Taycan 4S test drive: marvels of engineering

When Porsche unveiled the Taycan in 2019, many of us – and I must admit that I was partly among them – doubted whether an electric car could really be a “genuine” Porsche. Just as we did some time earlier when the German brand announced its first SUV, the Porsche Cayenne; a car that, in the end, allowed Porsche to be where it is today.

Returning to the Taycan, more than a year has passed and in that short time cars have emerged that have radically changed our minds about electric propulsion. But Porsche has set out to show that electrification is already the present, even for a manufacturer of sports cars. Just look at the success it is enjoying in sales.

Lately, every time we test a new electric car something similar happens to us: as the days go by sharing kilometres, this technology convinces us more… except when it comes to visiting the “amps and volts” petrol station. Although in this respect too manufacturers are advancing by leaps and bounds with ever greater ranges, while those responsible for improving the charging infrastructure are lagging behind, though hopefully not for long.

And without further ado, let’s go straight to trying to convey the impressions it left us with after a few days of living with the Porsche Taycan, the first car from the Stuttgart brand in a generation of electric vehicles that will keep surprising us in the coming years.

Porsche Taycan: a review of the range and prices

With the range now complete in terms of engines, which now grows with the addition of the Cross Turismo bodywork version (here you can read our first contact with the Taycan Cross Turismo), you can currently opt for a Porsche Taycan from 85,710 euros. This is the rear-wheel-drive model, offered in two variants: the Performance, with 408 CV of power and a 71 kWh battery, which provides 430 km of range; or the Performance Plus with an 84 kWh battery, 474 CV and 485 km of range.

From here on, all versions, both the 4S and the Turbo, have two motors and all-wheel drive; they are likewise combined with two battery sizes. The 4S Performance with the 71 kWh battery delivers 530 CV and reaches 408 km of range, while the 4S Performance Plus with the 84 kWh battery reaches 571 CV and increases range to 464 km. Finally, the Taycan Turbo delivers 680 CV and exceeds 450 km of range, while the Turbo S rises to 761 CV, with 416 km of range, in both cases with the large-capacity battery.

These are the range prices:

• Taycan Performance: 85,710 euros
• Taycan Performance Plus: 91,530 euros
• Taycan 4S Performance: 109,063 euros
• Taycan 4S Performance Plus: 114,063 euros
• Taycan Turbo: 156,374 euros
• Taycan Turbo S: 190,245 euros

In summary, all versions of the Taycan, even the least powerful, exceed 400 CV of power, while the Taycan with the least range (always the combined figure according to the WLTP cycle) can cover 408 km on a single charge. The one with the most range reaches 485 km.

As a curious point regarding price, for what a Taycan Turbo S costs you can buy two Taycan Performance and have change left over. Another note: in the versions where you can choose between the Performance or Performance Plus variant, the price difference for the larger-capacity battery (and the extra CV that comes with it) is around 6,000 euros. We also once did the exercise of kitting out a Porsche Taycan with every option, and we were in for a surprise.

The Taycan we tested is a 4S Performance Plus. Let’s repeat its calling card: 571 CV, 650 Nm of maximum torque and up to 464 km of range in the most favourable conditions.

Some technical notes: the Taycan stripped bare

If you want to know directly what I thought of the Porsche Taycan, you can skip to the next section. But my advice is not to stop reading the following lines. It’s always worth knowing a little theory before moving on to practice.

The Taycan 4S uses two permanent-magnet synchronous motors, which are more expensive than the other type of motor used in electric cars today, induction asynchronous motors. They are more costly, but Porsche can afford it, mainly because they offer important advantages for a car like this: they are lighter and more efficient. An important detail is that the maximum power and torque figures are not always there: they are only achieved when accelerating hard and activating the Launch Control system.

The battery, made up of 396 cells grouped into modules of 12 cells each, is located under the floor. We have already noted its total usable capacity, almost 84 kWh, with a gross capacity of a little over 93 kWh. The total weight of the battery exceeds 600 kg; that’s no small thing. Its nominal operating voltage is very high: 720 volts. It features a sophisticated liquid cooling system that works based on driving style, the programme selected in the car, the outside temperature… The battery warranty is 8 years or up to 160,000 km, a standard nowadays for electric cars.

Two-speed transmission: a rara avis among electric cars

An interesting and distinctive aspect of the Taycan is the two-speed transmission used on the rear axle, whereas it is normal for electric cars to have only one forward gear. The front motor drives the wheels of this axle through a single-speed gearbox, whose gear ratio matches that of the second gear of the rear motor.

The aim is to maximise acceleration, so first gear is used only in the sportier modes. In any case, I can tell you in advance that from the driver’s seat you won’t be able to tell whether it has one gear, two, seven… or infinite. You will only feel an immediate and forceful response, directly proportional to how hard you press the accelerator.

More things. The sleek bodywork has a drag coefficient Cx of 0.22 (in the most favourable case), which is an exceptional figure. Contributing to this are the fully faired underbody, the retractable door handles or the special design of some wheels, as well as the rear spoiler and the active air flaps in the front air intakes, which can adopt three positions. The bodywork is made from different types of steel and aluminium, and the structure housing the battery is bolted to it, adding rigidity to the chassis.

