Andy Kalmowitz / JalopnikI've written in the past about how the Porsche 911 Carrera S makes every day an occasion, and while that's true, perhaps not everyone needs every single day to be an occasion. There are some people out there who may enjoy the finer things in life (in this case, a Porsche), but don't need the howling rasp of a flat-six motor behind them. Luckily for all of us, Porsche has devised such a vehicle, and it's called the Taycan 4.While the 4 isn't the fastest Taycan you can buy — far from it, actually — it could arguably be the best daily driver on sale today. Sure, it's damn expensive, even for a car that's a single notch above base. But the Taycan 4's combination of more-than-enough power, comfort, good looks, practicality, usability, sporty driving pretensions, low-learning-curve tech and relatively low running costs make it a mighty compelling offering. Just watch your head, because you're going to hit it while getting in.Full Disclosure:Porsche lent me a 2025 Taycan with a full charge to do with as I pleased for a week.AdvertisementAdvertisementRead more: The Pros And Cons Of Making The Switch To A Lithium Starter BatteryPorsche PowerAndy Kalmowitz / JalopnikLike all Porsche "4" models, the Taycan 4 is indeed all-wheel drive with one electric motor up front and one in the back. Together, they make a more than adequate 429 horsepower and 449 pound-feet of torque. 30 years ago, that would have been top-end power, but now Porsche is making sedans and SUVs with more than 1,000 hp at the driver's disposal. Still, the Taycan 4 is no slouch, especially for the average businessman on his way to his business meeting. With launch control engaged, Porsche says the Taycan 4 can sprint to 60 mph in a scant 4.4 seconds, and it'll dispatch the quarter-mile in an equally impressive 12.9 seconds when equipped with the optional Performance Battery Plus my Neptune Blue tester had bestowed upon it. If said businessman is in a real hurry, he'll be able to take advantage of the Taycan 4's 143-mph top speed. Of course, you must bear in mind that these are Porsche's numbers, meaning you can probably knock a few tenths off of both the 0-to-60 and quarter-mile times.Andy Kalmowitz / JalopnikIt feels every bit as brisk as those numbers would suggest, and then some. Even when I was already at speed in the Taycan 4, a simple matting of the accelerator pushed me back in my seat in a way that only EVs really can and then some thanks to the Taycan's semi-rare two-speed transmission that I could actually feel shifting gears as the car thrusted forward. While two gears might not seem like a ton of difference, it does make for better acceleration once the car is already moving.The aforementioned 105-kWh Performance Battery Plus (the standard battery is 89 kWh) is also good for a 294-mile EPA-estimated range, and based on my time with the car I'd say that's roughly accurate, as are the charging specs. Porsche says the big battery can DC fast-charge at 320 kW — that's not class-leading, but not terrible — and the battery can juice up from 10% to 80% in about 18 minutes. That's all more than good enough for tackling the trials and tribulations of everyday life.Mild RideAndy Kalmowitz / JalopnikEqually up to the task of dealing with the trials and tribulations of everyday life is the Taycan 4's ride and handling. It'll come as no shock that, like all Porsches, it's fantastic in both regards. I've driven just about every big electric sedan on the market, and I struggle to think of a single one that is as much of a pleasure to drive as this car for the simple reason that it still drives like a Porsche. The propulsion system feels almost secondary in the equation. The Taycan 4 is very much a Porsche first and an EV second, and this is evident by the fact that, much to my chagrin, there isn't any level of regenerative one-pedal driving.Andy Kalmowitz / JalopnikAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Taycan 4 runs out of the box on Porsche's adaptive air suspension system; if you want Active Ride, it's locked behind the more expensive and powerful 4S, but I promise that it's not at all missed in the 4. Body motions are kept in check like a misbehaved child at a 1960s boarding school, but its ride isn't so stiff as to send your lower teeth through your upper gums. I'm not sure how Porsche manages to pull this off, but I'm also not very smart.Despite the fact I drove the car during a thoroughly warm-weather time of year, it was supplied to me on a set of Pirelli P Zero Winter tires — 245/45R20s up front and 285/40R20s in the rear. Even though I was on less-than-ideal rubber, the Taycan 4 still had enough mechanical grip to deal with the demands of everyday driving and even some spirited pushing up in Harriman State Park.Andy Kalmowitz / JalopnikLike with all Porsches, the steering feel and weight are second-to-none, and I mean that literally. I don't know of another EV with a better steering feel, both on-center and in the turns, and it gets progressively better as the car is switched from Normal to Sport and Sport+ modes. Helping matters even further was the