TESTED 29.5.24, BEDFORDSHIRE ON SALE NOW - PORSCHE TAYCAN

Refreshed saloon targets class supremacy with electric powertrain updates

- ILLYA VERPRAET

Electric drivetrain technology moves quickly. Not quickly enough for some, certainly, but it's still easy for pioneering models to get left behind. Just ask the Jaguar I-Pace. The Porsche Taycan earned a five-star road test recommendation when it was launched in 2020 because it offered good range, market-leading charging speeds and enjoyable dynamics, and it all came wrapped up in a good-looking saloon body (and later an estate).

However, its efficiency and range figures were some way off the sharp end by 2024, so with this mild facelift and rather more involved technical update, Porsche has put things right with new motors and battery options.

Our first taste of the refreshed Taycan in the UK comes by way of the entry-level single-motor 'Taycan' (with no 4, Turbo or other suffix), although the test car did have the £4454 Performance Battery Plus option. This swaps the standard 82kWh battery for a 97kWh one.

As specified, this is the longest-range Taycan available, at a claimed 420 miles. In mixed driving, it returned 3.7mpkWh, which makes for a real-world range of 360 miles.

True, that was in ideal high-teens ambient temperatures, but in 2024 that's very impressive for a car with 429bhp and a 4.8sec 0-62mph time.