Porsche Taycan review

The 4S makes the most sense because it gives you the full Taycan experience at the lowest cost, although it's pricier than an equivalent Tesla Model S and isn't as generously equipped.

Dual-zone climate control, 19in wheels, cruise control and a powered tailgate are standard, but if you want keyless entry, privacy glass, a heated steering wheel, heated seats or adaptive cruise control you'll be paying extra. You do get a handy system that pre-warms the battery so you can get the most range out of it, though. The entry-level Taycan, though, has a better range and is usefully cheaper, so don’t rule it out if range is more important than performance.

The Turbo and Turbo S come with a longer list of standard kit but they push up the price by tens of thousands of pounds. That said, depreciation is likely to be very low and, if you're buying on PCP finance, relatively speaking, the Taycan won't cost you as much per month as you might imagine. If you're lucky enough to have a Taycan on your company car list, you'll be spending barely anything in benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax. 

As for charging, we recommend that you push the boat out for the Performance Battery Plus option, which is standard on Turbo models. Without it, your maximum charging rate will be capped at 225kW. With it fitted, rates of up to 270kW are possible, thanks to the Taycan’s 800-volt electrical system. This, in ideal conditions, allows a 10-80% charge in around 20mins (quicker than a Model S hooked up to a Tesla Supercharger). 

But while there are approximately 500 Superchargers in the UK, you can only use these if you have a Tesla; there are currently only a handful of locations capable of charging the Taycan at up to 270kW. You can still use regular public CCS charging points, though, while a 0-100% charge from a 7kW home wallbox takes around 13hrs.

One final point on charging: Porsche charges extra for a Type 2 cable, which you’ll need. Don’t worry about all the other charging options on the price list, though – these really aren't necessary.

There's a three-year warranty on the Taycan itself, although the battery is covered separately for eight years, with a guarantee that it won't drop below 70% of its original capacity during that time. 

Meanwhile, the list of standard safety kit includes automatic emergency braking, traffic-sign recognition and lane-keeping assistance. It’s a shame, though, that blind-spot monitoring, a standard feature on both the Tesla Model S and Model 3, is reserved for the options list on the Taycan, coming as part of a Lane Change Assist pack.

In terms of crash protection, the Taycan achieved a five-star rating from Euro NCAP, the same as its closest rival, the Model S. However, whiplash protection for adults sitting in the front or back was found to be marginal, which is a little disappointing.

Reliability is much harder to predict – we’ve little to go on because this is Porsche’s first electric car in more than 100 years. However, the brand finished a relatively disappointing 22nd out of 31 manufacturers in the What Car? Reliability Survey – although this was still a better showing than Tesla down in 29th place