We have our first comparison video between the Porsche Taycan Turbo S and the Tesla Model S Performance to help you decide which luxury performance electric sedan you should buy.
The video comes courtesy of Top Gear, who seems to always get their hands on these newfangled European cars before anyone else. The problem with the Taycan is that there is really only one car to compare it against, and that’s the Tesla Model S. So naturally, we get to see the Taycan and Model S go head-to-head in a drag race.
Before we get to the results, let’s talk numbers. The Tesla Model S Performance in its most current guise has 754 hp and 687 lb-ft of torque thanks to electric motors turning each axle. Tesla claims a zero to sixty time of just 2.6 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 155 mph. Range is an impressive 370 miles, which is better than pretty much anything else on the road with a battery, and the total weight is 4,940 lbs.
The Taycan Turbo S, meanwhile, has 750 hp and 774 lb-ft of torque thanks to its twin electric motors. Zero to sixty is 2.8 seconds, but top speed is 161 mph. Weight is a little more on the Taycan at 5,059 lbs, and the range is over 100 miles less at 256 miles.
On paper, this is a pretty fair fight. Top Gear reports, however, that the Taycan wins by over a full car length. Check it out.
Top Gear also had a lot of other nice things to say about the Taycan regarding interior styling, braking, steering, handling, and just overall drivability. Fair enough. However, there has been some controversy stirred by the quarter-mile results and the time Top Gear provided.
Brooks from Drag Times led the charge by accusing Top Gear of using older numbers from a P100D-era Model S and then faking the video. He provides a bunch of evidence, including how the final quarter-mile times don’t really match up with where the cars appeared to finish in the race. There’s also the fact that the Tesla wasn’t in full Ludicrous mode and that other Model S Performance cars in his area have posted way better quarter-mile times.
There’s no doubt that the Taycan Turbo S is likely the equal of the Model S Performance, but the Top Gear video makes it seem superior when it’s really not. Check out the two videos and see for yourself.