There are now five variants of the all-electric Porsche Taycan available in Australia, and the latest – the “Taycan” is rear-wheel-drive only, but for me, that’s a good thing. It’s also the cheapest and that too is a great thing.
The best selling Porsche in Australia is the Macan, of course – it’s the cheapest – a sub-$100,000 Porsche is a great thing, but if you want a Porsche sports car you’re looking at much more coin.
Performance is what Porsche is known for, the Macan and it’s larger SUV sibling the Cayenne are how Porsche adds big numbers to it’s bottom line and fills many a driveaway with not just the weekend sportscar but the weekday daily driver too.
Enter the all-electric Taycan and we’ve got something very new on the menu. Easily a family car, but also a sports car – Jeckle and Hyde kinda stuff.
I’ve loved the Taycan since we first set eyes on it, and I’m more than aware of it’s capabilities on a long road-trip or around town. Plus, this thing has repeatable electric performance unlike anything else on the market.
But the price tag is high, and don’t get me wrong, this rear-wheel-drive variant is still expensive, but for context, in the US it’s cheaper than the Tesla Model S and that’s saying something. We don’t have prices in Australia for the new Model S, but safe to say it will be on par with this, and more.
For a rev-head, the rear-wheel-drive powertrain has always been the pick of the bunch, something to wiggle the tail out and have some fun. But in these more modern times the traction and outright performance of an all-wheel-drive has won the day.
However, I’ve gotta say, around town, and even on some twisty bits, I think the Porsche Taycan RWD is all you need, and in some cases, far more fun.
You can legit flick this thing around on a slippy surface, but day to day you aren’t missing much.
Unless of course you’re a stickler for the 0-100 times, where you can get down to 2.8 seconds in the Taycan Turbo S. In the Taycan RWD that number drops to 5.4. Still feels epic though.
The same safety and infotainment technology come standard on the Taycan so you’re not missing out there, though there is a premium to get the Bose sound system – I haven’t “heard” the standard system, but am not sure I’d personally pay $2840 for the upgrade.
Inside the fit and finish mimics the Turbo S variant, with Partial Leather – the review car was not fitted with a Head-up display and I wonder if that’s why the dash sat so high behind the instrument cluster, something I’ve not noticed before.
Porsche has this as the entry-level Taycan at $159,700. Add in the longer range battery for $12,020 and you’ve got a great car with well over 400km range. Personally, I think the stock standard variant with over 350k range is just fine, but that’s the dreamer in me wondering how I’ll ever afford a car like this.
Nothing at all has come around to present me with an option for a better car on the market. I think the Taycan is the complete package, and now in a RWD option – I think it’s just as compelling, perhaps even more so thanks to the price tag.
