Porsche’s Taycan Cross Turismo can take the whole gang on a silent safari
Porsche won’t say it, but its newest car, the all-electric Taycan Cross Turismo, is a wagon. Lucky for us, the svelte Taycan sedan looks even better and more athletic with a long roof.
The looks alone would sell us, but Porsche further distanced the Taycan Cross Turismo from the Taycan sedan with an air suspension that is more tailored to bumpy roads. There’s even a “gravel mode” to help navigate loose road surfaces an optional off-road package that adds 30 mm of ground clearance. The standard wheel arch trims also set the Cross Turismo apart and help keep the paint safe from any stray bits of gravel. Inside, rear-seat passengers can eke out a bit more headroom thanks to the new roof, but the big change is the extra 42 cubic feet of space afforded by the rear hatch.
Porsche has been in the habit of offering buyers the mid-level trim at launch and then doling out a more affordable entry model and any ancillary performance variants as the years roll on. Not so with the Taycan Cross Turismo. Four models will be made available simultaneously. Starting with the 375-hp Taycan 4 Cross Turismo, the entry-level variant will still pack AWD (like all Cross Turismos). It also boasts 469 hp with “overboost power” for launch control, 0-60 acceleration of 5.1 seconds, and a [WLTP] range of 242–283 miles. (EPA numbers are not available just yet.)
Not a bad jumping-off point. Next up, the Taycan 4S Cross Turismo starts at 483 hp with a 563-hp overboost power launch setting and delivers 0-60 in 4.1 seconds with virtually identical range estimates as its non-S brethren. The Taycan Turbo Cross Tursimo ups the juice to 617 hp and overboost to 671 hp. It comes with a similar WLTP range rating of 245–281 miles and drops the 0-60 sprint time to 3.3 seconds. Finally, the Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo has the same 617 hp as the Turbo, but adds a 751-hp overboost to the launch control, dropping 0-60 times to 2.9 seconds at the expense of a 241 to 260-mile range.
Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, noted how big of an impact electric powertrains have had at the company, “In 2020, one in three of all vehicles we delivered in Europe had an electric powertrain.” That number is only going to go up, as Blume promised that by 2025, “half of all the new vehicles we will deliver will have an electrified drive—either fully electric or plug-in hybrid.”
These handsome wagons definitely look like they’re delivering a package that’s consumer-friendly with a viable range for lots of activities and taking aim at Jaguar’s I-Pace with an even more sporty take on the segment. Porsche has yet to announce an MSRP for the U.S, but expect them to be well above the $80,000 RWD Taycan and arrive no sooner than this summer, when they’ll launch in Germany with a price tag of 93,635 Euros (including 19-percent VAT).
SUVs may be all the rage, but between the Taycan Cross Turismo and the Panamera Sport Turismo, there are some seriously good-looking longroofs emerging from the minds of Porsche designers.
