The 2020 Porsche Taycan is quick—and fast. It beat even the mighty Tesla Model S P100D Ludicrous in the quarter-mile after closing a tenth of a second gap at 60 mph and never looking back. That's great for bragging rights, but all that accelerative force doesn't mean squat when you're sitting in traffic. That's when one's thoughts turn inward.
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Short question long, what's the interior of the Taycan, the place where you'll spend all your time, like to live in?
With a current starting price of $114,340, the Taycan needs to deliver on comfort and technology to fully justify its price tag. (Technically, the tag is $105,150, but until June 2020 you can't order the car without $9,190 of options in the form of a panoramic glass roof, larger battery, and advanced portable charger.)
High-Tech Cabin
The Taycan hits you first on the technology front, with a standard 16.8-inch curved screen for an instrument cluster with touch-sensitive buttons at its borders, a 10.9-inch infotainment touchscreen, and 8.4-inch auxiliary touchscreen with key shortcuts permanently displayed.
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The instrument screen is easily the most impressive, with crisp graphics and a multitude of configurations for you to customize to your liking. The most helpful is a full-screen map mode, which makes consulting the navigation system as easy as glancing down a bit, rather than over to the middle of the dash.
The primary infotainment screen—there's a reason we're calling it primary, which we'll get to shortly—is likewise crisp and customizable, but we find Porsche's latest infotainment user interface too layered. You can clean it up by just pinning the apps you want, but the learning curve is a bit steep.
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If you pay extra, you can get a second infotainment screen in the passenger's side of the dashboard. It looks just like the primary infotainment screen in the middle, but it doesn't have quite as many functions. Mostly, it lets the passenger play DJ or look things up in the navigation system without getting in the driver's way.
It would be a more compelling case were it not for the fact the secondary screen can't control Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. And the driver can bring up a full-screen map in the instrument cluster, so the passenger messing with the center screen at a critical junction isn't much of an issue. Although it's fun to live out your Star Trek fantasies on the go, the limited functionality makes the $1,130 price tag tough to justify. Hopefully, future over-the-air updates will add functionality that make the cost more reasonable.
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Below the primary infotainment screen is an auxiliary screen you'll use most often as a shortcut to the climate controls. It has key shortcuts docked on an upper bar to get you right to the audio or navigation pages on the screen above. A second dock at the bottom is a catch-all for functions like the trunk and frunk releases. In the center is a large blank space you'll only use if you like entering commands into the system by drawing the letters on the screen until it guesses what you want.
Seating and Ergonomics
Back over on the driver's side, the driver seat doesn't let you sit very low in the car. That's interesting, considering Porsche's promises of a 911-like driving position because you can put a 911's seat on the floor. The upshot is a clear view of the road ahead, with just the tops of the fenders visible ahead of you. The A-pillars are surprisingly thin and unobtrusive—though the B-pillars are massive and can be an issue when merging, depending on how far back you position the seat. Only the rear window is universally difficult to see out of, a gun slit further obstructed by the rear headrests.
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There are a few ergonomic quirks. As with all Porsches, the starter is on the left side of the steering wheel, though now it's just a big button rather than a faux key. It and the big toggle switch that serves as the gear selector on the other side of the steering wheel are perfectly hidden behind said steering wheel, so you have to find them by touch. Also hard to reach are the power mirror controls, which are so far back on the arm rest the person in the back seat could set them.
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The rear seats are somewhat difficult in general. There's just enough legroom for the average adult, but you have to get in the seat first. Porsche's so-called "foot garages"—sections of the underfloor battery compartment left empty to make room for the rear passengers' feet—are a good idea, but getting your feet into them takes dexterity. There's little space between the rear seat bottom and the lower B-pillar, so there's a lot of twisting and pointing your feet as you work your way in there. Once you're in the seat and your feet are settled, you'll notice there's just enough headroom for a 6-footer, though the roof rail crowds your headspace.
The Auditory Experience
Whether in front or back, you'll appreciate how quiet the Taycan's interior is. Quiet conversation is easy at freeway speeds, which is notable since the Turbo S has massive tires on 21-inch wheels, a combo that tends to make a lot of noise. There's a faint noise from the motors and transmissions under acceleration and braking that mostly just reminds you mechanical things are happening. It's actively enhanced by the sound system to make it sound a little more like a car from a sci-fi movie, and Turbo S models get Porsche Electric Sports Sound standard, which cranks up the sound and adds a lot of bass when you put the car in Sport or Sport Plus. On lesser models, you pay $500 for the privilege. As far as computer-generated EV sounds go, it sounds the most like actual machinery and not a ray gun.
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How you'll hear it will depend on what you want to spend. In addition to the standard stereo, there's an optional mid-grade Bose system for $1,200 and a $7,000 Burmester system for the serious audiophile.
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As with any Porsche, the quality and color of interior materials are vast and expensive. A faux leather is standard, with an upgraded faux leather called RaceTex available and, of course, real leather. You can decide where you want which material and choose from a range of colors, then set them off with a number of interior trim color and material options including piano black plastic, real wood, real aluminum, and carbon fiber. Likewise, you can specify the color of the seatbelts, change the headliner material, and even have your key fobs painted to match the exterior of the car.
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