Taycan Cross Turismo shows off Porsche’s dirty side

March 5, 2021March 14, 2021 Toby Hagon 3267 Views electric crossover, ev, porsche, Taycan, Taycan Cross Turismo

Porsche has revealed its first crossover electric car, the Taycan Cross Turismo, a car it describes as a “true all-rounder”.

With an eye on dirt tracks or snow as much as race tracks and autobahns, the Cross Turismo is the more practical wagon-esque big brother to the regular Taycan (read our review of the Taycan here) it shares its 800-Volt electric architecture with.

Bringing to life the Mission E Cross Turismo concept unveiled in 2018, the Taycan Cross Turismo arrives in Australia in the third quarter of 2021 priced from $201,000 plus on-road costs.

Like the Taycan, the Taycan Cross Turismo will initially be offered as a 4S, Turbo or more powerful Turbo S. The Turbo is priced from $271,200 (like the Taycan, neither has a turbocharger, the names simply used for familiarity within the broader Porsche range) and the Turbo S pricing is yet to be announced; given its proximity to the regular Taycan pricing it’s likely to be around $340K.

Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo electric crossover being charged; like the Taycan it has an 800V architecture for rapid charging

Porsche has also revealed the less powerful Taycan Cross Turismo 4, but no word on when (or if) it arrives in Australia. The most affordable regular Taycan is the 4S.

While the Taycan Cross Turismo shares many styling themes with the Taycan, an extended roofline – or “flyline”, as Porsche refers to it – creates a more functional rump and adds 47mm to the rear headroom.

There are also wheel arch flares to reinforce its light-duty off-road capability and further muscle-up the appearance.

In revealing the Cross Turismo Porsche even showed off a car covered in a fine layer of dust to reinforce the 998,361km of testing that took place across the US, the UK, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands.

Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo electric crossover — Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S (left) and Turbo

And, of course, the car was thrashed around the unofficial test track of fast cars, the Nuburgring in Germany.

“The biggest challenge was combining the requirements of sportiness with off-road capabilities,” said Cross Turismo model line vice president Stefan Weckbach.

“The Cross Turismo has to be capable of high performance on the race track but must also be able to handle mud, scree [loose rocks] and gravel.”

Off-road focus for Taycan Cross Turismo

All Cross Turismos will ride on adjustable air suspension and there’s even an Off-Road Design Package that unleashes an extra 30mm of ground clearance and brings additional flaps for the bumpers and side sills to protect against stone damage.

There’s a new addition to the drive modes that include Porsche staples such as Sport and Sport+ – it’s called Gravel Mode and is designed to improve “suitability for driving on rough roads”.

The Cross Turismo will even be offered with an optional bike rack to carry three bicycles.

That’s indicative of how Porsche sees the Taycan being used.

In a world where mountain biking, kayaking and surfing are super popular, it pays to ensure your EV can keep up with expectations.

Big range, big performance

All Taycan Cross Turismos will also be fitted with the larger Performance Battery Plus that has a 93.4kWh capacity, allowing a longer driving range.

And all have two electric motors sending drive to all four wheels.

The EV range of the Cross Turismo Turbo is claimed at between 395km and 452km, the variation covering different options fitted, including tyres.

The electric range of the Cross Turismo Turbo S is slightly less, at 388km to 419km.

That will clearly create challenges exploring the more remote parts of Australia, although the performance-focused tyres could also be a limiting factor there…

Porsche hasn’t detailed the charging capability of the Taycan Cross Turismo, but the pictures show a charging flap on either side of the car, suggesting it will mimic the 270kW charge capability of the regular Taycan. That would mean an 80 percent charge in around 22 minutes when hooked up to an ultra-rapid charger.

As for performance, the Cross Turismo Turbo makes 460kW maximum power, or 500kW when using the Launch Control function.

That’s identical to the Taycan Turbo, although its 0-100km/h is fractionally slower, at a still-brisk 3.3 seconds.

The Cross Turismo Turbo S makes 460kW or 560kW with overboost and can complete the 0-100km/h dash in a fiery 2.9 seconds, just 0.1 seconds slower than the Taycan Turbo S.

While it’s bigger and more functional than the Taycan, the Cross Turismo, keen observers would have noticed it’s more affordable than the Taycan.

All of which makes it more appealing, on paper at least.

No doubt Porsche will market the performance prowess of the Taycan as being marginally superior. Porsche is masterful at cleverly positioning its sports cars – 718 Boxtster, 718 Cayman and 911 – to ensure a logical step between each model and creating a reason to pay extra for the next model in the range.

It seems the brand has carried that expertise through to the Taycan Cross Turismo.

‘The future belongs to electric’

Porsche chairman Oliver Blume says the Cross Turismo is the next phase in the company’s electric transformation, which in 2020 saw one third of Porsches sold in Europe rechargeable (EV or plug-in hybrid).

“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.

“The future belongs to electric mobility. With the Taycan Cross Turismo, we’re taking another major step in this direction.”

Already Porsche has committed to the next generation Macan mid-sized SUV being electric only. Due on sale in Australia in 2022, the Macan EV will likely initially sell alongside the current petrol-powered model.

Of course, one challenge for Porsche is its sports cars, including the iconic 911 that defines the brand.

Porsche has investigated electric and hybrid options for the 911 – the latest 992 generation has been designed to accept a hybrid system if required – but currently there are no plans.

The company is instead investing heavily in synthetic fuels as a way to allow the internal combustion to thrive in a CO2-neutral world.