A new king is born
Porsche’s all-electric Taycan is finally here. Nile Bijoux finds out if it is a true Tesla killer.
This is one of those moments that people in years to come will think about and wonder, ‘‘what was it like?’’ Just like the Jaguar E-Type hitting 100mph on the British motorways, the launch of the first-generation Ford Mustang or the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, we are living in a brand-new age in automotive history. The age of electricity.
I’ve been under a rock the past five years. Red pill me on what exactly this is?
The Turbo S is the top dog of the Taycan pack, using two motors to provide propulsion, one per axle, generating a combined 560kW/ 1050Nm. That’s enough to send the Taycan to 100kmh in a claimed 2.8 seconds. Compare that to the spec sheet of its main rival, the Tesla Model S, where you’ll find power figures of 592kW and 1373Nm of twist and a 0-100kmh time of 2.5 seconds.
Other bells and whistles include a 93kWh battery pack good for 407km of displayed range, support for fast charging at up to 270kW and a bunch of tech like surround view cameras, active cruise control with lane-keep assist (that’s standard on all Taycan models, quite generous of Porsche) front seat ventilation, steering wheel heating, rear side airbags, electrically folding exterior mirrors, digital radio and privacy glazing.
Oh, and the ‘‘Turbo S’’ moniker? People will be forever saying ‘‘but where’s the turbo?’’ before collapsing into guffaws but it really signifies that this is the top of the Taycan stack. It’s a sub-brand, really. After all, every 911 is turbocharged now and there’s still a Turbo model.
Right, I’m caught up. It’s not a sports car?
It’s an absolutely beautiful fourdoor sedan, a bit smaller than the Panamera in overall size. The design is somehow futuristic and current, with the four DRLs around the main headlight contrasting with the slash down the bumper and offering a unique visual signature from the front. The black and silver wheels look almost like white-wall tyres from the 1950s and 1960s, and the black roof hides a tinted panoramic sunroof. If the Jaguar I-Pace from last week turned heads, the Taycan downright snaps necks.
Stationary, the Taycan looks like an ultra-modern Porsche but as soon as it starts moving, it’s clear this is a different beast.
Porsche hasn’t exactly embraced the inherently quiet nature of electric power, giving the Taycan a soundtrack to help appease naysayers claiming the aural experience of a petrol engine can’t be replicated or beaten.
No, this doesn’t sound like a howling flat-six and it never will. Porsche hasn’t emulated any combustion sounds, instead opting for a sci-fi soundtrack that goes hand-in-hand with the Taycan’s spaceship looks. By default, it hums and oohs itself along the road but a setting called Electric Sports Sound adds bass, extra harmonies and boosts the volume to really imprint the sound of the future in your mind.
As a bonus for passers-by, it plays outside the car too. Much better than hearing tinny reggae blasted at maximum volume from a loudspeaker mounted on an ancient Subaru, in my opinion. You do have to enable it every time you get in the car, along with any other settings you may have changed, which is annoying. Should be a simple over-the-air software fix, though.
Stop drooling. What’s it like to drive?
There are five drive modes, Range, Normal, Sports, Sports Plus and Individual which are pretty selfexplanatory. Range and Normal are what you’ll probably use most of the time and Sports Plus is the one you want for scaring friends and family. Because when everything is set to its sharpest, this is one of, if not the, fastest mass-production cars on New Zealand roads.
Despite shifting more than 2.3 tonnes of metal and batteries, the Taycan launches unlike anything else I’ve driven. It’s brutal, it hurts, it’s almost unpleasant. Almost. You cross the 100kmh threshold before your brain has realised it just corrected all four wheels lighting up for the briefest of moments.
Do it again – slower this time, moron – and you might detect the slight thunk of the two-speed gearbox changing at around 70kmh. That gearbox is the biggest reason why the Taycan beats the Model S in straight line sprints. It also helps improve range while cruising by letting the motors spin slower.
Pitch it into a corner and there’s more grip than your face knows what to do with, partly thanks to 305-section rear tyres. Four-wheel steering is standard on the Turbo S, turning the rear wheels in the same direction as the fronts at high speed to increase stability and in the opposite direction at low speed to improve manoeuvrability.
As mentioned, all four wheels are driven and Porsche’s system sends power to each end before you even register any slippage. The result is, for any sheep watching from the side of the road, a sedanshaped blur with a contorted, white-knuckled, slightly terrified
driver at the helm. I freaking love it.
So, does it beat the Tesla?
Well, that’s a tough one. In terms of raw performance (and based on a brief experience in a Model S about three years ago), I would say the Taycan edges it, but it’s close. That two-speed gearbox cinches it.
The Taycan looks better, Porsche has better quality control, and can build an overall better car than Tesla, so the Germans win there, too, but the big Achilles heel is price.
The Turbo S costs a cool $163,399 more than a fully kitted Model S. For that, you can buy a Model S with Autopilot and all the other extras and have change for an entire 718 Cayman S.
Given these two EVs are in a class of their own, there aren’t any other options.
If it were my coin I’d take the Porsche and get a bit friendlier with the bank.