Without a doubt, this is the best European answer to Tesla's electrical hegemony. That's what I can tell you already.
The Porsche Taycan. I'm finally driving it today after waiting a long time since the first Mission-e concept car, from a few years back.
Finally, the time has come. Earlier this month, I visited the launch event, so you should watch that video if you want additional details about it.
I'll only walk you through the most important specs now. Porsche has positioned the car just below the Panamera as a GT-car.
However, Porsche does clearly state that it's a sports car. Also, like other models, they launch the Turbo- and Turbo S-versions first.
Yep, they're still using the word 'Turbo', and it's used in a way as they use the word on a vacuum cleaner or a computer.
It doesn't mean that it actually has a turbo anymore, but it just means it's the fastest available.
So what are we talking about? Well, 680 horsepower for the regular Turbo and 760 horsepower for the Turbo S in overboost.
With that, it does 0-100 km/h in 2,8 seconds and a top speed of 280 km/h, which we've almost reached in this wet weather.
Of course, it's fully electrical. It has a 93 kWh-battery pack, which should get you 450 km on a single charge according to WLTP.
For the Turbo that is, the Turbo S will be around 405-410 km. Anyway, you should be able to do at least 350 km on a charge.
Of course there will be version below these, which raises the question if they only come with low capacity-batteries or just lower the...
power output. Not that it's necessary or anything, but maybe they do that for the positioning.
Anyway, if you get 80 kWh-batteries and 500 horsepower, it'll still be very quick.
When it comes to charging, the Taycan can almost do everything. At home, you're able to three-phase charge it up to 11 kW,
or you can charge with 32 amp up to 7,8 kW. Unfortunately, you can't combine the two to 22 kWh, because the on-board charger only goes...
up to 11. Porsche does say they're working on it, but they won't promise use anything.
It's probable they'll make retrofitting possible, so that you combine the 22 kW with three-phase charging and 32 amp.
If you quickcharge it, it goes even faster. You can charge up to a maximum of 270 kW. In 22 minutes it will be charged up to 80 percent.
Those are speeds we haven't seen before, not even with Tesla's. We didn't reach that number, we only got up to 145 kW.
That's mostly because of the variables. How much power is available, how much cars are charging, you name it. The reached 145 kW is very good still.
Let's look at the car itself then, starting with the interior.
As always, I'm behind myself. I'm pretty straight up in the Porsche, so what stands out? Well, the headroom is okay, but it's not good.
My knees are free, but it feels pretty compact. It's all decent back here, but it's not a spacious people carrier. On the other hand, it's a Porsche...
and I'm able to sit in the back. It could be worse. The finishing is very good, and as you can see here,
my feet are in the whole which was visible in the battery pack. The foot compartment as Porsche calls it.
It's a saloon car, so what do we find here? It's a boot with 366 litres of luggage space. Not a lot, but enough for your bags. Also, it doesn't have...
an engine, so there's a frunk with 81 litres.
A funny feature is the socket over here, which we open with a gesture. As you can see, it only has a regular socket,
and you might think that's not able to quickcharge. And you'd be right, so if we walk to the other side, there's another charging port.
Which car has that? Look here, there's an additional port for the CCS-cable for quick charging.
There's a lot to say about this car, but let's start with the feeling that it gives me. Porsche says it's a lot like the 911, but I don't agree with them.
They shouldn't have done that, because the 911 is a lot purer and there's more passion in it. BMW made the same mistake with the i8,
when it came out they said it was like an M3, but it wasn't. It received a lot of criticism for that, whilst it was a very cool car.
The same goes for this Taycan. It's nicely inbetween the 911 and Panamera when it comes to sportiness, size and performance wise.
And yes, it's a real Porsche. It surely feels like one, so don't worry. It's all alright.
The seating position is Porsche, the steering is Porsche, the way it reacts on the throttle...
The way it responds to your input, the way it turns around, the way it breaks out when you corner...
I mean, you know that it's going to do it but you're always able to catch it. It's just so good. The only thing you miss is the sound.
