Things start to get interesting from here. Nothing Tesla has done in recent years to enhance its driving can compare to Porsche’s outstanding handling, which is the result of decades of German engineering. So the Taycan is unquestionably the more enjoyable car to drive, according to Greencar and others. Despite weighing 5,100 pounds more than the Tesla, which weighs 4,900 pounds, the Taycan always seems stable when negotiating curves. Porsche therefore leads in this category for handling and agility.
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2020 Tesla Model S Performance takes first place.
Highs: One-pedal driving, spacious and airy, and still incredibly speedy. Lows: Dull handling; it feels heavy and large. Conclusion: The Model S still wows after eight years.
Tony Quiroga, deputy reviews editor, joked that Tesla’s vision for the future in 2012 is still valid today. Considering the elderly age of the Model S, that is incredibly outstanding. Yes, there are relics from Tesla’s early days, such the window switches, shifter, and stalks for the turn signals and cruise control that were purchased from Mercedes. And even after eight years, the construction quality continues to be tarnished by glaring fit problems. For instance, it doesn’t appear like the uneven gap between the hatch and the rear bodywork has improved in the slightest.
The Model S still offers several advantages, though. Particularly with the $2000 white leatherette on our car, the inside keeps wowing. And Tesla correctly predicted—or possibly even initiated—the change in interior design that led to infotainment screens becoming a defining feature of contemporary automobile interiors. With three passengers seated back there as opposed to the Porsche’s two, the Model S’s rear seat feels much larger than the Taycan’s. Its inside also feels more airy thanks to taller side windows, and its rear baggage capacity is double that of the Porsche. The Model S weighs roughly 250 pounds less than the Taycan, despite having a bigger battery pack and a longer wheelbase; yet, this is likely part of the reason why the Tesla is noisier than the Porsche at 70 mph.
Thanks to the upgraded air springs and adjustable dampers, the most recent Model S Performance is even more sophisticated and reassuring than the previous model. There is significant adjustability available between the three suspension modes, and the ride quality has undoubtedly increased. However, there isn’t much steering sensation, and the Tesla’s very large steering wheel turns in considerably more slowly and unevenly than the Porsche’s does. The Model S is competent but not particularly enjoyable, and the harder you push it, the less amazing it is. The brake pedal went mushy during our repeated stops from 70 and 100 mph, resulting in a warning message, and stability control intervenes early—there is no way to turn it back.
In our rolling-start 5-to-60 mph test, Tesla edged out Porsche by a tenth of a second, but the Model S performed somewhat worse in all other tests. It behind the Taycan by just 0.1 second as it reached 60 mph in a whopping 2.5 seconds. But at 150 mph, the distance increased to more than three seconds. Despite all the talk about how quick the Model S is, getting to its top acceleration speeds requires a lot of effort. The battery must be completely charged before using the Ludicrous Plus mode, and it must also be preheated for 45 minutes. The Tesla soon slows down after the initial hero run, to the point where we were taking notes as we waited for the quarter-mile.
The Model S’s benefits also stand on their own, however Tesla prevails in this comparison mostly because to pricing. If we had raced the Tesla against the far slower $105,150 Taycan 4S, some spreadsheet tweaking reveals that the finishing order wouldn’t have altered. Given that the Taycan Turbo S costs $85,160 more and the Model S Performance costs $85,160 less, it is clear which is the better deal.
MSRP
These EVs are not cheap vehicles; for example, the base Porsche Taycan costs $82,700 and the Turbo S model costs $185,000. Fortunately, the Taycan is still eligible for other state and municipal EV incentives as well as the $7,500 maximum federal tax credit.
The price of the Model S, which ranges from $94,990 to $129,990, is also high. Additionally, the federal tax credit is no longer available for the Model S, however state and local incentives may still be available.
Agility and Handling
Tesla made a lot of upgrades to the 2019 Model S that significantly boosted the vehicle’s range, performance, handling, and ride comfort. Despite how good these upgrades are, they cannot compete with the Porsche’s superior handling. It’s that German engineering, hey? On a decent road, the Taycan is by far the more enjoyable vehicle to drive. Despite weighing a substantial 5,100 pounds more than the Tesla’s 4,900 pounds, this car drives like it’s on rails in curves. So the Porsche’s agility wins out in terms of handling.
which is quicker? Tesla, or the Porsche Taycan?
Two of the fastest vehicles on the road are both of them. Because of those powerful electric motors, they both accelerate more quickly than the quickest race cars and super vehicles. Both have incredible 0 to 60 mph times. Although Motor Trend and others have timed the Taycan Turbo S at 2.4 seconds, it will go you from 0 to 60 mph in 2.6 seconds. The Tesla finishes in 2.3 seconds, which is a very small difference.
Is the Tesla faster than the Taycan Turbo S?
A disguised preproduction prototype of a Taycan Turbo set a lap time at the Nurburgring in 2019 a week before the Porsche Taycan was formally introduced. This time, the Taycan Turbo broke the Nurburgring record for a series-production electric car. Then, in the fall of last year, Tesla made its way to the “Ring and with its Model S Plaid set a new EV record of 7:35.579. Porsche obviously couldn’t let that happen, so it went back to the track with the Taycan Turbo S, which has the most range, and beat Tesla’s record by more than two seconds.
Lars Kern, the same driver who achieved the Taycan’s 2019 record time, set Porsche’s new mark of 7:33.3. With the exception of a required roll cage and racing seat, the Taycan Turbo S utilized for the lap was entirely stock, and it weighed the same as a regular Taycan. This Taycan has been upgraded with a new performance kit from Porsche Tequipment, which includes new chassis software and 21-inch wheels with legal Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires for public roads.
