Rear-drive Porsche Taycan? Oh yes
Cheapest, lightest, most e cient: rear-wheel drive Taycan is the one
What year is it? Who’s the president? Honestly I’m not sure these days, but I do know I’m in the future when I park my electric Porsche and take a Teams video call with Taycan vehicle line director Robert Meier. There are many questions. This new entry-level model is the first rear-driven Taycan, so it’s the first Porsche to combine a classic sports-car layout with zero emissions – inevitably the template for some future 911/Cayman/Boxsters.
It’s also just as good at harvesting energy as all-wheel-drive Taycans, a surprise given the challenges of doing that on only the rear axle.
At £70,690, the new model’s almost £13k cheaper than the Taycan 4S (£10k cheaper than a Tesla Model S) but removing the front e-motor drops power as well as drive. So the standard car’s 402bhp with overboost is 121bhp off even a 4S and Robert’s asking if I think it’s actually quick enough, and to be honest I’d been looking at the 2050kg kerbweight thinking, blimey, porker neatly sums it up.
But slow is definitely the incorrect adjective. The throttle is primed like a trigger; squeeze it and the Taycan gathers speed rapidly and effortlessly, and still feels equally energetic at high road speeds. Sometimes you feel like you’re appearing in other drivers’ rear-views like a bathroom mirror heart-stopper in a horror flick.
Of course it doesn’t explode forwards like a Turbo S (733bhp!), exceptional as that car is, but the comparatively measured rate of progress is arguably more engaging on a twisty road, where a Turbo S is more of a funfair ride. Plus this Taycan has the best full-to-empty range.
Optional equipment alert! For £4049, our test car upgrades from the stock 79.2kWh battery to 93.4kWh, giving 469bhp and an increased range of 301 miles, up from 268 miles (Porsche quotes 93 minutes from five to 80 per cent charge on a 50kW DC charger). Other options include air suspension (steel coils are standard, like Audi’s closely related RS e-Tron GT) and rear-wheel steering, though it sticks with regular brakes and 19-inch alloys with doughnut tyres.
This is a fabulous 70mph cruiser: easy speed, low noise, and a ride on air that, although definitely connected to the road, also breathes soothingly over it – no need for the nibbly Sport setting, Normal is best. There’s digital noise if you like, but I leave it off because it’s so spacey – the Audi has a more authentic fake sound.
The new Taycan works well on twisty roads, too, and it’s worth noting that creating a reardrive Taycan is not so simple as ditching an e-motor from a 4S, even if that’s the nub of it. Removing the front motor trims 90kg from over the front (though the bigger battery adds 80kg back), so our optional air suspension needs a fettle – easy enough, they say. But there’s recalibration of the power delivery to complement a rear-drive chassis, which you’d expect given EVs can deliver performance so aggressively.
Less obvious is the tweak to energy recuperation through the single electric motor under deceleration – usually the front e-motor does more of this work, because it’s less destabilising than putting negative torque through the rear e-motor, which can have a kind of handbrake effect, which we all know is fun for everyone at 10mph, not so much at 70mph. Porsche has not only managed to avoid snatches of instability during deceleration, but also somehow ensured there’s the same 265kW energy recuperation too.
You’re blissfully ignorant of all this fine tuning from behind the wheel, because the Taycan flows so naturally. The steering makes up for its numb feel with precision and speed, and because there’s such consistency of weight from the first millimetre off-centre to half a turn of lock. The brakes have extremely prompt bite, and again you’re unaware of the deft calibration, where the e-motor does most stopping, roping in ⊲
the largely furloughed discs and pads only when absolutely necessary.
The chassis is the big win, with generous compliance and absorption (very occasional thwack during cornering aside), exceptional body control and a willingness to hook into a corner and shrug off roll that makes you wonder where 500kg went. Thanks, low centre of gravity.
Even with stability control loosened, the rear-drive Taycan bites well given a heavy boot from rest, and it’s progressive enough through fast corners, so you can really lay into the performance early without fear of a sudden snap (263lb ft is pretty modest, mind – the 4S with the big battery has 480lb ft). I don’t think rear-drive makes it particularly more engaging to drive, but it’s usefully lighter over the front and the lack of all-wheel drive isn’t a negative unless the weather’s atrocious.
So it’s mostly a fluid, engaging car to drive quickly. Where it unravels a little is when the easy, silent speed coaxes you into a corner a little ahead of schedule, and those kilos are magically back in the room and this nimble Porsche feels a big car to get stopped and turned. The brakes also trigger ABS pretty eagerly, and there’s a smouldering Notre Dame fragrance if you use all the performance cross-country.
The more affordable price, the design and the equivalent performance might make it tempting to consider a Taycan over a 911 Carrera, but the 911 is still on another level entirely for engagement, as are all Porsche sports cars.
But I’d prefer a Taycan over any other Porsche with more than two doors, and of all the Taycans this is the one I’d buy – I’m not saying it’s better than a Turbo, but it’s refined and quick enough, gorgeous inside and out, more affordable and damn impressive to thread down a country road. It’s everything I’d ever want a Taycan to be.
One large caveat is the driving range. I collected the Taycan fully charged and showing 225 miles. I returned it 93 miles later with 81 miles remaining, after a mix of driving, some admittedly quite eager. That isn’t enough for my typical driving based out of my rural location, partly because everywhere is far away, but also because – like life’s great motorway itself – I’m not always sure of the destination.
Some of you will easily shrug off those concerns, in which case I have no other hesitancy in recommending an extremely impressive car.
The chassis is the big win – you wonder where 500kg went
First verdict
Excellent entry-level Taycan is the pick of all the saloon and SUV Porsches, provided you can live with the electric range
#### #