Porsche's Taycan Cross Turismo is arguably the market's wildest electric SUV. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the revised version.

Ten Second Review

From launch, Porsche's first fully battery-powered model, the Taycan Sports Saloon, was billed as the company's first all-electric sports car. Can a sportscar also be an SUV? Porsche's insisting that it can - and to prove the point, in 2021 brought us this Taycan spin-off model, the Taycan Cross Turismo. Before substantially updating it in early 2024 to create the car we're going to look at here.

Background

Porsche has now long been a company as much about SUVs as sportscars. So it's natural that the brand's EV development should reflect that. The eye watering level of investment required means that it needs to anyway. Which is why the Taycan range was broadened in 2021 to include this crossover body style, available in both Sport Turismo guise and in this more SUV-like 'Cross Turismo' form. It might look like something from a Spielberg film and a car that can't quite make up its mind what it wants to be - Porsche doesn't like calling it an 'estate'. But it's proved to be the most popular of the Taycan models and, a little surprisingly, does have a degree of (optional) prowess for limited use off a paved surface. The improved version of this model that we examine here looks much the same - and sits on the same J1 800v platform as before - but under the skin gets big changes in terms of drivetrain and charge capability.

Driving Experience

The Cross Turismo shares the same powertrain options as the normal Taycan Sport Saloon, save for the fact that it can't be ordered with two things most customers for this Porsche EV don't tend to want anyway - rear wheel drive and the smaller 89kWh battery pack. Quite a lot's new with this revised version, though for the time being, Porsche has decided not to adopt the tri-motor drive system from cousin model Audi's SQ8 e-tron. Instead, Zuffenhausen has redesigned this Taycan's rear electric motor, which is 10.4kg lighter than before, but up to 107bhp more powerful, depending on the variant you're looking at. The base Taycan 4 Cross Turismo offers 429bhp (26bhp more than before). While the mid-range dual-motor Taycan 4S Cross Turismo now offers 590bhp (up 67bhp from before). The biggest increases though, are at the top of the range, where the strangely-named 'Turbo' version offers 871bhp (200bhp more) and the Turbo S develops an impressive 938bhp (186bhp more). A push-to-pass feature on the now-standard mode switch gives a quick burst of acceleration should you need it. More dynamic variants are to follow, including a GTS derivative and a Turbo S Performance Pack model. As for EV range, well depending on variant, that can be up to 381 miles, a substantial increase of around 100 miles over the original version of this model. Helping here is an increase in battery size, the battery pack now rated at 105kWh. 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. Does it go off road? Absolutely. A must-have in our view is the 'Off Road Design Package', which adds an extra 'gravel' drive mode and an extra 10mm of ride height, so you can make assertive progress down the kind of light, unpaved roads that would damage an ordinary Taycan. You'll unsettle your passengers if you do that though; there's no 'comfort'-orientated 'chassis' mode and you can expect a firm feel.

Design and Build

You can have this crossover-style Taycan design in two forms. We're looking here at the more SUV-like Cross Turismo model. The alternative is the Sport Turismo version, basically the same car but without side cladding or raised suspension. Our focus here, as I've said, is on the Cross Turismo variant, which sits 20mm higher off the ground than the standard Taycan Sports Saloon (or 30mm higher with the 'Off-Road Design Package' fitted). Both the Sport and Cross Turismo models have a nose section differentiated from that of the ordinary four-door Taycan Sport Saloon by a specific front apron. The unusual profile's defined by a sporty flyline that slopes towards the rear, ending in high-gloss black fixed roof spoiler. Enhanced wheel arch trims are intended to underline this model's sporty crossover character. 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 to this improved model, 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 compass mounted on the top of the dashboard is optionally available to give more of an SUV vibe. Compared to the Sports Saloon model, the main changes with this Cross Turismo are at the back, where the modified roofline enables rear seat passengers to enjoy 47mm more headroom. And of course the boot is bigger, increased from 407-litres on the saloon to 446-litres here - or 1,212-litres when the rear seat backrests are folded forward. As on the Sports Saloon, there's also an additional 84-litre front 'frunk' compartment.

Market and Model

There are four Taycan Cross Turismo model choices, your options kicking off with the Taycan 4 Cross Turismo which from the launch of this revised design was priced at around £86,500 and, like all versions of this SUV model, features AWD and Porsche's largest 105kWh 'Performance Battery Plus' Pack. The faster 4S Cross Turismo costs around £100,500. For the '4' and the '4S', there's not too much of a price premium over the equivalent Taycan Sports Saloon once you fit that sedan out with this SUV model's 'Performance Battery Plus' Pack. If you can afford to move up to the two Turbo variants, there's the 'Turbo' version (which costs around £135,000) and the Turbo S (which costs around £162,500). Save some extra budget for the optional 'Off-Road Design Package'. There's a special rear bike carrier available too. At least all these figures get you a slightly better equipped Taycan Cross Turismo than before. The mode switch on the steering wheel is now a standard feature. For models equipped with the Sport Chrono package and the bigger 'Performance Battery Plus pack', there is a special 'push-to-pass' button on the mode switch. Using the new control lever on the left behind the steering wheel, control of the driver assistance systems is now more intuitive. Apple CarPlay has been more deeply integrated into the vehicle displays and functions. And the new In-Car Video function enables video streaming on the central display and the passenger display. As you'd expect, 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 the brand offers. As you'd expect, there's also a whole portfolio of available camera and radar-driven safety and autonomous driving tech. Most Taycan Cross Turismo 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%. That's thanks to this new Cross Turismo's bigger 105kWh 'Performance Battery Plus' pack (which nevetheless manages to be 9kg lighter than the old 93kWh pack). This new battery unit is arranged in 396 pouch cells, which sit in a redesigned housing with composite glassfibre materials for its underbody guard. The Taycan 4 Cross Turismo is now rated at up to 381 miles from a single charge; for the 4S version, it's up to 379 miles; for the Turbo, it's up to 371 miles; and for the Turbo S, it's up to 370 miles. To preserve charge, there are weight improvements with this revised Taycan Cross Turismo 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 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 this pack will charge from 10-80% in just 18 minutes (4 minutes quicker than the old 93kWh 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

If you're choosing a Taycan because it's a more practical version of what an electric 911 might be like, then you'll probably like the Taycan Cross Turismo even more. It manages to feel both involving and commanding to drive and, like the standard Taycan, is stupendously quick in its faster forms. Also like the standard Taycan though, it's EV range figures are some way from the class best, even with the changes made to this improved model. But since a typical owner will have several other combustion sports luxury models in his or her oak-timbered garage, that shouldn't matter much. Of greater importance is whether the dawn-of-time looks represent the statement you want to make at the golf club. If you're happy with that, make sure you tick the 'Off-Road Design Package' option, a must-have if said club is at the end of the kind of rutted track that might ruin a more conventional Taycan. Actually, a drive in one of these might ruin a conventional Taycan for you. In many ways, it's the next stage on.