Top Electric Vehicle: Porsche Taycan
Thursday, 3 December 2020
Now if it were up to me, the Porsche Taycan would win Top Car – I love this thing, so much so that people probably think I have shares in Porsche.
But, unfortunately, Stuff Motoring is a democratic entity and the admittedly thoroughly deserving Toyota Yaris ended up with enough votes to take out the top award. But I will keep telling you how good the Taycan is.
Electric cars are the future. That’s something we’ve known for a while, largely thanks to the meteoric rise of Tesla. The American carmaker has pushed other manufacturers into looking hard at electric propulsion, not the least of which being Porsche.
The year we got our first look at what a proper Porsche EV could be was 2015, when the German showed off its gorgeous Mission E prototype. It didn’t take long for it to confirm it would indeed build it, setting us on a five-year wait.
**READ MORE:
* Top Sports/Performance Car: Ford Fiesta ST
* Top luxury Car: Bentley Flying Spur
* Top Medium SUV: Mercedes-Benz EQC 400
**
That wait finished this year, when the Taycan (pronounced tie-kahn) was finally let loose on our roads, with almost the exact same styling as the concept. As soon as I got behind the wheel and hummed out of the carpark, I knew this was something seriously special. Fitted with the ‘Electric Sports Sound’ kit, the Taycan sounded like a spaceship. The sound plays inside and outside the car too, so passers-by get a little taste too.
Find your way to a deserted strip of road, click the drive mode selector into Sport Plus and get ready to have your spleen shoved into your spine, because the two electric motors in the top-spec Turbo S produce a combined 560kW/1050Nm on overboost, achievable via launch control. Foot hard on the brake, throttle all the way down, wait for the “Launch Control Activated” message and brace because 100kmh will flash up in less than three seconds.
A two-speed gearbox means range is improved while cruising, for the same reason as fuel consumption drops in a petrol-powered vehicle, and you also get a pleasing thunk if you really listen as the cogs in the bowels of the Taycan swap.
Don’t worry about the corner coming up because, despite the Taycan weighing north of 2.3-tonnes, Porsche has thrown every bit of handling tech and know-how at its first ev. That includes height-adjustable suspension, four-wheel steering, dynamic roll bars, and adaptive dampers as well as some extremely sticky rubber. Two types of torque vectoring - one by brake, the other by the electronic rear diff - keep both ends in synergy.
It all works extremely well, aided by the fact that most of the bulk comes from the batteries, which are mounted nice and low in the chassis. Keeping the centre of gravity as close to the ground as possible results in a smooth handling machine.
Porsche has clearly left room in the range for more models but as it stands, the base (for now) Taycan 4S, kicks off at $203,900. The next step up is the Taycan Turbo, priced from $289,900 while the big daddy Taycan Turbo S starts at $366,900. That last one is a cool $163,399 more than a fully kitted Model S. For that, you can buy a Model S with Autopilot and all the other extras and have change for an entire 718 Cayman S…
But I don’t care. If it were my money, I’d take the Taycan, get friendlier with the bank and be happy with the best electric car on sale in New Zealand right now.
What else was in the running?
The Mercedes-Benz EQC and Mini Cooper SE both stood out and are worthy consideration, the ECQ for its luxury levels and price-parity with equivalent Mercedes ICE SUV models and the Mini for its fun-to-drive-ness and price. MG also deserves a mention for offering the cheapest new EV in New Zealand, the ZS EV which starts at $48,990, while the Audi e-tron Sportback was also a contender.
Essential details: Two electric motors with between 390kW (4S) and 560kW (Turbo S) on overboost, with ranges of between 333km and 463km (WLTP). Priced from $203,900 to $366,900.
Safety: 5-star Euro NCAP rating, likely to be carried over to ANCAP.
At a glance: Proper Porsche performance and handling from an electric powertrain. A beautiful interior, sharp exterior looks and that iconic badge on the nose seal the deal.
Who should consider it: Porsche fans, early adopters and anyone who wants an alternatively-powered performance car that also happens to be a truly excellent sports car.
Things to consider: Okay, it’s not the cheapest, but then it IS a Porsche. It also has a truly tiny boot, oh, and it will probably provoke you into losing your licence…
What else could you buy?: For the same money a 911 would be hard to go past, but this is the Top EV category, so the obvious one would be a Tesla Model S Performance, which is a lot cheaper, would beat the Taycan in a sprint and has more range, but then the Taycan is a Porsche…