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The Porsche Taycan has been updated, with changes including a longer driving range and even faster ultra-rapid charging; it remains one of the most rewarding electric car driving experiences.
The Porsche Taycan has been one of the main choices for motorists who want to go electric but who also want a rewarding, sporty driving experience. The Taycan has now been updated, with one of the key changes being a longer driving range; should it still be near the top of your electric driver’s car shortlist?
The updated Porsche Taycan gains more power, quicker acceleration, longer range, even faster charging, and minor changes to the front and rear styling. A key change for the entry-level Taycan is that it now comes with adaptive air suspension as standard, and as well as rear-wheel drive (as tested) it’s now available with all-wheel drive. The Taycan retains its two-speed rear axle.
The improved driving range is a result of the Performance Battery Plus now having a gross energy content of 105 kWh (97 kWh net useable), increased from 93 kWh, as well as other changes to the electric powertrain and its management.
The Taycan is low and long (4,963 mm). Despite the length, legroom for rear passengers is quite tight, and the Taycan doesn’t have a hatchback, but a boot, offering 407 litres of space, and it also has a front 84-litre luggage compartment.
The Porsche Taycan feels like it has been engineered for driving on a racetrack. The Taycan sits very low, the driving position is excellent, you have immediate responses from the electric motor (which delivers a 0-62 mph time of 4.8 seconds), and the car changes direction instantly in response to steering inputs. One significant change is that the previous base Taycan model was fitted with steel-spring suspension, but now all Taycan models come as standard with adaptive two-chamber air suspension including Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM). This results in the car having excellent body control through corners but also having supple ride quality. It also deals impressively with the 2,170 kg kerb weight.
The rear-wheel drive chassis delivers more of a pure and rewarding Porsche driving experience than all-wheel drive on winding country roads. And on the motorway, the Taycan feels extremely planted, as well as being quiet and refined. Of course if you want more performance, then you can opt for other models in the range.
The Taycan now has a drive mode switch on the steering wheel as standard, offering the options of Range, Normal and Sport. You can also change the suspension settings, including the options of Sport and Sport Plus, and switch off the traction control by holding a button on the top right of the driver’s instrument display – like a few other controls such as the gear selector, this is slightly hidden behind the steering wheel.
The Taycan’s brakes are also very effective, although you’d imagine that the car would have steering wheel-mounted paddles to allow adjustment of the level of regenerative braking, similar to the way in which you would achieve engine braking by changing gear on a petrol-powered Porsche. But the only way to change the level of brake regen is via a very small button hidden away in the touchscreen. Another hidden-away control is the small button to switch off the lane departure warning system, which is located at the bottom of the cruise control stalk on the left of the steering column.
As well as the Taycan’s driving experience being excellent, so too is the infotainment system. This was also the case with the previous-generation Taycan, and it makes you wonder how Porsche got it so right, yet other brands within the Volkswagen Group struggled with the touchscreen user journey. The central touchscreen isn’t as large as some other competitors, but it has clear buttons for key permanent shortcuts such as Nav, Media, Phone and Car down the right-hand side, and these buttons are also accessible on a second screen underneath the main central touchscreen, which mainly houses the climate controls.
The Porsche Taycan has an official WLTP combined electric driving range of 416 miles, which is impressive, although our real-world range figure fell short of this, at 330 miles. The Taycan has a combined electrical consumption figure of 3.59 miles/kWh.
The previous generation Taycan had an ultra-rapid DC charging rate of 270 kW; this has been improved further in the updated model to 320 kW, although it’s worth noting that Porsche says that ultra-rapid charging capacities of more than 300 kW can only be sustained for up to five minutes. Nevertheless, the technology can deliver a 10% to 80% charge in 18 minutes.
The Taycan also has an on-board AC charger with up to 11 kW of power, and the car features a heat pump. An electric charging cover now comes standard.
The Porsche Charging Service enables access to the charging points of a range of providers all over the world. Currently, almost 600,000 charging points are connected in Europe in 24 countries. This includes about 35,000 charging points of 150 kW or higher charging power and almost 600 ultra-rapid IONITY network sites in Europe. Porsche is also planning to build its own fast charging stations along the major European transport routes.
The Porsche Taycan is priced at £88,200. Our test car came with the options of Dolomite Silver Metallic paint (£897), 20-inch Turbo Sport Aero Wheels (£1,953), Leather interior (£1,671), 4+1 seats (£370), seat heating front and rear (£338), Porsche Electric Sound (£389), Surround View with Active Parking Support (£1,088), and BOSE Surround Sound System (£1,093), taking the total price to £95,999.
There’s now a wide range of Taycan models to choose from, with three body variants: saloon, Cross Turismo, and Sport Turismo. The full range is comprised of the Taycan, Taycan 4S, Taycan Turbo, Taycan Turbo S; Taycan 4 Cross Turismo, Taycan 4S Cross Turismo, Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo, Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo; Taycan Sport Turismo, Taycan 4S Sport Turismo, Taycan Turbo Sport Turismo and Taycan Turbo S Sport Turismo. Three additional models have also recently been added: the Taycan 4 saloon (the entry-level model with all-wheel drive), Taycan GTS and Taycan GTS Sport Turismo.
Since it was first introduced the Porsche Taycan has been the obvious choice for drivers who want to go electric but who also want a rewarding sporty driver’s car. The updated Taycan is even more appealing, with a key selling point being a longer driving range, and even faster ultra-rapid charging. And in the case of the entry-level rear-wheel drive model as tested, it gains adaptive air suspension as standard, which helps it to maintain tight body control as well as comfortable ride quality. If your daily drive is more about motorways than country roads, then you’ll find that the Taycan is very refined, as well as being extremely planted to the road. There’s plenty of performance on offer in the base saloon model, but you can also opt for variants with more power, all-wheel drive, and the Cross Turismo and Sport Turismo models. The Taycan, even in base form, can’t be described as an affordable EV, and the price can escalate substantially with options. Nevertheless the updated Porsche Taycan retains its Green Car Guide rating of 10 out of 10.
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Paul Clarke, GreenCarGuide Editor
