EV Review: 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo

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The first thing you should know about Porsche’s Cross Turismo is that it is, at heart, a Taycan. Oh, sure, there’s a unique lower front valance, different side skirts and a rear diffuser, as well as a fixed rear roof spoiler and wheel arch moldings, not to mention the obvious fact that it’s a station wagon. Even the model lineup is somewhat different — all Cross Turismos come with the larger 93.4-kilowatt-hour (83.7-kWh useable) battery, and AWD is also standard.

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If you want to get picky, it rides 20 millimetres higher (there’s also an optional Off-Road Design package that rides even higher) than the sedan and there’s even a new, lower-priced model Taycan 4 model that you can get at a screaming deal, just $119,900. But, give or take 1,200 litres or so of cargo capacity, beneath the skin beats the heart of the best luxury EV in the world right now, Porsche’s Taycan.

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Before we talk about the heart, let’s talk a little bit about that skin. The Cross Turismo, is, in a word, gorgeous. A cross between its four-door sedan sibling, Ferrari’s slightly ungainly FF, and BMW’s then-controversial-but-now-dearly-missed M Coupe, the Cross Turismo is as fetching as four-door station wagons get. Replete with a stunning headlight design, some distinctive air inlets, and some seriously butch fender flares, the Cross Turismo appears both practical and aggressive. It’s eye-catching, a fact made obvious by the legions of curiosity-seekers and knowledgeable fans I came across during my time with the car, both who expressed their admiration. “Experts” keep telling us that North America isn’t wagon country. Maybe that’s because we’ve never been given a good one. Park your brand-new Lamborghini Huracan beside one and see who gets more attention. Go ahead; I dare ya.

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The Huracan might also have a bit of a hard time keeping up with the battery-powered Porsche as well. Sedan versions of 750-horsepower Turbo S have been clocked at 2.8 second to 100 kilometres an hour and my regular Turbo — with “only” 616 hp — and its 3.3s isn’t much behind. I took my most stalwart boxer, Jaquan Carty, for a ride — you might remember him from my Lamborghini Aventador review — and his stomach did the same double-flip as mine the first time I got a passenger ride in Porsche’s high-performing EV. It took his intestines about half-an-hour to settle down enough to do box jumps. Again, challenge a Cross Turismo to a stoplight duel. Go ahead; I dare ya.

Even more amazing is that, thanks to a bunch of software updates, the current 2021 Taycan, including this Cross Turismo, goes farther on a battery charge than ever. Officially, Natural Resources Canada says its electrons are good for 341 kilometres (that’s for the slightly lighter sedan version; no official figures yet for the Cross Turismo). In my Range Finder tests — essentially cruising up and down Ontario 407 toll highway at 125 kilometres an hour until the lithium runs out — we recorded a 362-kilometre range . Eagle eyes — that would be readers bored enough to read Range Finder — will know that’s about 20 klicks up on the 4S sedan we tested last year, and even a few klicks more than the last Tesla 100 D we sampled. Besides that, Porsche’s 800-Volt architecture recharges faster than any other EV currently on the market. Yes, even Tesla’s vaunted Supercharger. No electric vehicle we have tested can go farther faster than Porsche’s Taycan. And, if you’re following the theme here, go ahead and challenge that assumption. I dare ya.

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More importantly — because the Cross Turismo must maintain Porsche’s reputation for crisp steering, even if it is electric and a station wagon — this more-practical Taycan handles a dream. As you might remember, I once labelled the Turbo S sedan version the best-handling four-door of all time after sampling its prowess on Mosport’s Driver Development Track. Well, this Turbo version of the Cross Turismo doesn’t suffer much for its slightly softer and higher suspension, nor its gain of 25 kilograms of heft. Besides, there’s a Turbo S version of the wagon as well that should all but emulate the sedan’s performance. So go ahead and try to follow the Taycan down a twisty road in any other EV. Hell, make that any four-door sedan, battery- or ICE-powered. One more time — go ahead, I dare ya.

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To be sure, Taycans have issues. First and foremost is, like all Porsches, the pricing. The base MSRP on the Turbo Cross Turismo is a not-unsurprising $178,000. But even at that price, it’s not exactly loaded. If you want Porsche’s vaunted Dynamic Chassis Control Sport package or noise-insulated glass, well, that’s going to be extra, innit? Hell, adaptive cruise control, standard in many far lesser vehicles, costs $1,780 in the $178,000 Porsche. Tally up all those extras — the options list on my tester would have made a good short story — and my unit cost a cool $230,470.

And, if we’re nit-picking, it’s true that the wagon has more ultimate cargo capacity than the sedan version, at 1,171 litres (41.4 cubic feet) as I mentioned. But that’s with the rear seats stowed . Carry four passengers, and then there’s 405 L (14.3 cu. ft.), just 39 litres (1.4 cubes) more than the sedan. It’s more conveniently loaded, of course, and ultimately easier to pack bulky items in, but understand that the Tursimo does not boast the sport-utility cavernous cargo area that its “Cross Turismo” name is trying to engender. Yes, the Cross Turismo’s unique shape does give it a superior practicality, but know that Suburban XLs are not losing any sleep over diminishing market share.

I suppose we could also complain about an infotainment system not as colourful as others in this segment, an instrument gauge set that lacks a little, well, imagination and, hell, again that options list; it’s criminal what’s not included in that $178,000 base price.

But the Taycan is my favourite EV. It’s the best-handling battery-powered car on the planet that just happens to have the quickest-charging battery currently available. If I had to take a road trip in an electric car — and frankly I still would prefer to not take a road trip in an EV — it would be in a Porsche Taycan.