2025 Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo review

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2025 Porsche Taycan 4 Cross Turismo

Five years after its inception, the Porsche Taycan has received its first facelift. The MY25 brings a bigger battery, more power, faster charging, a longer driving range, more extensive standard equipment, and some remarkable performance elements.

These enhancements don't come cheap, though, with the range increasing by up to $15,100. 

There are two body styles to choose from – the four-door sedan and high-riding Cross Turismo wagon, and six trim levels on offer: Taycan RWD, Taycan 4 and 4S, Taycan Turbo and Turbo S, and Taycan Turbo GT.

I drove the 4 Cross Turismo, which is the base spec of the Cross Turismo range and is up by $12,800 compared to its predecessor. 

My vehicle was equipped with a long list of optional equipment, adding $38,560 to the $198,000 price tag.

The most expensive option was the 21-inch Cross Turismo design wheels ($9650), with the cheapest the model designation badge, finished in high-gloss black for $500. You can see a full list of options below. 

Porsche Taycans aren't flying off the showroom floor. Porsche sold 236 to the end of September 2024, but it's not Porsche’s least popular car, with just the Panamera recording just 44 sales over the same period. 

In comparison, the Mercedes-Benz delivered 143 EQE sedans from January to September. Audi didn’t have much luck with just 77 e-tron GTs selling from the beginning of the year. 

Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing the split between sedans and wagons. However, Porsche has told us that approximately 47 per cent of Taycan orders are from first-time Porsche owners, 55 per cent of buyers are in the 30–49 age category, and around 80 per cent are male. 

In my opinion, the Taycan is appealing, eye-catching, and recognisable as a Porsche. Again, personally, the wagon has even more kerb appeal, but I can understand that the lifted and elongated look doesn't get everyone's motor running. 

So, how does the updated Taycan look? Pretty much the same as its predecessor. In fact, when I jumped in this car I wasn’t entirely sure if Porsche had handed me the updated version. So that I didn't embarrass myself with a phone call, I ended up googling pics of the MY25 just to make sure it was indeed the new model. 

The giveaway was the tweaked headlight design, along with the reworked front wings. So, the styling tweaks might be minor, but the changes under the skin are considerable.

But just how important are these upgrades? Enough that you should spend the extra coin? 

How much is the Porsche Taycan?

As mentioned above, the car that I drove, the 4 Cross Turismo, is priced at $236,560 including options and excluding on-road costs.

The Taycan range kicks off with the rear-wheel-drive sedan, which starts at $175,100, while the most expensive sedan in the line-up is the Turbo GT, costing $416,600. 

The Cross Turismo offers three specifications – the Taycan 4 being the most affordable and the Taycan Turbo at the top of the wagon range at $310,400. 

Compared to its main rivals, you can get into a Mercedes-Benz EQE for much less, ($134,900 for the EQE300), with the range topping out at $213,600 for the Mercedes-AMG EQE53 4Matic+.

The Taycan starting price is cheaper than that of the Audi e-tron GT ($181,784), whereas the top-of-the-range RS e-tron GT is priced from $250,484. 

Standard features include a 10.9-inch infotainment touchscreen a digital instrument cluster, wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto, satellite navigation, DAB+ digital radio, keyless entry and start, auto-dimming, LED headlights with Porsche dynamic light plus, privacy glass, heated steering wheel, 14-way comfort front seats with memory, ambient lighting, wireless smartphone charging, electric charging ports for both side, and adaptive air suspension, just to name a few.

How big is a Porsche Taycan?

The Taycan 4 Cross Turismo measures 4974mm long, 1967mm wide, 1409mm high, and sits on a wheelbase of 2904mm. 

Jumping inside, this wagon feels rather spacious, the seating position is optimal, and there's a decent amount of head and leg room up front.

Storage space isn't terrible. There's an open compartment in the centre console, fit for a small bag, but the centre compartment is small, the door bins aren't generous, and the rear misses out on seatback pockets.

The second row gets a tick from someone with long legs, (I’m 173cm), with a good amount of leg, toe and head room. As you can expect with a Porsche, the options are endless. As standard, there are four seats, but for an additional $1000 you can add a middle seat, which our car featured.

The passenger that draws the short straw for the middle seat will most definitely feel cramped, and will have to endure the trip with legs on either side of the floor hump. 

As for the boot, there's 446 litres of cargo space in there, which expands to 1212L with the rear seats folded. It may not sound like a lot, but it's rather deep, and you get additional space up front with an 84L storage space under the bonnet. 

