PORSCHE'S CROSS PURPOSES(some text hidden)

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 67

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 word count: 169

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 word count: 509

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 model, 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 108PS more powerful, depending on the variant you're looking at. As for EV range, well that's up substantially, helped by an increase in battery size for the standard larger 'Performance Battery Plus' pack, now rated at 105kWh. Total power output is considerably higher across the range. When fitted with the Sport Chrono Pack that most customers want and with launch control engaged, the base Taycan 4 Cross Turismo now offers up to 435PS (26PS more than before). Which means that 62mph with launch control is dispatched in just 4.7s en route to 137mph. And that's at the bottom of the range. The power output for the mid-range dual-motor Taycan 4S Cross Turismo is 598PS (up 68PS from before). As for the Turbo variants, the strangely-named 'Turbo' version 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. 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.