[Mani59]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

The Porsche Taycan has become our default choice as an EV sports saloon because, above all else, it still drives like a Porsche.

But might that change with the arrival of the BMW i4, particularly in this fast, four-wheel drive M50 specification, which pits the quickest i4 more or less against the lowliest Taycan.

The BMW i4 M50 makes 536bhp from two electric motors, can go from 0-62mph in 3.9sec and has a 140mph top speed. Its 80.7kWh battery means the range is 259-324 miles and it has a maximum charging speed of 200kW. With a liftback hatch, it's also arguably more practical than the Porsche. The BMW i4 M50 costs £63,905.

This base Porsche Taycan (with Performance Battery Plus) is our favourite variant of our favourite EV. Rear-drive only it has 375bhp (469bhp on overboost) and 484lb ft of torque.

It's slower accelerating than the BMW. The Taycan can go from 0-62mph in 5.4sec but with a two-speed transmission has a higher top speed, 143mph. Its 87.3kWh battery gives it a range of up to 301 miles and it can be charged at up to 270kW. The Taycan costs £76,899 with the Performance Battery Plus.

Which is better? Join Matt Saunders and Matt Prior as they find out.

[AlphaM]

Porsche is really audi and audi is sh!t. Period.

[AlexFL]

A terribly boring video. I want my 15 minutes back!

[techwhiz1]

Hey, I respect that they said it's not the last word in EV salon cars.

I also respect that they said it doesn't feel as agile as the M3/M4 because it's carrying more weight.

They didn't say they hated it.

[Haywood]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

Hey, I respect that they said it's not the last word in EV salon cars.

I also respect that they said it doesn't feel as agile as the M3/M4 because it's carrying more weight.

They didn't say they hated it.

They also don't state accurately that even a base Taycan with minimal options is over $100k. And good luck trying to get one.

[Tim Callahan]

Not really apples to apples comparison - these cars are in totally diffrent price brackets and categories. Of course how big the difference is depends on the market.

Here i4M50 base price without any options is 68.000€ while Taycan RWD 350KW bace price is 95.000€.

[supershaft]

Originally Posted by AlphaM

Porsche is really audi and audi is sh!t. Period.

in the VW heirarchy Porsche is just below Lamborghini. Audi is below porsche and audi is equal to BMW in terms of overall quality.

I'd like to know what P cars you have owned though to come to that conclusion.

[Tallest]

Well Id have the Taycan over this because it looks nice.

For the 70k EUR Id have the m340i.

NIce comparison of a white rhino and white elephant.

Useful review for those living in countries where government is run by green parties and decided car ownership is gonna be phased out in a decade or two and wanna make people anxious about owning ICE. They still let trucks run on diesel etc but that's a debate we had already many times here.

Originally Posted by Haywood

They also don't state accurately that even a base Taycan with minimal options is over $100k. And good luck trying to get one.

You can get a Taycan. Taycan is ALL porsche will sell you today without idiotic lines. You will wait few months sure, but you can get it, don't exaggerate. Now, you want a 911? There you will wait. If you are in USA? You can forget about MSRP also as dealers own you. But Taycan, base? You can have it, as you can have base Macans all day long.

Now on prices, Base Taycan with battery pack and must have items is about 102k EUR for me and I really tried to order nothing (112k USD?). It needs performance battery pack and air suspension to manage the weight, may be needs torque vectoring also to be actually agile in city - it needs HUD to be useable as a car in general (would never order one without) and it needs few other little things like the "sport sound" so you dont creep up on pedestrians (should be standard though). Plus in white or black (crap colors for it) you wont order it, so you spent extra, and 19s are too tiny for it as it is a big car, so 20s Turbo Aero are minium. Keeping interior stock, with metallic paint then you end up at 102-4k EUR.

[Tallest]

Originally Posted by AlphaM

Porsche is really audi and audi is sh!t. Period.

