Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo Review

Various powertrains have been added since launch, so there’s now an entry-level, rear-wheel drive Taycan Sport Turismo with two battery sizes on offer, but the Cross Turismo and every other variant of the Sport Turismo all get dual motors for all-wheel drive, and the big-battery offering as standard. There’s also a wide variety of power-outputs ranging from “blimey that’s quick” right up to uncontrollable screaming and requests for sick bags. Whatever your lifestyle, there’s a Porsche Taycan to suit you. Provided you’ve got the sizeable budget for it, that is…

Range, battery and charging

There are two batteries available in the cheapest version of the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo, with a 79kWh or 93kWh pack (offering usable capacity of 71- or 84kWh respectively) to choose from. That brings a combined WLTP range of between 222- and 268 miles. The 93kWh battery – called the Performance Plus Battery in official Porsche boardroom speak – is standard in every other Sport Turismo variant, and in the whole Cross Turismo range, and brings a WLTP range of up to 304 miles. 

Thanks to the Taycan’s clever two-speed gearbox, it’s pretty efficient on a steady motorway drive, so we’d expect to see around 230- to 280 miles depending on the temperature. Naturally, that’ll drop rapidly if you decide to make the most of the performance on offer, regardless of which model you’ve got, and real-world range will be below 200 miles in spirited use. 

The Taycan gets an 800V charging system, which means that it can charge at up to 270kW, making this one of the fastest charging electric cars on sale. Find a charging station powerful enough to deliver the full charging potential, and the Taycan is capable of sucking up enough electricity for a 100 mile top-up in under 10 minutes, or a 10-80% battery charge in under 20 minutes.  

Unusually, you also get a Type 2 socket (which is where you plug in to charge more slowly from a home wallbox or office charge point, normally) on both front wings of the Taycan, which means you don’t have stretch a cable across the car if your parked the wrong side of the charger. There’s only one CCS socket, though, which you’ll use to charge up at a rapid charger.

Practicality and boot space

Regardless of whether you want the mildly off-roady Cross Turismo or low and sleek Sport Turismo, you’re getting a more practical version of the superb Porsche Taycan; complete with a longer roofline, roof bars, more space in the back seats and a larger, hatchback boot. 

The Cross Turismo’s underbody protection, wheelarch cladding and ride height that’s raised by 20mm over the standard Porsche Taycan also makes it a slightly more practical car that’ll do bumpy, unpaved tracks and muddy yards with no problem. 

There are better options for rear passenger space, though. Tall adults in the back seats might find the headroom limited, but most will be comfy enough. You can pay extra for a ‘2+1’ rear seat arrangement, which brings more deeply sculpted outer seats but a more compromised middle pew. Honestly, if five-occupant travel is a priority, you’d be best off looking to rivals like the BMW i5, Mercedes EQE or Jaguar I-Pace.

As for boot space, you get 446 litres in the hatchback loadbay and a further 84 litres in the nose of the car. It’s not as big or as useful a space as you get in performance SUVs like the BMW iX and Audi Q8 e-tron, for instance, but it is way better than the standard Taycan saloon, and will do a good enough job for most small families. 

You can’t tow with the Taycan Sport or Cross Turismo, but you can get a variety of very pricey, bespoke ‘lifestyle’ dealer-fit options including a bike carrier, roof box and ski-rack.  

Interior, design/styling and technology

The Taycan Turismo variants look absolutely brilliant regardless of which one you go for, and they get more muscular and aggressive-looking as you climb past the mid-range 4S and head towards Turbo and Turbo S territory. There are also some really great, interesting colours available on the Taycan, too, including a very swish powder blue, a desert-camo beige and a metallic rose-gold - to name only a few. 

At nearly 5.0-metres long, this isn’t a small car. That doesn’t make it hard or intimidating to drive, but you’ll be grateful for the standard reversing camera, though.

The cabin is a real selling point. The minimalist looking dash is complete with dense, classy-feeling materials and a low, sportscar-like driving position – don’t expect an SUV-feel in here, even in the more rugged Cross Turismo. Details like the curved, frameless screen behind the steering wheel really make this feel special, even more so than the Audi e-tron GT that shares the same platform and has a bit more of a GT-oriented feel to its cabin and dynamics. There’s a variety of vegan interior finishes, or leather and Alcantara trimmings are also on offer.

