Taycan or Panamera?

[tchavei]

I don't have range axienty.


I have charging anxiety


It's not about range. It's about arriving at the planned charging station and it being unavailable because a) it's broken and wasn't detected by the grid or b) it's being hogged up by a Nissan leaf charging at 25Kw or even finished charging and owner nowhere to be seen.

My two cents

 

[Murph7355]

I just had the dubious privilege of using a Panamera 4 eHybrid for a week.

I have no real idea why anyone would choose one over a Taycan tbh.

The drivetrain was awful. ePower mode didn't have much power or e for very long. Sport mode was OK but the V6 also felt a bit lacking. Hybrid mode was clumsy switching between the two. All felt a bit...pointless.

The car is a bit bigger feeling than the Taycan, but I'm not sure in any useful sense as the transmission tunnel makes the middle rear seat even less useable.

Looks are subjective...but the one I had looked frumpy (sage greeny platinum edition with light grey multispoke wheels).

The instrument cluster was like the powertrain - confused over what it wanted to be.

This was a 23MY, but the centre console wasn't intuitive or easy to use. Not a great advert for physical/haptic buttons. And there were some bits - like the ambient lighting - that made me wonder whether the car could really have been designed by the same company.

It was comfy enough in a soft riding sense...and had one feature the Taycan doesn't that I liked (no hugely bright roof console LED that you cannot feckin turn off). But my overriding impressions were of an old man's car...plus that salesmen must really earn their commission when selling them!

Was very pleased to be climbing back into my Taycan today.

 

[andb]

The V8 Panamera is a different story, a lot more power but the weak point is range and power in e-mode. The new model will have 50 miles of range and 200 hp e-motor.

 

[whitex]

I bought a Toyota Prius in 2005.

It was only because I was both interested in and impressed by the way the transmission blended the 2 power plants and also they used the benefit of electronic control to make it a CVT and both in simulation and subsequently in tests a CVT was a worthwhile improvement on a Formula 1 car.
I genuinely was interested by how the CVT felt but as a petrol head with 3 V8s in my garage I didn’t expect to keep it long.

Anyway, the CVT takes getting used to and I understand why it being so unfamiliar many don’t feel comfortable with it - I may well have been the same without the modelling and test results confirming its superiority.

The Prius turned out to be a delight, extremely spacious and ideal for taking my then ageing mother around and in the end I found it ideal as a daily, certainly no sports car but ideal for our every day use and the V8s tended to stay in the garage.

After 7 years use I bought a plug-in hybrid version and my daughter took the old one. It is still being used as an economical daily by her family and is still on its original traction battery. The small 12V battery was a bit of a weak point since leaving an internal light on flattens it - a big battery isn’t needed for a starter motor but it is for a forgetful wife…

We now have a second plug in which has a longer EV only range and an electric climate control so petrol almost never needed. It is roomier and easier to park than the Taycan and my dog seems to prefer it, if I open both tailgates he jumps into the Prius - perhaps because he can see out whilst lying down.

Anyway whilst I take your point about hybrids in general - they usually just add an electric motor and battery but still have the heavy transmission etc so generally a heavy complex solution - the Toyota and Lexus systems are both IMO and IME excellent, light, simple and clever and Lexus even have a mode to make the CVT work less well but sound more conventional for old people hard of understanding

I haven't driven a Toyota hybrid since my Lexus hybrid log time ago. Does the motor still start first thing in the morning, especially when it's cold out, even if you have plenty of battery capacity? That killed my like of hybrids, since I tend to back into my garage, and starting a cold engine in the morning tends to stick up the garage big time. I could pull in on electric only, but the darn ICE motor would kick in whenever pulling out when the car was cold. A proper BEV does not have this problem.

 

[tigerbalm]

Does the motor still start first thing in the morning, especially when it's cold out, even if you have plenty of battery capacity?

My Panamera Tubro S E-hybrid always started in e-power mode (even when it was near 0% battery) for moving off.

 

[f1eng]

I haven't driven a Toyota hybrid since my Lexus hybrid log time ago. Does the motor still start first thing in the morning, especially when it's cold out, even if you have plenty of battery capacity? That killed my like of hybrids, since I tend to back into my garage, and starting a cold engine in the morning tends to stick up the garage big time. I could pull in on electric only, but the darn ICE motor would kick in whenever pulling out when the car was cold. A proper BEV does not have this problem.

The first plug in we had started the engine if the heater was on since its source of heat was the IC engine coolant. To prevent it doing so I just switched the climate off as I parked.
The one I have now has an electric heat pump climate control so it doesn’t.
There is a de-ice windscreen setting and if you use that it does start the engine, but not for normal heating/cooling or rear window de-mister.

 

[WuffvonTrips]

I just had the dubious privilege of using a Panamera 4 eHybrid for a week.

I have no real idea why anyone would choose one over a Taycan tbh.

The drivetrain was awful. ePower mode didn't have much power or e for very long. Sport mode was OK but the V6 also felt a bit lacking. Hybrid mode was clumsy switching between the two. All felt a bit...pointless.