optional Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus system that helped tuck the nose in when going around a bend. No matter what mode I was in, though, placing the car on the road was always easy thanks to the prominent front fenders that you can clearly see through the windshield. It's a view that's only really replicated in mid-engine sports cars. Adding to that aesthetic, of course, was the Sport Chrono Pack nestled atop the dashboard.ChillteriorAndy Kalmowitz / JalopnikNot only does the Taycan 4 drive like a Porsche, it also feels like a Porsche on the inside. While most EVs on the road today do their best to remind the driver of how futuristic and special they are through lots of tech, big screens and bright colors on the inside, the Taycan 4 goes in the opposite direction. OK, obviously it still has screens. Three to be exact: a 12.6-inch curved digital gauge cluster, a 10.9-inch center infotainment touchscreen, and an 8.4-inch touchscreen that sits directly below that one. All three are very simple to use and nearly Luddite-friendly. Sure, those folks will complain about the lack of a volume knob and needing to control the air vents through the lower screen, but other than that, everything is about as simple as a modern car could be — especially one that is this advanced. Simplifying things even further is the ability to hook up Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.Andy Kalmowitz / JalopnikIt's an interior that feels like it could be pulled from a 911, Cayenne or Panamera. Nothing about it specifically screams, "This is an EV! This is weird!" and for many buyers, that's delightfully refreshing. It might even be a delightful reprieve for folks who took a look at the newer Cayenne EV and got a bit overwhelmed by everything going on in there. AdvertisementAdvertisementWhat's underwhelming, however, is the space in the back. While the Taycan 4's swoopy roof might look fantastic from the outside, practicality is lost in the transaction. The two rear-seat passengers will have to make do with just 36.2 inches of headroom, which isn't exactly stupendous, and neither is trunk space, which sits at a paltry 14.3 cubic feet. At the very least, there's another 2.9 cubic feet of room in the frunk to take advantage of. I will say, I was able to fit a large cedar chest (40 inches long x 20 wide x 29 tall) in the rear seating area of the Taycan 4. It took some finagling, but I got it done.Andy Kalmowitz / JalopnikIn any case, the two front seat occupants will have a grand old time. The 14-way power adjustable seats, which were heated and cooled in my tester, were a delightfully comfortable mixture of both vegan leather and Porsche's Pepita fabric in the middle. That means they had the bonus of looking very cool. Losers may find them a bit hard, but the word they're actually looking for is supportive.Porsche PayAndy Kalmowitz / JalopnikYour bank account may also take some finagling to make the money work, because the Taycan 4 is not a cheap proposition, despite the fact it's just one step above base in the lineup. While the car I drove was a 2025 model, pricing for the 2027 is already out, so I was able to price out the equivalent car, and things aren't pretty. Off the bat, the starting price has risen $9,355, but part of that is due to the $5,980 Performance Battery Plus now being baked in from the jump.The thing is, no Porsche is ever bone standard. Options are a must, and we've got to start adding them. On the outside alone, my tester's Neptune Blue paint ($1,500), Aero Wheels ($4,940), black badge ($340), illuminated Porsche logo ($1,540) and puddle lights ($420) accounted for over $8,700 in options.Andy Kalmowitz / JalopnikThen, when you go inside and add in the trick leather-free Pepita interior ($2,330), heated rear seats ($380), the Sport Chrono Package ($1,380), lane-keeping assist ($1,400) and the Premium package ($8,160) — which adds the 14-way seats, adaptive cruise control, ventilated front seats, a 360-degree camera, a head-up display and soft-closed doors among a slew of other things — you've added another $13,270 in options.AdvertisementAdvertisementKeep in mind, we're not even at performance options yet. Luckily for my theoretical wallet, this Taycan 4 wasn't spec'd too wildly. Only Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus ($1,580) was ticked under that dropdown. Still, when including destination, this simple, one-notch-above-base electric sedan had an as-tested price of $142,850. That's a lot of money for what is, at the end of the day, a daily driver.Here's the thing, though: the Taycan 4 is good. It's damn good. If money wasn't a thing, we'd probably all be driving them, because it's hard to think of very many daily drivers that do the job better than this car. And when you're the very best at something, you can command a certain price. Maybe I hit my head one too many times while climbing into the Taycan 4, because its price is nearly starting to make sense to me.Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and follow us or add us as a preferred search source on Google.Read the original article on Jalopnik.