From Taycan to BMW i5 - Honest Opinion

[Taycan24]

Made the move from Taycan (‘21 Base) to BMW i5 (eDrive 40) and will attempt to give my pros/cons of each

I built my Taycan, I loved my Taycan, but here is why I did it:

- was faced with either buying a warranty or changing cars within a year, as I was unwilling to risk taking the Taycan out of 4-year/50k warranty

- kids growing fast, felt they would appreciate more leg room/comfort at some point

- wanted to free up some cash flow via lower monthly payments if possible

- I received a lot of attention with the Taycan, and being introverted it was wearing on me (couldn’t make it to the grocery store without the “nice car, it’s electric? What’s the range like? Etc.” and it striking up a conversation)
*this is my fault as I could have configured a less flashy version

Where the i5 wins in my opinion:
- well, price of course. On top of it being less expensive, it cut $150 off monthly insurance premiums
- much smoother ride, like, not close - but I had 21” rims on a 3+ year old Taycan and steel suspension which is a factor there. i5 is 20” rims
-Tech much better, no Apple Music connectivity issues, no longer need to carry a physical key around - just on a different planet on the tech side
-the boost paddle makes launch control feel like an outdated gimmick
-comfort, seats, etc. but I had just the base seats in the Taycan

Where the Taycan wins:
- WOW factor/looks, everywhere you go heads turn
- Porsche Brand impressive and makes people sit up a little higher in their chair
- Faster than the base i5
- Firmness while driving fast
- Bose sound system was fantastic IMO. Base i5 sound is garbage

All in all, if $ and my family’s comfort were no object, I would drive a…LAMBORGHINI! But if it were between a base Taycan & base i5 I would take the Taycan.

However, it’s a lot closer than even I expected, especially for those who value interior/comfort as much as exterior looks/brand

will forever love my Taycan, though - and appreciate this form for all the guidance over the last 4 years

I’m out!

 

[ciaranob]

Thx for sharing - but honestly after reading your list, imo, perhaps the absolutely overarching reason to buy Porsche is for world class driving dynamics and sports car performance. These aspects did not even make your list!

Different strokes - different folks, which is perfectly fine but TBH, you 'read' as someone after a different car and I can see the transition to the SUV making entire sense in this regard.

Apologies if miles off base but can only go by your account above which I suspect addresses a relatively small percentage of owners on this forum .

PS: and 100% agree re tech functionality in the Bimmer!

 

[daveo4EV]

this a great review and I agree

one thing about phone-as-key - you need to carry the credit card key with you for two reasons:

1. valet - you can't/won't give your phone to someone else to take your car - car wash is good example (dropping car off at service)
2. dead/broken phone - battery in phone dies - you want to be able to get the car

but I agree phone as a key is a great feature I sorely miss it from my Tesla days - but I always had the RFID credit card with me in my wallet for those times where the phone was not an appropriate token to hand over to someone else.

 

[RingoDingo]

FWIW - the Apple CarPlay connectivity issues have resolved for me, and I have had nearly no PCM glitches or anything in the past 6 months or so. I know it was a rocky start there, but I just don't view tech as being a negative anymore. It's not a positive, but I didn't buy the car for its tech either... but because it hugs the curves and looks pretty.

 

[BMonte13]

Maybe I'm in the minority with my 22 Taycan, but I've never had apple car play connectivity issues in 2 years 19K miles.

 

[FlyingPoint]

Timely post! I just finished a meeting with my Porsche BA. I was exploring an option to release my highly spec'd MY21 Taycan RWD for essentially the time remaining on my lease (3 months remaining) plus 9 months. I was given preliminary numbers about six weeks ago and while not great, it was financially viable given the spec. Well, I just found that Porsche lowered the residual from about 56k now to 39k over then next 12 months. So to put it in perspective, the car went from an MSRP of $113,000 to a residual of $38,900 in 48 months. Too rich for my blood.
Porsche has a real problem on its hands, as any knowledgeable buyer would have to be thinking far more then twice to buy this EV.

 

[SDSoccerdad]

Made the move from Taycan (‘21 Base) to BMW i5 (eDrive 40) and will attempt to give my pros/cons of each

I built my Taycan, I loved my Taycan, but here is why I did it:

- was faced with either buying a warranty or changing cars within a year, as I was unwilling to risk taking the Taycan out of 4-year/50k warranty

- kids growing fast, felt they would appreciate more leg room/comfort at some point

- wanted to free up some cash flow via lower monthly payments if possible

- I received a lot of attention with the Taycan, and being introverted it was wearing on me (couldn’t make it to the grocery store without the “nice car, it’s electric? What’s the range like? Etc.” and it striking up a conversation)
*this is my fault as I could have configured a less flashy version

