First, the good news. Porsche has, through better battery and powertrain efficiency management, increased the range of its Taycan. Better yet, all its Taycans, including the 75,000 or so models it has sold since 2020, can be upgraded to this 2023 spec. Obviously, if you buy a 2023 model, said battery efficiencies are already included. If you own a 2020 to 2022 Taycan, it’s a simple matter of a software update to bring your battery to 2023 specs.
The updates include — but, as they say in traditional legalese, are not limited to — more frequent and complete disconnecting of the front electric motor when cruising; completely disconnecting both front and rear motors when coasting or at a standstill; and better thermal management of the battery.
The updated range claims are impressive. According to Porsche’s official missive, the updated Taycan Sport boasts as much as 512 kilometres of maximum range; while the Cross Turismo and Sport Turismo get bumped up to 490 and 497 klicks, respectively. The Sport version is especially frugal, Porsche claiming it consumes as little as 19.6 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres, a phenomenal figure for such a large car.
2022 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo charging at a Petro Canada Level 3 Photo by Elliot Alder
That’s the good news. Now, the bad news. First up, unlike the over-the-air (OTA) software updates now common for EVs, you’ll need to take your Taycan to dealer to access this greater efficiency. According to Porsche, not only is the scope of the work being done too large for an OTA transmission, but there’s been so many different versions of operating software and updates over the years that the direct connection is seemingly necessary.
The second bit of bad — or, more precisely, accurate — news is that all those range claims are from the silly NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) and WLTP (Worldwide Light-duty Test Procedure) rating systems, which are typically 20 to 25 per cent more optimistic than the EPA and NRCan ratings we North Americans use.
More importantly, Porsche hasn’t tested the new Taycans — or the software updates — according to EPA regs, so they (and we) don’t have official figures for comparison. The company did say, however, that the maximum range increase any of the older models would see according to the WLTP numbers would be about 50 klicks. Do the math and the biggest range increase you’ll see in your older Taycan — presumably one that is running particularly old software — would be about 40 kilometres.
Two things should be noted, however, regarding the Taycan’s latest range ratings. When it finally releases its revised EPA and NRCan figures, Porsche’s range estimations will be among the most — if not the most — accurate in the biz. In our Range Finder testing, Porsche’s range claims have, unlike other manufacturers’, proven spot on. If you’re struggling to read between the lines, I’ll save you the effort: If, when they are released, the Taycan’s range ratings can’t quite match Tesla numbers, don’t worry about it. In real-world driving, especially on the highway, they’re probably neck-and-neck.
The second point is that Porsche’s conservative approach to battery longevity means there might be more range findings in the future. Like most automakers, Porsche doesn’t allow its cars to use all the battery capacity onboard, instead keeping a few kWh in reserve in the interest of maintaining longer battery life (discharging a lithium-ion battery completely is a big no-no). In the Taycan’s case, however, Porsche’s holding quite a bit in reserve, only using 83.7 kilowatt-hours of the 93.4 kWh that’s actually onboard.
In the future, if battery life proves more than adequate, the company could allow access to a few more of those lithium-ions. Ford, as conservative as Porsche in the early stages of its EV development program, originally only allowed its Mustang Mach-E to use 88 kilowatt-hours out of the 98.7 kWh on board; it’s since bumped that up to 91 kWh. Were Porsche to do the same, Taycans might gain another 15 kilometres on top of the current improvements.
2022 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo Photo by Elle Alder
Finally, Porsche also says that new Taycans — and their updated predecessors — can charge faster. Oh, the maximum charging rate is still 270 kilowatts and the quickest charge you can hope for is a 22.5-minute charge to 75 per cent of battery capacity. However, according to the company, unlike current versions which can attain both those numbers in limited conditions, the software updates, by preconditioning the battery and with, again, better battery management, can now attain peak charging more often. The optimum temperature for charging, by the way, is 30 degrees Celsius.
One little bit of bad news for Canadians, however. While Taycan owners in other countries will also have the option of retrofitting — at their own cost — the new 22-kw onboard charger when they come in for the aforementioned software updates, Canadians, as of yet, will not. No word as of yet why this option is not available in the Great White Frozen North, but we’ll keep you informed as we receive updates.
Oh, and one last little Taycan tidbit: the Taycan 4 Cross Turismo is no longer available in Canada. The base version in Canada is now the Taycan 4S Cross Turismo.
Keyword: Porsche Taycan extends battery range with new software updates