MBNUT1

Thought this was a good comparison

From Rennlist Taycan Forum:

"I recently had the opportunity to drive the new 2021 Tesla Model S Long-Range, 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS (450 and 580), 2021 Model S Plaid (locked in the "calm" acceleration mode), and the 2021 Taycan.

I work at a dealer selling Mercedes-Benz and Porsches. So I am biased. But I also have respect and admiration for Tesla for what they've done in the industry. I am a mere 22 years old, grew up with touchscreen technology, but I still hate the idea of living with a Tesla interior. It's too simple and too complicated at the same time. The layout itself is too simple for me, it feels boring. The big screen in the center of the dash still feels like an afterthought to me, and I don't like the way it looks. There is no craftsmanship or clever design at play in the Tesla. Then you get into the screen itself, and it's too complicated. Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Drive are now swiping gestures on the touchscreen? I guess one could get used to this, but is it really any better than a button or the dash-mounted drive switch in the Taycan? I think not. In fact, I much prefer the gear selector in the Taycan as it has a very nice quality feel - the different resistance points allow me to know exactly what I've selected without looking to any screen for confirmation.

However, the Tesla does have some really cool features that I admire. One of these is the dog mode, where the car will set the climate control while you leave your dog in the car. There is pre-conditioning in the Taycan but the way Tesla has implemented this "dog mode" with the notice on the screen is very clever. The sentry mode is very cool, too. And if you're looking for automation, look no further than Tesla. (although, Mercedes EQS will be capable of level 3 automation, just not advertised as "Autopilot" which is misleading.) In my experience, Mercedes-Benz automation and driver assistance always works very well compared to other brands, including Porsche.

But this is all the stuff you hear about time and time again, so let me get into my actual experience driving the cars.

Taycan:
This is hands down the best electric sports car on the market. Key word there is sports car. The handling and steering is very Porsche, and very good. Even with the steel springs, the ride is very smooth, but has much less body roll than the Tesla or Mercedes in cornering. When you press the accelerator 100%, you know exactly where the car is going to go. The Tesla gets light on its feet and feels like the front wheels are merely providing a suggestion about where you want the car to go. Perhaps because the suspension setup on the regular Tesla S is softer, the front end lifts further on acceleration, leaving you with less weight over the front wheels. This in combination with the overall lighter steering, and I do not feel comfortably in control when accelerating hard in a Tesla. Even in a Taycan Turbo S on launch control, you know exactly where the car is going - the steering feels heavier, and much more precise. It is somehow fun to drive despite being electric.

Tesla Model S Long Range & Plaid:
The Model S Long Range was honestly one of the worst experiences I've had driving a car. I don't know if there was something wrong with this particular car, but the braking experience in particular was without a doubt the worst I've ever felt. I'm not talking about hard braking, I mean, around town. Of course, we all know Teslas allow for one pedal driving. Most of the time, the car slows down enough or stops without pressure on the brake pedal, but sometimes, I still feel the need to press the brake pedal to stop earlier, or for whatever reason. But the transition from regen braking to mechanical braking is rough. Alarmingly rough. I only drove the car for about 10 minutes, but every time I so much as touched the brake pedal, the car would jolt on the brakes. There was no small amount of pressure that resulted in a nice smooth deceleration. My options were basically, let the car decelerate automatically and trust that it will read my mind and do what I expect it to - or look like an idiot and be uncomfortable when the car suddenly and aggressively grabs the brakes when I'm just trying to smoothly decelerate. I was genuinely so shocked by how bad it was, that I suspect there may have been an issue with the car. Notably, the 2021 Plaid that I drove directly after did not have this problem. It was able to brake relatively smoothly, although there was still a noticeable feeling when the real brakes were used instead of the regeneration. In the Taycan, it is so smooth, it's nearly impossible to tell when you're using regenerative braking vs mechanical. The yoke steering wheel on the plaid looks cool, and feels cool when you're sitting in your garage. When you get to a roundabout, as I did, it becomes unnatural and the rectangular shape means shifting your hands around the yoke is a guessing game. Not a fan.

Mercedes EQS:
This was the best luxury electric car I have ever driven. Super spacious interior, beautiful design, and excellent technology. It does everything the Tesla does, except better. Yes, it will be more expensive than the Long Range Tesla. But rightfully so. The interior appointments are S-Class caliber, and if you've ever driven or sat in an S-Class, you'll know what I mean. The ride was incredibly smooth, albeit not designed for sporty driving. I would much rather take the Taycan on a mountain road, but I'd rather take the EQS on a cross-country road trip. Both the Taycan and EQS use the same Electrify America charging network.

In conclusion: If you want luxury, go for the Mercedes. If you want performance, go for the Taycan. If you want crappy paint, panel gaps, and a big confusing iPad, go for the Tesla. Kidding. My biases are coming out. Tesla is the best for automation and driver assistance. Plus it has those cool features like Dog Mode and Sentry Mode. Just my $0.02"



The following is my personal experience during a test drive of a base steel spring Taycan:

When I sat in the in the dealer's showroom prior to the drive I found the driver's space a little claustrophobic due to the small windshield height but I didn't notice it driving it outside.

The Taycan's exterior styling is stunning.

I thought the ride was good, not great but good not that different from my E Class. It handled very well, cornered very flat, excellent steering feel. Good power. Felt extremely solid. The only thing that I didn't like is that I heard a faint constant high pitched whine on the highway that perhaps having the radio on would mask but I didn't like it.

Other than the faint whine it is a great car.

The most surprising thing to me was how good my 11 yo 136k mile E Class still felt after being in the Taycan. I half expected it to be terrible in comparison but was pleasantly surprised.

Utopia Texas

Thanks for the write up. Very interesting. I was in the Taycan pre-order list for a year until Porsche started posting real world mileage. Though I love the driving characteristics of the Porsche line the low mileage just was not practical in my case.

Soulman

Yeah, thanks for the comparisons MB Nut. I appreciate your time posting it. Makes me feel a bit better about paying a premium for the EQS, although comfort and technology was what drew me to EQS in the first place. Well actually it was the EQS "Vision" that drew me! lol

boltonblue

I think if I used dog mode I would make sure I put signs up in the window that "it's ok, the dog is cool, the AC is on for him."
otherwise you'd come out to a smashed window by the concerned citizen who had to "save your dog"

syswei

Tesla already considered this...



...but I suppose some extra signage wouldn't hurt.

MBNUT1

There are reviews that would lead one to believe the Taycan's actual mileage is significantly better than the EPA numbers. The Taycan guys make point about how the Taycans mileage beats the EPA and the Telsa can barely meet it.

Utopia Texas

I agree with what you say but I was not willing to shell out 140k as a experiment to be in line to find out the final figures. Added to that Porsche was already hinting at a better new battery array in the works before the first production Taycan hit the streets.

syswei

That is consistent with the data from this post showing that the Taycan came closer to achieving WLTP range than any of the other 10 EVs tested real-world. WLTP is known of course for being more optimistic than EPA.