The Taycan’s chassis: configurable à la carte

Continuing with the chassis, one relevant figure is its weight: 2,295 kg, almost 200 kg more than a Porsche Cayenne Coupé. But even more significant is the fact that the centre of gravity is lower than in any other Porsche model, including the 911. The stability control can be switched off completely, or set to a Sport position that will delight those who prefer to feel the wheels slide during sporty driving, but without taking risks.

The Taycan 4S comes as standard with active suspension with body roll stabilisation and air springs, and can optionally be fitted with various elements that have a direct impact on dynamic behaviour, such as traction control with the Porsche Torque Vectoring system (1,500 euros), rear-axle steering (around 2,380 euros), high-performance brakes (3,000 euros), ceramic brakes (9,000 euros) or the dynamic chassis control system (3,300 euros).

But don’t be alarmed: as it comes equipped as standard, the Taycan 4S is already a surprising car with superb dynamic behaviour, without needing to look at the options list. The standard tyres are 225/55 at the front and 275/45 at the rear, on 19-inch wheels; our test car was fitted with the optional 20-inch Aero design wheels and superb Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres in 245/45 at the front and 285/40 at the rear.

An important point, because even with this low-profile and wider tyre fitment the Taycan still offers a remarkable ride comfort, especially with the air suspension. The range of optional wheels goes up to 21 inches, with carbon “aeroblade” designs, tyres up to 305 mm wide and 30 in aspect ratio, and a top option price of over 8,000 euros.

The interior of the Porsche Taycan: minimalist and futuristic

It feels strange to get behind the wheel of a Porsche and not have to reach to the left to turn a key or press the corresponding “start” button, and even less so not to hear any hum once everything is “ready” to set off. But that’s how it is. Or rather, that’s how it can be. There is a start button, and it is to the left of the steering wheel, of course. But the Taycan can recognise you as its owner when you have the key on you and you don’t even need to switch the ignition on. You fasten your seatbelt, select “D” on the gear selector and the journey begins.

The absence of controls is just as striking as the number of screens, of which there are three as standard: the instrument display, the multimedia system screen and the centre console screen between the seats for climate control and other functions. Optionally a fourth screen of the same size as the multimedia system’s (nearly 11 inches) can be installed in front of the passenger seat, so that the entire dashboard is covered in displays.

It takes some time to get used to the few controls; I particularly struggled to get used to the small lever-style selector for the gear position, located to the right of the steering wheel. The rest of the controls are grouped on either side of the instrument display, plus everything that can be operated from the steering wheel. Once you have everything in order and memorised, it’s not hard to find the functions you want, or to navigate the menus of the multimedia system or the fully configurable instrument display.

That said, my favourite control is the rotary dial located on a satellite on the steering wheel, which lets you choose between the driving modes: range, normal, sport, sport plus, sport crono or individual. On the touchscreen you can configure some of the parameters of each driving mode, for example whether you want the artificial sound to be active or not. A sound that, incidentally, I found too “synthetic”. It seems that at Porsche they didn’t want to emulate the noise of a combustion engine, something that would be relatively easy to do. Instead they have chosen a noise that accompanies and even stimulates during driving, but which I find too artificial; especially when braking, it is reminiscent of a spaceship in science fiction films.

A sports car for four

What I liked least about the Taycan is that, despite its luxurious and sophisticated appearance, certain finishing details in some areas (lower part of the doors, joints between the centre pillar and the lower trim) and the look of some materials seem to me to be improvable. Especially if the reference point is its “first cousin”, the Audi e-tron GT, which we already had the chance to drive during the national presentation. Here you have our first contact with the e-tron GT. The personalisation possibilities are almost endless. We once did the exercise of configuring the most expensive Porsche Taycan you can buy, and here is the result, as an example.

Porsche offers two cabin configurations, with four or five seats, although in the latter case it would be more accurate to speak of a “2+1”, given how little use the middle seat is. It’s not that the four-seat configuration gives much more space in the rear seats, but they are reasonable for accommodating two adults, though they never reach the comfort of a Panamera.

Unlike what happens with the rear seats, where passengers won’t have the space one might expect from a five-metre saloon, the driver will feel as if at the wheel of a true sports car. Two notes: getting out of the car is harder than usual, because the seat sits low and there is a bulky sill to step over; and with the panoramic glass roof you may on more than one occasion miss a sunblind to reduce the light (and the heat) in the cabin.

As for luggage capacity, there are almost 450 litres split between the main boot, of 365 litres, and the more than 80 under the front bonnet (which, incidentally, I believe is the first time at Porsche that it has no lining and the bare metal is visible), which come in very handy for carrying the charging cables. Although its silhouette might suggest otherwise, access to the boot is through a hinged cover below the rear window. Those who value the versatility a tailgate provides and need more cargo space may want to look at the Cross Turismo.

