We tested the 4S, Turbo and Turbo S derivatives at the car’s press launch in Seville and subsequently performance tested a single-motor version in the UK. Given even the entry-level version has 429bhp and a quoted 0-62mph time of 4.8sec, none wants for plentiful, accessible power.
In our testing, the rear-drive Taycan with the Performance Battery Plus shaved a further 0.3 seconds off its quoted acceleration time and carried on to its 146mph top speed with no trouble at all. Curiously, despite having slightly less power than the car it directly replaces (429bhp vs 469bhp), it proved even quicker, reaching 100mph in a second less. This supposed base model will out-accelerate a E63-generation BMW M6 (that’s the one from 2005 with the V10) up to 140mph. Buy a quicker model if you want – but there’s no question that anyone would need to.
In the case of the Taycan Turbo and Turbo S, the car’s appetite for speed can begin to feel quite savage when fully tapped – but linear and perfectly responsive accelerator pedal calibration means that, even here, you never put on more speed than you intend.
Porsche has added a push-to-pass button on the car’s steering-wheel-mounted drive mode selector knob, which dials up a 10sec hit of additional motor power on cars equipped just so (Dual-motor, Sport Chrono package, optional bigger battery) – but with so much power under your toe to begin with, it’s something you seldom find a need for on the road.
Use Normal driving mode and there’s no noise to speak of from the Taycan’s powertrain. Dial up Sport or Sport Plus instead and there’s a synthesised electric powertrain noise to add some performance flavour – but you can turn it off individually if you so choose, and it’s one of the most subtle of its kind. The way it helps to telegraph throttle load, as well as the point at which the rear motor changes from first to second gear, is actually quite useful.
Drivability is kept simple. There are no dedicated physical energy regeneration controls, although one of the steering wheel buttons can be mapped to switch regen between off and either auto or ‘on’. Even in its strongest mode, it’s quite mild – certainly not enough for one-pedal operation – and most of the regen is controlled via the brake pedal.
For this generation, Porsche has improved the brake pedal feel, a notable weakness on the original car. It’s now easy to modulate certainly feels less mushy and disconnected under partial but still hard braking. Even so, it continues to lack the reassuring feel of Porsche’s piston cars, or some other manufacturers’ EVs. Ultimate stopping power is not in doubt, however. On a dry track, our rear-drive test car needed just 44.6m to stop from 70mph, pulling up in a perfectly controlled and undramatic fashion.
