Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo: 'I drove Porsche's new electric car - it is most impressive'
Porsche may have met its match in a levelling-up electric car market as sales and profits fall but Frederic Manby still felt there was plenty to admire about the Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo.
Porsche: lower sales and plummeting profits last year have forced the proud maker of the legendary 911 to reduce costs and become “leaner, faster and even more desirable.” I know the feeling.
Deliveries in the last financial year fell by a tenth to 279,448. Operating profits nose-dived from 40 billion euros to 413m euros due largely to huge restructuring costs and confusion over the demand for electric cars. US import tariffs cost 700m euros.
Sales of its electric Taycan faltered by a fifth, mainly due to a slowing in “the adoption of electromobility” says Porsche. Viz, too expensive and poor resale values. One snag, identified in the report, is the intense pricing competition for electric cars.
This Taycan 4S Cross Turismo is three quid under £127,000 though you can pay much less or much more, depending on the power and performance tweaks you choose. Our test mule had £34,000 of extras.
This luscious lavender four-door coupe estate had a “launch control” power upgrade to 590bhp and 523 lb ft. This takes the heavy 2.3 ton coupe to 62 mph in 3.6 seconds and a maximum of 149mph. En route, it passes 124mph in 12.3 seconds.
Here’s the thing. Electric motors have democratised Porsche levels of power and street level approval.
Carmakers no longer need highly tuned and expensive petrol engines. They have electric cars which are much quicker.
An everyday Volvo EV, anonymous in black, being charged at the next public hub was as quick to 62mph. KIA’s 641bhp EV6 GT covers 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds and reaches161mph.
It costs less than £60,000, has a seven-year warranty and will carry five in much more comfort but lacks the style or prestige of the Taycan, which despite its length is just about ok for two rear seat passengers and cramped for three.
Product planning is being scrutinised at Porsche. The ageing Panamera is a similar size to the Taycan (both crowd a typical parking bay) and we will end up with a unified model (Panacan?) with plug-in petrol engines and electric motors.
Porsche’s smaller and cheaper Macan SUV has petrol and electric versions and is the marque’s best seller. There is now an electric version of the Cayenne, its largest SUV at the moment, which with 1,139bhp is the most powerful production Porsche, quoted at 0-62mph in 2.5 seconds.
That is a third faster than our Taycan. You’ll need steady hands and a clear head.
These figures are achieved using the launch control setting: foot on the brake, accelerator flat to the floor, wheels pointing straight ahead, foot off the brake and away it screams as all four wheels deliver maximum power. Do we really need that!
The handbook cautions care and attention and to keep the wheels straight. “You may lose control of the vehicle or endanger other road users under certain circumstances” it warns.
So here goes. Phew. I could have done without the distracting flashing blue circles in the fascia.
The 75kw charger took the battery from 30 to 80 percent in 42 minutes gaining 126 miles to give a range of 218 miles. Ergo, a 100pc charge would give around 270 miles.
With our Taycan returning at best three miles per kilowatt hour at 87p kWh that 126 mile boost was around £36 but Taycan buyers get a three-year electric pass which gives 39p a kWh at Ionity and Porsche centres (100 per cent carbon neutral juice) and elsewhere for 44p at AC hubs and 59p at DC hubs. Best deal: always charge at home if you have the time.
You can charge on AC into either front wing and DC on the nearside. Sliding covers automatically expose the sockets.
Neat detail number two, the air suspension lifts the car a few inches when you open the door. Then drops it for road hugging dynamics.
This Taycan is not alone in being over-cooked for UK conditions, infested with jarring potholes. Then there’s the national speed limit.
Press the overtake boost button and you get an extra 80bhp, enough to move you from 50 to 75mph in a couple seconds.
If you are travelling in the back and are not scared to death you’ll appreciate the open view between the tapered front seats.
You have your own climate control screen, cup holders, heated outer seats and a pair of USB ports tucked under the edge. Getting out, your feet snag under the front seats.
After dark the HD matrix adaptive headlight upgrade at £1,755 gives excellent illumination. “Like daylight," she said. The range is a third of a mile.
The upholstery was a muted houndstooth check of grey and charcoal pepita, a heritage fabric, edged by what could have been black leather but I hope not.
You may like the active rear steering, which sharpens the handling. I found it twitchy: £1,692.
The Taycan remains a most impressive electric car, partly for the driving experience but also for its looks.
The Cross estate body has a taller loading capacity (up to 67 inches long with the seats folded) but lacks the sleek beauty of the slightly cheaper saloon.
Prices start at around £89,000 or PCP from £1,385, with a more than adequate 429bhp and rise to £190,000 for a 190mph version, if you must be a show-off.
Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo: £99,200, as tested £125,797; Battery capacity 105 kWh; Power 590 bhp; Torque 523 lb/ft; Transmission one speed; Top speed 149mph; 0-62mph 3.6 seconds; Economy 3.36 miles per kWh; Claimed range 358 miles; Weight 2.24 tons; CO 2 zero; Length 196 inches/4.97m; More information at porsche.co.uk