For this State of Charge EV special, we’ll check in on both plug-in members of our long-term fleet, starting with this fully-electric 2021 Porsche Taycan. It’s the new base model BEV, which starts at just over $80,000, and is strictly rear-wheel-drive, but with 469-horsepower.
Ours features the larger 93.4-kWh Performance Plus battery which gives it a range of 225-miles. With us for just a few days now, we haven’t tacked on too many miles yet, but the smiles are adding up quickly.
“Leave it to Porsche to make a proper performance-driven EV. This Taycan feels great on twisty back roads and the highway. I’ll concede that the lack of engine and exhaust noise dampens the experience a tad, but the feel coming from the road into the cockpit through the steering wheel and the seat is authentic Porsche”.
Mileage: 3,900
JESSICA RAY: Well, here’s the long and the short of it. Our long-term, all-electric 2021 Porsche Taycan is heading away for good, after being with us for just a short 4-weeks’ time. So, what did we learn about this EV that we didn’t already know from our original Taycan Road Test? Turns out, a lot!
GREG CARLOSS: “With Porsche, performance is usually the first thing that jumps out, but in this Taycan I think it takes a back seat to the comfort. This thing is so smooth on the highway and there’s hardly any road or wind noise– and don’t forget about that performance in the back seat if you’re trying to pass because there’s always plenty of torque on tap with just a quick stab of the throttle.”
JESSICA RAY: We stabbed that throttle plenty over the 3,900-miles we traveled, and never got tired of the unrelenting rush of acceleration while contemplating the fact that no matter how many times we did it, we still didn’t need to stop at a gas station to fill up. Just pop ‘er on the old charger when you get home.
As for convenience, there’s a charge port on both sides of the vehicle, so you can park however you want.
We consistently were able to “beat the system,” if you will, with actual driving miles exceeding the car’s projections. On one particular day trip, we covered 95-miles, yet only used 72-miles of indicated range. Hooked up to a commercial fast-charger, we got 170-miles of range in 30-minutes, at a cost of around $16.00.
So, driving the Taycan proved to be as stress-free as it was fun.
Gas-powered cars, we’ll sure miss them, but when brands like Porsche are able to so successfully preserve their DNA while transitioning to battery power, this 2021 Taycan reminds us that the all-electric future’s not going to be so bad.
