Porsche's Taycan Sport Turismo adds finesse to the market's wildest electric SUV. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the improved version.

Background

This might be the perfect interpretation of Porsche's Taycan concept. This luxury EV first appeared in Sports Saloon four-door form. Then we got the Cross Turismo SUV version. What if you could get the best of both, the suspension of the Sports Saloon with the practicality of the Cross Turismo body shape? That's the idea behind the Taycan Sport Turismo. Now it's been significantly improved - faster, longer-ranging and quicker-charging. As before, there's a wider choice of drivetrain options with this third interpretation of the Taycan theme - compared to the 'Cross' version anyway. You can also have a rear-driven variant - an option not possible with the Cross Turismo. That means a significantly lower entry price them with the 'Cross' too. Sounds interesting.

Driving Experience

As before, all Sport Turismo derivatives are almost indecently fast, but quite a lot's new with this revised version, though for the time being, Porsche has decided not to adopt a tri-motor drive system like that used in a rival Maserati GranTurismo Folgore. Instead, Zuffenhausen has redesigned this Taycan's rear electric motor, which is 10.4kg lighter than before, but up to 108PS more powerful, depending on the variant you're looking at. As for EV range, well that's up substantially. With the base rear-driven version, it can be up to 404 miles from the brand's largest (and now standardised) 105kWh 'Performance Battery Plus' pack. Total power output is considerably higher across the range coimpared to the original Sport Turismo. When fitted with the Sport Chrono Pack that most customers want and with launch control engaged, the base single-motor rear-driven Taycan Sport Turismo now offers up to 435PS (26PS more than the equivalent original base model offered). Which means that 62mph with launch control is dispatched in just 4.8s en route to 143mph. And that's at the bottom of the range. The power output for the mid-range dual-motor Taycan 4S is 598PS (up 68PS from before). As for the variants further up the line-up, the GTS version has 700PS, the strangely-named 'Turbo' variant offers 884PS (203PS more than the original model) and the fiery Turbo S develops an impressive 952PS (188PS more than before). What else? Well air suspension is now mandatory (the old coil-spring set-up's no longer offered) and the twin-chamber air springs are matched to the new dual-valve dampers recently introduced in the Panamera. This more greatly varies the car's behaviour between its 'Comfort' and 'Sport' modes and allows for variable ride heights at high speeds. As before, the most difficult task the engineers had here was in disguising what as usual on an EV is a prodigious kerb weight - in this case around 2.3-tonnes. Plenty's been thrown at that problem as part of this update. Optional is an Active air suspension system which enables individual control of each damper via a small electrically-driven compressor. Roll and pitch through the bends can then be countered, without the need for the physical anti-roll bars used in the previously-available PDCC anti-roll system. Turbo and Turbo S models get Porsche's Torque Vectoring Plus rear differential, which through turns is able to over-speed the outer rear wheel to help the Taycan's cornering balance. Rear-wheel steering is optional across the line-up (and standard on the Turbo S). And all of this tech is co-ordinated by a clever Porsche 4D Chassis Control set-up. The result through the turns is quite simply astonishing when you consider the amount of weight in play here. And the steering, brakes and ride quality are all brilliant - almost 911-like. No other large EV drives like this. The soul of a sports car? That about covers it. Now optional (as an alternative to the Taycan's usual two-speed transmission) is 'E-Shift', a simulated eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. It feels like a real gearbox, gives you more drive control and is definately an extra we'd want.

