Santa’s New Sleigh: The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo
Last year we brought in a new reindeer for Santa, the AMG GT R PRO was a hit and managed to pull the sleigh around the world in record time. However this year, he needs a new sleigh. Something that’s future proof and silent when it matters most.
Enter the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo. The second of 3 body variants of Porsche’s first all-electric car. The Cross Turismo is an estate style car with an off-road sprinkle on top. The Cross Turismo is raised an extra 20 mm (30 mm if fitted with the Offroad design pack), has some toughened-up fenders and as said with the optional Offroad design pack, it further completes the looks with a new front splitter, extended sideskirts and off-road flaps on the front and back of all fenders.
The added toughness is something which Santa can use very well. In countries like Belgium where potholes are a more than common thing you wouldn’t want to break anything on your brand new shiny sleigh. The Cross Turismo also has a Gravel Mode which further raises the suspension an extra 10 mm and changes the power delivery and throttle pedal response. Thanks to the well known 800V architecture, it’s charged back up in a heartbeat.
Exclusive on the Cross Turismo, the Taycan also has 2 ports in the bumper. Since batteries weigh a lot, towing would put a lot of extra stress on an already heavy car. This is why a lot of EV’s don’t have towing bars to prevent people from loading up trailers which are too heavy. However, that means you won’t be able to put a bike rack on the back of the car. Enter Porsche’s solution: their latest bike rack attaches by removing 2 plastic covers, you slide in 2 beams, twist them and slide in the bike rack. Really it’s that easy. Porsche developed this bike rack together with the Cross Turismo during its high speed testing on the Nardo Ring, so it’s tough enough to make the trip round the world.
For his reindeer, Santa seems to have a thing for Mercedes. This year he brought out the toughest Mercedes on sale, one which can definitely handle the long haul on any terrain. Yes, he brought out the G400d. With rising fuel prices and a lot of people who did good this year, Santa needed a reindeer on which he can count he’ll pull along the heavy presents without stopping every 2 seconds for fuel. And as said, the G-Class is known to be one of the toughest cars out there. Something he’ll really need when travelling the full 160.000.000 km during that one-night.
With the G-Class’ 3 center locking diffs, Santa can tackle any terrain which he comes across. The ladder frame also works to its advantage. The 3.4 mm thick sheet steel is not only immensely tough but because the body is separated from the chassis, it means that you’re getting decoupled from road noises, towing vibrations resulting in an overall elevated level of comfort. Perfect for towing up to 3.500 kg behind the G-Wagon.
Is this an odd combo to join together then? No because you’re getting the best of both worlds. The G will pull the Taycan on the long journeys with ease. And whilst Rudolf feeds on a pump on the outside of the city. The sleigh then zooms around, delivering all the presents with 0 noise and 0 emissions. And honestly, how good does Carmine Red look on a sleigh?
Team Car Journalism wishes you happy holidays and an amazing 2022!
