The Taycan Turbo S impressed us a great deal with its supple ride composure, and with surprisingly effortless agility and cornering poise for such a heavy car, when we tested it in 2020. The regular Taycan does without that car’s electronically torque-vectored four-wheel drive, and without some of the weight, granted; but, as we’ve already explained, our test car also did without its range-mate’s clever height-adjustable air suspension, four-wheel steering and active rear differential. So is there a net dynamic gain here to report here, or a loss?
It’s a complicated equation, but our test jury agreed that the cheaper, simpler, rear-driven Taycan probably offers at least as much driver appeal as its more expensive sibling, if not a shade more – with its dynamic strengths apparent in slightly different places.
There is a clearer sense of purity and a more natural handling balance about the single-motor car. The fact that the chassis is always pushed out of bends from the rear axle makes its handling more honest and a shade more predictable, and also leaves the steering entirely uncorrupted by tractive forces. The regular Taycan’s more moderate performance level is also easier to fathom on the road than that of the Taycan Turbo S, and can be fully uncorked without trepidation, which makes the car easier to enjoy much of the time.