There are screens to spare, too. Four of them, to be precise – the fully configurable driver’s screen can prioritise nav readout, driver info or otherwise. The 8.4-inch, letterbox shaped touchscreen is the main interface for your music, nav control and is where you’ll see Apple CarPlay or Android Auto readouts, while the huge iPad-style screen below it is mostly for climate control and vehicle adaptive dynamics setting. It’s a bit too easy to hit that lower screen by accident, to be honest, and with this many readouts to take in, it’s no surprise that the Taycan’s systems take a bit of familiarisation. When you’ve gotten used to them, though, it’s all fairly easy to use and the screen resolutions and response times are very good. 

All these screens are standard, but there’s a fourth, optional screen for the passenger, which gives them control over the media, plus various readouts. 

The Taycan isn’t terribly well equipped, and while you get a reversing camera, parking sensors and part-leather upholstery as standard, even adaptive cruise control is a pricey option, which is a poor show for such a pricey car. By the time you’ve added the paint and wheels you want, upgraded the seats to 14-way electric adjustment, plumped for a sound system upgrade and a panoramic glass roof, thrown in the optional adaptive dynamic stuff… It’s not difficult at all to spend the price of a small car on options for the Taycan. 

Motors, performance and handling

This is the best-handling electric car out there. End of. So, surprisingly, it’s also comfortable and a joy to cover big distances in – especially in the softly sprung Cross Turismo. 

The single motor Taycan Sport Turismo is the cheapest and least powerful of the lot, with ‘only’ 402bhp in overboost mode, and a 0-62mph of 5.4 seconds. 

Our pick of the entire kaleidoscope of Taycan models is the Cross Turismo 4S. It’s the best balance of comfy ride, all-weather confidence and playful handling that encourages you to make the most of the plentiful grip – and it’s a happy medium for cost, too. 

While it’s not small or light, the Taycan never ceases to amaze us with how wieldy and fun it is - it feels totally in its element on a twisty British country road, and the 4S is still bonkers with its 483bhp and 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds.

Just be careful of the bewildering array of optional extras that can change the way the car drives. These include air suspension (that replaces the standard adaptive suspension), active anti-roll bars that help to reduce body lean in corners, torque vectoring that shuffles power from corner to corner (it shuffles between the front and back wheels as standard), and rear wheel steering, which makes the back wheels turn slightly for a tighter turning circle and easier manoeuvring. 

We’d stick with the standard suspension, but add the rear-wheel steering and the active anti-roll bars, and you’ve got a peachy setup.

The Sport Turismo has firmer suspension, and you’ll notice a bit of thumping and fidgeting, especially at town speeds, but it’s still a really settled, lovely cruiser even if you don’t add the adaptive air suspension. 

As you step up the range through to the Turbo and Turbo S models, more of the adaptive dynamic features are included as standard, plus additional comfort and convenience kit. You also get 0-62mph times of around (or below, in the Turbo S’ case) 3.0sec. Fun, but honestly that sort of performance is mostly unusable on the public road - the 4S is more than fast enough for us, thanks.  

Running costs and pricing

We’ve already alluded to the fact that the Taycan isn’t cheap, so it’s no surprise that we say here that, er, it’s not cheap. Prices start from just over £80,000 for the Sport Turismo, and £88,000 for the Cross Turismo 4, but most buyers will pay well over £100,000 by the time they’ve plundered that options list. 

Is that bad value for money? Not really, no. The Audi e-tron GT offers more equipment for your cash and is a lovely car, so don’t discount that, but the handling, style and interior finish in the Taycan still makes this a standout option in the performance and luxury electric car rankings, so while it’s pricey, you don’t feel shortchanged for what you’re getting. 

Running costs won’t be cheap, and expect to pay top dollar for insurance and servicing. The Taycan is one of the more efficient options when it comes to this sort of performance level, though, so it’ll cost you a bit less on electricity than SUV rivals like the BMW iX, Mercedes EQE SUV and Audi Q8 e-tron. It’ll hold its value well, too, as this remains one of the most desirable electric cars on sale – new or used.  

Verdict

As if we need to say it again, we love the Porsche Taycan, and we’d take this gorgeous fastback estate body shape over the saloon every day. Sport Turismo or Cross Turismo, more modest performance or full-fat Turbo S, it’s just a joy to spend time in. It’s a real shame that it’s not better equipped as standard, and that it’s so bewilderingly complicated and expensive to configure, thanks to the endless options - never mind working out which adaptive dynamics features you want. But that’s our only big gripe. And if you ever need to prove to anyone that electric cars aren’t boring in the slightest, point them towards the Porsche Taycan and leave it at that.