The Taycan Turbo S has 750 horsepower with overboost engaged, which is a significant increase over the 650-hp Taycan Turbo that previously held the record. The Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control system, which consists of active anti-roll bars, was installed on the car that broke the previous record. The Turbo S also comes standard with performance improvements including rear-axle steering and carbon-ceramic brakes. While production of the 2023 model year Taycan Turbo S began in July, the Tequipment performance package is only currently offered in Germany and won’t be available until later in the year. Taycans will have the package refitted at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen workshops, and transportation to and from the factory is covered.
The EV record is back in Porsche’s possession, according to Kevin Giek, vice president of the Taycan model line. However, I doubt it will remain there for long. Tesla has previously been seen outpacing even more extreme variants of the Model S around the “Ring. An increasing number of automakers are also introducing electric performance vehicles that might probably challenge Porsche’s record. But for the time being, Porsche still reigns supreme.
Taycan: Is it quicker than a Tesla plaid?
Porsche has recaptured the production electric car Nurburgring record after completing one lap of the 12.9-mile (20.8-km) historic track in a Taycan Turbo S in 7 minutes, 33.35 seconds.
The Tesla Model S Plaid, which set a lap record of 7:35.58 in September 2021, is just over 2 seconds faster than the Taycan according to development driver Lars Kerns’ performance. The standard Taycan Turbo’s 7:42.34 time from 2019 was earlier surpassed by the Tesla, although the actual difference was greater because the 2019 record was based on the course’s older 12.8-mile (20.6 km) version. The longer setup is the basis for the 7:35 Plaid and 7:33 Taycan Turbo S timings.
Porsche said that the Turbo S was “an totally conventional production vehicle” aside from its safety roll cage and racing seats and harnesses. Although the record was made possible by the installation of a performance kit that includes 21-inch RS Spyder-style wheels with Pirelli P Zero Corsa road-legal, but track-biased tires and an update to the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) system that tunes the car’s chassis to work with the stickier rubber, it’s not the standard Turbo S you’d get if you skipped a trip to the options list.
The 751 horsepower (761 PS) Taycan Turbo S is significantly more powerful than the 671 hp (680 PS) Taycan Turbo, but the fact that it lapped the course faster despite being significantly outpowered by the 1,006 hp (1,020 PS) Model S Plaid is a stunning monument to Porsche’s engineering prowess. Tesla zealots will also hastily point out that the Taycan Turbo S performance upgrade is presently only offered in Germany for the 2023 model year, which isn’t quite cheating but does appear to be bending the rules a little.
Beginning in the end of 2022, customers can order the kit through Porsche’s Tequipment subsidiary, and it will be retrofitted at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen facilities. Although the business acknowledges that the tires are “mainly engineered” for track driving, owners can change to less concentrated rims whenever they want without having to have Porsche update the chassis software, according to the company.
The Taycan Turbo S is now officially the fastest production electric vehicle at the Nurburgring, although it is undoubtedly not the quickest electric vehicle to travel the fabled track. Officials were there to certify the run. That distinction belongs to the Volkswagen ID.R, which in 2019 achieved an amazing time of 6:05.34.
Porsche or Tesla, which one costs more?
The Taycan 4S starts at $103,800 including delivery fees in terms of cost. There are plenty more goods in the Porsche stable to add to your super EV, including Porsche’s InnoDrive active safety suite, which will cost an additional $3,600, and the performance package, which adds another $6,400 to the price, bringing the total to $113,800.
The price of the Base Model S Long Range is $79,990 plus delivery. In comparison to the Porsche, the Tesla has less options. The cost of Tesla’s self-driving technology is an additional $8,000, in addition to the $8,500 added for premium paint, interior, and wheels. The Model S still costs $96,490 in total.
The Porsche is by far the most upscale-looking and handling vehicle, but that upscaleness comes at a price. If money were no object, everyone would be driving the new Taycan, but in the real world, the Tesla Model S is the best value for the money for speed, range, and features.
A Porsche could it defeat a Tesla?
Porsche beat the Tesla Model S Plaid by three seconds over the 12.92-mile Nurburgring circuit, setting a new record for electric car lap times.
Tesla smashed its own record of 7 minutes, 35.6 seconds set last year when it completed a lap of the German track in a Taycan Turbo S driven by Porsche development driver Lars Kern.
Apart from the required roll cage and racing seats, Porsche claims the car was a regular, street-legal vehicle that was equipped with its new performance kit and Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC). The manufacturer added that the Taycan Turbo S used to break the record weighs the same as a vehicle in regular production, and an official was there to certify the new electric vehicle record.
The performance kit comes with street-legal Pirelli P Zero Corsa high-performance tires and 21-inch RS Spyder design wheels, which are now an option for Taycan buyers. Their tire composition is comparable to that of racing tires, according to Porsche, who also stated that the Porsche 4D Chassis Control has received a software update to better coordinate with the sports tires.
The Tesla Model S Plaid, which is substantially more potent than the Porsche with its three motors delivering a combined 1,000 horsepower, held the Nurburgring lap record for a production EV until the Taycan’s 750hp.
If purchasers of the Taycan want to get the new performance kit for their EV, they must navigate a few restrictions. Porsche clarifies: “Porsche Tequipment is the company that sells the performance kit. For the time being, it is restricted to the 2023 model year Taycan Turbo S sports sedan and is exclusively offered in Germany. The first of these automobiles went into production in late July 2022, and the performance package should start to become available by the end of the year. The modification will be completed in the Porsche workshops in Zuffenhausen after the first delivery. Transportation to and from the plant, as well as the Taycan’s unique vehicle approval and registration, are all included.”