All Electric, All Porsche: Taycan 4S Cross Turismo
Photography By Nabulen Ignacio
There’s something extraordinary about this Taycan 4s Cross Turismo. It feels like a Porsche. It’s all electric, yet you barely think about it. Power delivery is like a smooth sports petrol engine. And while there’s no rumbling exhaust note, driving just feels like a Porsche even though it’s an EV wagon. Yep, a large comfortable 4 door EV that goes like a Porsche, looks like a Porsche and handles like one too, with four wheel drive and up to 440 Kw (that’s almost 600 hp).
It’s a handsome beast yet understated, garnering many admiring looks, and if it wasn’t so obviously Porsche DNA, it would be called a sleeper. Inside leather dominates, and soft materials give a superb driving environment. The seats are infinitely adjustable, heated, cooled, with just the right balance of comfort and containment. The back seats feature plenty of legroom, adults are welcome here in this luxury arrangement. It features one of the largest panorama glass roofs I’ve seen, and the finish of everything is typical German quality, yet not flashy.
As expected it is packed with every piece of technology, and a highly configurable dash. The steering wheel is straight from the 911 with a conveniently located drive mode selector with gravel, range, normal, and sport modes; each customising power output, suspension and ride height. Entertainingly a Push-to-Pass button lives there too, yet it is essentially unneeded, as the car is titanically swift in any mode, but it does give you full power for 10 seconds. Porsche’s comprehensive Driver Assist functions and the lane holding and automatic steering are effective yet subtle in operation while adjustable ride height includes an extra high lift with GPS memory function.
The driver sees the prominent wheel arches ahead and haunches astern. Seats and doors have buttons, as do the steering wheel stalks while everything else is sent to the screens. Porsche have come up with a reasonable compromise here, bringing a central console screen low near your left hand, and you can control most everything from there without having to lean forward to the other screen. A design highlight is the center mounted clock, which is digital with an analog second hand. The Bose stereo is excellent and it was given a good workout yet I did turn it off to have a listen to mechanicals. And while it’s a very quiet car, you do get a tiny noise from the electric motors on startup, on takeoff and braking, but otherwise the Taycan is essentially silent.
Charger ports are on each side making for unparalleled convenience. One supports AC/DC, and the other AC. No more dashing from side to side or maneuvering the car to find the socket. It’s just right there for you at the front. It has a trick 800 volt charging system for the 105 kilowatt hour battery that can mimic two 400V batteries – for improved charging speed. On a full 320kw it will charge from 10% percent to 80% percent in just 18 minutes with a maximum theoretical range of around 600km. I didn’t get to try that full range out but this car can almost drive Auckland to Wellington on a single charge.
This is a car I’ve been looking forward to driving, and it lived up to its expectations and then some. Porsche managed to deliver a engine-centered driver experience by moderating the throttle response so it comes on in a more expected, progressive, gasoline-type fashion. Combined with excellent handling, you’re integrated into the car and can drive without thinking about the drive train. The car features a G force meter, which proved this fairly heavy vehicle could manage substantial lateral forces over 1 G through the Goodyear Eagle tires. Only on the tightest downhill braking corner were you really aware of its 2,280kg weight.
Porsche has done something impressive here by engineering that sporty Porsche feeling into a large grown-up comfortable electric wagon. This is a practical car, it’s a beautiful car, a fun car. Porsche haven’t copied anyone or anything. They’ve just done what they know how to do, building a brilliant car that delivers confoundingly good performance and handling.