Design and Build

Just to be clear: this Sport Turismo model has the same bodyshell as the Cross Turismo, but without side cladding or raised suspension. As with the 'Cross', it has a nose section differentiated from that of the ordinary four-door Taycan by a specific front apron. The unusual profile's defined by a sporty fly line that slopes towards the rear, ending in high-gloss black fixed roof spoiler. And as on the saloon, there are flat door handles that are flush with the doors and pop out electrically when required. As for the visual update changes, well they're subtle. Porsche has redesigned the bumpers across the range, with a bespoke look for the Turbo variants (which also get new 'Turbonite' exterior detailing). And the aero-optimised wheels have been redesigned, with sizes between 19 and 21-inches. New Matrix LED headlights now feature, with HD matrix units available as an option. There are far fewer changes inside, apart from a few colour and trim options and updates to the interfaces for the curved 16.8-inch driver's display, the main 10.9-inch centre touchscreen and the optional front passenger monitor. Otherwise, things are much as before, which means a dashboard apparently influenced by the original 911 design from 1963 in the respect that there are very few buttons and the instrument cluster is wider than the steering wheel. In the rear, a roof line modified over the Sports Saloon enables rear seat passengers to enjoy 47mm more headroom. Clever so-called 'foot garages' scooped out of the EV floorplan mean that there's plenty of space for your feet. You don't get the middle part of the rear bench as standard; that's only supplied as part of an extra-cost '4+1' package. As you'd expect from this Sport Turismo model's more practical body style, the boot is bigger than that of the Taycan Sports Saloon, increased from the 407-litre total you get with that EV sedan to 446-litres here. As on other Taycans, there's also an additional 84-litre front 'frunk' compartment.

Market and Model

If you're comparing against the Cross Turismo, you need to know that only the Sport Turismo offers an entry-level rear-driven single motor 435PS model, priced from £89,400 at the time of this review. Both that and the next model up in the Sport Turismo range, the AWD Taycan 4S Sport Turismo (which costs around £97,000 and puts out 598PS), both come as standard with Porsche's largest 105kWh battery pack. Further up the line-up, you're looking at around £120,000 for the 700PS GTS variant, around £136,000 for the 884PS Turbo or around £163,000 for the 952PS flagship Turbo S. Inevitably, it's possible to spend a further fortune on the options list - which you'll need to do if you want all of the handling systems available. There's also a whole portfolio of available camera and radar-driven safety and autonomous driving tech. Most Taycan owners will want Adaptive Cruise Control, which works particularly well as part of the Porsche InnoDrive system. This can look ahead for up to two miles as you drive using radar and sensor feedback plus predictive GPS data before then modifying speed and gearshift strategy to better suit the speed limits, topographic road features and traffic flow you're likely to encounter. 'Active Lane Keeping', 'Traffic jam Assist', 'Lane Change Assist' and 'Night Vision Assist' features are also available.

Cost of Ownership

As suggested earlier, EV range has increased substantially - by around 35%. The largest battery pack, the now-standard 'Performance Battery Plus' pack, as been increased in size from 93 to 105kWh (though is 9kg lighter) with the unit arranged in 396 pouch cells, which sit in a redesigned housing with composite glassfibre materials for its underbody guard. The base version of this model goes up to 404 miles between charges and the Taycan 4S up to 384 miles. The GTS goes up to 378 miles. The Turbo goes up to 379 miles, while the Turbo S is rated at up to 377 miles. To preserve charge, there are weight improvements of up to 15kgs. And the maximum recuperation capacity during deceleration from high speeds has increased by more than 30 per cent from 290kW to up to 400kW. As before, unlike most of its rivals (but as with the similarly-engineered Audi S e-tron GT), this Taycan has an 800volt electrical infrastructure (rather than the usual EV 400v set-up). This time round, this model's bigger battery pack can charge at up to 320kW (50kW more than before) and Porsche says that the pack will charge from 10-80% in just 18 minutes (4 minutes quicker than the equivalent smaller-capacity battery could do before). It's 33 minutes hooked up to a more usual 150kW public DC supply. Home wallbox charging should be quicker too, thanks to a new controller and software for the 11kW AC in-built charger. With an 11kW supply, the 105kWh battery needs 11 hours to charger from empty to full.

Summary

So this is the future face of Porsche. EV technology, futuristic looks, fearsome performance and lots of VW Group influence. Died-in-the-wool 911 enthusiasts need not apply. But the enlightened lottery winners among them might find something to like with this Taycan Sport Turismo, particularly in this revised form. It gives you everything you'd want from a Taycan - and nothing you don't. It's not quite as much of an automotive Swiss army knife as the Taycan Cross Turismo. But a typical Sport Turismo customer won't need this car to be that. They'll simply want a practical, devastatingly quick and imposing expression of Porsche EV technology. You'll get that here.