BASE PASSIONS
The new RWD Taycan, tried and tested.
Are you one of those marque enthusiasts who reckons a Porsche isn’t a ‘proper’ Porsche unless it’s rear-wheel drive? If so, say hello to the first Taycan observing your preference for power pushing from the back. Save for the 911 and its Carrera nameplate, as with every other current Porsche model range, there’s no trim identifier on the base-spec Taycan — you simply settle for the standard Taycan script at the rear. And, while our strangely coloured Zuffenhausen-supplied demonstrator looks a lot like the Taycan 4S (which landed in 2019 ready for the 2020 model year), what makes this new base model stand out from the crowd is the fact it’s propelled by a single electric motor. The unit is mounted on the rear axle, along with its attendant two-speed reduction-gear transmission, resulting in the Porsche purist’s first choice: rear-wheel drive.
Does this mean we’re looking at the Taycan of choice for the true driving enthusiast? Maybe. You see, there’s another attribute on the side of the rear-driven Taycan: its relative paucity of motors makes it the lightest variant of the all-electric Porsche to date. Specified as the boggo Taycan Performance Battery (PB) and offered from £70,690, the model tips scales at just 2,050kg. Granted, we’re not talking about GT department lightweighting, but for a luxurious, premium EV, it’s a commendable figure.
Eco-conscious types will also like many of the entry level Taycan’s other brochure highlights: add in the
Performance Battery Pack (PBP) for £4,049 and the single-deck, 79.2kwh lithium-ion unit in the floor of the Taycan is replaced with the doubledeck, 93.4kwh pack from the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S models, resulting in the biggest range on a single charge of
A BIG PART OF THE APPEAL IS HOW THIS BASE MODEL TAYCAN FEELS AS THOUGH IT ENJOYS DIRECTION CHANGES MORE THAN ITS HEAVIER SIBLINGS
any Taycan so far — Porsche claims an impressive 301 miles can be achieved on the catchily named Worldwide Harmonized Light-duty Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) cycle. The PBP can charge at a faster, 270kw DC rate than the PB (225kw), but all Taycans from the top of the tree to the bottom have broadly the same rapid battery replenishment times.
From our point of view, there’s a good reason to opt for PBP beyond merely quashing range anxiety. Fit the 93.4kwh battery and Porsche deigns to give you more power for your RWD electric drivetrain. Nominally, PBP will deliver 375bhp and 263lb-ft torque, significantly ahead of the PB’S equivalent output of 322bhp and 255lb-ft, but on a timelimited ‘overboost’ phase during Launch Control sequences, PBP’S output rises to a peak of 469bhp. That’s a significant sixty-seven ponies more than the PB’S 402bhp maximum.
A CUT ABOVE
As we’ve already stated, the singlemotor Taycan looks much like the 4S, what with its black lower-body detailing, black undersides to each door mirror and nineteen-inch standard Aero alloys. Our test car, however, was enhanced with a whopping number of optional extras (see boxout on page 16), which meant it looked much sharper than base specification, providing you like pink paint. Inside, the entry level Taycan is simply marvellous. It has less-fancy front seats than its stablemates and is equipped with part-leather upholstery — Porsche takes great pleasure in promoting Taycan as its first product available with a completely leatherfree interior, although, strangely, lack
of cow is a £2,538 option on cars not boasting full leather as standard — but it also has the 16.8-inch Curved Display, the 10.9-inch Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment and the third touchscreen for the climate controls. Our test car even had the 10.9inch Passenger Display, bringing the screen count in the front to four!
In general, the entry level Taycan’s cabin feels no less special than that of the Turbo S. It’s also arguably the most practical model in the line-up — fewer motors and gearboxes means this excellent EV boasts more luggage space than the faster Taycans, offering a total of 494 litres of cargo capacity split across the rear (407 litres) and front (87 litres) storage areas.
We must couch our driving impressions in the context of the fact Porsche added a decent chunk of chassis-sharpening hardware to our vehicle. In other words, we can’t yet tell you what the standard Taycan (loaded with steel coil springs, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) dampers and steel brakes with blackpainted calipers) feels like. Our Stuttgartsupplied speed machine featured air springs, Porsche Surface Coated Brakes (PSCB) and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTP Plus), meaning it was much closer in specification to a Taycan 4S or Turbo than we were expecting. Of course, the car drove brilliantly. A big part of the appeal is how this base model Taycan feels as though it enjoys direction changes more than its heavier siblings — a direct corollary of its reduced mass. The steering is magnificent and there are definite sensations indicating the car is rear-driven, not least as you feel this terrific Taycan squirming as it exits tight bends when a fair amount of power
THE DRIVE ISN’T AS DEMENTEDLY SAVAGE AS THAT OF A TAYCAN TURBO OR TURBO S, BUT THIS IS STILL PLENTY FAST ENOUGH FOR MOST FOLK
is dialled in. The car moves around even more when you’re working the brakes into a corner. This isn’t a transformative experience, of course. After all, it would be remiss to ignore the fact four-wheel-drive Taycans drive so sweetly, but this rear-wheel drive model has a character of its own, generated by dint of it being a single-motor machine.
Otherwise, it’s as per the rest of the Taycan family: incredibly refined, supremely comfortable to travel in and a vehicle instigating an enormous sense of wellbeing in its occupants. This Porsche feels quick, too, stepping off the line smartly and hauling hard beyond 62mph. It almost instantly picks up mid-range on the motorway, too. Admittedly, the drive isn’t as dementedly savage as that of a Taycan Turbo or Turbo S, but this is still plenty fast enough for most folk,
with that eerie EV shove being extraordinarily addictive.
As for Porsche’s claims of this being the longest-range Taycan yet, we don’t doubt them. We must admit, we drove our Frozen Berry Metallic machine on a sub-zero day with snow on the ground, sapping overall range capability to 211 miles with ninety-nine percent battery charge, but we still managed to cover 165 miles of mixed roads commanding demanding driving and were left with forty miles of range available at the end of our adventure. Indeed, seventeen percent of battery life was still in play.
With all this taken into consideration, we’re sure more circumspect manners behind the wheel, warmer temperatures and a few more miles beneath the Taycan’s wheels would see circa threehundred miles on a single charge being easily achievable.
BACK TO THE FRONT
In 2020, Taycan was Porsche’s second best-selling model in the UK, pipped to the top spot only by the Macan crossover SUV. There’s no doubt the addition of this, a less expensive, longer-range Taycan, is going to boost interest in Porsche’s ground-breaking all-electric sports car, and we’re happy to go on record saying Taycan is brilliant being pushed from the rear. It’s not quite as gobsmacking as the Turbo or Turbo S, of course, but then again, as suggested at the start of this article, many Porsche purists like to fly the flag for rear-wheel drive, which is why, if they’re interested in being a participant in the manufacturer’s all-electric revolution, they’d be well advised to buy the base model Taycan, add PBP and revel in this aspect of its technical make-up. They won’t be disappointed. •