FEW areas of the market are moving
as quickly as electric vehicles, with
software tweaks often playing a big role
in adjusting how each car behaves and
performs. So it’s hardly surprising that the
Porsche Taycan has continued to evolve
since it made its debut in 2019. However,
we’re not talking about a full facelift here –
rather a series of upgrades that have been
drip-fed into the line-up, and in many nonhardware
cases, offered to existing Taycan
owners as well as new ones.
We sampled a fine example of this
iterative process last year, in the form of the
Taycan Sport Turismo GTS. But now we’ve
had a chance to see how the mods affect
not the more focused version of the EV’s
estate variant, but the edition of the regular
saloon that could offer you the greatest
range in real-world use.
On paper at least, the Taycan 4S doesn’t
grab headlines with the sort of astonishing
stats you get with the Turbo S version –
although it would be churlish to call it
slow. Should you spec it with Porsche’s
Performance Battery Plus (which increases
the capacity to 93.4kWh, or 83.7kWh
usable), you’ll have 483bhp on tap – and
563bhp when using Launch Control.
That means that even with the larger
battery, and a total weight of more than 2.
tonnes, the Taycan 4S can reach 62mph in
four seconds and a top speed of 155mph.
The most significant update on the
2023-spec Taycan is one that will be largely
hidden from owners – at least, until they
see how far they’re able to travel between
recharges. While the car is running in
’Normal’ or ‘Range’ mode, the 4S’s front
electric motor is now disconnected, and
the car runs free of drive torque when it’s
coasting or at a standstill. It’s all down to
ones and zeros in the Taycan’s software
stack, but the net effect is a useful gain in
efficiency – to the point where, depending
on the wheel size and which options are
fitted, the 4S can now travel up to 318 miles
on the WLTP combined cycle.
The other good news is that dynamically,
the only effect you’re likely to notice is a
positive one. Because if anything, there’s
a teeny bit more crispness to the way the
4S steers than before – more in line with
the excellent rear-wheel-drive entry-level
edition, if anything, so it’s supremely
positive and confidence inspiring.
It’s true that the Taycan remains a
heavy car, but it’s one which masks its
mass astonishingly well, with superb
damping rounding off the edges of what
is undoubtedly a firm basic set-up.
Performance, too, remains shockingly
direct. It’s safe to say that for all the
greater efficiency, you’re unlikely to feel
you’re in a car that doesn’t live up to the
Porsche badge – a factor which has been
at the heart of the Taycan success story.
Inside, the Porsche’s standout
qualities remain; the cabin is nicely