Porsche needed to come up with something special for their first electric car.
I’m pleased to report they have done. The Taycan looks great, drives even better, and has a premium feel that justifies its high price tag.
The Taycan is available in three different shapes. There’s a four-door sports saloon. There’s a ‘shooting brake’ estate called the Taycan Sport Turismo. Then there’s the version tested here: the Taycan 4S Cross Turismo.
This model has the estate body but rides higher than the other two models, giving a driving position that, while not quite SUV height, certainly gives a more commanding view of the road.
In addition to that extra ground clearance, there is four-wheel drive and plastic wheel-arch cladding to protect the body from mud and scrapes.
Is it a proper off roader? Well no, not exactly. A Land Rover Defender would leave it for dead in the wilderness. It’s perfect for muddy farm tracks and campsites, though, and it will handle the worst weather Scotland’s winters can throw at it.
Porsche even offers an optional Off Road pack, which increases ride height by another 10mm.
How much is it?
Prices for the Taycan 4S Cross Turismo start at £88,000. It comes with two electric motors, driving the front and rear axles, which together generate 483bhp. An overboost mode adds an extra 80bhp for short bursts, topping that up to a heady 563bhp.
For £140,000 you can have an even more powerful version. The Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo Turbo generates 750bhp with its overboost mode and can hit 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds.
Having spent a couple of hours driving the ‘basic’ model I can’t imagine needing or wanting more power. It gets from 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds. Meanwhile, 0-99mph takes just 8.6 seconds and top speed is 149mph.
Being an electric car, power delivery is instantaneous. Hit the throttle and you’re pushed back in your seat as the Porsche whooshes forward.
Lots of electric cars are fast so the Taycan isn’t alone there. What does make it special is just how well it handles. Somehow Porsche’s engineers have found a way to make a car that weighs more than 2.2 tonnes feel nimble.
I headed to Yorkshire to familiarise myself with the current Porsche range.
Even with the increased height of the Cross Turismo version it feels glued to the road, remaining poised and composed during hard cornering.
Driven at a more relaxed pace the Porsche Taycan is extremely comfortable, with supple suspension and an almost silent cabin.
What is its range?
The Taycan will cover around 280 miles on a full charge. It will take an hour to reach 80% on a 50kW rapid charger, however it can accept up to 270kW so when our charging network is upgraded that time will drop to quarter of an hour.
Inside, the Taycan feels like £90,000 worth of car. There’s a sleek, well designed dashboard with two touchscreens. The rear has head and legroom for a pair of large adults and the 446 litre boot is a good size as well. There’s an additional 86 litres of storage space under the bonnet that’s perfect for stashing the charging cables.
The driver gets a clever virtual display behind the steering wheel that gives all the information you need and can be customised with a variety of different looks.
Given Porsche’s long sporting pedigree the company needed to come up with an electric model that is exciting to drive. They also had to nail down other important factors such as practicality, comfort, driving range and charge times.
The Porsche Taycan has good range, plenty of space and a premium interior. It’s incredibly fast and handles beautifully but can also cover long distances as comfortably as a luxury saloon.
It really is a fabulous car.
Facts:
Price: £88,270.
0-62mph: 4.1 seconds
Top speed: 149mph
Range: 277 miles
CO2 emissions: 0g/km
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