What's all this about?
Well, only a few days ago we were being teased with images of a disguised Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, the handsome estate version of the magnificent Taycan EV saloon, and now here it is in all its unadorned glory. The Cross Turismo is available to order now and we'll have four models to go at in the UK.
Which are...?
As predicted, there's no rear-wheel-drive variant as there is in the saloon line-up, so to kick us off we've got the Taycan 4 Cross Turismo. This uses the 280kW (380hp) drivetrain that can rise to 350kW (476hp) on a Launch Control time-limited basis, resulting in a 0-62mph time of 5.1 seconds and a top speed of 137mph. The electric cruising range is quoted as anything from 242 to 283 miles, depending on the wheels fitted, and the price starts from £79,340.
Then there are basically three direct analogues of the top trio of models in the Taycan saloon line. The Taycan 4S Cross Turismo starts from £87,820 and has the 360kW (490hp) nominal drivetrain with up to 420kW (571hp) available in Launch Control. That results in 0-62mph in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 149mph, with hardly any impediment to overall range - the 4S CT can officially go between 241 and 281 miles on a single charge.
Above these models, we have the Turbo twins. The 'plain' Turbo Cross Turismo (from £116,950) has the 460kW (625hp) regular set-up with a 500kW (680hp) Launch Control overboost, leading to a 3.3-second 0-62mph time and a 155mph V-max. Again, its range is pretty much identical to the '4' variants, because it'll do between 245 and 281 miles on a single charge, according to WLTP. And finally, the mighty Turbo S Cross Turismo offers up the same basic 625hp as the Turbo, but can boost itself to 560kW (761hp) during Launch Control so it'll run 0-62mph in a ridiculous 2.9 seconds (as if 3.3 seconds wasn't ridiculous enough). It is limited to the same 155mph maximum as the Turbo (and that's slower than the saloon Turbo and Turbo S models will go, which run to 162mph where permitted), and its electric range is quoted as between 241 and 260 miles. The cost for this flagship is £139,910.
I'm no Porsche brochure expert, but that sounds like it's quite an increase on the regular Taycan models?
The price gap for having a handsome Porsche estate EV instead of a saloon gets smaller the higher up the range you go. This is down to a few reasons, such as the fact (as already stated) all Cross Turismo models are four-wheel drive, plus they all have the Performance Battery Plus (PBP) rated at 93.4kWh; there is no option for the 79.2kWh Performance Battery (PB) that you can get in the Taycan (RWD) and the Taycan 4S alternatives. That difference therefore soaks up the seemingly huge £8,650 premium to go from a base Taycan four-door (£70,690) to the cheapest Cross Turismo, because the entry-level saloon only has two driven wheels, one motor and a smaller battery. A Taycan PBP (93.4kWh) is £74,739, which makes the gap a much more reasonable £4,601 to have the extra benefits of AWD and a big boot on the equivalent Cross Turismo.
It's a similar story with the gap on the 4S saloon and estate models (£4,240), most of this accounted for by the different battery sizes you get as standard, so look to the Turbo and Turbo S models for the greater indication of the actual extra expense required for a Cross Turismo. With the saloon versions costing from £115,860 and £138,830, you're looking at £1,090 to upgrade the Turbo to a Cross Turismo and £1,080 to transform the Turbo S into a wagon. Not bad.
OK, that seems a bit fairer. What about other kit?
Well, the basic specifications should follow the pattern already established in the Taycan range, so for the Cross Turismo, the main overarching headlines are these: it has the same superb 800-volt electrical system as the Taycan, which means ultra-rapid charging of up to 270kW DC; every model in the Cross Turismo range gets Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) with three-chamber Adaptive Air Suspension, which sits the Cross Turismo 20mm higher off the deck than the saloon, although an optional Off-Road Package further increases the ride height by another 10mm for 30mm extra ground clearance overall; you get more than 1,200 litres of luggage space thanks to the CT's longer roofline, while rear passengers enjoy an additional 47mm of headroom too; exterior design includes bespoke off-road themes of wheel-arch trims, unique-to-the-Cross-Turismo front and rear lower aprons and side sills too; and the Off-Road Design Package adds special vanes at the corners of the front and rear bumpers, as well as the end of the sills, to provide an even more eye-catching appearance and to also purportedly protect from stone chips.
Those of a lifestyle persuasion will also enjoy the rear bike-carrier specially developed for the model, which can hold up to three bicycles and yet which still allows the tailgate to be opened when the carrier is fully loaded. Alternatively, why not strap a couple of Porsche's new eBikes on the back? Announced at the same time as the Cross Turismo, these feature drive technology from Shimano and the eBike Cross retails at £7,500, while the eBike Sport is a heftier £9,500.
The four new Cross Turismo models bring the entire Taycan family choices up to eight (or ten, if you count the PB models of the saloon as separate to the same cars with the PBP), and show the German company's dedication to electrifying its products. Oliver Blume, chairman of the executive board at Porsche AG, said: "In 2019, we sent out a key signal with the debut of our first all-electric sports car. We see ourselves as pioneers of sustainable mobility: by 2025, half of all the new vehicles we will deliver will have an electrified drive - either fully electric or plug-in hybrid. In 2020, one in three of all vehicles we delivered in Europe had an electric powertrain. The future belongs to electric mobility. With the Taycan Cross Turismo, we're taking another major step in this direction."
Matt Robinson - 4 Mar 2021