- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 4 seats
- Engine
Perm Magnet, LI
- Engine Power
520kW, 940Nm
- Fuel
12h 0m chg
- Manufacturer
4WD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo review: Australian first drive
Porsche’s groundbreaking Taycan electric sports car gets its first update, but does it still live up to the hype?
2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo
When the Porsche Taycan first arrived on the scene in 2021, it redefined the rules of the electric car.
Porsche showed the world that electric vehicles (EVs) could be fun, engaging, dynamic, sporty, and probably most important of all, desirable.
But this updated 2024 model is arriving in a market that is saturated with EV options – including ones that can probably keep up with the Taycan on a racetrack – so has Porsche done enough to keep it ahead of the pack?
How much is a Porsche Taycan?
Like with all vehicle updates, the 2024 Porsche Taycan has jumped up in price compared to last year’s model, depending on what grade and body style you are after.
This Taycan Turbo sedan, for example, has jumped up $14,900 to $307,500 before on-road costs, but there are variants above and below this one that might better suit your budget.
Kicking off the range is the entry-level Taycan rear-wheel-drive (RWD) sedan that has increased $10,700 in price to $175,100.
The 4S, meanwhile, is $11,000 pricier than before at $216,300, then comes the Turbo like I have here.
The top-spec, for now, Turbo S is positioned at $374,200, representing a $10,400 increase, but there is an all-new Taycan Turbo GT – the most powerful and quickest accelerating car in Australia – available for $416,600.
Wagon fans can also opt for the Taycan Cross Turismo, which is available in 4, 4S, and Turbo trims, priced at $198,000, $224,000, and $310,400 respectively.
This means the 2024 Taycan 4 Cross Turismo is $12,800 more expensive than before, while the 4S Cross Turismo and Turbo Cross Turismo move up $7800 and $15,100 respectively.
Standard features in the 2024 Taycan line-up include adaptive air suspension, 19-inch wheels, tyre pressure monitoring, black side skirts, matrix LED headlights, dual-zone climate control, rear privacy glass, power-adjustable front seats with heating, and a partial leather interior.
However, stepping up to the 4S nets buyers 20-inch wheels, premium exterior paint, cooled front seats, a full leather interior, a front electric motor for all-wheel-drive traction, and a larger 105kWh Performance Battery Plus (up from the base car’s 89kWh Performance Battery).
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Also new in this update is the standard inclusion of soft-close doors for the 4S variants and above.
The Turbo, like our test car, steps it up with a Sport Chrono package, Torque Vectoring Plus, larger brakes, 21-inch wheels, HD matrix headlights, quad-zone climate control, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, ‘Turbonite’ (or satin metallic grey) exterior and interior design accents, and Porsche electric sports sound all as standard.
Of course, the Turbo S ups the ante in terms of outputs but also compensates with even larger brakes, while the Turbo GT brings down weight thanks to carbon-fibre bucket seats and access to the Weissach Pack that removes the rear seats for ultimate performance.
Is it a lot to spend on an EV? Absolutely. Is it a lot to spend on a Porsche sports car? Yep.
But as an electric Porsche sports car, well, there’s nothing really to compare it to in the Australian market.
You could make an argument that its most direct rival is the Audi e-tron GT RS, but both cars use the same J1 platform and feature similar levels of equipment, even if the Audi is slightly more affordable for now (from $251,100).
Across other German marques, BMW’s closest rival is the i5 M60 ($215,900), while Mercedes-Benz has the AMG EQE 53 ($191,900), though both are more traditional sedans rather than a low-slung four-door coupe.
Key details | 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo |
Price | $307,500 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Oak Green Metallic Neo |
Options | Metallic paint – $7370 Model designation painted in black – $500 20-inch Taycan Turbo Aero wheels – $1150 4+1 seats – $1000 SportDesign packaged painted in black – $6750 Light strip with illuminated logo – $950 Porsche crest on headrests – $950 Door sill guards in brushed aluminium in Black, illuminated – $2860 Passenger display – $2860 |
Price as tested | $330,680 plus on-road costs |
Rivals | Audi e-tron GT | BMW i5 | Mercedes-Benz EQE |
How big is a Porsche Taycan?
Measuring 4962mm long, 1966mm wide, 1381mm tall, and with a 2900mm wheelbase, the Taycan Turbo sedan certainly has road presence.
But as a large four-door sedan with a sloping roof line and low ride height, the Taycan Turbo doesn’t exactly feel that big on the inside, though.
Sitting in the front seats, there is a decent amount of space afforded to occupants, and the driver sits low to the ground for a sportier driving position.
