The EV market was so awe-inspiring this year that we simply couldn't decide on a winner this year. Though they serve two separate market segments, the Tesla Model 3 and Porsche Taycan are two cars that show the world the all-electric world of tomorrow that we all feel is inevitable doesn't have to be full of slow, dull, or boring cars. In fact, they can be even faster than anything that runs off old fashioned dino juice, otherwise called petroleum.
But in a world where Electric vehicles are more popular than ever with no sign of slowing down, how do you compare these cars as opposed to if they ran on regular petrol? Well, in our minds, the electric drive is the way forward. And we may one day have to forever change our statistics from miles per gallon to kilometers per battery charge. So let's take a look at how these two EVs outshined all the rest in 2021.
Buckle up, because we're looking at two of the fastest, most luxurious electric vehicles on sale today and why they might make stubborn EV detractors finally change their minds.
Tesla Model 3: Refined Electric Luxury At A Reasonable Price
If you scoffed at the Tesla Model S full size sedan for being an ostentatious electric ripoff of the Mercedes S Class. The Model 3 along with the Model X crossover SUV is what finally turned detractors into a supporter for Elon Musks brainchild of a company.
At just under $40 Thousand Dollars for the base Model 3, this electric family saloon is priced right in line with the lower end range of high end German and Japanese companies like Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. All with the possibility of substantial government rebates for buying a certified zero-emissions vehicle.
With a range of around 260 miles per full charge, it's definitely still not in the same category as equivalent petrol-powered cars at its size and weight. Even so, with Tesla's network of Supercharging stations growing larger as each month passes, a Model 3 could easily drive coast to coast without much difficulty.
Some may laud some of Tesla's quirks and features like the function on the key that makes the Model X flap its gull-wing doors and play classical music as gimmicky and pandering. But no one can argue with a zero to 60 time of around four seconds and a quarter-mile run in the high 11's.
That's fast even by high-end sports car standards. And the Model 3 has rear seats, a big trunk, and all the cupholder you'd ever need. All of that makes it one of the two best EVs of the year.
Porsche Taycan Turbo S: Face Melting Acceleration
Take everything we said about awe the Model 3 and its awe-inspiring acceleration and turn that up to the power of ten. The goal with the Porsche Taycan EV was to create a car that's as important to Porsche technology as the original 911 or the 200 mph smashing 959.
With a vomit-inducing zero to 60 time of 2.5 seconds for the top of the line Turbo S model, and a quarter-mile time that would make a Lamborghini Aventador jealous. The Taycan represents the next logical evolution in electric vehicle design.
By managing to produce a true world-beater of an electric sports car before the likes of Tesla and their redesigned Roadster proves that the established German car industry is more than capable of keeping pace with the hotshot upstarts founded by Elon Musk.
With development help from their sister company Audi and their all-electric e-tron GT, Porsche was well situated to be the first to really make their claim to being the first true all-electric sports car that people actually want to buy.
The Original Tesla roadster may have used a similar formula in their first attempt at an electric sports car. The Taycan takes that same formula and wraps it up in a layer of refinement one could only expect from a group of the best engineers the great nation of Germany has to offer.
With a range estimated to be in the lower to the mid-200-mile range, the Taycan is a capable cross country grand touring car provided there are plenty of EV charging stations in your area, expect one to be coming to your neck of the woods sooner rather than later.
The Future Will Not Be Slow
Fans of classic muscle cars may never fully come around to the idea of all-electric transportation. The unfortunate truth is, there's a finite amount of oil left on this planet. That not to mention all the pollution its use and production create for the global ecosystem.
We'll have to let go sooner or later, and when we all eventually do, it'll be cars like the Model 3 and the Porsche Taycan that we'll look back on and say were key to making sure that the next generation of gearheads has their pinup-poster hero cars.
Sources: Porsche Newsroom, caranddriver.com, Dupont Registry