Test Drive Review of the Porsche Taycan: The Stealth Turbo
At first glance – great disillusionment! The "new" Taycan looks almost like its predecessor. Nevertheless, it has dramatically improved in almost all parameters, primarily requiring more range and an even more consistently higher charging speed. And since they were already at it, they also refined the aerodynamics, the infotainment system. And of course, the chassis and the headlights as well… you can tell, when Porsche does something, they do it right, as they say in southern Germany.
The expensive bodywork and the dashboard have been practically unchanged, which is why the Taycan feels and looks almost the same as its predecessor when you get in: We are successively assigned a Cross Turismo Turbo and Turbo S: It still wraps around you like a fine leather glove, you still look at classic round instruments – so far so familiar. Also familiar: The still discreet, somewhat fiddly central displays, now at least with larger icons and clearer sorting, and the strange, electrically adjustable air vents.
After pressing the start button: Much more range
Press the start button on the left, set off and the range display already makes the first difference: It generously offers us a good 460 kilometers, after it was surely driven joyfully the day before – the predecessor would have offered us more like 300 kilometers plus or minus. The new, denser-packed 97-kWh battery shows its effect here. We lightly touch the accelerator pedal and gently set off, and the Turbo starts to calculate modestly after a few hundred meters. It starts with a consumption of about 65 kWh/100 km and quickly reduces its consumption to 35, 30, 27, 26, 25 kWh/100 km - where it then stays for a while. Well, it could have been a bit lower in the Spanish sun, but let's see.
From "Turbo" you move almost at hypercar level
Okay, we have a new machine at the back that is 10.4 kg lighter and 80 kW more powerful, which can output 650 kW at peak and 940 Nm of torque with the front electric motor, dramatically more than the predecessor – from "Turbo" you are already in hypercar territory. But now come the first two "buts": The e-machines do not seem to be much more efficient and you don't feel the power jump that dramatically in this class anymore: "Wooosh is wooosh"… if necessary, 100 km/h can be reached in 2.8 seconds with the Launch Control. This encourages my colleague, who likes to drive "under pull" and as fast as possible, to overtake quickly on the country roads where you would wait with a standard car, to keep the Turbo nicely in flow. Which succeeds exceptionally well!
Overtaking quickly? But of course – very safely!
In the hinterland of Seville, there are practically no speed cameras and indeed, you can do quick "overtaking maneuvers" in "Sport" or "Sport Plus" by just a brief, strong tap on the accelerator pedal, saving unnecessary braking. You would lose less energy with up to 400 kW recuperation capability than with a combustion engine, but the fine flow of fast gliding would be simply and firmly disrupted. "There should be a lake on the right now," explains the driver, indeed – but we are already past it. In front of us a truck and 300 meters ahead a sharp left turn… a press on the accelerator pedal and we pass it before the truck...
The chassis provides the necessary crispness, and the steering the required directness. More comfortable? That too is possible. Porsche claims a broader spread of the driving programs, and in "normal" mode, the Taycan Turbo is surprisingly soft – it elegantly smooths out any longitudinal irregularities. However, the steering then feels almost a touch too sharply direct, but that would be nitpicking at the highest level. And, of course, there is a "Range" setting here, which also reduces the power of the consumers and provides a few extra kilometers. Enough punch remains for everyday use – although it is better to move along with the flowing traffic foreseeing. It's a type of "flow" that doesn't need a Turbo or even Turbo S, which has increased to 700 kW. We also drove it and must say: The bit of "more" would not be worth the additional 34,000 euros to us, because where would you want to "experience" 700 instead of 650 kW and 1,110 instead of 940 Nm of torque on public roads?
Even the base model starts with 320 kW
Which brings us to the fundamental discussion of the best version. After all Taycans have increased by 80 kW, the question naturally arises whether the 320-kW base model with rear-wheel drive might suffice, which is supposed to draw up to 678 km range from the 97-kWh battery. Well, "pulled" maybe only 450 plus or minus. But as mentioned: In everyday use, it should always offer enough "pull". How efficiently it can be moved without pull needs to be tested. Colleagues managed with 20.5 kWh/100 km net, which would be about 22.5 kWh/100 km gross. Our Turbo Cross Turismo drew somewhat more – at the end, it reported 28.3 kWh/100 km net, which would be about 31.1 kWh/100 km gross...well. In the test, the predecessor consumed 25.7 kWh/100 km gross – here too, we will revisit on our well-behaved round.
Fast charging: Also over longer periods with over 300 kW
This also applies to fast charging and the charging planning, which has now been significantly improved. Up to 320 kW is possible, and it is supposed to maintain even 300 kW over five minutes, which is also something to test with a test vehicle. In this context, we liked less the still finicky navigation system with a simple display that, although it makes clear and timely announcements, sometimes struggles with the clear representation of the smallest branches and side roads.
The complex chassis neutralizes almost everything, except the weight
Porsche has also revisited the electronically controlled twin-chamber air suspension, which in the all-wheel-drive versions with Active Ride with twin-valve dampers, analogous to the Panamera, is supposed to offer a new experience. This could theoretically make the Taycan lean into the curve like a motorcycle through an overcompensation of the dipping movements or launch it in "Heli-Mode" like a helicopter with a slightly raised(!) rear. And lower it when decelerating. We were already pleased with the practically non-existent body roll in the corners, although it can never fully conceal the good 2.5 tons of weight, at best feeling like "under two tons"...
