Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo: Glorious Entry-Level
Entry level the better choice? 4 > 4S?
The Porsche Taycan perhaps is the most lusted after battery electric vehicle (BEV) out there on offer right now. And Porsche is carefully expanding this lust-worthy venture with different chassis variants such as the Cross Turismo. You guessed it: we had the heavy job of testing it and ours came as a Taycan 4. A 4!? Yes, not the most glorious spot in the lineup. A lineup that starts with our 4 and peaks, as Porsche models often do, with a Turbo S. Porsche made the brilliant move by not complicating their model designations, thus the Taycan gamma feels as logical as ever.
4, say no more
So what is a Taycan 4 Cross Turismo? Let's start with the elephant in the room: the shooting-brake-shape of the car. It isn't just for show as it offers a welcome 36mm extra headroom for rear passengers. And then there are the 80 additional liters of boot capacity, around two weekend bags. Those liters aren't even the biggest benefit here. No, that's the fact that the Cross Turismo can carry larger objects than its sedan sibling due to the larger tailgate. Or lengthier objects, like surfboards and other long things outdoor-people use for their adventures far away from the city.
Why am I mentioning those people? Because they're precisely the kind of people Porsche used in the media campaign for this car. People who venture off the beaten track and need a special gravel drive mode while at it. The kind of people who need adaptive air suspension with the optional Off-Road package, which gives them an additional 30 mm of ground clearance, while they rush towards the beach and don't want to worry about stone chipping. But no matter the projected image, all is forgiven when you lay eyes on the beautiful shape. What an absolute gem to look at, and the Off-Road Design package (the car tested here has it) makes it look subtly tougher. Yes, the car that’s right up our alley. It’s starting price of € 96.870,18 (BE) sadly isn’t.
Back to the car's specs! A Taycan 4 Cross Turismo may be the lowest on the hierarchy, that doesn't mean it's short on anything. All the Cross Turismo variants, as for the 4, draw their power from a so-called Performance Battery Plus unit that houses 93.4 kWh at best (83.7 kWh useable). Their architecture is built around 800 V, allowing impressive charge speeds peaking up to 262 kW. Power comes in at 380 HP (or 476 HP in overboost during launch control), and torque peaks at 500 Nm. That translates into 0 - 100 km/h (with launch control) in 5.1 seconds and a Vmax of 220 km/h. Fast enough for day to day driving. Weight comes in at 2.320 kg, and it's allowed to carry an additional 640 kg more. And all this comes with brakes that never seem to fade and a battery that doesn’t mind taking blow after blow. Remember that Performance Battery Plus battery we mentioned a few sentences back? It is designed in a way that it, and the whole 800V architecture, doesn’t overheat with repeated launches. Impressive.
Porsche quality inside
Having now driven both the Taycan and its sibling, the e-tron GT, it’s great to see that both cars are completely different from each other both on the outside as on the inside.
For starters, the Taycan has this elegantly shaped curved cockpit which houses the instrument cluster. It also houses some neat shortcuts you can use to adjust the lights on the left side, and chassis controls on the right side. The Audi just uses the conventional screen you’re used to seeing.
Secondly, the infotainment screen isn’t a copy from the Audi, it’s their own screen with their own user-interface. The center console is a touch based system as well. Whereas we like the physical buttons for airco controls, the tactile feedback from the center screen is great. Also worth mentioning here: Porsche wouldn’t be Porsche if the ‘on’ switch wasn’t on the left side of the column.
But can you step up the interior game compared to a well specced Audi e-tron GT? Well, yes frankly. It’s Porsche after all. And the deeper the wallet, the better it could get. Embossed logo here, comfort seats there, GT steering wheel here, Sport Chrono there, and you're already 10K above what you told your partner what the car would cost. But Cross Turismo variants start a fair bit better equipped than the Taycan sedan as it has the unique trait of being able to fit a bike rack! An OEM bike rack from Porsche, every purist dream come true. A dream setting you back another € 1.871, but worth every penny if you ask us.
Overall the quality of the interior is nothing short of immaculate. That goes for ever aspect of it, from the quality leather right down to the tactileness of every surface. Seating is great, never too firm yet supportive enough. Positioning of the steering wheels is spot on and you’re sat nice and low to the ground. Peer through the windshield and a lengty, in this car a Karmine red, bonnet seems to stretch out forever.
Porsche drive quality
So coming back to the comparison between the Taycan and the e-tron GT, of course both are going to feel similar in the overall way they handle, that’s down to the physics. But where Audi traditionally has a slower and longer steering rack, the Taycan’s is a lot sharper and more communicative. That shows from the instant you set off, as this car feels like you’ve been driving it for years. But it’s not just the steering rack. No, the whole feel is insanely reassuring at any speed, at any amount of lateral force, and at any longitudinal motion. What didn’t feel as reassuring as we hoped, was the recuperation. This isn’t as strong as other manufactures offer.
And whilst on the move, the instant torque from its drivetrain makes you wonder if more power is actually necessary. With each axle has its own electrical engine, the rear one having a 2-speed setup, the way the Taycan 4 picks up is impressive when ordered to give it its all. But, once again defending the partner here, your fellow occupants won’t be a fan of this warp-like capability whilst their heads slam into the headrests. Our advise: distract them with how insanely safe the AWD system can be during low-grip weather.
Demand more dynamics? Porsche’s option list is here to save the day, yet again! Torque vectoring can be upped another level, so can Porsche’s chassis control system. All to benefit that one thing Porsche masters so well: dynamics in daily drivers.
A car even petrol heads dare to lust after
Being the entry-level doesn't have to be a bad thing and the Taycan 4 proves this point in true Stuttgart fashion. It’s perfectly fast enough to get out of the day to day strain and with the Turbo S costing double the money, it’s hard to argue the value Porsche has put together in the Taycan 4. A high quality chassis, high quality 800V architecture with a clever battery, all wrapped in a wagon chassis. Porsche has made a highly desirable EV wagon even petrol heads dare to lust after.
And what about that Taycan Cross Turismo 4 S? Well, that car becomes interesting when you want to enhance the car’s dynamic properties a fair bit through the option list. And by a fair bit, we mean Porsche will only offer PCCB from there on. The rest of the choice comes down to power, and power isn’t something this Taycan 4 is short on.
