USED BUYER'S GUIDE Porsche Taycan

FROM £35,000 You'll pay a premium for a Taycan, but Porsche got it right with its first electric car. That makes the German EV easy to recommend as a used purchase

- Richard Dredge

AS the 19th century morphed into the 20th, electric cars were vying for supremacy with petrol and steam, and in the mix was the 1898 Egger-Lohner EV, designed by none other than Ferdinand Porsche. Just two years later the Lohner-Porsche Electromobile EV appeared at the Paris Expo. However, limited charging infrastructure and low-tech batteries meant it wasn't yet time for the EV; it would take another century before the electric car would start to become viable.

When the EV returned with a vengeance, Porsche was not at the vanguard, but once it became clear that there was a global push for EVs to become mainstream, the Taycan became a reality. It was Porsche's first production electric model – and what a car it is!

HISTORY

THE Taycan arrived in September 2019. At launch there were 616bhp Turbo and Turbo S editions, but within a month there was also the 483bhp 4S. All of these had four-wheel drive, but in March 2021 a new base model joined the range, sold simply as the Taycan, with 375bhp and rear-wheel drive.

Two months later Porsche introduced the Cross Turismo, a Taycan hatch (billed more as an estate), with the same powertrain options as the saloon, plus a 375bhp Taycan 4 option, then in November 2021 came the 509bhp Taycan GTS. At the same time the Taycan Sport Turismo was launched, a lower-riding and sportier version of the Taycan Cross Turismo.