And of course, the Cross Turismo can also handle a bit of off-road. It can be lifted by up to 30 mm, increasing the ground clearance from 148 to 178 mm. | Photo: Porsche
The bodywork remains untouched. Almost five meters of car and about 2.5 tons of curb weight still need to be moved. | Photo: Porsche
Visually, the Turbo and Turbo S stand out due to their bumper. | Photo: Porsche/Daniel Wollstein
Direct steering, any lateral inclination is eliminated by the new suspension. | Photo: Porsche/Daniel Wollstein
The aerodynamics were also optimized once again - the airflow was improved in detail. | Photo: Porsche
The color palette has been massively expanded. Theoretically, ALL colors are possible for a lot of money. | Photo: Porsche
The sleek base model has also been enhanced. It starts at 320 kW and 101,500 euros gross. | Photo: Porsche
The body-in-white also remained identical to the predecessor. | Photo: Porsche
Practically invisible: The aerodynamic optimizations. | Photo: Porsche
There is noticeably less headroom in the rear. | Photo: Porsche
Auch Sitze und Farben wurden dezent modifiziert. | Foto: Porsche
Am wichtigsten: Die neuen Akkus für mehr Reichweite und Ladeleistung. | Foto: Porsche
Air suspension, two-valve dampers, and plenty of control electronics in the chassis - is the effort justified? For professionals, definitely! When Porsche test and record driver Lars Kern was on a record hunt at the Nürburgring and Laguna Seca, he initially adhered to the pure doctrine: "Solid steel suspension installed, done - keep that electronically controlled stuff away from me," he initially said. Until he tried the electronic chassis alongside various tires and was surprised at how the Taycan "suddenly developed grip where there really shouldn't be any." Therefore, we at least advise aficionados to check the box, it might enhance carving. Pleasant but highly unsporty is the "lift" when parking, which pumps the Taycan into the highest position in a flash, making it noticeably easier to get out... Ground clearance can thus be increased from 148 to 178 mm, and Porsche specifies the wading depth at a not-bad 340 millimeters. The "lift" was unfortunately also necessary once unexpectedly when the Turbo demanded an emergency stop for unexplained reasons: Without power acceptance and eventually without power steering assistance, we rolled to the roadside. Our suspicion: an electronic glitch in the pre-production model, meaning: shut down, wait, continue. And that's how it was, but it really shouldn't happen!
The Equipment: More Lavish than the Price – but Many Color Options are Free
Porsche has also made setup easier by finally offering some obvious features like electrically folding and heated mirrors or front seat heating as standard. Nonetheless, you can still effortlessly configure many thousands of euros, with some quirky color combinations (those will be in demand later) as well as some inserts like the wood with which our Turbo was paneled being avoidable. Actually fitting for the roughly 3,500-euro "Oak Green Metallic Neo" of the "Legends" exterior color subtly configured to "British." But what is supposed to be open-pored looks like plastic in a 1970s Opel Admiral. Which again matches the Playmobil-like execution of the door handle and trim strip. Here, for example, Skoda does much more with a lot less budget...
For this, Porsche dares the wildest paints, many of them for free, where we gladly check boxes again, especially since these can also be combined with many suitable interior colors, much of it free as well, which color and material-affine people appreciate. After all, the "Provence" of our Turbo S costs "only" 1,844.50 euros extra.
The Bright Progress: Now 32,000 Instead of 84 Pixels Shine in Front
What else? Due to lack of night driving, we couldn't yet test the nighttime 600-meter light carpet that the Taycan can roll out in front of the car with its 32,000-pixel LED matrix headlights - the predecessor had to make do with 84 pixels... once again showing the progress made in five years.
The enormous advancements of the facelift are putting the residual values of the predecessor under pressure
However, this is likely to primarily upset the dealers who now have to gradually take back the predecessors. And the moderate residual values could in turn cause the leasing rates, as well as performance and range, to swell, especially since we are now starting at 101,500 euros gross (that's 85,294.12 euros net) rather than 80,000 euros (67,226.89 euros). And if the next, entirely new Taycan makes such advancements again by 2028 or 2029? Insiders tell us that this will not work to the same extent any longer as of today, but that’s what was thought five years ago as well.
There is still a lot of Porsche potential in e-mobility
Electromobility still fundamentally offers much more potential at Porsche compared to their in-house boxer engines or the company's inline four- and six-cylinders, but such leaps may no longer happen in the same way – if at all. However, once they started, they simply couldn't help but meticulously overhaul almost the entire car with Swabian precision. That it became so much stronger and better was not entirely anticipated at the beginning. "But we can't artificially deny our customers progress, can we?" asks Christian Müller, who serves as the Project Manager for Special Vehicles in the Taycan series and is responsible for the GT with Weissach package. Even in this model, you still sit somewhat Porsche-like at the front, just as you always did in the Taycan. But now, you are seated in weight-optimized bucket seats, delightfully adjustable mechanically! And if it weren't for the aero aids, a carbon box instead of a rear seat, and the aero package with a large "bench" at the back – you wouldn't immediately notice its 1,130 PS and 1,340 Nm.
What does this mean?
What a surprise! The Taycan impressively shows – or better yet, hides – the enormous progress electromobility has made in the last five years. Visually, it has changed little compared to its predecessor, but content-wise it has massively strengthened. To a level where it approaches the hypercar territory of Turbos, whose true potential can really only be exploited and experienced on the racetrack. But when all this is trickled down to the new electric Macan and 718, one can rejoice that Porsche remains wholly Porsche even in the electric realm!
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