The 2021 Porsche Taycan is a truly innovative electric vehicle, showcasing the high-performance potential of the species. In this post, we will give you a full Porsche Taycan review to consider if it is an excellent electric car.
Contents
Porsche Taycan Review
1. Pricing and which one to buy
While the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S offer performance that’s on par with supercars, we’d recommend the more affordable all-wheel-drive Taycan 4S. The 4S comes with a 522-hp powertrain, 19-inch wheels, an adaptive air suspension, a partial leather interior, and keyless entry. To keep the cost in check, we’d skip all of Porsche’s many personalization options, but we would upgrade to the Performance Battery Plus, which increases the size of the pack and ups the combined horsepower rating to 562. The Performance package is also a must as it makes the Taycan more entertaining to drive: The rear-axle steering and torque vectoring improve agility, the Sport Plus drive mode optimizes performance, and the active anti-roll bars aid stability.
2. Performance and drive
Now, we will make a Porsche Taycan review of its performance. While developing the Taycan, the biggest issue Porsche had to battle with was weight. You see, the kind of batteries that electric cars need in order to give them a decent range tend to be very heavy. That’s why a Taycan Turbo, for example, weighs several hundred kilos more than the physically larger Porsche Panamera Turbo S.
However, as much of that weight as possible has been positioned low down in the car, and the Taycan feels remarkably agile as a result. Even without the clever optional active anti-roll bars (Dynamic Chassis Control Sport in Porsche speak) fitted, when it comes to grip, balance, and resistance to body roll, the Taycan is in a different league from any electric car that’s come before. And if you do happen to tick the box for PDCC Sport, you’ll have an electric performance saloon that exhibits an even flatter and more determined cornering nature than the lighter Panamera.
The Taycan’s steering is equally impressive; it gives you a much better sense of connection with the front wheels than you get in most petrol-powered performance saloons, let alone a Tesla Model S. That’s partly thanks to how nicely the weight builds as you turn the wheel, but also due to how accurate the steering is. Every millimeter of movement has a subtle but positive influence on the car’s trajectory, giving you, the driver, maximum confidence.
3. Interior
3.1. Style
Unlike other cars from the German brand, the Taycan comes with a purely digital driver’s display – being powered by just electric motors means there’s no need for the Taycan to come with Porsche’s signature analogue rev-counter.
The touchscreen heating and climate controls are other new features for the futuristic Taycan, as is the optional screen above the glove box for the passenger.
In terms of quality, it’s the usual Porsche fare – that’s to say everything feels super plush and all the controls operate with a pleasing solidity that feels more Fortnum and Mason than the occasionally Fisher-Price items you’ll find in the Tesla Model S.
If you don’t fancy the Porsche Taycan’s rather sombre standard black and dark grey trim, you can pay extra for a range of leather and leather-free finishes in 12 colour combinations, and ditch the standard door trims for some wood, carbon fibre or aluminium inserts.
3.2. Infotainment
As in the 911 and Panamera, the Porsche Taycan comes with a central touchscreen display on the dashboard for the sat-nav, stereo and smartphone mirroring features. The menu screens look really smart, but the lack of colourful icons means it isn’t particularly easy to tell them apart while you’re driving.
You don’t get any physical shortcut buttons to let you switch from one key feature to another either, and it’s a shame that Porsche only lets you mirror Apple, not Android, phones on the Taycan’s built-in screen.
You don’t get any buttons for the heating and ventilation settings either – as, in an Audi RS7, you control these through a touchscreen on the centre console. This screen certainly looks smart – and compliments the rest of the Taycan’s futuristic interior – but the portrait arrangement means many of the icons are grouped close together making it tricky to reliably press the right one.
3.3. Passenger and boot space
The Model S is better for rear space, but the Taycan’s standard two-rear-seat arrangement can easily accommodate a couple of six-footers. There isn’t much room left over, though, and we doubt the optional third rear seat will be suitable for adults. That option also brings 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats. Without it, the rear seats fold in a 60/40 split.
The boot is plenty big enough for a buggy or a set of golf clubs. In terms of outright load space, we managed to fit six carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf, plus one more in the front boot under the bonnet. That’s more luggage than a Volkswagen Golf can swallow, but, again, it’s no match for the Model S, which can take 11 cases.
In conclusion, this is a detailed Porsche Taycan review for you.