2021 Porsche Taycan electric

The 2021 model brings forth some changes since the automaker is quite serious about the vehicle’s success in the segment. This sedan stays true to Porsche’s heritage by being a high-performance sports sedan that handles like a sports car, but it doesn’t compromise on the quality of the interior and tech. The 2021 Porsche Taycan price starts at $79,900 and competes against well-established contenders such as the Tesla Model S, the new Lucid Air, and the Audi e-Tron Sportback.

The 2021 Porsche Taycan is available in a total of four trim levels. The Taycan’s base model is priced at $79,900 and comes only as RWD. This makes it slightly easier to own a Taycan than last year’s ridiculous starting price. You are greeted with a long list of standard features, most of which are carried forward in the 4S trim. 19” wheels, partial leather seats, power-adjustable front seats, color screens, modern safety, and driver assistance features are all available. The base battery capacity is 79.2 kWh but you can upgrade to a 93.4 kWh battery capacity for $5,500. There is the Premium Package as an option for $7,080. It will let you enjoy ambient lighting, Surround View, front-seat ventilation, fixed panoramic roof, LED-Matrix design headlights, 14-way power-adjustable seats, Bose Surround Sound system, etc. The 4S model gets a standard AWD system with increased power output and adaptive suspension. The Turbo and the Turbo S models pack in even more features and more power output as well.

Which Trim should you buy?

You can opt for the trim you desire. But the base trim is best suited for having a good experience with the vehicle. The higher and more powerful models do offer more performance and features but carry a steep price tag.

The 2021 Porsche Taycan base model comes with two battery configurations and both the configs produce different power figures. The 79.2 kWh battery produces 321 horsepower 250 lb-ft of torque without launch control and 402 horses and 254 lb-ft of torque with launch control. With a bigger battery of 93.4 kWh, the powertrain produces 375 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque without launch control and 469 ponies and 263 lb-ft of torque with launch control. The sedan is configured with a 2-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive only, which allows the car to use two different transmission modes for higher speeds. Oh, and it only comes with a single motor on the rear wheel axle, unlike the dual-motor setup on the other Taycans.

You can launch the car with Launch Control, which will give you an initial boost in acceleration for a few seconds. Talking about acceleration, both the models can cover the 0-60 MPH sprint in 5.1 seconds, which seems rather slow, and it doesn’t make sense, since the bigger battery has more power. But Porsche mostly understates their claims, so the real-life acceleration should be even faster. The quarter-mile can be covered in 13.7 seconds with the regular battery and 13.5 seconds with the bigger one. Also, it can reach a top speed of 143 MPH, which should be enough to satisfy most minds. 

As it is evident from the table, there are no direct competitors to the Taycan. The Lucid Air isn’t out yet, so there isn’t much info available on it. The Model S beats the Taycan by a considerable margin in terms of power output and acceleration times, while costing the same. The Audi e-Tron is more in line with Taycan’s performance. The Taycan is the only one with RWD and a 2-speed automatic when equipped with the base powertrain while others have an AWD setup with 1-speed automatic transmission.

How well does the 2021 Porsche Taycan Sedan handle?

Get behind the wheel of the 2021 Porsche Taycan once and you will have driven one of the best electric cars available in the market. It’s a Porsche and it drives like a Porsche too. Excellent handling is all you will get which can put even some sports cars to shame. With the battery pack located in the center, the car has an excellent center of gravity which allows you to hit corners with impeccable grace, which not even some supercars can handle. 

Body roll is a thing of the past when you swerve around corners. Of course, with the RWD layout, the enthusiasts will have a field day with this car. The all-electric sedan also has Porsche’s Active Suspension Management, which makes the ride very comfortable for the occupants inside, soaking up all bumps and imperfections. Adaptive air suspension is also available. The steering is absolutely precise as you might expect. 

Braking Performance

The 2021 Porsche Taycan comes equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes with 4-wheel ABS. The front brakes are 14.2 inches while the rear rotors are 14.1 inches. Those are some sizable brakes on offer and can stop the Taycan very well within a short distance. The regenerative braking might give a feeling of lag in responsiveness but it is negligible.

The Audi e-Tron comes equipped with the biggest brakes, but it is also quite heavy. The Tesla Model S and Taycan should come to a halt rather easily with a similar or close to similar stopping distance owing to the almost similarly sized brake rotors. 

The MPGe figures for the 2021 Porsche Taycan stand at around 76/84/79 MPGe for city/highway/combined driving respectively, with the Performance Battery. Equipped with the Performance Battery Plus, you get access to 71/80/75 MPGe for city/highway/combined. The former has a 225-mile total range, while the latter offers a 200-mile total range. When it comes to charging, Porsche sells their Taycans with 3-year access to 30 minutes of DC charging at Electrify American charging stations. If you use your regular household charger, it can take up to an astonishingly long 35 hours for a full charge. With a 9.6 kW AC power outlet, it can be done in 9 and half hours, and with 11 kW AC power, in just 8 hours. However, there are charging systems for charging it up to 80% in just 22 minutes. But in real-life practicality, it still cannot be compared to Tesla’s Supercharger stations which are more widely available across the States.

