DRIFTING THE TAYCAN… IN FINLAND

WELL SOMEONE HAD TO MAKE SURE PORSCHE'S FIRST ELECTRIC SPORTS CAR IS UP TO EVERY TASK

- ALISA PRIDDLE

In Finland, local Napue gin has long been the go-to for a proper gin and tonic. With some cranberries for color and a sprig of rosemary, it’s kind of like Christmas in a glass.

But then Finnish berry grower and winemaker Arctic Blue expanded into distilling, giving Napue new competition in a fledgling local industry that’s been taking off.

Porsche is a storied brand, but when it comes to electric sports cars, the Taycan is the new entry—like Arctic Blue gin—that wants to change the minds of those who previously would have ordered Napue or bought a Tesla Model S.

So it’s fitting that we head to Levi, Finland, 110 miles north of the arctic circle, to see how the new Taycan luxury electric sports car performs in the cold, ice, and snow. After all, this is the 2020 Taycan 4S with two synchronous electric motors, one on each axle, for all-wheel-drive capability.

The Taycan Turbo and Turbo S first arrived at dealerships in December. These higher-end models will be followed by the Taycan 4S in late April. The base 4S starts at $106,410, but the initial stock of 4S models will be Performance Battery Plus, which starts at $114,430 and has the bigger 93.4-kW-hr battery, a $6,580 option. The base model will follow in June with the 79.2-kW-hr Performance Battery. The early builds also have a standard panoramic roof.

Range was expected to be about 270 miles with the Performance Battery Plus, and Porsche was expecting the actual EPA ratings to be much smaller than what the car gets in real life. Although EPA ratings are still not in for the 4S, the Taycan Turbo’s were even lower than expected, at 201 miles. In short, the Taycan’s range is substantially less than that of the aging but still dominant Model S.