but also a Porsche, so it must have a strong and stable performance.
Our test drive of the single-motor rear-drive version of the Taycan, the peak motor power is 240kW, the supercharging power is 300kW, the acceleration time of 100 km is 5.4 seconds, and the extreme speed is 230 km/h. The Taycan 4S model has a dual-motor overcharged power of 390 kW and an acceleration time of 4 seconds from 100 km/h. The speed is 250km/h; the Taycan Turbo overcharging power is 500kW, the time to break the hundred is 3.2 seconds, and the speed is 260km/h; the strongest Taycan Turbo S supercharging power is as high as 590kW, and the time to break the hundred is only 2.8 seconds.
What is even more valuable is that the Taycan has also achieved stable performance that is difficult for other electric vehicles to achieve, and it can achieve performance-free attenuation during ten consecutive extreme accelerations.
The powerful acceleration capacity and extreme speed level are inseparable from the two-speed reducer specially developed by Porsche for the Taycan motor.
Compared with the single-stage reducer commonly found in general electric vehicles, the Taycan has innovatively adopted a two-speed reducer in the rear axle section, taking into account both economy and power. With a gear-to-gear ratio of 15:1, it can provide nearly 12000 Nm of on-wheel torque, providing strong acceleration performance at low to medium speeds. The 2-gear gear ratio is 8:1, which is the same as the front axle reducer, which is mainly responsible for improving the high-speed power reserve and controlling the power consumption of high-speed driving. With a 2-speed gearbox, the Taycan has a top speed of 260 km/h, making it stand out in the electric car segment.
In addition, there is the only 800V power battery platform in the current mass production of electric vehicles.
The Taycan's 800V architecture radically improves the level of thermal management of the triple-electric system, which is essential for a high-performance electric vehicle. At the same time, the 800V voltage significantly improves the charging efficiency, and the charging power can reach 270kW under the ideal state.
In terms of capacity, Taycan offers two kinds of ternary lithium battery packs, and our rear-drive version of The Taycan and 4S version use the standard version battery pack with a capacity of 79.2kWh. The two Turbo models use a double-layer high-capacity battery pack, which is composed of 33 battery modules, each module has 12 soft pack batteries from LG, and the battery pack capacity reaches 93.4kWh. In terms of battery safety, the Taycan adopts a multi-layer truss battery frame, the design of 8 beams is rare in the industry, and the sandwich waterproof shell is composed of a top cover and a bottom partition.
All excellent hardware and technology, the main purpose is to serve the driver. Although this rear-drive version of the Taycan does not have black technologies such as air suspension, dynamic chassis control and rear wheel follow-up steering, it can still only be described in one word when it is opened - the incense of true xx!
As soon as you get started, you will feel that the Taycan's accelerated pedal feels heavier, as if it always reminds you to control it carefully. But as the speed increases, the depth of the accelerator pedal is proportional to the power output, and the overall power output is very linear, like driving a large-displacement self-priming engine, driving the Taycan around the city does not make people nervous all the time, although you may only need to use one-fifth of the acceleration pedal trip.
In today's world where many luxury brands are advocating a thick grip steering wheel, the taycan steering wheel texture and steering feel should actually be the direction that major brand manufacturers should emulate. Linear, direct, all positive words don't seem to be enough to appreciate Porsche's mechanical rigor, and the Taycan's precision in the steering system is truly as good as any Porsche-made fuel model. In a more popular description, Taycan can let you experience the unity of people and cars through the steering wheel in every turn.
Although in general, it is only the maximum power of 240kW, but stupidity is by no means the pursuit of Porsche. The Taycan, which has optional Sport Chrono components, not only has the Range long endurance mode, but also the Sport and Sport Plus will simulate the experience of pulling high speed delay downshift similar to fuel vehicles, the power response will become very sensitive, and the two-speed reducer located on the rear axle can also be upgraded to 2nd gear when the speed is 120km/h, this wonderful driving feeling believes that it is difficult to find a second option in the field of new energy.
Since the kinetic energy recovery power of the Taycan can reach up to 265kW, the kinetic energy recovery system will become the main force to help the vehicle decelerate when driving every day, sharing most of the work for the braking system, recovering energy and saving the loss of the braking system for you. The Taycan's kinetic energy recovery can be set to off, on and on, but there isn't much difference between auto mode and on mode when driving on a daily basis.
Although there is no companionship of engine sound, Taycan also provides "electronic sports car sound effects" for users to choose (price = 4600 yuan). This simulated "energy cannon" sound effect sounds very unique, has the illusion of being in a science fiction movie, and is still obviously different from the traditional engine roar.
On a driving level, the Taycan is definitely not a bouncing machine, and while the Turbo series is fast enough, it's a performance car focused on driving and handling, much like the 911 in the family. They will try to use the chassis, the direction, the vehicle's feedback to the road surface, etc., so that your senses can cooperate with it, and together to pursue the limits of driving, so that the vehicle becomes a part of their own body.
Editor's Summary: Answering the title's question, using the term "ceiling of pure electric vehicles" to describe the Porsche Taycan is indeed a bit imprecise, especially after the launch of Mercedes-Benz's EQS, at least in terms of luxury and space, Taycan is not dominant. At the same time, compared with the domestic Wei Xiaoli, Taycan also has obvious deficiencies in intelligence. However, none of the above flaws affect its driving pleasure or the sense of brand prestige.
For the target owner of the Porsche Taycan, he/she may just want to buy an electric car of about 1 million, and just happened to see the Porsche Taycan. As for comparing with so-and-so brand and so-and-so model? Or did you really go to see what test drive shopping guide content? He/she has already lost from this moment on.