Porsche Taycan review 2021

 Porsche Taycan review

The Porsche Taycan is a fast, luxury four- seater sports vehicle that's loaded with technology, comfortable to drive, and corners better than a Tesla Model S.

 

 

 

   What's good                                                                    

 

•  Stunning faces                                                                                                      

• Absolutely comfortable

• It's as much fun as a Porsche should be.

 

 What's not so good

 

• The boot isn't overly large.

• Alternatives to tight back-seat headroom

• offer a wider range. 

 Most popular:  Porsche Taycan 4S  420kW  93kWh  Auto
                             4 doors         Electric      Automatic

 Is the Porsche Taycan a good car? 

 

The new Porsche Taycan is more like a current Bluetooth speaker than a big Marshall guitar amplifier. It accomplishes the same goal, but in a far more high-tech and user-friendly manner.

Sure, all of its electrical gizmos are more akin to what you'd find under the hood of a Tesla Model S than a petrol-powered 911, but the Porsche Taycan's slinky form makes it clear this is an electric car designed to convert volts into outright speed. 

 

The Taycan's curving bonnet, delicate air intakes, and sleek sloping roofline resemble a cross between a Porsche 911 and a Porsche Panamera, while the laser-like full-width brake light and optional uber-aerodynamic alloy wheels provide a futuristic touch.

 

The Porsche Taycan follows this concept inside, with a driver-focused cabin layout and more tech than you can shake a memory stick at. There's a central infotainment screen, as well as a separate touchscreen for the car's heating and ventilation controls, in addition to the widescreen digital driver's display, which replaces Porsche's iconic analogue rev-counter. If you're okay with handing over the keys to the driving music, there's also an optional screen for the front-seat passenger above the glove box.

 

All of the batteries that power these screens, as well as those that power the Taycan's electric motors, are tucked beneath the car's floor, but you still sit low in the driver's seat.

The two back seats aren't quite as wide as the front ones – people over six feet tall may find headroom a little tight – but there's enough of knee room and plenty of cubby places to keep the Porsche Taycan's cabin tidy. For a ‘2+1' arrangement, a third seat belt is optional, but sitting in the middle is nothing short of a nightmare.

 

 

Unfortunately, boot space falls short of that of the Audi RS7, and the Taycan's front-boot isn't as large as that of the smaller 911. However, it's the ideal location for storing charging wires.

 

When it comes to charging, filling the Porsche Taycan's batteries from empty with a wall box at home will take roughly nine hours, while a 50kW public charger would take around 75 minutes to charge them from 0 to 80 percent. However, if you can locate a 270kW charger, this time will be reduced to just 23 minutes.

The entry-level Porsche Taycan can travel 268 miles with its batteries completely charged before needing to be recharged. When the rear-drive car's battery is upgraded, the range increases to 301 miles.

 

When you upgrade to 4S, the range drops to 257 miles. The Taycan Turbo can go up to 279 miles on a single charge, while the more powerful Turbo S can only do 257 miles. That's not awful – it'll get you through a few days of commuting – but the Tesla Model S Long Range still outperforms the competition with a 370-mile range.

 

In terms of performance, however, there's less to differentiate between the Porsche Taycan and the Tesla Model S. A top-spec Turbo S variant can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under 2.8 seconds and reach 161 mph, while the Tesla Model S Performance can do the same in 2.4 seconds and reach 155 mph.

Even though the rear-drive entry-level car can still complete the sprint in 5.4 seconds, it doesn't feel as speedy behind the wheel as that figure implies. The 4S is a little faster, going from 0 to 60 mph in under four seconds.

 

The Taycan's higher peak speed is due in part to its two-speed transmission. Most electric cars don't have a gearbox, but the Taycan has low- and high-speed gears to improve acceleration off the line, enhance top speed, and reduce energy usage while cruising.

The Porsche Taycan also has a number of high-tech electrical technologies that make it one of the most enjoyable electric cars to drive. The four-wheel-drive system, torque-vectoring system, air suspension (standard on all but entry-level cars), and steering are all controlled by these, making the Taycan seem considerably more nimble than most cars with a stack of heavy batteries.

 

Sure, its size prevents it from tackling a series of hairpins with the same fervor as the Porsche 911, but the Porsche Taycan's poise in tight corners will make a Tesla Model S envious.

The Porsche Taycan, like its petrol-powered Panamera cousin, is a great highway cruiser. Despite not having as many driver-assistance systems as the Tesla Model S, air suspension is included on all but the entry-level car (where it's a must-have option), and there's ample of sound insulation to make it even quieter and more comfortable to drive.

 

All of this means that the Porsche Taycan isn't just a fantastic electric car; it's also a true Porsche, deserving of a spot on your new-car shopping list. View the most recent Porsche Taycan lease offers.

 

 

How does it feel on the inside?

The interior of the Porsche Taycan looks and feels amazing, but Android Auto isn't available, and the optional fourth touchscreen feels like overkill. 

The inside of the Porsche Taycan has more high-tech gadgets than any other Porsche on the market, but the basic structure of its minimalist cabin isn't that different from that of a Panamera or a 911. The raised center console and letter-box windscreen cocoon you in the driver's seat, and the lozenge-like array of instrumentation in front of the steering wheel resemble those found in previous Porsche models.

The Taycan, unlike other Porsches, has a completely digital driver's display, as it is powered only by electric motors, eliminating the necessity for the German brand's distinctive analogue rev-counter.

Another new innovation for the future Taycan is the touchscreen heating and temperature settings, as well as the optional passenger screen above the glove box.

In terms of quality, it's standard Porsche fare, which means everything is incredibly soft and all the controls work with a satisfying solidity that feels more Fortnum & Mason than the occasional Fisher-Price items found in the Tesla Model S.

If you don't like the Porsche Taycan's conventional black and dark grey trim, you can opt for a variety of leather and leather-free finishes in 12 colour combinations, as well as wood, carbon fiber, or aluminum inserts in place of the normal door trims.

Infotainment

In front of the steering wheel on every Porsche Taycan is a large adjustable digital driver's display. This 17-inch screen features stylish visuals that resemble traditional analogue dials, as well as a row of touch-sensitive controls on one side that allow you to adjust the car's suspension and stability program settings.

The Porsche Taycan, like the 911 and Panamera, has a central touchscreen display on the dashboard for sat-nav, radio, and smartphone mirroring. The menu displays are attractive, but the lack of colourful icons makes it difficult to distinguish between them when driving.

There are no physical shortcut buttons to go from one major function to another, and it's a shame Porsche only lets you reflect Apple phones on the Taycan's built-in screen, not Android phones.

There are no buttons for the heating and ventilation settings, which are controlled via a touchscreen on the centre console, just like in an Audi RS7. Although this screen is stylish and complements the rest of the Taycan's futuristic interior, the portrait layout means that many of the icons are close together, making it difficult to consistently press the correct one.

If these three massive displays aren't enough for you, the Porsche Taycan also comes with an additional 11-inch touchscreen display for the front-seat passenger. This allows users to access numerous pieces of vehicle information as well as program the sat-nav, which is useful if you need to modify your path mid-way through a tight crossroads.