Porsche Taycan: The most awaited Porsche

It has been years in the making. Possibly one of the most hyped electric vehicles of this millennium (so far). With a short run of releases at the start of 2020, the Porsche Taycan aimed to be a just as electrifyingly brilliant as the petrol Porsches, but . . .all-electric. With a piping hot serving of 751bhp, it looks to be a Porsche on paper, but have the team at Porscheplatz pulled off their promise?

Porsche Taycan: At a Glance

Available in three models, the 4S, Turbo and Turbo S and an additional 2WD model in China simply named ‘Taycan’. The 4S, Turbo and Turbo S all run dual motors with one at each axel and four-wheel drive. Kicking out 774lb per foot, the car can reach 100 km per hour in an impressive 2.8 seconds. The battery range is around 350km, this obviously changes dependent on the cargo and the drive setting.

The Look

It’ll be a cold day in hell before you see a Porsche that isn’t instantly recognisable as a Porsche, and the Taycan is no exception to this rule. We found it to be somewhere between a 911 and a Panamera. The Taycan has four doors like the Panamera but a much lower roof and shorter wheelbase giving a more-sporty 911 look. It’s best described as a 911 of the future, where people are taller and fatter, and sports cars need to be bigger and a tad longer to accommodate. The futuristic doesn’t stop there. Slide into the low-sunk cockpit and you’re greeted with a fingers fantasy. Packed chock full of touch screens and digital displays, you’d be forgiven for feeling like Captain Spock. The displays run right across the dash, even giving access to driver crucial stats to the passenger, although we’re not sure why your mum needs to know how fast you’re getting her home with her sick cat. There’s a further display down on the centre console as well for climate control, battery readouts and other comfort features. Colour coded leather, a slim sporty steering wheel and that usual Porsche snugness is all very much apparent. You can feel they’ve set out to create an electric thrill seekers dream, and they haven’t fallen short of the mark. This has always set the Porsche apart from other supercars for me, they’re made to be driven, so the comfort of the driver never takes a back seat (which funnily enough, are just as comfy, although lacking headroom for your passengers that exceed 6’).

The Drive

The problem manufacturers of electric vehicles come up against, is weight. The problem that manufacturers of electric sports cars come up against even more so, is weight. Sports cars have always relied on their lightweight components and structures to improve speed. With large batteries, the weight is unavoidable in electric performance vehicles. For the speed, you need the power, and for power, bigger batteries. This conundrum, however, has not really set the Taycan back in its performance or handling. The breakthrough for the people of Porscheplatz was the launch control function. Launching nearly 2.5 tonnes of car at high speed takes a lot of power, and repeatedly draining the batteries in such a way could be detrimental to their longevity. German engineering has its name for a reason and Porsche have been shouting about this success story from the roof tops. Porsche say you can get ten launches from standstill without the batteries deteriorating. Launching is an understatement. This thing really takes-off. The low shape and wide wheelbase certainly keep the car stuck to the ground through corners. The Taycan, like other Porsches uses a four-wheel steering system and has all the same drive settings as a 911, with an additional ‘range’ setting aimed at getting the best from the battery. In the range setting it’ll cruise happily along at 100kph using just front wheel drive and therefore maximising the distance available. When the Ionity charge points arrive in the UAE, you’ll be able to get an 80% charge in just 25 minutes. Offering around 350km on a charge, the Taycan perhaps falls short on efficiency. When it comes to performance, it’s easily our favourite electric vehicle on the road so far. The compromise is well worthwhile. For more on Porsches journey that brought them to this electric crossroads, check our history of Porsche piece here.

Porsche Taycan price in UAE:

Starting from AED 431,800 inclusive of 5% VAT, you can check out other model pricing here.