However, storage options aren’t exactly plentiful, with the usual door pockets, two cupholders, and an underarm storage cubby that also houses the wireless smartphone charger.
Under the climate-control touchscreen, there is also a shelf that would make for an ideal space for storage of things like keys and wallets; however, the surface is finished in a smooth plastic instead of a tray with grippy surface.
This means that any items you put there will slide out the second you turn the steering wheel and makes this area a very poor storage option.
Moving to the rear seats and room is very much at a premium with limited head, leg, and shoulder room for my six-foot-tall (183cm) frame.
Don’t get me wrong, I fit in the rear seats, but it is a tight squeeze, and the narrowing window and low roof line don’t help ease the feeling of claustrophobia.
By default, the Taycan is a four-seater, but you can pay an additional $1000 for the 4+1 seating configuration. But having an extra seat that is unusable for all but the slimmest and shortest of people doesn’t sound like a good deal to me.
In terms of boot space, the Taycan Turbo sedan has a 366-litre volume capacity, which is large enough to house overnight luggage for two adults. Porsche has not revealed how much space is liberated by folding the rear seats down. There is additional storage space in the 84-litre front trunk.
2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo | |
Seats | Four + one |
Boot volume | 366L seats up 84L front trunk |
Length | 4962mm |
Width | 1966mm |
Height | 1381mm |
Wheelbase | 2900mm |
Does the Porsche Taycan have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
All 2024 Porsche Taycans are fitted with a 10.9-inch infotainment touchscreen with functionality for wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Owners that don’t want to use their smartphones, however, have the option of in-built satellite navigation for directions, as well as digital radio for tunes.
Complementing the infotainment touchscreen is a 16.8-inch digital instrument cluster, as well as an 8.4-inch climate-control panel and a 5.9-inch rear passenger screen.
Buyers can also option a 10.9-inch passenger touchscreen too, taking the potential total screen count inside the Taycan to five.
Porsche’s infotainment software works well, feeling fast and snappy when switching between functions, but the screen size is notably smaller when compared to systems from rivals that can be 50 per cent larger.
Is the Porsche Taycan a safe car?
The 2024 Porsche Taycan has not been crash-tested by ANCAP, and therefore does not feature an official rating.
However, the pre-facelift car was tested by Euro NCAP in 2019 where it was awarded a maximum five-star rating.
In terms of scores, the Taycan’s adult and child occupant protection tests yielded an 85 and 83 per cent score respectively, while the vulnerable road user and safety assist examinations notched a 70 and 73 per cent result.
How much of this crash-test rating is applicable to the updated Taycan is unclear, but the 2024 model features very little difference in terms of design.
2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo | |
ANCAP rating | Unrated |
What safety technology does the Porsche Taycan have?
In terms of safety equipment, the 2024 Taycan comes with a wide assortment of gear, headlined by autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, a head-up display, adaptive cruise control, a surround-view monitor, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and lane-keep assist.
In my brief time with the car, I didn’t find anything overly intrusive or temperamental in terms of safety systems.
The two outboard seats in the second row of the Taycan also feature ISOFIX mountings, as well as top-tether anchorage points, for the fitment of child seats.
Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) | Yes | Includes pedestrian, cyclist and junction |
Adaptive Cruise Control | Yes | Includes traffic jam assist |
Blind Spot Alert | Yes | Alert only |
Rear Cross-Traffic Alert | Yes | Alert only |
Lane Assistance | Yes | Lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist |
Road Sign Recognition | Yes | Includes speed limit assist |
Driver Attention Warning | Yes | |
Cameras & Sensors | Yes | Front and rear sensors, surround-view monitor |
How much does the Porsche Taycan cost to run?
Like all new Porsche models, the Taycan comes with a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which falls far short of the expected assurance period even for premium models.
Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW all offer a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, whereas mainstream brands like Mitsubishi, Kia and Honda offer even more.
However, as an electric car, the high-voltage components are covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty.
Scheduled service intervals alternate between an annual maintenance and inspection every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.
For odd-numbered years, the annual maintenance will set buyers back $450, while the inspection conducted on every other year is $750 per visit, but also requires a brake fluid change at $290.
This means the first five years of ownership will set Taycan buyers back $3430.
Due to the specialised nature of the Taycan Turbo, we are unable to ascertain an insurance quote from NRMA online.
At a glance | 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo |
Warranty | Three years, unlimited km |
Battery warranty | Eight years, 160,000km |
Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
Servicing costs | $1940 (3 years) $3430 (5 years) |
What is the range of a Porsche Taycan?
