Porsche extends Taycan electric range with entry-level variant and Cross Turismo

Luxury carmaker Porsche has extended its all-electric Taycan range in Australia, releasing pricing for a two-wheel drive entry-level variant as well as the sporty Cross Turismo.

Both new offerings will be available for order from Thursday, and will will join the $194,700 Taycan 4S, $276,300 Turbo and range-topping $345,800 Turbo S (all before on-road costs and delivery charges).

In total there will now be seven electric Taycan options, starting with the $156,300 2WD Taycan.

The Cross Turismo wagon-style variants sit beside the existing range, with a Taycan 4 Cross Turismo priced at $176,600, a Taycan 4S Cross Turismo at $205,300 and the Turbo Cross Turismo at $279,000 – also all before on-road costs and delivery charges.

The entry-level Taycan offers up to 369km driving range (according to Australian design rules testing) and delivers up to 300kW power from its single motor and up to 345Nm torque in overboost mode. Choosing the optional Performance Battery Plus add-on will boost range to 434km, plus extra 50kW power and 357Nm torque.

Acceleration from standing start to 100km/hr is slowest in the entry-level Taycan, which achieves this in 5.4 seconds – marginally faster than a Tesla Model 3 in the Standard Range Plus option, but let’s be honest that is for almost an extra $100,000 out of pocket.

The Cross Turismo variants all come with the Performance Battery which makes the base-level Cross Turismo 0.3 seconds faster, says Porsche – although we note that Car and Driver say it can do the 0-60mph (0-96.5km/hr) dash in 4.5 seconds.

But if we’re going to compare apples to oranges, a search around the interwebs shows that the Turbo Cross Turismo will do the dash in 3.3  seconds with launch control, which is equal to the Model 3 Performance (but again, for a fair wad of cash extra).

We know, a fairer comparison is against Tesla’s premium Model S but given the Californian carmaker has now unveiled the “quickest production car on the planet” in the form of the Plaid tri-motor variant that can do the dash in 2.1 seconds, it just doesn’t seem right.

That said, the Taycan has had impressive uptake in Australia despite its hefty price tag. Although bowing to the market leading Tesla Model 3, the Taycan has come in the top three most sold EVs on the market in Australia since its introduction, with only the most affordable option – the MG ZS EV – as its remaining competitor.

It also accounted for 10% of Porsche’s overall sales in May, showing a healthy appetite for new technology from well-padded wallets.

Features that come as standard with the Taycan and Taycan 4 Cross Turismo include “comfort access” settings which move the seat back to get in and out of the vehicle, lane change assist, parking assist, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist and power steering.

Additionally, a heads up display, dimming and folding exterior mirrors, privacy glazing and grey top tint on the windscreen, and other creature comforts such as a heated steering wheel, and 14-way electronic seats are included as standard. Porsche even includes the tye sealant and air compressor in lieu of a spare tyre (just as well at that price!).

Along with the new variants, Porsche is adding upgraded features to the existing Taycan range, including heads up display, tinted windscreen, tyre sealant and air compressor, traffic jam assist and power steering plus, which already comes in the Turbo S as standard.

A nice bonus for those going for the existing range from now on will be the addition of the 22kW on-board charger which unfortunately will remain an option for the new variants.