NO, Porsche owns VW which in turn owns Audi and all other brands including Porsche cars. But it is Porsche family who controls VW, and as such it is Wolfgang Heinz Porsche who is the chairman of the board of Porsche SE which has control over VW Group. Wolfgang is on the Ferry Porsche side of family, not on Piech side (Piech was VW Chairman who supposedly took over Porsche after 2009 failed bid by POrsche to take over VW). So ultimately, it is Porsche who owns VW today, in reality.

And Audi has a quarter of quality control checks compared to Porsche, so naturally Audi is always the shittier version of whatever Porsche makes, to put it to language you like to use.

Originally Posted by supershaft

in the VW heirarchy Porsche is just below Lamborghini. Audi is below porsche and audi is equal to BMW in terms of overall quality.

I'd like to know what P cars you have owned though to come to that conclusion.

People just say stuff thinking they know something when they dont, this happens sometimes. All cars break. Replaced HPFP on my 911, but that part is same cost as on E92 335i that was failing on these forums everyday and twice on sunday I recall.

[JustChris]

Originally Posted by Tim Callahan

Not really apples to apples comparison - these cars are in totally diffrent price brackets and categories. Of course how big the difference is depends on the market.

Here i4M50 base price without any options is 68.000€ while Taycan RWD 350KW bace price is 95.000€.

Autocar have become kings of this. Pitching a £53k RS3 against a £80k M3 XDrive. Bit desperate!

[Ibiza]

Originally Posted by AlexFL

A terribly boring video. I want my 15 minutes back!

Thanks for the heads up in advance, after reading the comments not going to waste my time either.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by Haywood

They also don't state accurately that even a base Taycan with minimal options is over $100k. And good luck trying to get one.

I went to the Porsche site and everything is an option.
By the time I had the base setup like my M50 it was $120k.

Nope

[Encanto]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

I went to the Porsche site and everything is an option.
By the time I had the base setup like my M50 it was $120k.

Nope

I tried the same and my build was about $138,000. Any time that I got the options that I want kind of right I found myself moving to the next trim level to get a "package discount", and it never comes.

[Haywood]

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

I went to the Porsche site and everything is an option.
By the time I had the base setup like my M50 it was $120k.

Nope

Yup. And people complain about the cost of BMW options!

[GuyOh]

But the taycan looks 100x better then the i4

[Mike i4 M50]

Having driven the Taycan 4S, I really liked it - amazing car but not terribly pleasing on the outside to my eyes. But the one I drove was $130,000..............double the price of a base i4 M50 :/.

Now, later this year or early next year the Macan EV is coming...........it will be less expensive and have more range than the Taycan...............the Macan is a fantastic car and the EV version will be a real force.

[nosnoop]

Originally Posted by GuyOh

But the taycan looks 100x better then the i4

I disagree.
I hate Taycan's headlights/front end, especially the headlights' extension to the vertical vent - giving it the droopy appearance. They look so much worse than Porsche's ICE cars headlights/front.

[Remonster]

Originally Posted by Tallest

You can get a Taycan. Taycan is ALL porsche will sell you today without idiotic lines. You will wait few months sure, but you can get it, don't exaggerate.

It's more than a few months of waiting, it's about 6-8 months right now in California. My dad tried to order a Taycan in December and they told him Porsche would build his order around June and deliver it here in July.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by GuyOh

But the taycan looks 100x better then the i4

That is very subjective.

[CarMan77]

We can compare and debate the value prop of the i4 vs the Taycan. However, the Taycan buyer is not cross shopping the i4. Probably vice versa.

[325/528]

At the end of the day, drive what you like...

[Quadruple VANOS]

Originally Posted by CarMan77

We can compare and debate the value prop of the i4 vs the Taycan. However, the Taycan buyer is not cross shopping the i4. Probably vice versa.

I disagree with the absoluteness of your statement about Taycan shoppers "not" cross shopping and an i4. There's surely a lot of people (relative to the small number of EV shoppers overall) cross shopping these two. Don't let the difference in sticker price fool you.