What we like
Playful rear-drive dynamics Cheaper than other Taycans Design and road presence
What we don’t
Missing some key features Cable bag takes up boot space Overdone interior tech
What we like
Playful rear-drive dynamics Cheaper than other Taycans Design and road presence
What we don’t
Missing some key features Cable bag takes up boot space Overdone interior tech
The all-electric Taycan has been a huge sales hit for Porsche since its launch a little over a year ago. It’s now one of the brand’s best-selling models behind the Macan and Cayenne SUVs.
It even outsold all but two EVs in Australia last year – the Tesla Model 3 and the MG ZS EV.
Porsche is filling out the Taycan range with the imminent GTS and the new entry-level version, simply called the Taycan. The base Taycan is rear-wheel drive and lacks some of the features of its pricier siblings.
But given the impressive range of EVs hitting Australian shores, can the new entry-level Taycan keep up?
Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with? 6/10
At $156,300 before on-road costs, the single-motor, rear-wheel drive variant is the most affordable Taycan in Australia by close to $40,000.
The other Taycan sedan variants include the 4S, GTS, Turbo and Turbo S, and prices range from $194,700 to $345,800 for the sedan. The wagon-like Cross Turismo starts at $176,600.
For now, there aren’t too many direct rivals for a hi-po electric sedan in Australia, at least until the arrival of the updated Tesla Model S and the sleek Mercedes-Benz EQS, possibly later this year.
The freshly launched Audi e-tron GT is very closely related to the Taycan, sharing the same ‘J1’ platform, and it is priced from $171,900, although it is all-wheel drive only.
As the new entry point, the Taycan lacks a lot of the bells and whistles found in the pricier variants, and as a result there is a question mark over value-for-money.
But it does come with 19-inch alloy wheels, power folding exterior mirrors, dual-zone climate control, pre-entry climate control, tinted windows, partial leather interior, comfort front seats with 14-way power adjustment, and a 16.8-inch curved display that includes digital instruments and multimedia with digital radio, Apple CarPlay, and more.
Porsche is offering a lengthy list of options, and a number of them should come standard at this price point.
It has a heated leather steering wheel as standard, but heated front seats are a $910 option, and ventilated seats add $2120. It doesn’t make a lot of sense.
The Taycan we drove at the launch was fitted with just under $40,000 worth of options, including the $12,020 ‘Performance Battery Plus’, LED Matrix headlights ($3620), a panoramic sunroof ($3370), Taycan S ‘Aero’ wheels ($2400), and more.
All of this pushed the price as tested out to about $195,000 – almost $40,000 more than the base price. So be careful when ticking those options boxes.
Is there anything interesting about its design? 9/10
Much has been written about the Taycan’s design since its reveal. Previewed by the breathtakingly stunning Mission E concept from the 2015 Frankfurt motor show, the Taycan has the curves and bulging fenders expected of a Porsche design, but brought right up to date.
It’s been around a few years now and there are some very sexy alternatives in the shape of the Audi e-tron GT and Mercedes-Benz EQS, but the Taycan looks as fresh as it did when the production version was revealed in 2019.
The base Taycan sits 15mm higher off the ground than the other variants and it looks seriously wide from behind. In fact, it’s almost as wide as a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.
There are few differences with the new entry-grade Taycan, but it gets smaller 19-inch wheels while other Taycans get 20 and 21-inch rims.
Inside, Porsche has eschewed buttons for a mostly digital experience, making for a clean look. Many will like the curved digital instrument cluster, but it lacks the modern appearance of the screen in the BMW iX we recently reviewed.
This is a minor complaint, but the central touchscreen doesn’t match up with the placement of the centre stack. A centimetre or two to the right would line it up perfectly.
The materials used throughout, including the optional ($800) leather adaptive sports seats look and feel premium. There’s nothing inside to suggest it’s a base model.
How practical is the space inside? 7/10
Sitting behind the wheel, the Taycan’s low driving position is as you’d expect from a sports car. But most controls are easy to reach.
However, a number of the vehicle functions are housed in the 10.9-inch multimedia screen, which ensures a cool minimalist look, but it’s a pain to have to go into these menus for some functions.
For example, the air con display sits on the lower screen, but if you can’t adjust the air vents manually. You have to do it via the menu. It’s tech overkill.
The abundance of glass for the digital screens is visually appealing but attracts fingerprints.
Visibility is impacted by the low stance and letterbox-like rear windscreen. Thankfully the reversing camera is clear.
The beautifully designed sports seats offer incredible support and look and feel top notch, offering loads of adjustability.
Storage wise, the central bin is not huge, nor is the glove box. Two cupholders up front can take larger cups and the doors hold smaller bottles.
There’s a small shelf under the split-level centre console which would be useful for storing phones and the like, but it isn’t hemmed in so anything you put there will quickly slide off the second you accelerate. It’s kind of pointless.
The rear bucket seats are supportive and comfortable, but the middle rear seat is something of an afterthought. Porsche calls it ‘4+1’ seating and it’s best to think of this as a four-seater, especially given there is a bulging protrusion where a transmission tunnel would be on an internal combustion engine car. This is actually the battery management system but it does impact on space in the rear.
