Test: Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo. What if the least Porsche of the Porsches was the best Porsches?

When you think of “Porsche”, the first thing that comes to mind is unlikely to be an electric adventurer station wagon. And yet, I have just recovered the keys to a Taycan Cross Turismo ...

A what ?

A Taycan Cross Turismo. We are going to dissect in order to better understand: Taycan is the name of the last Porsche sedan , having the particularity of being 100% electric. Turismo is for the station wagon version, like the Panamera Sport Turismo . On the other hand, we have never seen a Cross in the brand's primer ... We know SUVs, of course, but no Cross. With good reason: Porsche has never ventured into the breaker breaker market, rather represented by Volvo , Subaru, Audi and Mercedes-Benz.. But here it is, difficult these days for a model to break through if it does not have plastic protection or raised suspensions and Porsche has cracked: we now know the why and how of this Taycan Cross Turismo!

On the look side, what is changing?

Here too, we will operate by keyword: for the Turismo side , we have - as you might expect - a more horizontal roof line than the Taycan sedan, favoring rear livability and trunk volume. And the figures are there: if the footprint does not change (4.97 m long and 1.96 m wide - yes, it's a beautiful baby) and the ride height is the same up to the central upright, the Rear passengers gain 47 mm of headroom, while the trunk can swallow up to 1,200 liters with folded seats (the volume of the rear trunk itself only drops from 407 to 446 liters). The Taycan Cross Turismo is not a mover, but still gains in versatility compared to the sedan.

For the Cross side , the recipe is simple: raise the ground clearance by 20 mm and apply some small plastic protections (wheel arches, sills, etc.). Oh yes: for an additional € 1,656 (€ 2,004 if you want them painted), the dress of your Taycan can be adorned with additional protections, in particular in the form of fins at the level of the wheel arches to protect this beautiful bodywork from gravel. . Ground clearance will then be increased by an additional 10 mm.

What do you think ?

I've always had a soft spot for off-road station wagons and find the Taycan sedan sublime. The mix could have been a little weird but the Mission E Cross Turismo concept reassured us at the time about the dress of this variation, even despite the blue rims (???) -rims that we find elsewhere. in the catalog, thank God in wiser colors. When I saw the Taycan Cross Turismo available in front of Etaples station, I was still quite blown away by the charisma and the presence of the animals. It's fluid, it's sensual, it's powerful, it's muscular, it's slender, everything suits me: this adventurer Taycan - like all the other Porsches, let's face it - is beautiful , everything simply.

Where it gets strong is that the Taycan Cross Turismo manages to be impressive even with the config of my test car: the Blue Neptune has the depth of a footbath, the aero rims may be 20 inches, they are, like almost all aero rims, frankly not sexy; the black roof bars swear a little but have the “merit” of matching the door handles of the same color. A very ugly German configuration , but that the Taycan's dress still manages to make shine. Hat !

We are basic Spanish students, we want technical skills. Blow up the mechanical changes!

Ok, let's go . All Taycan Cross Turismo cars, unlike sedans, receive four-wheel drive (thanks to a motor on each axle), the large 93.4 kWh battery and air suspension as standard. The “classic” range is resumed with the “4” version as entry (380 hp / 476 hp in Launch Control, 0 to 100 km / h in 5.1 seconds) , followed by the 4S (490 hp / 571 hp in Launch Control, 0 to 100 km / h in 4.1 seconds) , Turbo (625 hp / 680 hp in Launch Control, 0 to 100 km / h in 3.3 seconds) and Turbo S at the top (625 hp also but 761 hp in Launch Control, 0 to 100 km / h in 2.9 seconds) . All this small world announces WLTP autonomy of between 400 and 450 km.

Let's finish the chapter on technical modifications by adding a new “Gravel” mode, allowing various modifications (throttle travel, power distribution, shock absorber settings, etc. etc.) to optimize all-terrain capabilities as much as possible. of the beast. For this test, I set my sights on a Taycan 4 Cross Turismo.

So what does it make?

The consensus is general: a car of 380 hp, whether gasoline, diesel or electric, is more than enough for everyday life. Especially since the Taycan Cross Turismo brings an additional touch: comfort. Comfort through the extension and immediate reactivity well known to electrics, but also comfort through the rather unexpected softness (on my part, at least) of the car as a whole. It is said: this adventurer Porsche is comfortable. The air suspensions must play a large part in this result, but even beyond that, the steering is remarkably precise, the driving position is perfect, the seats wrap just enough, the silence is of or… on condition of not activating this dreadful Electric Sport Sound which fills the passenger compartment - and the outside environment! - with a totally artificial noise, only there to satisfy the ego of kékés in power wanting to make vroum vroom. But let's move on, and stay on this well-polished character.

I'm not ashamed to say it: I walked more aboard my Taycan 4 Cross Turismo than attacked the bit between my teeth on the proposed course. I will have completed the 75 km of the circuit with a consumption of 21.1 kWh / 100 km, a fairly remarkable figure given the potential of the beast. Because it has potential: turn the selector on the steering wheel a quarter of a turn to switch to Sport mode, and you will immediately feel the whole of the Porsche waking up, as if it were standing ready to attack at any moment. . The steering becomes heavier, the suspensions harden, the response to the accelerator sharpens, in short, everything is done to increase the pace and frankly have fun: despite its status as "entry level" (if so we could call a Porsche like that),

Ah, and let's end with what we came for: exploring the beaten track. We were treated to a course in private land next to the Marquenterre and this feeling of riding in nature without emitting the slightest sound is quite magical. As for performance, I have no experience in off-road and I will therefore have no ability to judge the performance of the cars but our Taycan all-terrain came out like royalty. The opposite would have been gloomy for those in charge of the brand ...

And… Didn't you manage to nab something a little more exciting?

I can see that I am leaving you a little bit hungry with my little Picardy walk - and I admit that I would have liked all the same to know the taste of the transgression that the overpowering Turbo versions can bring. It was with this idea in mind that I stole the keys to an immaculate Turbo S for the return trip to the station. A journey neither very long or very demanding, certainly, but the opportunity to have a good taste. Let's start with the most incredible figure: the 761 hp of power during a launch control session, allowing the Taycan to orbit at 100 km / h in just 2.9 seconds.

The experience? Literally painful. We cling as best we can to the steering wheel while our body is embedded in the back of the seat, the eyes are bulging, a sort of rattle hardly manages to come out of the mouth. It's devilish, it's mind-blowing, it's terrifying, it's astounding, the choice is yours, but this feeling is maybe (I mean maybe, my memories going back four years) even more violent than aboard the Model S P100D , my reference so far. It leaves in any case either speechless, or with the mouth filled with swear words.

Ok, bad guy. Let's conclude: is the least Porsche of the Porsches really the best Porsches?

Well no. The simple tour in the Turbo S will have shown that the Taycan 4 Cross Turismo is clearly not the most Porsche of Porsches. It is neither the sharpest, nor the most efficient, nor the most intoxicating, nor the most addictive of the brand's creations. Do I have to admit here that the title is just a click trap? Maybe not totally, but let's say he's there to titillate your curiosity. Let us not forget, however, that, even if this adventurer Taycan is not the ultimate machine, it is nonetheless a hell of a car. It's a Porsche, name by name!