The car is a bit bigger feeling than the Taycan, but I'm not sure in any useful sense as the transmission tunnel makes the middle rear seat even less useable.

Looks are subjective...but the one I had looked frumpy (sage greeny platinum edition with light grey multispoke wheels).

...

It was comfy enough in a soft riding sense...and had one feature the Taycan doesn't that I liked (no hugely bright roof console LED that you cannot feckin turn off). But my overriding impressions were of an old man's car...plus that salesmen must really earn their commission when selling them!

Was very pleased to be climbing back into my Taycan today.

To be fair, a Panamera GTS would have been a better comparison perfromance-wise with your Taycan. The lower Panamera trims are more luxury executive cruiser. I had the equivalent Cayenne e-hybrid, and thought its electric 130hp was plenty around town. I found myself adapting my driving to minimise thrashing the engine, I admired the car's abilities without being inspired by them, and found myself wanting to enjoy the same serene silence but with maximum performance- so here I am with a Taycan.

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

I loved my Panamera but it’s a higher level car than the Taycan. Bigger and more luxurious inside. It’s also a better cruiser than the Taycan but I am done with Porsche ICE vehicles except for the 911. Porsche takes advantage of its customers on service big time and their ICE vehicles offer many opportunities for them to do so. For commuting and kid duty I plan to run on electrons from here on out….with an ICE 911 planned for fun and special occasions. So it’s Taycan for now until Porsche develops 2nd gen EV tech…then I will likely go back to the Panamera as a daily.

I drove my Panamera GTS for over 100K miles, and it was the best car I've ever had - until my Turbo S. Now, I will give the Turbo S many black marks for reliability, but partly that is my fault for buying one of the first in the US. I'm not sure why you say the Panamera is a better cruiser than the Taycan - I don't think there is even an argument here - unless you're talking range and having to find E-stations. And the Panamera is better if you want to transport 4 large people in comfort over long distances. In terms of the actual driving experience on the road, I have never driven a car that is better than my Taycan. It is the best riding, quietest, and most responsive car I've ever driven. Much more so than the Panamera.

 

[SergeyIndy]

Just curious what constitutes “luxury” in peoples’ books? In what ways is the Panamera more luxurious than the Taycan?

Soft close doors was one feature that I remember on the Panamera loaner that was more luxurious.
I am not sure why they could not make that fit into the doors that seem to have a lot of room.
Other than that, everything else Panamera luxury feels old, but on the Taycan additional leather options over more modern shapes make it what modern luxury now is - understated.

 

[RAHRCR]

I drove my Panamera GTS for over 100K miles, and it was the best car I've ever had - until my Turbo S. Now, I will give the Turbo S many black marks for reliability, but partly that is my fault for buying one of the first in the US. I'm not sure why you say the Panamera is a better cruiser than the Taycan - I don't think there is even an argument here - unless you're talking range and having to find E-stations. And the Panamera is better if you want to transport 4 large people in comfort over long distances. In terms of the actual driving experience on the road, I have never driven a car that is better than my Taycan. It is the best riding, quietest, and most responsive car I've ever driven. Much more so than the Panamera.

My Panamera was an excellent cruiser but I had a different model. Perhaps one of the downsides of the GTS Panamera? I like my Taycan a lot but for different reasons…

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

My Panamera was an excellent cruiser but I had a different model. Perhaps one of the downsides of the GTS Panamera? I like my Taycan a lot but for different reasons…

I'm not sure what you're saying about the 'downside' of the GTS vs your Sport Turismo 4S. The GTS should be equal or better in pretty much every way. Did you have active damping and air suspension on the 4S?

 

[andb]

Taycan handling ride comfort is better but Panamera is much more comfortable getting in and out, has soft close doors, better seats and I can drive it really fast without worrying about the range. The best thing is that it's more reliable, one fault in 2 years and ceramic brakes are more confidence inspiring compared to PSCB's. Last week my Taycan couldn't charge at a station and key fob cannot lock it.

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

Taycan handling ride comfort is better but Panamera is much more comfortable getting in and out, has soft close doors, better seats and I can drive it really fast without worrying about the range. The best thing is that it's more reliable, one fault in 2 years and ceramic brakes are more confidence inspiring compared to PSCB's. Last week my Taycan couldn't charge at a station and key fob cannot lock it.

I will agree with everything here, other than the seats. I really like the Taycan 18 way seats. I don't think the braking confidence has anything to do with the quality of the brakes, but more about the extra 1,000 lbs you're stopping in the Taycan. But for handling and ride comfort, the Taycan is at the top of the mountain right now.

 

[f1eng]

the extra 1,000 lbs you're stopping in the Taycan

Nearer 400lb difference

 

[Vim Schrotnock]

Nearer 400lb difference

I'm comparing to my 2012 Panamera GTS 3,960 lb vs 5,101 lb for my Taycan Turbo S.