First Drive: 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo Review

Is the Porsche Taycan a little too conventional for you? Can you see yourself needing to tackle some gentle off-road terrain, or do you hanker for an electric Porsche but need some space for the dog? Enter the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, effectively a taller, roomier Taycan created for those who fancy extra capability and practicality but not an SUV.

Only the second Taycan bodystyle after the standard saloon, the Cross Turismo rides 20mm higher than a regular Taycan, or 30mm higher in ‘Gravel’ mode if you tick the box for the off-road design package, which also brings with it the chunky body kit you see here. On the inside Porsche quotes an extra 47mm of rear headroom, while the boot in this the Turbo measures 401 litres versus 366 litres in the regular car. In short, this is the most spacious Taycan you can buy.

The Taycan manages to be as recognisable as any other Porsche and yet entirely identifiable as something a little different – there’s certainly no confusing one for a Panamera. The car’s chin is wide and low to the ground, while the bonnet sits so much lower than the Panamera’s. Why? Well under the Panamera’s bonnet you’ll find an engine of some description, whereas in the Taycan you’ll find a sizeable frunk, and buried behind that is one of the car’s two electric motors.

Add the aforementioned off-road design pack and you’ll be treated to an aggressive, chunky splitter, as well as chunky aero skirts that both channel air down the car’s flanks and protect the lowermost areas of the front bumper. There are ruggedly-styled side-skirts, too. It’s the rear end where Porsche’s designers have earned their money, inflating the Taycan’s behind without making it look bloated. Gigantic diffuser aside everything south of the rear lights is Taycan saloon, but from the rear window backwards the roof extends rather than dropping down towards the car’s hips. To make the eventual drop less obvious there’s a small black spoiler above the rear window. All things considered there’s a serious argument for the Cross Turismo being the better looking machine in the current Taycan line-up.

While there might be a rear-wheel-drive Taycan saloon every Taycan Cross Turismo is all-wheel-drive, with one motor and a single-speed transmission at the front and another motor with a two-speed transmission at the rear. There are four cars on offer, namely the 4, 4S, Turbo and Turbo S, with power ranging from 380PS (280kW) in the 4 to 625PS (460kW) in the Turbo S. What’s more every Cross Turismo comes with the 83.7kWh Performance Battery Plus, what is the larger of the two batteries available in the regular Taycan range.

In many ways this is Taycan business as usual. As well as 625PS the Turbo has a whopping 850Nm of torque, and with the ‘Overboost’ function afforded by launch control you’re treated to a temporary nudge up to 680PS (500kW). As a result, 0-62mph takes 3.2 seconds and the top speed is limited to 155mph. From behind the wheel it feels spritely, especially so when you remember how heavy the car is. But what’s more impressive than the off-the-line pace is the way it accelerates when you’re on the move. You’ll hear plenty of people talk about how electric cars deliver instant torque, how they can shunt you forward with no delay whatsoever. Well having driven both the Cross Turismo and the 911 Turbo I can tell you that, rolling along at say 40mph, it’s the electric car that punches harder immediately.

The steering is accurate and weighty, and while the brakes need some serious effort to really work the pedal feels consistent. The default is for the car to roll when you lift off the accelerator rather than for the electric motors slow you down to recharge the batteries, but that can be changed.

The suspension, however, is the real talking point here. Although 30mm might not sound like much, stand next to the car with Gravel mode engaged and the suspension at its highest and the gap between the wheels and wheel arches is hilarious. A full-on safari car? Perhaps not, but that extra suspension travel does make a difference to how you drive. Where you might worry about a big, water-filled ditch in a car park or slow to an absolute crawl to carefully creep along a grass verge avoiding oncoming traffic (and you’ll need to at some point, because this is one wide machine), you find yourself attacking verges and bumps in the Cross Turismo. With the suspension at its lowest in Sport Plus mode (you get synthesised engine noised pumped into the cabin here, too) the Cross Turismo still handles well, even with its extra height.

There’s a degree of familiarity to the Taycan’s interior. The wheel is the same as the 911’s, for example, as are the door handles, and the fit and finish is very good – if you have in your head an idea of how a Porsche interior would feel, it’s exactly that. There’s a novelty compass on the dash, too, where you’d had a stopwatch in something like a 911 Turbo S, although you pay £788 for the privilege. Of course the talking point for the Cross Turismo is the space in the rear, and it’s fair to say you do notice the extra headroom. A panoramic roof is optional, and it’s an option worth paying for to brighten things up in the back. And then there are the Taycan’s screens…

Unlike the rest of the Porsche range there are no dials ahead of the driver but a curved 16.8-inch screen, and below the central 10.9-inch display on the dash there’s another 8.4-inch screen with haptic feedback rather than buttons. So to adjust the heater or engage Gravel mode you tap the lower screen, and to throw an address into the navigation you’d use the higher screen. Essentially the simple functions you’re likely to use more often can be accessed with the display closest to you. And if you’re worried your passenger might get bored then you can pay £725 for another 10.9-inch display in the dash. It might sound a bit too screentastic but the haptic feedback display combined with places to steady your hand and arm when you use the main screen means the tech feels like it’s all working with you rather than acting as a distraction.

This being a Porsche you can spend a great deal of money if you really run wild with the options list. Twenty-inch wheels are standard and to upgrade to 21s will cost you at least £2,200, the off-road package is more than £1,100, and to have ‘acoustically laminated glass’, essentially double glazing, is nearly £1,000 as well. Basics like a reversing camera and adaptive cruise control are options, too, yours for £480 and £1,238 respectively. LED headlights that point with the steering come as standard, however, as do auto-dimming mirrors, heated seats all round, parking sensors, keyless start, lane-keep assist, wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless phone charging, a 710 Watt Bose sound system, a digital radio, four USB-C ports and a powered tailgate, amongst other things.

Before climbing behind the wheel I wasn’t at all convinced there would be much point to a taller Taycan. In truth there’s something incredibly satisfying about having this frankly silly level of performance and yet also being able to rattle over bumps, verges and potholes without a care in the world. If the images of one of these cars driving along a beach or muddy field seem a bit idyllic, rest assured the extra ride height does have its more practical uses in the real world.