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Feature

05 Jul 2022

Welcome Brake – The Taycan Sport Turismo

The eagerly anticipated Taycan Sport Turismo has arrived at last, but can Porsche's all-electric estate be the definitive single car solution?  

It seems like whatever Porsche turns its hand to, it does better than its contemporaries - be that sports cars, racing cars, SUVs and now, of course, EVs. But, in that last camp, the bar is still undeniably low. Praise is rightly heaped on the Taycan from every quarter at every opportunity, and yet it feels like something is missing.

The new Taycan GTS Sport Turismo presents the perfect opportunity to nail down precisely what that might be. Here is the car that was destined to be lionised, offering the increased performance and range of a GTS with the added practicality of the Cross Turismo body style.



Both of those elements are new and warrant separate, closer attention. For reasons known only to Porsche, the Taycan's GTS derivative was unveiled late last year as a Sport Turismo. The logic was presumably that this new body shape still majored in the handling abilities of the standard saloon, so the GTS better demonstrates this. What it means in Taycan terms is a middle ground, with 440kW of power on overboost that's equivalent to around 590bhp. With the otherwise pointless launch control hooked up, it will hit 62mph in 3.7 seconds on its way to a top speed of 155mph. Of far greater interest is the claim that, thanks to a complex software update, the GTS is the first Taycan to break the 500km mark on a single charge. Some 504km, in fact, which is a very useful-sounding 313 miles.

But the GTS has traditionally been the driver's choice and this is a message that Porsche is also still keen to push. Its Active Suspension Management has been specifically adapted to improve handling, as has the set-up of the optional rear-axle steering. There is even a sportier pattern to the piped-in EV soundtrack.

As for the new body, this speaks for itself. Porsche has taken the increased interior capacity of the Cross Turismo but removed the rugged, all-terrain elements. This means a useful 45mm of extra headroom for rear passengers over a regular Taycan and a load capacity in excess of 1200 litres with those rear seats folded flat.



And it's a striking looking thing. The Sport Turismo shape has a poise and elegance that should be the gold standard for every future wagon, while the GTS tradition of carbon elements, black finishes on various bits of exterior trim and satin black wheels gifts it a purposeful sort of menace. Inside, Porsche's Race-Tex trim and Black anodised aluminium create the ideal balance between performance and luxury. As ever, the Taycan's cabin is a masterclass of design and execution.

Also deserving of a mention is the panoramic roof 'with Sunshine Control' which is available as an option for the Taycan GTS.It uses an electrically switchable liquid crystal film changes the roof from clear to matte, reducing glare without making the interior dark. It's as ingenious as it is addictive to play with, divided as it is into nine segments that can be switched individually with a swipe of the finger. Hours of entertainment.



On the more serious business of driving the GTS, things are predictably impressive. Even with the marginally higher centre of gravity that the Sport Turismo must bring, the car feels positively glued down through high-speed bends while the straight-line performance is considerably more than adequate. However many times you drive a Taycan, its silent, relentless thrust is a thing of wonder, at once unnerving and exhilarating.

But here's the moment of doubt alluded to at the top. Despite the Taycan being one of the best, if not the best, EVs on sale today, and both GTS and Sport Turismo options adding further strings to its bow, there is a way to go before anyone can honestly declare this the definitive single car solution for the modern age.

First up, it feels massive. This sensation will undoubtedly have been compounded by our test car being left-hand drive, but every Taycan takes up an awful lot of road regardless. More than I think I could live with day to day.



And the size is complemented by weight. At more than 2.3 tonnes, and despite Porsche's positively spooky ability to disguise that with intelligent adaptive damping et al, the Taycan Sport Turismo still reveals its formidable mass over undulations and crests, when braking down into tight bends or during a slight but rapid direction change. This is partly in the steering, fast but artificial, but also transmitted through the chassis. The suspension is working overtime, and working magic, but nonetheless there's no hiding from the sheer heft of this car at times.

There are, of course, many positives. The Sport Turismo body style is stunning, and it genuinely does turn a cramped rear row into something useable for adults and comfortable for families. But the huge, solid-backed rear seats still limit rear legroom and create a slightly oppressive atmosphere. The boot space is also more useful, although the aperture is strangely small when you consider it against the full width of the car. It suggests that Porsche's designers are forever having to work around the long list of prioritised demands from its EV engineers. Everything, from the car's overall size and less-than-ideal interior packaging to the titanic kerb weight that begets good-but-not-brilliant on-road behaviour, suggests compromise.

And then there's the range, the age-old elephant in the room. On collection, our test car offered up 215 miles from a full charge, nigh-on 100 miles less than the claimed maximum. The way you drive, the road, the temperature - they all have a bearing, of course, but this is real-world driving and, there, performance is still falling well short.

The Taycan GT$ Sport Turismo is, then, the very best of an imperfect bunch. Ten per cent smaller outside, 10 per cent larger inside, half a ton lighter and longer-legged, this could very well be the only car you'll ever need. But the inflexible demands of this new technology mean we're still a long way from that.

The Taycan GTS Sport Turismo is available now from £104,990, and will be joined by entry-level Taycan, 4S, Turbo and Turbo S Sport Turismo variants later in the year.

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