2020 Porsche Taycan

Overview

Welcome to a world of precision, luxury and performance with the Porsche Taycan. What can we say, this engineering marvel is just great to look at, beautiful to sit in, and thrilling to drive. Designed from scratch as an all-electric car, the Taycan signals the beginning of a new era. At the same time, it retains the unmistakable Porsche design DNA. From the front it looks particularly wide and flat with highly contoured wings. No matter what angle you see it, you know it is a Porsche.

The closest competition that the Taycan sees is the Tesla Model S. The distinction, to us, is the Tesla is more EV tech (behind the scenes) central, whereas Porsche lives up to its name boasting supreme luxury both out and in. The interior in the Taycan is far superior than that of the Model S.

The only thing we see that might steer customers away is the Porsche pricing. But again, if you are in the market for a Porsche then price is not an issue, especially if you want to really make a statement on the road.

Specifications

Motor and Performance

Standard across all three trims is the all-four-wheel drive powered by two electric motors. Peak performance of the car is limited to 2.5 second burst at a time to protect the drivetrain from overheating.

Unique to Porsche is the two-speed transmission, which no other electric car on the market has, is installed on the rear axle. So, if you launch this puppy from zero, you’ll get max boost and speed at acceleration, and then the second shift kicks in with a long gear ratio ensures high efficiency and equally high-power reserves. This also applies at very high speeds.

The Porsche Taycan was engineered to go, and go fast. The Turbo S is currently the fastest all-electric car on the roads today, pushing out 751HP and hitting the traditional 60 mph at 2.5 seconds from stand still.

Battery and Charging

Another unique and first for the German automaker is that the Taycan is the first production vehicle with a system voltage of 800 volts instead of the standard 400 found all other cars. The importance? Well, in a little over 5 minutes, you can charge up the car on the high-power charging to give you up to 100km of range (WLTP). To go from five percent to 80 percent can be achieved in around 22 minutes with max charging power.

The battery supplied has a capacity of 93.4kWh, and give you varied ranges based on the trim you choose. Depending on your driving, the 4S you’ll get between 365km and 524km, the Turbo 381km to 497km, and Turbo S 388km to 473km.

Charging the car is of normal comparison to other electric cars, with charging at home in your normal house socket taking around 9 to 10.5 hours from empty to full. Rapid charging gets you from 5% to 80% in roughly 23 minutes.

Interior and Space

Taycan is quite sustainable on the inside, as Porsche offers an entirely leather-free interior for the first time ever. The space is quite decent, with two luggage compartments feature in the front (81L) enough for a standard sized carry-on bag, and back (366L) – enough to haul your weekly shopping. The car can squeeze in 4 adults, and additional 5^th can sit under two conditions. First you add on the option third center seat in the rear, and second, the person is short (good enough for the kids).

The freestanding, curved instrument cluster forms the highest point on the dashboard. This places a clear focus on the driver axis. A central, 10.9-inch infotainment display and an optional passenger display are combined to form an integrated glass band in a black-panel look.

Porsche have reduced the physical knobs and buttons to a minimum, keeping the majority to intuitive touch and voice control. Say “Hey Porsche” and you’ll be able to make voice commands to navigate through settings or set the temperature in the car.

Though not as spacious as the Tesla Model S, the Taycan is way more premium on the inside.

Features

The Taycan is generously equipped with driver assist and safety features. Stand features include Standard forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking, Standard lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assistance, and blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. Other option include adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, and blind-spot monitoring.

2020 Porsche Taycan Availability

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