Porsche has increased the capacity of its battery in the new 2024 Taycan by about 12.5 per cent to 105kWh in the Performance Battery Plus.
This is standard on the 4S grade and up, and a $12,020 option on the base Taycan that has an 89kWh Performance Battery as standard.
With tweaked battery management software, lower rolling resistance tyres, and more aerodynamic wheels, driving range across the board is up substantially.
As an example, the old version of this Taycan Turbo would travel 420km on a single charge, while this new car is rated to last 626km before it needs an outlet.
And even the base variant is treated to this significant range boost, now equating to 566km, while the 4S will do 625km.
Despite this, Porsche has improved battery cooling, letting the new Taycan charge faster for longer.
Peak charging power is now 320kW, the highest of any electric car on the market, and can juice the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes.
Officially, the energy consumption figure for the Taycan Turbo is 17.8kWh per 100 kilometres, but it was hard to ascertain a real-world figure at the model's launch given there were multiple driver changes and car swaps.
Energy efficiency | 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo |
Energy cons. (claimed) | 17.8kWh/100km |
Battery size | 105kWh |
Driving range claim (WLTP) | 626km |
Charge time (11kW) | 10h 35min |
Charge time (50kW) | 2h 19min |
Charge time (320kW max rate) | 18min (claimed 10–80%) |
What is the Porsche Taycan like to drive?
When has a Porsche ever been not fun to drive? The answer is never.
Even an all-electric model like this new Taycan feels as connected, engaging, and dynamic as any of Porsche’s petrol-powered sports cars.
And a large part of that is due to this phenomenal powertrain.
With a dual-electric motor set-up, this Taycan Turbo can accelerate from 0–100km/h in just 2.7 seconds – that’s right 2.7 seconds.
That’s with launch control mind you, which boosts power from the ‘standard 520kW’ up to 650kW, while torque in this mode reaches 890Nm – numbers that are as mind-boggling as its performance.
Sorry, Tesla Model 3 Performance fans, you are going to lose this drag race.
And new in this update is a push-to-pass feature, which unlocks an additional 70kW at the press of a button so overtaking manoeuvres can be done in the blink of an eye.
Seriously, the acceleration – at any speed – is brutal and pins you in the back of your seat as you watch the speedo climb and your driver’s licence comes under threat.
And the Taycan Turbo isn’t just a one-trick pony either, because this thing grips.
With thick 285mm tyres in the rear and 245mm tyres in the front, the Taycan Turbo can more than handle a curvy road. In fact, it carves it up thanks to direct steering and a communicative chassis.
Porsche has thrown all the party tricks at it like torque vectoring and the brand’s lightning quick suspension management to keep the Taycan Turbo hunkered down around a bend.
The one chink in the Taycan Turbo’s armour, though, is its weight, as the batteries and electric motors push this super sedan to nearly 2.5 tonnes on the scales.
You definitely feel that heft in quick direction changes, but for something with this much heft, it handles itself remarkably well.
And with adaptive air suspension, and various drive modes, you can just tone it all down and saunter around at lower speeds in relative comfort.
Like the styling, Porsche hasn’t changed much in terms of the Taycan Turbo’s capabilities, but as an already dynamically engaging drive, well, EVs don’t get much better than this.
Key details | 2024 Porsche Taycan Turbo |
Engine | Dual electric motors |
Power | 650kW |
Torque | 890Nm |
Drive type | All-wheel drive |
Transmission | 2-speed automatic |
Power-to-weight ratio | 283.8kW/t |
Weight (tare) | 2290kg |
Spare tyre type | Tyre repair kit |
Payload | 590kg |
Turning circle | 11.7m |
Should I buy a Porsche Taycan?
The question is, if you have an original Taycan, should you upgrade to this new one?
Well, just like you probably shouldn’t get the latest iPhone every year, this updated Taycan is only an incremental improvement over the old car.
But if you are looking at getting into the sporty EV space, the Porsche Taycan blends scintillating driving thrills with a premium package that is unmatched by any competitor from around the world.
Just like the 911 is the pinnacle of petrol-powered sports cars, the Taycan remains the ultimate driver’s EV.
How do I buy a Porsche Taycan? The next steps.
The first step to buying a Porsche Taycan should be playing with the brand's excellent online configurator to gauge exactly how much you will be setting aside for your desired model.
Otherwise, you can also head to your nearest dealership, which can be found here.
If you are in the market for a Porsche, you can also browse Drive Marketplace for models here, and to stay on top of all the news from the brand, you should head to this link.