Porsche has finally introduced the wagon-y sibling of the Taycan EV. The Taycan Cross Turismo, originally teased in 2018 in draft form, is a more utility-oriented version of Porsche’s first EV with a hatch at the rear, more interior space, greater ground clearance and off-road-oriented options.
The new crossover EV starts at $ 90,900, plus delivery costs. Just like the regular Taycan sedan, there are four different versions with rising price and performance: the Taycan 4 Cross Turismo, the Taycan 4S Cross Turismo, the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo and the Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo.
Other than the regular Taycan, all four versions of the Cross Turismo are equipped with Porsche’s larger 93.4kWh battery pack and a twin-engine four-wheel drive setup. Each trim of the Cross Turismo is about a tenth of a second slower from 0 to 60 miles per hour than its counterpart due to its extra size and weight, although the base model is 0.3 seconds faster than the regular Taycan 4S. The more you pay, the more powerful the cars, with the Turbo S Cross Turismo of the highest level reaching 750 hp in launch control mode.
The Cross Turismo also offers 0.39 inches (10 mm) of extra headroom on the front seat and 3.62 inches (92 mm) more on the rear seat than the Taycan sedans. There really is more space, thanks to the hatch and the fact that the Cross Turismo is about half an inch longer and an inch longer than the sedan. It also results in some extra cubic feet of storage in the Cross Turismo, although the front trunk remains the same size.
The Cross Turismo is not really is going to be an off-roader like the upcoming Rivian pickup or the Hummer EV, although Porsche clearly wants to make buyers bird such as that they can handle rough terrain when pressure comes.
All four versions of the Cross Turismo have an adjustable air suspension, which can be used to quickly increase the vehicle’s clearance by 10 mm and strengthen the ride in ‘Gravel Mode’. Switching to this mode also increases traction and stability control and torque management to make it easier to ride on “loose surfaces” such as mud, sand and – of course – gravel. In addition, buyers can opt for an ‘off-road design package’ that adds a bit of black embellishment around the Cross Turismo and is the ride height of Gravel Mode standard. Roof rails and a bike rack (which will keep Porsche’s expensive new e-bikes quite nice) are also options.
With these wan-off-road aspirations, it’s not surprising that buyers of Taycan Cross Turismo do not have to sacrifice typical Porsche amenities or features like Apple CarPlay wireless or the same kind of upgrades on the Taycan sedan (adaptive cruise control, track , a head screen, 14-way adjustable massage seats, Bose and Burmester sound systems, etc.).
This was essentially the core promise when the Cross Turismo debuted: a slightly larger, more SUV version of the then Mission E. And although some people may be disappointed that the final production Cross Turismo does not look as ready for as it did the concept had, it would definitely have helped Porsche sell more cars until its legally popular SUVs also switched to electric power.