Compare the2024 Porsche TaycanVS 2024 Audi Q4 e-tron

The Porsche Taycan has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer knee airbags.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Taycan helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the Taycan and the Q4 e-tron have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and around view monitors.

Porsche pays for scheduled maintenance on the Taycan for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Porsche will pay for cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Audi only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Q4 e-tron.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Porsche vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Porsche above average in initial quality. With 54 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Porsche vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Porsche above average in long-term dependability. With 30 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Audi is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Porsche vehicles are more reliable than Audi vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Porsche 11 places higher in reliability than Audi.

The Taycan has more powerful engines than the Q4 e-tron:

As tested in Car and Driver the Taycan Performance Plus electric motor is faster than the Q4 50 e-tron electric motors:

For better stopping power the Taycan’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Q4 e-tron:

The Porsche Taycan has standard four-wheel disc brakes for better stopping power and improved directional control in poor weather. Only rear drums come on the Q4 e-tron. Drums can heat up and make stops longer, especially with antilock brakes that work much harder than conventional brakes.

The Taycan offers optional heat-treated ceramic brake rotors, which last ten to twenty times as long as conventional cast iron rotors, don’t rust, don’t fade during repeated high speed braking, and their lighter weight contribute to better braking, handling and acceleration. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Taycan stops much shorter than the Q4 e-tron:

For better traction, the Taycan’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Q4 e-tron (F:265/35R21 & R:305/30R21 vs. F:235/55R19 & R:255/50R19).

The Taycan’s standard 275/45R19 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Q4 e-tron’s standard 50 series rear tires. The Taycan’s optional 265/35R21 front and 305/30R21 rear tires have a lower 35 series front and 30 series rear profile than the Q4 e-tron Quattro’s optional 50 series front and 45 series rear tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Taycan offers optional 21-inch wheels. The Q4 e-tron’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The Taycan offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Taycan offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Audi doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Q4 e-tron.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Taycan’s wheelbase is 5.5 inches longer than on the Q4 e-tron (114.2 inches vs. 108.7 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Taycan is 4.8 inches wider in the front and 4.6 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Q4 e-tron.

The Taycan 4S Cross Turismo handles at .88 G’s, while the Q4 50 e-tron Prestige pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Taycan is 10.4 inches shorter in height than the Q4 e-tron, making the Taycan much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The design of the Porsche Taycan amounts to more than styling. The Taycan offers aerodynamic coefficients of drag from .23 to .28 Cd (depending on bodystyle and options). That is lower than the Q4 e-tron (.28 to .31) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Taycan get better fuel mileage.

The front grille of the Taycan uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Taycan uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Q4 e-tron uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Porsche service is better than Audi. J.D. Power ranks Porsche third in service department satisfaction. With a 14% lower rating, Audi is ranked 8th.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors optional in the Q4 e-tron, the Taycan offers an optional driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Taycan offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer cornering lights.

Both the Taycan and the Q4 e-tron have standard heated front seats. The Taycan also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Q4 e-tron.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the Taycan keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Taycan offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Q4 e-tron.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Porsche Taycan has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Q4 e-tron.

The Taycan’s optional Active Parking Support can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote ParkAssist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Q4 e-tron Premium Plus/Prestige’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

The Porsche Taycan comes in sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the Audi Q4 e-tron isn’t available as a sedan.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Taycan first among upper midsize premium cars in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Q4 e-tron isn’t in the top three.