In comparison, the EQE doesn't get any front storage, but it offers a large boot capacity at 520L, while the e-tron GT gets an 85L spot up front, along with 405/1171L of rear boot space. 

The Taycan has a tyre repair kit and compressor in the boot, but misses out on a spare wheel.

Does the Porsche Taycan have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?

All Taycan models get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with DAB+ digital radio and Bluetooth connectivity. Connecting your smartphone to Bluetooth or CarPlay is a quick and seamless process via the crisp infotainment system. 

While the Apple CarPlay connected seamlessly, I did experience a few dropouts, which left the system lost and in no hurry to reconnect. I've had this happen to me on the regular with Apple CarPlay, so I'll blame the fickle system and not the Porsche. 

The 10.9-inch infotainment touchscreen is high-resolution and incredibly intuitive, while the digital instrument display is clear and easy to navigate. That's not all, though, as it's screens galore. The Taycan is equipped with a third screen as standard, which is located just below the main system. 

The 8.4-inch display houses functions such as your climate, seat heating, and this is also where charging information will be displayed. 

What's more, our car scored the optional passenger screen costing $2860. The screen is finished in a way that allows only the passenger to view what's on the screen, so as not to distract the driver. Smart. 

While I'm talking you through the system, I have to divulge my frustration with the air vents. It took me days to figure out how to change the air direction, as they cannot be operated manually. Instead of the good old-fashioned way, the direction is set through the climate-control screen using a scroll function. 

It's becoming more and more common that brands bury everyday functions in infotainment screens, ridding them of analogue dials and buttons, but in my opinion this takes it a little too far.

The second row also gets a touchscreen as standard and our test car included the four-zone climate control, which will set you back $1770. You can see how quickly these options add up.

Finally, there are four USB-C ports throughout, along with a wireless charging pad. This is located in the front centre compartment where your phone can be stored horizontally inside a cover. I don't have a lot of patience for these chargers, and this one was painfully slow to connect. 

Is the Porsche Taycan a safe car?

The facelifted Porsche Taycan has not been crash-tested by ANCAP and therefore does not feature an official rating. It's worth noting, however, that the pre-facelift car was tested by Euro NCAP back in 2019 and awarded the maximum five-star rating.

Under the Euro NCAP testing criteria of the time it scored highly 85 for adult occupant protection and 83 per cent for child occupant protection. Vulnerable road user protection and safety assist systems were rated at 70 and 73 percent respectively. As Euro NCAP (and ANCAP) update to stricter protocols every few years, an older result like this may not be directly comparable with a more recent five-star result.

What safety technology does the Porsche Taycan have?

Standard safety features include 10 airbags including rear side airbags, active bonnet, active parking support, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, AEB including pedestrian detection, intersection assist, swerve and turn assist, front and rear parking sensors, surround-view camera, lane-change assist, and lane-keep assist with emergency stop.

For families, there are two outboard seats in the second row with ISOFIX as well as top-tether points. Lane-tracing assist isn’t abrupt like many vehicles that tend to forcefully pull you back into the lane, and the cabin doesn't sound with an array of beeps from other safety functions. 

The surround-view camera is truly impressive. Not only does it give you a close-up view, but there’s also a video option that turns the car, so you can see all angles from a bird’s eye view. What’s more, cruise control is straightforward to engage on the stalk behind the steering wheel.

Something that I didn't enjoy testing was the park assist function. I conducted my tests in quiet urban streets with ample parking available. There were times when I pulled up to a spot that was deserted (nothing in front or behind) and it still didn't perform the way I expected.

What I realised after is that I should have turned off the emergency brake assist during my testing, as it kicked in on every occasion, pretty much commanding that I take over. 

My fifth and final attempt didn't ask me to take over, which was a success, but my final view of the camera was proof that it definitely could have been positioned better.

This is just my opinion, but luxury or mainstream, a lot of cars require too many steps for this function. This assistance feature is something you want to nail quickly, and most of the time in a busy environment. My 2013 Volkswagen Tiguan required one push of a button, and that was it.

I’ve come to a point where I trust my parallel-parking abilities far more than these systems. Although, I can understand why people would enjoy engaging this option if they feel comfortable to do so.

Finally, this car also gets a vehicle lift function. It might not look very low, nor did it feel like I was sitting low to the ground, but I still made the most of this nifty feature when I came across a steeper driveway.

