Likes
Practical wagon body style Phenomenal acceleration Eco-friendly powertrain
Dislikes
High price tag Not as practical as other wagons Can feel heavy
If you had a Venn diagram with circles for sports car, practical wagon, luxury car and all-electric, there would only be one model in the middle – the Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo.
As Porsche’s first foray into the all-electric space, the Taycan has a lot to prove in the driving dynamics department, but also introducing the Cross Turismo wagon body style means it promises to be practical and usable day-to-day.
On top of that, there are the expectations of quality and luxury thanks to the Porsche badge, So, has the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo spread itself too thin?
Let’s see if Porsche really can have its cake, and eat it, too.
Price Guide
$279,000
Based on new car retail price
See pricing and specification for 2022 Porsche Taycan pricing & specs
Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with?
Though Porsche’s all-electric Taycan range launched in early 2021 with the sedan, it has since expanded its offerings to include the Cross Turismo wagon.
Our test car is the flagship Turbo Cross Turismo, and yes, we know how weird it is to name a car after a component it doesn’t even have!
Porsche’s reasoning is that in their parlance, Turbo means faster than 4 and 4S, as with the 911, so you can just think of this as the really fast one.
The 2022 Taycan Cross Turismo range starts at $176,600, before on-road costs for the 4, while the 4S is priced at $205,300.
Unlike the Taycan sedan, there is no Turbo S available for the Cross Turismo, making this Turbo the flagship for now, and it’s priced at $279,000.
Standard equipment includes 20-inch wheels, ‘LED Matrix’ headlights, four-zone climate control, rear privacy glass, a heated steering wheel, electronically-adjustable seats, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a head-up display, keyless entry, push-button start, leather interior and a powered tailgate.
Being an electric car, the interior is also kitted out with screens literally everywhere, including a 16.8-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.9-inch multimedia screen and an 8.4-inch climate control touch display.
Even passengers can get in on the action, with a 10.9-inch display optionally available for $2150, while rear occupants have a 5.9-inch screen to control temperature and fan speed.
The multimedia system comes equipped with satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a 14-speaker Bose sound system, digital radio and online connectivity.
Being a bleeding-edge Porsche, there are also a number of notably cool features such as a pre-heating/cooling system, thermally insulated glass and keyless drive that will automatically start the car once it detects the key.
Our test car is also fitted with a vast array of options, including rear-axle steering, a fixed panoramic roof, Porsche’s ‘Electric Sport Sound’ and LED courtesy lights, adding nearly $45,000 to the asking price.
Our test car rings up the till at $323,190, which is substantial, but there aren’t any rivals in the premium, all-electric, sporty wagon space.
Is there anything interesting about its design?
When looking at the Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo, words like ‘wow’ and ‘phwoah’ come to my mind, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
From the front, it’s unmistakably Porsche thanks to the ‘four-point’ headlights and aerodynamic bumper, and there are elements like cut-outs to feed air into the front wheels and a prominent splitter, that hint at the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo’s performance bent.
The Taycan wagon also scores black plastic wheelarch cladding for a more rugged and practical look, despite being only 31mm taller than its sedan sibling.
Our test car also came fitted with optional 21-inch wheels, which to our eye look amazing, but at $6770 they should look pretty good. The white wheels also look great against the test car’s ‘Ice Grey Metallic’ paintwork.
There are also flush-fitting door handles for better aerodynamics, which automatically deploy when the car is unlocked.
However, it’s from the rear where the changes in the Cross Turismo are most evident when compared to the Taycan sedan, and that’s because it has a full and voluptuous derriere.
There’s also a boot lid spoiler, connected tail-lights and a chunky rear diffuser, but the best bit has to be hips that just look way more pumped up and filled out compared to the sedan.
And while the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo’s exterior is an absolute delight on the eyes, step inside and it’s more of a mixed bag.
The biggest letdown is the digital instrument cluster. Sure, it’s customisable, snappy and responsive, but the steering wheel and your hands block too much information.
If you want to see the temperature outside or the time, you have to tilt and twist your head around to see the readout. Not cool in any car let alone an all-electric Porsche wagon.
Having the drive mode switch on the wheel is the right move, though, and you are able to just flick into the Sport or Sport+ settings at a moment’s notice.
The rest of the cabin is well laid out and stylish, though, with all the screens giving off a futuristic vibe.
How practical is the space inside?
Sports cars aren’t known for their generous space, but wagons are designed to lug loads without any fuss. So, can the Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo successfully marry those two opposing concepts? Sort of.
Up in the front seats, you get decent head, shoulder and legroom, but the seats are low-slung like a sports car.
Storage options aren’t that plentiful, with a narrow door pocket, two cupholders, and a shallow underarm storage space, but there is a hidden tray here behind the climate controls for your wallet and keys.
The rear seat is tight, especially with the optional sports seats, a $1000 addition, but even six-foot (183cm) tall adults should find it comfortable enough in the two outboard positions.
The middle seat, though, is compromised by a narrow base and limited leg room, but doubles as a fold-down armrest with cupholders when not in use.
The only other storage solution in the second-row is small door pockets that will accommodate water bottles.
There are however, ISOFIX child anchorage points in the rear, which means baby seats can be fitted, and even with the seat in the rear-facing position, there is still plenty of room for front passengers.
The door aperture is also plenty big, making it easy to take the little bub in and out.
