2022 Porsche Taycan RWD review: Australian first drive

At the risk of exposing a shameful journalistic impotency, I’m afraid I’ve been struggling to fully process the Porsche Taycan. From the first time I laid eyes on the utterly transfixing Mission E concept that previewed what we would get in production form, I was a bit bowled over.

And then when I finally got my hands on the 4S, Turbo and Turbo S, I felt the same sense of bewilderment trying to fathom exactly what was going on. It’s not the fastest thing I’ve ever driven, nor the most expensive, comfortable or intimidating. But there’s something about its unconventional delivery of pace, grip and luxury that requires a complete recalibration of everything I thought I knew about cars.

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But now there’s this. Following a classically predictable Porsche model introduction program, the German car-maker has now launched a new entry-level version dubbed simply the Taycan. Rolling in the tyre tracks of the 4S, Turbo and Turbo S, the new most affordable Taycan sedan brings a host of intriguing changes compared with the variants before it.

For a start, it’s offered with the smallest battery of any Taycan, its lithium-ion pack being of 79.2kWh capacity. That’s the same as the standard pack offered for the 4S but it can be boosted to 93.4kWh to match the rest of the Taycan range. Speaking of, with the smaller battery, the new Taycan version will go up to 369km on a single charge or 434km with the upgrade. The optional battery also boosts power and torque from 240kW/345Nm to 280kW/357Nm.

And because there aren’t nearly enough numbers on this page already, there’s an overboost function that lifts outputs to 300kW, or 350kW if fitted with the bigger battery.

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If you’re wondering why those numbers are so far down on the 4S that shares the same battery, well spotted. The answer lies in the defining feature of the entry-level Taycan and, as part of the cost-cutting treatment, the new addition to the range has dropped the front axle motor resulting in the first rear-drive Taycan.

Just how much cost does it cut though? Priced from $156,300 before on-road costs, the newest Taycan variant is a significant 20 per cent cheaper than the next most affordable Taycan 4S, but the entry version is much more than a rental-spec stripper.

The rear wheels don’t struggle for traction and full performance can be extracted without having to work as hard as other rear-drive high-powered sedans.

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Let me start by dousing any hopes that the new version has been created as some kind of tyre-vapourising Formula D hero. It’s the slowest Taycan in the family but there are still deep reserves of performance to tap into.

Our test car had been optioned with the bigger battery, adding another $12,020 to the bottom line and bringing the extra performance. Interestingly though, zero to 100km/h acceleration is unaffected taking 5.4 seconds and is most likely traction limited rather than by power and torque. In typical electric car fashion, acceleration is instant and boundless within public road limits, and the claimed torque figure on paper seems way less than it feels in practice.

Surprisingly, the rear wheels don’t struggle for traction and the full performance can be extracted without having to work as hard as some other rear-drive high-powered sedans. There’s a little slip if you want it and understeer with clumsy hands on the wheel, but get it right, and the rear-drive Taycan is sensational.

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With a 90kg weight difference between the 4S and RWD, and its front-end responsiveness and turn-in feeling as though most, if not all, of that mass has been excised from the front axle, the base Taycan exhibits an almost Caymanesque eagerness to change direction.

Another key difference is that the air suspension has been binned in favour of steel coil springs all round. Adaptive dampers remain but the switch to a more traditional suspension approach has imparted even more approachability to the Taycan’s personality.

It can’t match the most floaty setting of the air set-up and there’s a little more noise transmitted through to the cabin, but the coil-sprung ride is truly impressive. It’s added to by 19-inch wheels and 62mm tyre sidewalls that have a little more give than the 20- and 21-inch tyres fitted to more expensive versions.

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Enjoy the sight of these 19-inch wheels while you can because I guarantee you’ll never see them on a customer’s car, with almost all private buyers likely to option something upwards of 20 inches. But that’s a bit of a shame in many ways.

Firstly, the taller side-wall pairs so beautifully with the steel spring suspension and I suspect some of the lithe ride will be lost on a pimped-up set of rims. And secondly, while the somewhat plain design of the 19-inch wheel might not inspire everyone, a bit more visible tyre profile invokes a little old-school racer look that I can’t help loving.

With less mass to manage, the rear-drive Taycan feels more confident under braking ... while the limit of grip is less alien than the Turbo and Turbo S

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Retained is the two-speed transmission common to all Taycan’s and the almost unique EV hardware adds low-down punch for acceleration and longer, battery-conserving legs at higher speed. Its effect can be felt with a cool kick when it swaps cogs at about 80km/h and a change in the motor pitch.

With less mass to manage, the rear-drive Taycan feels more confident under braking with a highly positive pedal feel and less travel than expected, while the attitude at the limit of grip is less alien than the Turbo and Turbo S. This is the rascal Taycan that’ll encourage you to chuck it about more than the grown-up siblings.

That said, it’ll still do the large sedan thing with room for five on board (ours had the $1000 4+1 option), and while the removal of the front motor has not liberated any extra room in the front 84-litre load area, the entry version does get a rear boot bigger than any other at 407 litres.

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While our test car had a few options thrown at it including the bigger battery, sunroof, posh matrix headlights and 22kW onboard charger to list a few of the most expensive, it was still easy to appreciate the standard kit.

All versions get the massive digital displays (but not the silly one for the front passenger), excellent ‘comfort’ seats in part leather that are actually rather sporty, a head-up display, six-piston front brakes and four-pot at the back, and Porsche’s suite of chassis control systems.

If there’s anything that feels a little lacking, however, virtually anything can be added in optionally. Sport Chrono pack, air suspension, torque vectoring and rear steering are a few that might tempt. Just don’t ask for all-wheel drive – for that you’ll have to step up to the 4S.

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A must-have on my order sheet would have to be the weirdly wonderful Electric Sport Sound for a sniff over a grand. While some generated EV sounds range from laughable to downright annoying, the Taycan’s noise is completely captivating and has so many levels, pitches and tones it’s hard to separate the artificial report from the satisfying whine actually produced by the motor.

And while the extended range of 434km is a clear strength of the bigger battery, I’d be interested to sample the not-exactly-limited 369km version. With a further 80kg weight advantage over the optional battery, this 2050kg version could be even livelier and more fun as well as the price hero of the range.

The cheapest Taycan is the easiest to connect with and requires the least from the driver to exploit its full potential ... the entry-version feels more traditional

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Sounds familiar? It’s a similar story over in the Taycan’s petrol-powered sibling’s range. Yes, the 911 GT3 is an astonishingly capable car, and the GTS is frequently awarded the ‘sweet spot’ award, but the entry Carrera is often overlooked. Like the new Taycan, the base 911 is an exceptional car and probably all the 911 you’d ever need.

The cheapest Taycan is the easiest to connect with and requires the least adjustment from the driver to exploit its full potential. While the monstrously powerful, grippy and heavier stablemates offer stratospheric limits of performance, the entry-version feels, in a word, more traditional.

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That, you might argue, is a failure for the Porsche that has been created to break new ground and pioneer its greatest technological triumphs. But think of the rear-drive Taycan as a gateway into the model range – offering all of the EV advantages, a big slice of the action and a sharper price, in a package that’s less confronting.

Spending some time in the new entry-level Taycan has enabled me to better understand its more capable and expensive siblings and perhaps explore a little more of their bountiful breadth, but now I’m ready for the training wheels to come off, I don’t think I want to graduate after all.

2022 Porsche Taycan specifications