How much does the Porsche Taycan cost to run?

Like all new Porsche models, the Taycan has a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which falls far short of the industry standard. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW all offer a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. The battery, however, is covered by an eight-year/160,000km warranty.

Annual maintenance of the Taycan 4 is $395 a pop, while inspections cost $750. Scheduled maintenance checks and inspections alternate every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

Insurance for the Taycan 4 Cross Turismo is quoted at $4950. This quote is based on a 35-year-old male residing in NSW. To put this into context, the EQE will cost around $5300 per year. 

What is the range of a Porsche Taycan?

When the facelifted model was launched, Porsche said that the main priority, based on customer feedback, was to improve the driving range.

The base model rear-wheel drive boasts the highest claimed range at 651km, while the Turbo GT has the least at 605km. Our model gets 601km.

All models in the Porsche Taycan range now have a bigger 105kWh battery pack (up from 93.4kWh) as standard. Porsche claims the battery pack is 9kg lighter than before, and it can be charged at a faster rate. 

Peak charging power is the highest of any electric car on the market, at 320kW, and can charge the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes.

The energy consumption figure for the Taycan Turbo is 18.5kWh per 100 kilometres, and I returned a recording of 20kWh/100km. I spent a lot of time on highways, which meant that I was often engaging cruise control, and happily activated Sport mode on more than one occasion. Therefore, for a larger car like this, and with my driving style I don't think that's too shabby.

It's hard to get range anxiety with a range that's over 600km. I was commuting from the Mornington Peninsula into the city on a daily basis, and I never had to think about it. I did two days in a row of return trips without charging, and still had plenty of range up my sleeve.  

What is the Porsche Taycan like to drive?

One of the best qualities of the Porsche Taycan is the fact that it drives like a quintessential Porsche. 

The power kicks in from the moment you press the accelerator, and with 320kW and 610Nm with Launch Control activated, getting off the line and executing snappy overtakes is effortless.

But wait, there's more. Introduced for this update is a Formula E-inspired feature, known as the push-to-pass function. Located on the steering wheel, push-to-pass is included in the optional Sport Chrono pack, costing an extra $2290. 

The Taycan 4 scores an additional 60kW, which is called upon with the touch of a button, for a total of 10 seconds. I only activated this once or twice, and not because I even needed to, but for the thrill of the boost. So, we know that with or without this inclusion, the Taycan absolutely delivers in the way of outright pace, but there's so much more to write home about, and that includes the ride quality.

The ride is, to put it simply, exceptional. Not only is body roll virtually non-existent, but the ride is smooth and balanced, and the grip is remarkable. This is even without the optional new Active Ride system.

This car was equipped with the torque-vectoring option ($3120), which is apparent when taking corners, but this is also where I noticed the weight. At 2280kg, it's not light, but I can honestly say that it's not something that came to my attention immediately until I was pushing into tighter corners. 

But, if the biggest drawback of a car is its weight, I’ll gladly accept it.

The drive is made even more enjoyable due to the fact that it's got impressive stopping power, sublime handling, and the cabin is a comfortable and pleasant place to be. 

So, while I’ve yet to experience an unpleasant ride in a Porsche, the Taycan is no exception, and proof that this is an everyday driver’s car – something you can enjoy on long road trips and short stints to the shops, and with additional power on tap when you feel like it.

Missing the crackle and pops, though? You can opt for the Porsche electric sport sound, which might appease traditionalists, but it's a bit gimmicky for me. 

Finally, the Taycan range is extensive, and it's worth mentioning that if you want more power, and have the extra coin, the Turbo GT is now available to order, and holds the title of Australia's quickest, most powerful new car. 

Should I buy a Porsche Taycan?

The Taycan is a cosy, luxurious and refined machine. If you're after a fun EV that’s familiar and sporty, this nails that brief. 

Is the facelift worth it? Well, it depends on your needs. Both vehicles look similar and boast outstanding performance, incredible drivability, and great tech.

If you’re expecting a revamped interior and a new-look exterior, then you might be disappointed. I can assure you, though, the upgrades that you can’t see are significant.

So, if factors such as driving range, power, and speedy charge times are high on your list, this could be the model for you.

How do I buy a Porsche Taycan? The next steps.

The next step on the purchase journey is to check the Porsche website, where you can build and price your preferred Taycan variant.

You can also find Porsche cars for sale at Drive Marketplace.

If you want to stay updated with everything that’s happened to this car since our review, you’ll find all the latest news here.

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