Where the i5 wins in my opinion:
- well, price of course. On top of it being less expensive, it cut $150 off monthly insurance premiums
- much smoother ride, like, not close - but I had 21” rims on a 3+ year old Taycan and steel suspension which is a factor there. i5 is 20” rims
-Tech much better, no Apple Music connectivity issues, no longer need to carry a physical key around - just on a different planet on the tech side
-the boost paddle makes launch control feel like an outdated gimmick
-comfort, seats, etc. but I had just the base seats in the Taycan

Where the Taycan wins:
- WOW factor/looks, everywhere you go heads turn
- Porsche Brand impressive and makes people sit up a little higher in their chair
- Faster than the base i5
- Firmness while driving fast
- Bose sound system was fantastic IMO. Base i5 sound is garbage

All in all, if $ and my family’s comfort were no object, I would drive a…LAMBORGHINI! But if it were between a base Taycan & base i5 I would take the Taycan.

However, it’s a lot closer than even I expected, especially for those who value interior/comfort as much as exterior looks/brand

will forever love my Taycan, though - and appreciate this form for all the guidance over the last 4 years

I’m out!

Thanks for sharing. I am in the process of evaluating between an A7 v. i5 eDrive 40 to replace my 21 Taycan 4S - do I return to gas or remain with electric. The availability of public chargers is becoming a concern, which is only growing. When I go to an EA 350w charger at 6 am about a mile from my office in a high end shopping mall which is closed at that time, I find too many people think like me and all of the chargers are full even at that time!!

When I test drove the i5, the power in both the M60 and eDrive 40 was quite impressive as was the handling. For me, the difference in power between the M60 v. eDrive 40 doesn't justify paying thousands more for the M60.

Good luck with the new wheels.

 

[Finbo]

Just picked up an i5M60 for brother as he’s back Monday from holidays. It’s a lovely drive and another step from his i4M50 he had. So cheap on contract hire £9,750 per year plus in UK you have to add 10% of the vat back as can’t claim it all but for a £102,000, £21,500 for 2 years driving isn’t standby. Over here the M60 was cheaper to lease than the M40

 

[RGBArgee]

Just picked up an i5M60 for brother as he’s back Monday from holidays. It’s a lovely drive and another step from his i4M50 he had. So cheap on contract hire £9,750 per year plus in UK you have to add 10% of the vat back as can’t claim it all but for a £102,000, £21,500 for 2 years driving isn’t standby. Over here the M60 was cheaper to lease than the M40

Yes but it’s a BMW - not a fan I’m afraid and on all truly objective measures Audi/Porsche win for me!

 

[Finbo]

Yes but it’s a BMW - not a fan I’m afraid and on all truly objective measures Audi/Porsche win for me!

Still have an independent dealer near us that actually treats us like they want to our custom. All Porsche want is “There’s a charge for that”. After 7 Porsches over 25 years I’m falling out of love with them. Only way I’ll have another is secondhand and probably a 911

 

[RGBArgee]

Still have an independent dealer near us that actually treats us like they want to our custom. All Porsche want is “There’s a charge for that”. After 7 Porsches over 25 years I’m falling out of love with them. Only way I’ll have another is secondhand and probably a 911

Who is your dealer? My nearest dealer is Bristol from whom my Taycans came. Bought 911 Turbo S from Colchester 200 miles away and was treated like a proper customer!

 

[Jonathan S.]

Based on my experience with my wife’s i4 M50 and my 4CT, the i5 Touring would probably be my pick overall. But it’s not coming to North America. So I prefer the CT over the i5 sedan but based on our i4 I definitely understood the praise for the i5 expressed here compared to some aspects of the Taycan.

 

[Finbo]

Who is your dealer? My nearest dealer is Bristol from whom my Taycans came. Bought 911 Turbo S from Colchester 200 miles away and was treated like a proper customer!

I’m in NI and it’s Country Garage, Walker family who we’ve been dealing with for nearly all of their 50 years as BMW dealers

 

[parkslopedope]

Based on my experience with my wife’s i4 M50 and my 4CT, the i5 Touring would probably be my pick overall. But it’s not coming to North America. So I prefer the CT over the i5 sedan but based on our i4 I definitely understood the praise for the i5 expressed here compared to some aspects of the Taycan.

If you don’t mind spending a few extra bucks the M5 touring is confirmed for the US market, if you’re a fan of the new 5 series.

 

[Finbo]

Who is your dealer? My nearest dealer is Bristol from whom my Taycans came. Bought 911 Turbo S from Colchester 200 miles away and was treated like a proper customer!

Maybe you mean Porsche dealer, Agnew’s Group who had all the big dealerships and while all the guys in each of the dealers were and TBH still great on a personal basis, when bought out by Sytner’s it’s been a massive downhill trip. First thing we seen was getting the car serviced and pay before you get the keys back. That’s not something you do in NI when dealing with people for years and buying a lot of cars personally and in the business. Why when possible we deal with local dealers and not nationwide ones