Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo review

It’s the Porsche Taycan’s crossover cousin, the Cross Turismo – think Audi Allroad and you’re spot on. There’s also the Sport Turismo which comes with the same estate-y features, but without the extra ground clearance and body cladding.

So it’s a Taycan, but estate-ified?

Yes. Mechanically, the Cross Turismo is largely identical to the Taycan. Same 105kWh battery (97kWh usable) slung underneath and powering the same motors with the same power outputs across a very similar range (4S, Turbo and Turbo S – the Cross Turismo doesn’t get the 1,034bhp Turbo GT with Weissach Pack). Even the same suspension (double wishbone front, multilink rear) with adaptive air springs and four-wheel steering (not as standard on all models – Porsche knows how to upsell customers all too well). The raw changes are limited to new wheel mounts, strut supports and self-levelling system.

Plus the bigger boot, obviously.

Yeah, just don’t get too fixated on carrying capacity. In terms of raw figures its 446-litre load bay is not in the same league as an E-Class wagon, but it does give the Cross Turismo added versatility over the regular Taycan even though overall length is only up by 11mm. The rear seats get no more legroom, but the impression of space is boosted hugely by an extra 36mm of headroom.

It must be heavier though, surely?

Weight has only increased 25kg, but a 2,320kg estate is still very weighty, no matter how low slung it may look (it’s lower than a BMW M3). The three-chamber air suspension fitted to the higher-ranking Cross Turismos lifts the body by up to 30mm, and Porsche has thoughtfully added a Gravel mode that also adapts the torque distribution, throttle response and, in their words, gives the Cross Turismo “increased Bad Road Capabilities”. The capitals are theirs, so they must mean it.

You can also spec a £1,161 Off-Road Design Package which gives you those little flicks fore and aft of each wheel to protect from stone impacts and the like.

And what will I need to pay for the whole car?

The base 4S Cross Turismo is almost £100,000 – and also £3k more than the equivalent Taycan saloon. Then the Turbo starts at £138k and the Turbo S is £165k. The power figures read as follows: 590bhp, 872bhp and 939bhp – but note these are only available in Launch mode. In regular driving it develops around 80bhp less depending on model.

Crikey. It must be quick…

None of them are slow: 0-62mph times sit in a range between 2.5 and 3.8 seconds. The 4S is a sweet spot: you don’t need to hit 62mph faster than 3.8s or do more than 149mph. In fact, in our tests an early, less powerful version of the 4S hit 60mph in 3.8s, and 100 in 8.3s. That’s genuine super saloon speed, ballpark with a BMW M3 Touring or Audi RS6. Meanwhile the Turbo S was plain nuts, taking a second out of the 4S’s 0-60mph time and two out of the 0-100mph. That’s downright disconcerting speed.

What about the question of range?

The Turbo S is the least efficient at a claimed 370 miles from the 97kWh usable portion of its battery – but that’s up from 241 miles when the car was first launched. Battery, inverter, electrical system and software improvements are the reason you should now get 3.3 mi/kWh rather than the 2.0 early versions could barely scrape.

The 4S is the rangiest at 378 miles. Max DC charging of 320kW is pretty much industry-leading, and a charging station capable of reaching those heady heights will replenish you from 10 to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes. That’s barely enough time to consume a Greggs sausage roll!

What about rivals?

Sporting electric estates are countable on one finger. It’s this or nothing. Audi has the A6 e-tron, but has shelved plans for an RS6 equivalent. Boo. Mercedes’ CLA Shooting Brake is a range monster, but nowhere near as quick as this. A Tesla Model S? They don’t make them in RHD now.

You could line the Audi e-tron GT – it’s built on the same bespoke EV platform as the Taycan, drives very well indeed, looks great and is versatile enough to just about make it as a family machine. And there’s a version of it – the RS e-tron GT Performance – that’s got even more power than the Taycan. But there’s no estate body. Sorry.

Honestly, the competition isn’t so much other electric cars as other fast estates. In terms of handling, reward, versatility, comfort, price and ethos the Cross Turismo is much more aligned to the BMW M5 Touring, Audi RS6 and the old Mercedes-AMG E63 than to anything electrically powered at the moment. The M3 Touring is also a very convincing all-rounder. We’d have it over any of the bigger German estates. You could argue – and we would – that the Cross Turismo’s closest rival previously came from within, but the Sport Turismo version of the Panamera is now dead. Boo.

How long this big-booted Taycan sticks around is another matter. Porsche has admitted recently that its model line-up has gotten too complicated, and the Sport and Cross Turismo have already been discontinued in the US. Buy while you still can.

The Cross Turismo is arguably the most complete fast estate available today. Not the biggest or most practical by a long chalk, maybe not the most engaging alongside a petrol BMW M3 Touring, but in terms of its breadth of ability and fulfilling the role it sets out for itself, it is brilliant. We’d have it over a Panamera, M5 Touring or Audi RS6 (though a new one is due soon). Only the rowdier M3 could possibly tempt us to the petrol side.

More than that, it’s a better car than a regular Taycan – marginally blunter to drive, but moving away from a purer sporting focus serves the Cross Turismo well. Similar underneath they may be, but this is a different car in terms of outlook, ability and ethos and further distanced from the four-door than we expected. Its comfort and dynamic range is dazzling, it comes across as even more thoroughly developed and capable. Porsche has moved the game on. Not cheap, but still the best sporting electric car on sale today.