On the road with the Porsche Taycan 4S

Cramp in your right ankle from pulling your foot up and holding back the urge to accelerate. That is the anticipated diagnosis of what will happen to you if you get the chance to drive a Porsche Taycan 4S and you’re not on a track. If with any of the most powerful Porsche with a combustion or hybrid engine it is hard not to feel tempted to push the right foot all the way down, whether to hear the roar of the engine, to feel its acceleration or for both, in the Taycan exactly the same thing happens, noise aside.

Four seconds to go from 0 to 100 km/h. Perhaps this gives you an idea, but the Taycan’s acceleration capability and what you feel as it gains speed cannot be explained by the stopwatch alone. Although this is not the only thing that will surprise you about the Taycan: wait until you need to overtake, or until the time comes to link a series of bends.

The Taycan 4S is not the most powerful version in the range, but you don’t need to go up to the Turbo S to feel vertigo when you accelerate hard and your back is pressed into the seat. It does so almost instantly, no matter the speed at which you press the accelerator. I remember perfectly well – those things are not forgotten – the first time I felt something similar behind the wheel of a car: it was in the Audi RS 2 Avant, curiously a car that also bore the signature of Porsche. But in the RS 2 you could hold onto the steering wheel and you had to count to three; in the Taycan, action and reaction are immediate.

You might think that if this is the case when accelerating in a straight line, the Taycan will be a car that is hard to drive fast when the road takes a capricious course. Nothing could be further from the truth. The “all-wheel electric traction” not only ensures that each wheel receives the right amount of torque so that grip is always superb, but also it is possible to play with the torque distribution to modify the car’s behaviour depending on the selected programme and the driving situation.

Simply put, there is no other saloon of this size and weight that offers cornering like the Taycan’s. It grips as much as it accelerates, as if it were stuck to the ground following a track you cannot leave, in the purest slot-car style. It requires concentration. But rather than for braking, aiming with the steering wheel or dosing the power on exit from corners, what matters is managing with a clear head how fast you can get from one corner to the next.

The more experienced drivers (not to mention those at “racer” level) will soon dare to devote the right foot solely to the accelerator, and use the left for the brake. Because the Taycan changes the way you drive compared with any sports car with a combustion engine. At least if you want to go as fast as the engine, chassis and brakes allow. Of course, it also requires interaction from the driver, who can configure the car to slow down automatically when you lift off the accelerator gently or more noticeably, or to offer no deceleration at all. With the Taycan you can drive taking advantage of the braking capacity of the energy recovery system before resorting to the brakes. But if you don’t do this well in advance and calculate properly, the sensation will be very “on-off”.

The driver assistance systems are there, and they do their part, but without being intrusive or taking away from the pleasure of driving. And I liked the brakes very much, an aspect that always tends to earn top marks on the sportier cars from the Stuttgart brand, and which also gets the highest mark on the first electric Porsche, both for stopping power and distance as well as the feel and resistance of the pedal, with no noticeable transition between the electric braking phase and the phase in which the pads bite the discs, which doesn’t require the ceramic option.

Consumption, range and charging of the Porsche Taycan

Apart from a Panamera Turbo S e-Hybrid for the few kilometres its battery lasts, there is no Porsche that goes fast and can use little. And the Taycan is no exception, even though its consumption is purely electric.

Officially, according to WLTP homologated figures, the Taycan 4S needs 22 kWh of energy to cover 100 km. But as with all electric cars, and especially powerful ones like this, that consumption is very sensitive to pace. If you drive gently and the route includes urban stretches you can easily achieve averages of around 20 kWh/100 km, with the stress of holding back and not being able to enjoy what the Taycan does so wonderfully: accelerate. If you let your right foot loose, you’ll see figures on the on-board computer of around 35 kWh/100 km. The average consumption accumulated during our test, combining all kinds of driving, was 28 kWh/100 km.

Planning routes of between 350 and 380 km without stopping at a charger is reasonable without taking risks; however, you cannot rely on a domestic socket, where you would need not a clock but a calendar to mark the days – yes, you read that right, practically two days – needed to recharge the battery. Mind you, we are talking about journeys long enough to make you consider long trips, and in these situations the Taycan can be a very comfortable saloon. Not as comfortable as a luxury saloon such as an Audi A8; nor as a sporty luxury saloon like a Panamera. But it surprises how well it absorbs bumps.

The most sensible approach to charging is, at the very least, to consider using the standard integrated 11 kW charger (a 22 kW optional unit is now available) and a wallbox to charge at home, with “slow” charging taking around 9 hours, and to schedule charging if you’re going on a trip taking advantage of the Taycan’s ability to charge at high power. It accepts up to 270 kW, which allows 80% of the charge to be recovered in just 20 minutes… as long as you find one of the few superchargers – Porsche belongs to the network integrated by Ionity – on our roads.

The turbochargers that Porsche already has operating at its dealerships in some cities can be a great help, as can the charging points the brand offers at some facilities frequented by its customers, with 11 kW chargers that provide a “boost” of energy while the car is parked.

Image gallery of the Porsche Taycan 4S

Technical specifications of this car

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