But that's mostly a problem in the 911. I mean, the sound in the 718 wasn't that good to begin with and in the Cayenne and Panamera...
the sound isn't too important. So losing the sound doesn't ruin the Porsche-feeling at all.
Speaking of which, the straight line-performance is crazy on this car. It does 0-100 km/h in 2,8 seconds, and that's really quick.
You can keep doing it as well, as opposed to Tesla's Ludicrous Mode. In the Tesla, you first have to heat the batteries,
you can't do it too many times, and if you go below 80% charge, it becomes slower.
In here however, you can just keep going. You can take it onto the track if you want. It's good on paper and it's good in the real world.
A really good drivers car.
It has a voltage of 800 volts instead of the 400 volts other electrical cars use. They've done that to produce the power in an easier fashion.
Also, they were able to use thinner cables. Don't you remember from physics-class? Voltage times current equals power.
So if you increase the voltage, you need less current to reach the wanted amount of power. That way, you can use lighter cables.
That's one of the reasons you're able to quickcharge up to 270 kW, which hasn't been seen before.
Also, Porsche uses synced electric motors, which don't slip. That way, the feedback and directness will remain the same.
Of course, we have to compare it with Tesla. Most of the other European EV's like the I-Pace, e-tron and EQC are SUV's.
Even though it's more compact, this feels more like a Model 3 or a Model S. When it comes to prices, it's very similar to the most expensive Model S's,
even though it's more similar to the size of the Model 3. And if you look at it, it looks a hundred times better than in a Tesla.
The interior is the big weak point in Tesla's as well. The finishing and used materials aren't very good, but they are in here.
The seating is good, the ergonomics are good, the digital screen in front of you looks very good, good materials, a comprehensive multimedia system...
You could say that it doesn't matter, but I always say that manufacturers don't make interiors for themselves. They build them for their customers.
So where does Porsche spill the points? Well, autonomous driving. Tesla still is the only manufacturer which has an Autopilot that good.
Porsche has automatic cruise control with lane keeping, but it's nowhere near what Tesla is able to do. The range then, the 450 WLTP-km.
Tesla is able to get more out of 93 kWh. Of course, that something to do with the performance, but Tesla is still able to get a lot of km's from a kWh.
Anyway, Porsche strikes back with its handling. No matter how good a Model 3 is, years of sporty Porsches have really paid off in this Taycan.
Short turns, long followthroughs, the grip... I've only been driving in the rain, so I don't know what it does on the actual limit.
But even the amount of traction on wet surfaces is enormous. The handling is just great. Officially, it should max out at 260 km/h,
but I've already reached 269 km/h on a wet surface. And I could literally take my hands of the wheel. Just think what it could do on dry surfaces.
It's truly Porsche-worthy. Almost like a new 911 Turbo. You have expectations, and they're fulfilled very nicely in here.
The prices however, are quite high. The Turbo S will cost you over €190.000. The regular Turbo will be around €153.000,
and if you want the quickcharge-options, you'll have to pay extra. For the early adapters, that won't be a problem because they'll buy it anyway.
The Turbo S is so expensive partly because it has a luxurious trim. That's the same in a Panamera, but it will be too expensive for...
a lot of people, so they'll wait for the cheaper versions. Don't expect it to drop €60.000 or €70.000 in price though.
It's more than a single project for Porsche, there's a lot more coming. The Mission-e Cross Turismo, the raised version of the Taycan,
will arrive by next year. The successor to the Macan will be fully electric as well, as we'll see in 2022.
And with that, a brand a Porsche has to change in these changing times. The last Porsche with a combustion engine will be the 911,
which'll try to hold on as long as possible. Maybe with hybrid technology, but Porsche has carefully mentioned that the flat-six doesn't have eternal...
life, so there's going to be a day that Porsche goes fully electric. I'll miss the flat-six, but after driving this Taycan,
I can say there's hope for the Porsche-enthusiast. Very, very good hope.