Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo: We hit road in 'extraordinary' car

If you want an electric car that drives like a supercar and has the space of an estate car the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is for you.

As long as you can afford the eye-watering cost, that is.

Launched four years ago, Porsche’s first foray into the EV market proved that not only can electric cars be extremely fast (we already knew that) they can handle beautifully and feel nimble as well.

the car with fields, hills and a cottage in the background — The Porsche Taycan has been given a mid-life refresh. Image: Porsche.

Now Porsche has given the Taycan a mid-life refresh. Not much has changed visually. The headlights are narrower and there are a few other subtle design changes.

You can specify fancy headlights that cast a beam 600 metres ahead and can paint a ‘light carpet’ on the road to help judge the width of the car in roadworks or on narrow lanes.

the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo on the road with a field in the background — The new model has a longer range. Image: Porsche.

Most of the changes have taken place under the skin. Most notably, the battery is bigger, more efficient, and can charge faster.

Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo comes in three body styles

The Porsche Taycan comes in three different styles. The standard Taycan is a svelte saloon, while the Taycan Sport Turismo has a hatchback opening that makes it more practical.

Finally, the Taycan Cross Turismo has a slightly raised ride height and is the one to go for if you might have to head up a farm track now and then.

The Taycan being driven past the Queensferry Crossing. — Driving past the Queensferry Crossing. Image: Porsche.

Prices start at £86,500 and the most expensive models top out at more than £186,000.

Tick a few extra goodies on the option box and you can easily spend over £200,000. Ouch.

But many people lease their cars these days and a lot of Taycans are run as company cars for their extremely low benefit-in-kind rate.

Used Taycans can be had for less than £40,000 now, so they make a good second-hand buy.

The Taycan parked beside a stone wall — The Taycan can add 200 miles of range in just 10 minutes. Image: Porsche.

Even the slowest Taycan has a sub-five-second 0-62mph time. The new Turbo GT has an astonishing 1,034hp and a 2.2s 0-62mph time.

Entry-level Taycans come with an 82.3kW battery, with more expensive versions having a 97kW battery.

What’s the range like?

The model with the longest range is the rear-wheel drive Taycan, which has an official range of 422 miles.

With their higher ride height and standard four-wheel drive, the Cross Turismo models can’t quite cover as much distance on a charge.

The bigger-battery model still has an excellent 360-mile range, however.

The Taycan interior has space for four. — The interior has space for four. Image: Porsche.

Of course, range is dependent on how you drive and what the weather’s like, but even in the depths of a Scottish winter you should be able to comfortably cover 250 or 275 miles without having to stop to charge.

The refreshed model can now charge at up to 350kW, at which rate it will add 200 miles of range in just 10 minutes.

The Taycan, pictured from the rear approaching a bend, handles beautifully. — The Taycan handles beautifully. Image: Porsche.

Porsche brought a Taycan 4S Cross Turismo to North Queensferry for Scottish motoring journalists to try out.

With a price tag of around £100,000 (and another £30,000 of options) and a 598hp power output, it sits around the midpoint of the range.

Plenty of power

To begin with I was a little saddened Porsche hadn’t brought the ludicrous 1,000hp Turbo model for me to try.

But a little play around with the 4S Cross Turismo convinced me the car had plenty of power.

There’s a launch mode you can use that releases all 598hp and gets you from 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds. Top speed is almost 150mph.

The Porsche seen from the front on a country road — Straight line speed is superb… and this isn’t even the fastest version. Image: Porsche.

All electric cars deliver their power instantaneously and whoosh you quickly away from the line, but thrust usually tapers off above 50mph. Not so in the Porsche. At motorway speeds, the car is still sitting on huge reserves of power.

The Taycan also has tons of grip. More grip than I could come anywhere near exploring on the country roads around Knockhill.

Even on Knockhill Racetrack, I doubt if an average driver like me could come close to finding its limits.

Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo has Active Ride Control

New on the updated model is something called Active Ride Control. This £6,000 optional extra keeps the car’s body level at all times, even when you’re braking or cornering hard.

I was sceptical at first but it makes the Taycan feel incredibly composed.

A large boot offers plenty of practicality. Image: Porsche.

In fact, when you’re not using it as a performance car, it’s a remarkably luxurious cruiser.

Switch to comfort mode and the suspension softens up nicely. External noise is barely discernible and it would be an easy car to cover great distances in.

Jack McKeown stands beside the Porsche with the Queensferry Crossing in the distance — Handing back the keys was a wrench. Image: Jack McKeown.

It’s practical too. An 84-litre boot under the bonnet has room for the charging cables and an overnight bag or two.

Meanwhile, the 446-litre main boot can easily fit a family’s luggage or a couple of large dogs.

The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo seen from the rear on a country road with fields all around — Our writer was sad to see the back of the Taycan. Image: Porsche.

There’s enough room in the rear for two adults, although the Taycan doesn’t have the exceptionally generous passenger space you get in EVs like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Kia EV6 (and the gigantic EV9) and the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

After 90 minutes in the Taycan, I handed the keys back to Porsche’s press officer with a great deal of reluctance.

It’s an extraordinary car. Now, if only I could afford one…

Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo review – facts:

Price: £100,400 (130,406 as tested)

0-62mph: 3.6 seconds

Top speed: 149mph

Range: 360 miles

CO2 emissions: 0g/km