Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo – over sticks and stones

Sports sedan in the test
Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo – over sticks and stones

Porsche constantly comes up with new ideas when splitting up its model range. So now: Cross Turismo. The Taycan in a light outdoor suit is the latest variant. But does it also make sense?

One of the most important tasks of an automobile company is to convince potential customers to buy with an offer that is as tailored as possible. Porsche has achieved true mastery when it comes to diversifying the model range; The fleet of different 911s, Panameras and even electric Taycans is difficult to keep track of for a non-fan. It's not uncommon for questions to be answered that the customer has never actually asked – but that doesn't necessarily stop them from buying.

One such vehicle is our test car, a Taycan 4 Cross Turismo. Yes, we haven't made a mistake: “Cross” not “Sport”. In addition to the actual Taycan, there is the Sport Turismo, which is visually slightly more dynamic and has a station wagon rear. The Cross Turismo is derived from this. An attempt by the Stuttgart-based company to give the electrician a touch of outdoor feeling and easy off-road capability. Of course, you can ask yourself which owner of such a vehicle, who has spent at least 113,100 euros on his vehicle, would even drive it over sticks and stones. Not to mention the fact that our vehicle, with a few extras from the very long price list, comes to an impressive 168,132 euros.

Differences to Sport Turismo are limited

Back in 2018, Porsche presented a study called “Mission E Cross Turismo” at the then still flourishing Geneva Motor Show, the look of which the production model now clearly follows. The “off-road” ingredients are the usual ones: there are lower parts for the front and rear as well as side skirts and wheel arch covers specially developed for the model. So-called flaps on the corners of the front and rear bumpers protect against stone chips (for an additional charge).

It all seems quite subtle, the differences to a Sport Turismo are limited and you don't want to scare the customer with too much off-road posturing. In other words: The add-on parts do not manage to have a lasting impact on the sporty, harmonious line of the Taycan (Sport) Turismo.

The engineers have a little gimmick up their sleeve for this variant: If the expensive car ends up on a gravel road or the road is muddy, the additional “Gravel Mode” driving program is particularly helpful in the Cross Turismo Vehicle level is raised by three centimeters. It can't hurt to have something like that on board.

Inside: all Taycan

In the interior, however, everything is Taycan. What particularly catches the eye is the instrument panel, which stretches across practically the entire width of the vehicle. There are the usual things like the instrument cluster in front of the driver's eyes and the pleasantly modest 10.9-inch infotainment display, as well as, if you want something like that, an optionally available display for the front passenger – on board with us, of course. Aside: The seats are, as usual with Porsche, excellent.

The Cross Turismo has two electric motors on board with a total of 435 hp. Other variants of the Taycan have more to offer, such as the top model Turbo GT with Weissach package, where an incredible 1108 hp and 1340 Newton meters of torque are available, at least in the short term. But it's not available for the Cross and we never felt underpowered with the power on offer.

Shortened loading time again

With the recent Taycan revision, the loading time has also been shortened again. Theoretically, up to 320 kW is now possible, which would enable a quick charger to charge from 10 to 80 percent in 18 minutes thanks to the 800 volt voltage. We didn't achieve this charging performance over the long term, but we went from 20 to 80 percent in 21 minutes at our regular gas station, for example. The net 97 kWh battery should enable ranges of up to around 600 kilometers. We managed 440 kilometers in everyday life with normal driving style.

As usual, if you like it faster, you'll pay for it with galloping consumption on your battery charge. Which brings us once again to the problem of electric cars in general, but especially electric sports cars in particular. Because a Porsche is designed to be driven quickly. And even if money is often not an issue among drivers, they do get annoyed when they have to drive to the next fast charger after 250 kilometers of fast driving.

There's no bassy rumble, but it's still fun

Of course, like all sporty electric cars, this one also lacks the flair with which a bassy, ​​grumbling combustion engine ennobles such a premium product. This is not a specific Porsche problem, but one that particularly concerns the Stuttgart company. After all, a Porsche thrives on emotions and the Taycan has a hard time arousing them.

The car drives perfectly, quickly and quietly, but can also be steered precisely and agilely through curves despite its almost 5 meter length. The Porsche is also extremely comfortable, no wonder, because adaptive air suspension including electronic damper control is always on board. The air suspension lowers the car and thus the frontal surface in two stages at higher speeds, and the air inlets at the front can also be controlled automatically. All of this leads to favorable aerodynamics and reduces energy consumption, which would otherwise be (even) higher.

The Taycan is definitely fun, even as a Cross Turismo. As always with Porsche, the pleasure unfortunately costs a lot of money, both for the model itself and for the options, which are either marked directly on the price list or bought later and delivered over the air. How useful a sporty electric sedan in a light outdoor suit is would be another question, perhaps even the decisive one. But this can only be answered by the customer.

Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo – technical data

• Five-door luxury sports sedan
• Length: 4.97 meters, width: 1.97 meters (with exterior mirrors: 2.14 meters, height: 1.41 meters, wheelbase: 2.90 meters, trunk volume: 446 – 1,212 liters (rear), 84 liters (front )
• 2 electric motors, 320 kW/435 HP, maximum torque: 610 Nm, all-wheel drive, air suspension, 0-100 km/h: 4.7 s, Vmax: 220 km/h,
• Battery capacity: 105 kWh (net: 97 kWh), range: 517-613 km, standard consumption: 19.9 kWh/100 kilometers, test consumption: 25.5 kWh/100 kilometers, charging time: AC / 0-100 percent / 11/22 kW / 11 hours; DC / 10-80 percent / 320 kW / 18 minutes
• Price: from 113,100 euros
• Test car price: 168,132 euros