Return to Page 1: What’s a Taycan Cross Turismo and why do you want one?

Drive to survive (daily life)

The engineering basis is mostly the same as the normal Taycan, though notably the Cross Turismo 4S we drove comes with the Performance Battery Plus (PBP) as standard – that allows for a larger capacity and more power throughput.

To compare, the Taycan 4S sedan doesn’t have the PBP as standard, its normal output is 435hp, and 530hp on overboost. For the Taycan 4S (both sedan and CT), it’s 490hp and 571hp with the PBP respectively.

On paper this translates to better performance at very high speeds – for instance 0-160km/h is 8.5 seconds, versus 8.7 seconds, and 0-200km/h is 0.4 seconds quicker with PBP at 12.9 seconds. 

This would be useful on runs up North – especially with Porsche’s planned charge network – but in real-life on-Singapore-road-terms, this isn’t super important as the 0-100km/h time remains the same.

Of far more consequence is the fact that the larger battery allows for better range. In our drive of the Taycan CT, we averaged 24kWh/100km – better than the quoted 28.1kWh/100km – which translates to around 350km of driving range. If you drive efficiently, we see it stretching to the low 20kWh/100km range, or around 400km without too much trouble.

Unsurprisingly, the Taycan CT feels very similar to the sedan, with largely the same involving, informative feel from the wheel that Porsche’s so good at doing, excellent and predictable responses from the foot controls, and superb ride quality for a heavy performance car. It’s remarkably easy, and enjoyable, to pilot this car even in Singapore’s urban drudgery – whatever the speed.

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Like the Taycan 4S, the Sport Chrono pack adds the drive mode selector on the steering wheel, and launch control. Exclusive to the CT is a Gravel mode, which allows dirty-fun at speeds of up to 120km/h, though Singapore being what it is, we didn’t have a chance to test this feature properly. 

That leaves the crucial question as: Does the cross-ness dilute the fun? There’s no doubt that the sedan provides a more incisive experience and a slightly more refined one. There’s more road noise, more shudder from bumps especially in the rear of the car likely due to the hatch area’s more ‘open’ nature, and the steering a little less precise – though keep in mind our first Taycan had optional all-wheel steering and this unit didn’t.

We’d say overall the whole cross-road thing does impact the driving experience, but not hugely. So if you’re aiming for the Taycan CT here, it’s because the more rough-n-tumble looks appeal to you, as well as the extra practicality. But importantly, as a Porsche, the Taycan CT is also better to drive than any EV SUV to date, and that’s not likely to change any time soon.

We think the tradeoff over the sedan is a fair one – 97 percent of the electrifying Taycan experience is still there. That is to say, if all electric cars were like this, the reticence of enthusiast drivers would be much less. Adding on to that, the Cross Turismo answers that vast, unstated and very modern need to cross theoretical ground that isn’t tarmac- while looking appropriately cross.

Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 4S

Drivetrain type	Full electric
Electric Motor / layout	490hp / dual motor 571hp, 650Nm overboost
Battery type /net capacity	Lithium ion, 83.7kWh
Normal Charge Type / Time	11kW AC / 9 hours
Max Fast Charge Type / Time	270kW DC / 22.5 min for 5 to 80 percent
Electric Range	297km
0-100km/h	4.1 seconds
Top Speed	241km/h
Efficiency	28.1 kWh/100km
VES Band	A2/ -S$15,000
Agent	Stuttgart Auto
Price	S$494,658 with COE and VES* S$554,013 with COE and VES and options*
Availability	Now
Verdict	The Taycan experience now on platform boots, with hiking boots, and a larger boot.

*Price does not take into account the most recent ARF increase 

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