Opening the boot reveals enough space to swallow 405 litres of volume, which isn’t as cavernous as most wagons out there (the Skoda Octavia RS wagon features 640L of storage space, for example) but it is plenty for a pram, groceries and a nappy bag.
Take note, though, that the household charging cable does eat up a fair amount of space, so be prepared to leave that at home when transporting large objects, or to make do with the DC fast-charging cable that’s tucked under the boot floor.
Fold the seats down and volume swells to 1171L, which still lags significantly behind other wagons, so don’t expect to be helping with Ikea trips in the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo.
Being an electric car, the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo also sports a storage cubby under the bonnet, which is enough for just 84L – or a backpack or two.
Overall, the Cross Turismo is more practical than the sedan, but not in a way that many might expect from a wagon.
Don’t get us wrong, it’s certainly usable in day-to-day activities, even when carting around a one-year-old baby. But the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo isn’t a Tardis for space like big-booted versions of the Mazda6, Skoda Octavia or Volkswagen Golf.
What are the key stats for the powertrain?
Under the bonnet you’ll find not much of anything at all, and that’s because the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo is an all-electric model.
The two electric motors, one each on the front and rear axles, giving the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo all-wheel drive traction, and a staggering combined output of up to 500kW/850Nm.
Okay, to be fair the 500kW is only available when using launch control, with 460kW the peak in most scenarios, but it’s still a sizeable number that should make any sports car envious.
Unlike most EVs the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo features a single-speed automatic transmission on the front axle, and a two-speed unit on the rear axle, designed to maximise its performance potential.
This is enough to accelerate the car from 0-100km/h in just 3.3 seconds, keeping pace with some of the fastest production cars in Australia.
How much does it consume? What’s the range like, and what’s it like to recharge?
With a sizeable 93.4kWh battery in tow, the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo boasts a lengthy driving range of 425 kilometres, but, as is often the case, reality can be disappointing.
With a full charge, and air conditioning on, our readouts showed about 410km of range, which isn’t too far off the claimed figure and more than enough for our week’s worth of driving.
What is cool, though, is that the Taycan has charging ports on either side, the left with DC fast-charging capabilities, making it easy to juice up no matter how you’ve parked.
Recharge times from five to 80 per cent are as low as 22 and a half minutes when connected to a DC charger with maximum outputs, while a 50kW DC charger needs around 93 minutes to recoup the same level of juice.
Plugging into an 11kW AC charger – like the outlet you might have at home – will require about nine hours to go from zero to 100 per cent.
Official energy consumption figures for the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo are 28.7kWh per 100 kilometres, while we managed to better the claimed figure and achieve just 24.5kWh/km in our week with the car.
In those seven days we covered a mix of suburban, freeway and country B-road driving, making the better-than-advertised energy consumption figure even more impressive.
What safety equipment is fitted? What safety rating?
The Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo is yet to be tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.
However, the Taycan sedan was tested by Euro NCAP in 2019 and carries a maximum five-star rating with particularly strong results in the adult and child occupant protection tests.
Either way, as standard, the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo comes fitted with advanced driver assistance systems like autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring and a surround-view camera.
This model also comes with tyre pressure monitoring, automatic parking and lane change assist, as well as eight airbags – forming a comprehensive list of standard safety gear.
What does it cost to own? What warranty is offered?
Like all new Porsche’s sold in Australia, the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo comes with a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which trails the segment leading Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Jaguar and Genesis that serve up five-year assurance periods.
However, Porsche matches warranties offered by Audi and BMW.
The battery in the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo is covered by an eight-year/160,000-kilometre warranty.
Scheduled service intervals are every 24 months or 30,000 kilometres, whichever occurs first.
Porsche is yet to make available service pricing for the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo, but its maintenance schedule is longer than the usual 12 months/15,000km for most cars.
What’s it like to drive?
Many people will bemoan the death of the petrol engine, and tell you that driving an electric car can’t be as exciting. But the Taycan Turbo begs to differ.
Acceleration from a standstill is absolutely immense, and its only when using the launch control that the full 500kW are available. There is nothing that gets out of a hole as quickly as an EV, and this Taycan is one of the quickest ones in Australia. It’s mind-meltingly fast.
And if you think the only trick up the Taycan’s sleeve is break-neck acceleration, wait until you show it a corner.
Turn in is crisp and responsive, helped by this car’s four-wheel steering and torque vectoring, while there is barely any sense of body roll or hesitancy.
There’s no getting over the 2.3-tonne weight, though, especially over little bumps and uneven surfaces, where you feel the Taycan struggle against its portly mass.
But hey, batteries are heavy, and if this is a trade-off for excellent driving range and ludicrous performance, it’s a compromise I can live with.
You can also dial things up and down with Normal, Sport and Sport+ driving modes, with the latter also lowering the car and activating the ‘Electric Sport Sound’, which pipes in naff acceleration and deceleration sounds.
I get that Porsche is trying to simulate the aural sensation of driving fast, but I’m not a fan, and the climbing speedo and world rushing by should be enough to clue you into the fact you are pressing on.
If you are going too fast, though, Porsche has fitted larger brakes on the Turbo variant of the Taycan to slow things down and ensure you get to keep your driver’s license.
Is it as enthralling as piloting a 911, M3 or even MX-5? No, but that doesn’t mean the Taycan isn’t a capable and competent sports car.
As a package the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo is head and shoulders above every other electric car we’ve driven, and easily takes the crown as the best handling EV on the market.
Keyword: Porsche Taycan 2022 review: Turbo Cross Turismo