Review: The 2022 Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo is a sexy green machine

When it comes to performance, prestige, the planet and a family, it appears you can have it all with the Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo

The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo offers a greater ride height compared to the sedan.

When you want to make an environmental automotive statement, they don’t come much bigger than the Porsche Taycan.

For now it’s Australia’s most expensive electric vehicle. Prices for the sedan start from less than $160,000.

Many believe it’s also the sexiest.

The Taycan, the Jaguar I-Pace and Tesla’s Model S, with a circa $130k price tag, dominate the luxury performance genre, but soon to arrive is the Audi e-tron GT which will most certainly undercut its German cousin (Audi and Porsche are part of the Volkswagen group). Also coming is the Mercedes-Benz EQB SUV, and the key Taycan rival, the EQE sedan.

But for those chasing a greener footprint, family functionality and raucous performance, the primary option at the moment is the Taycan 4 Cross Turismo wagon derivative which can be on the road for a tick under $195,000.

Sterling the bulldog with the Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo featuring an "off-road" pack option.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

KEL: After driving the Taycan last year, I think this may be more to my liking.

GRANT: Sitting slightly higher off the ground with a larger boot and improved rear seat space, the performance is marginally slower than the sedan. Many people find the 4 Cross more attractive than its sibling.

KEL: Not in my eye. The Taycan sedan remains quintessentially Porsche, a real supercar, and it just looked insanely fast standing still.

GRANT: That wasn’t just for looks. We were in the insane Turbo S variant that can reach 100km/h from standstill in less than three seconds. This time it’s the 4S Cross Turismo that manages the same sprint in a more subdued 4.1 seconds.

KEL: It’s still crazy fast when you put your foot down.

GRANT: Not so long ago anything less than five seconds was supercar territory but all the EVs nowadays are making mincemeat of those benchmarks.

KEL: While not as hard-edged as the Turbo S, what’s the price comparison?

GRANT: This is quite the steal. Standard price for the range-topping sedan was $345,000, but this mid-rung 4S is $205,300. On-roads do bump the price.

Inside the Porsche Taycan cabin is a minimalist design with three primary screens, one for the aircon and vehicle settings, another for infotainment and a curved display for the driver.

THE LIVING SPACE

KEL: Buttons are at a premium with just about all the functions found on the screens. I like the minimalist style which is becoming common now, although not at the cost of functionality.

GRANT: There’s nothing more frustrating than hunting for basic controls, like the aircon or stereo volume. Thankfully Porsche has done a good job via three primary screens.

KEL: I liked having the aircon controls in the console screen and infotainment higher on the dash. Changing the vent air flow direction via the screen was a little annoying.

GRANT: Manual is much faster – but not as awesome. The driver has a full curved digital instrument display which can be configured the way you like it, whether that be a large tacho and digital speedometer or satnav as the primary view.

KEL: Like the sedan, accessing the console can be awkward to plug in your phone, but the two cupholders are good although I noticed there was no wireless phone charging.

GRANT: Our car also had more than $45k worth of extras as well, like the panoramic sunroof ($3370), Porsche light strip ($1500), brand crest on the headrests ($950), ambient lighting ($890) as well as the Sport Chrono pack that includes a compass on the dash ($2340).

Additional rear space makes the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo appealing for families.

THE COMMUTE

KEL: Life in the 4S feels a whole lot easier to live with on a daily basis. Just getting out of our driveway required some careful manoeuvring in the sedan.

GRANT: We did have to increase the air suspension as our drive is steep and the emergency braking was constantly jamming on the anchors. Not on the 4S which is 20mm higher, and while the acceleration is fast it’s not flykick you in the face territory.

KEL: I really love the acceleration in the EVs. This was still super quick and nothing stayed with me getting away from the traffic lights.

GRANT: This variant is only one tenth slower than the sedan equivalent so there is little downside to the wagon silhouette.

KEL: My favourite safety tech was easy to use. I like the cruise control that can look after the braking and accelerating in traffic, along with the lane keeping which can correct the steering if you get too close to the lines.

GRANT: Sometimes those functions can be too intrusive and annoying but the Porsche systems work well without impeding the driving experience.

Boot space in the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is about 400 litres … big enough for a weekly grocery shop or bulldogs Sterling and Malory.

THE SHOPPING

KEL: Having a reasonable ride height I felt more comfortable when parking.

GRANT: Those concrete stoppers have a tendency to rip off front aprons on vehicles which are low. The greatest bonus with the Cross Turismo is improved boot space.

KEL: All our weekly grocery shop fit into the boot. We didn’t have the same experience with the sedan.

GRANT: The rear seats can also fold to handle larger items and that storage space expands to more than 1000 litres – but it is a thin space which best suits golf clubs and boards.

The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo has a driving range of more than 430km when fully charged.

THE SUNDAY RUN

KEL: The name suggests this is quite the all-rounder.

GRANT: Those plastic wheel surrounds and the $3450 option off-road package fitted to our car protects against stone chips and further bolsters the ground clearance. There is a gravel setting but I’m still not sure I’d take my Cross Turismo cross-country.

KEL: Dirt carparks at sport complexes may well be the worst of conditions.

GRANT: Change the suspension settings to “sport” or “sport plus” and it stiffens up the response to deliver the quintessential Porsche handling with brilliant steering feel. It’s a hoot … albeit without an exhaust soundtrack.

KEL: When fully charged, the range showed just above 430km, which seemed accurate.

GRANT: Use launch control repeatedly (foot on the brake and accelerator simultaneously engages the mode) and it will erode the range quickly. But general driving is fine.

KEL: How quick can it charge? I saw our basic power point at home was delivering 1.4km per minute on the central screen.

GRANT: Use a 350kW rapid charger and 20 minutes will replenish the battery from 5-80 per cent. Upgrade you home charger and it would do the same job in nine hours.

There is minimal difference between the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo and its sedan sibling in terms of aerodynamics and performance – one tenth of a second in the 0-100km/h sprint.

THE FAMILY

KEL: This is certainly the pick for those with a brood.

GRANT: With kids comes “stuff” so extra space is a boon. Our kids also loved the Bose stereo sounds and it also has wireless Apple CarPlay (Android users still have to plug in). Our test car also had the optional fifth seat in the middle of the rear bench – an extra $1000.

KEL: How did this compare with energy consumption?

GRANT: Averaging 20.7kWh/100km, that’s not bad and similar to the Polestar 2 we drove recently. Porsche owners get three years of free, unlimited charging for three years with Chargefox stations.

Kel and Grant Edwards.

VERDICT

KEL: While I loved the look of the sedan, the Turismo Cross would be my choice for a daily driver. It was so much easier in carparks without losing the Porsche kudos.

GRANT: Good looks, room for the family and the dynamics expected of the illustrious brand. What more could you want? Maybe some trademark Porsche soundtrack and more access to faster chargers … but being green has never been so much fun.

Originally published as Review: The 2022 Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo is a sexy green machine