Elsewhere in the rear there are ISOFIX points on the outer seats, knee-level air vents, a fold-down centre arm rest, and average bottle storage in the doors.
At 407 litres, the new Taycan’s boot can swallow 40 more litres of cargo compared with its pricier siblings. This isn’t massive for a large sedan but it will take a couple of suitcases. The rear seats fold 60/40 for even more space and it has a power tailgate.
It has some under-floor storage where one of the charging cables was housed, but the other one was just in a bag in the boot taking up space, which is annoying.
The cargo space under the bonnet can take 84 litres which is enough for a couple of shopping bags or two backpacks.
The Taycan lacks a spare wheel. Instead, you have to make do with a tyre repair kit.
What are the key stats for the motor and transmission? 8/10
Unlike the other Taycan variants which have a pair of electric motors – one on each axle – and therefore offer all-wheel drive traction, the entry-level Taycan has just one motor on the rear axle and is rear-wheel drive.
The standard 79.2kWh Taycan battery offers up a total system output of 240kW of power and 345Nm of torque.
Buyers can option a larger capacity 93.4kWh battery called the Performance Battery Plus that increases those outputs to 280kW and 357Nm, but be aware it will add a whopping $12,000 to the price.
The Taycan RWD can’t match the 320kW/640Nm of the Taycan 4S, or the 350kW/630Nm of the Audi e-tron GT.
Dashing from 0-100km/h will take 5.4 seconds, which is about 1.4 seconds off the pace of the Taycan 4S.
How much energy does it consume? 8/10
The rear-wheel drive Taycan’s standard battery ensures a WLTP driving range of 369km, which is just 4.0km less than the Taycan 4S.
Opting for the Performance Battery Plus ups the driving range to 434km. Audi’s e-tron GT can drive for 488km before needing a charge.
All Taycans come with cables for home and public charging and a charging dock.
A three-year subscription to the Chargefox network is standard, meaning free recharges across the network.
Filling the Taycan up with juice from nothing to 100 per cent using an 11kW wall charger will take nine hours – or one hour less with the Performance Battery Plus.
Using a 50kW fast charger to get from five to 80 per cent capacity will take 93 minutes, while an ultra-rapid charger will fill to the same capacity in 22.5 minutes – the same time as the Audi e-tron GT.
During our launch drive we saw an energy efficiency figure of 20.5kWh/100km. That is lower than the official figure of 26.2kWh/100km.
What safety equipment is fitted? What safety rating? 8/10
While the base Taycan might be missing a few in-car tech and comfort features, Porsche has not skimped on standard safety gear.
In a welcome move, all of the key safety systems like adaptive cruise control, auto emergency braking, lane keep and lane change assist, active lane keeping with traffic jam assist, park assist and more are standard fare on all Taycan variants, regardless of the price and grade.
The only thing missing is a centre front airbag to help avoid injuries in a side crash.
The Taycan has not been tested by ANCAP but it was awarded a maximum five-star rating by Euro NCAP in 2019.
What does it cost to own? What warranty is offered? 6/10
The Taycan comes with a three-year, unlimited kilometre warranty which is off the pace of the five-year terms of rivals like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus and Genesis.
Being an EV, the Taycan also comes with an eight-year or 160,000km battery warranty.
The service internals are every two years or 30,000km. Porsche offers three, four or five-year capped-price servicing plans, starting from $2995, which is a fair bit pricier than BMW’s offer on its iX electric SUV.
What’s it like to drive? 9/10
From a standing start, the Taycan doesn’t feel as quick as its more powerful siblings, but that 5.4-second 0-100km/h time is nothing to sniff at. It’s responsive and offers a decent wallop of performance.
We were lucky enough to drive an all-wheel drive Taycan Cross Turismo 4S back-to-back with the Taycan RWD, which allowed us to compare the drive experience.
At a few of the tighter sections of our launch drive route, the Taycan’s tail flicked out ever so slightly, thanks to the rear-wheel drive set-up. At no point did it feel too much and the traction and stability control systems kept it in check.
But it does add a playfulness that you don’t get in the AWD Taycans, and most rear-drive fans will love it.
Adaptive air suspension is optional on the Taycan but our test cars had conventional steel suspension. It’s still incredibly flat when cornering and is the ideal set-up for a high-performance sports car, but it does mean some deeper road ruts and corrugations are felt in the cabin compared with models fitted with the air suspension. It lacks some of that suppleness but it’s no deal-breaker.
The steering is weighted on the heavy side but it remains as sharp and direct as other Taycans. The brakes are a little slower to respond than expected.
The cabin is quiet on smooth road surfaces but you do get a lot of road noise on coarse chip surfaces. It can’t match the hushed interior of the BMW iX, for example.
Verdict
The new Taycan variant is designed to appeal to people that like the characteristics of a rear-wheel drive vehicle, and folks that aren’t ready to hand over more than $200,000 for a car.
It retains all that is great about the Taycan but just adds a playfulness to the drive experience that’s very appealing.
The Performance Battery Plus is probably worth the extra $12,000, but just watch how many options boxes you tick because that price will soon creep up.
The RWD variant is a worthy addition to the all-electric Taycan range.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
Keyword: Porsche Taycan 2022 review: RWD