When it comes to range, Porsche cannot hold a candle to Tesla. The Taycan is pretty unimpressive with the range and rather focuses on performance. The Tesla and the Lucid, both dedicated EV companies, completely blew out the Audi e-Tron and the Porsche Taycan with their driving range of 405 and 406 miles. It’s pretty conspicuous that these EVs can go double the distance with a single recharge. 

The 2021 Porsche Taycan interior is not your typical sedan’s cabin. It is an EV that is almost from the future, hence it also has a futuristic interior design, with all screens and almost no buttons. All the functions such as climate controls are handled by screens placed at the center console. There are two center console screens, one on the top is the infotainment and one on the bottom controls the climate while the gauge cluster is also all-digital. The dashboard has a very unique design, bordering on futurism. Material-wise, you get high-quality materials throughout. Partial leather trim is standard for the seats but you can upgrade to full leather or Olea Club Leather. Be warned though, Porsche will charge you a lot of extra bucks to avail of these options, typical of Porsche in every way. 

The sedan comes standard with 2 seats in the front and 2 at the back, but you can add a third seat in the middle in the rear row as an option. The standard seating configuration includes 8-way power-adjustable front seats. However, you can upgrade to heated and ventilated 14-way power-adjustable front seats w/ memory package with the Premium Package. The front row is very spacious but the rear row is not ideal for tall passengers as the roofline is sloping and legroom is also not the best. Overall, the ride is comfy and so are the seats.

Being an EV, it has the advantage of having two trunks, one at the front and one at the rear. The front trunk is very tiny, just 2.9 cubic feet, and not ideal for anything significant. The rear trunk is 14.3 cubic feet, which is a decent size for a sedan. With the 60/40-split rear seats down, it opens up 58.1 cubic feet of cargo storage. The sedan can be used to hold a number of items. It also has cupholders and a cooled glovebox. The Model S and the Audi e-Tron completely leave the Taycan in the dust when it comes to standard cargo capacity, even the Lucid Air offers more. As usual, Porsche does not provide interior dimensions, but the other cars have a decent spacing front and rear.

Some interior features include:

• 8-way power-adjustable seats
• Sport Leather Steering Wheel
• Dual-zone automatic climate control
• Leatherette door trim insert
• Partial leather seating surfaces
• Refrigerated box in the glovebox
• Screen for climate controls

What’s there to keep you entertained?

Every Taycan is fitted with screens and virtual buttons almost everywhere on the inside like a futuristic EV. Right from the get-go, you will notice the massive 16.8” curved digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel displaying all that you need to know about the car. A center 10.9” screen sticks out from the center of the dashboard, working as an infotainment screen, while the one below is for climate controls. The optional passenger’s screen and rear passenger’s screen are also available. Sometimes, the system might work flawlessly, but sometimes, it refuses to cooperate. There are quite a few annoying things about this system, especially the lack of physical buttons.

Standard features include Porsche Communication Management including online navigation, Bluetooth, RDS twin-tuner and diversity, voice control w/ natural speech recognition, 3D nav map, Porsche Connect w/ Apple CarPlay, Porsche Vehicle Tracking System, SiriusXM, HD radio. A 10-speaker sound system is standard but you can upgrade to a 14-speaker premium Bose sound system. Sadly, you do not get Android Auto.

Highlights of the infotainment system:

• Three total screens
• Porsche Vehicle Tracking System
• Navtime w/ Real-Time Traffic Display
• SiriusXM Radio
• HD Radio
• 14-speaker Bose premium sound system (optional)
• Apple CarPlay

The 2021 Porsche Taycan looks exactly like a Panamera to some extent but has unique styling cues that are completely different from other Porsche vehicles. It’s a gorgeous design and we’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t like it. Being an EV, the need for a grille is eliminated. The front fascia sees the two LED headlights (optional Matrix-designed) and their long vertical overhang on the outer side.

The hood slopes downward and gives it a much cooler and aggressive look. The side is kept flush with the gently sloping roofline that smooths its way to the rear, which hurts headroom at the rear row. The rear end sees the classic Porsche light bar across the trunk, which makes it unmistakably recognizable; and below it, sits the Taycan badging. The car is pretty low to the ground and looks very aggressive and stout. It rides on 19” wheels as standard.

All the vehicles in the competition list here have unique design languages and are equally head-turners as well. The Lucid Air has the most futuristic design and is a much-awaited vehicle in the segment. The Audi e-Tron gets the most aggressive design here with a wide front grille. The Tesla Model S gets a tasteful design and looks like a comfy sedan from every angle. In terms of dimension, each EV shares an almost similar wheelbase and dimensions but the E-Tron Sportback is the tallest having a total height of 65 inches.

Some exterior highlights include:

• 19” Taycan Aero wheels
• Rocker Panel extensions
• Rain detecting wipers 
• Matrix-design LED DRLs
• LED light bar
• A proximity sensor in the charging port flap

The 2021 Porsche Taycan has not been tested either by NHTSA or IIHS for safety ratings. This is primarily due to its exorbitant price and exclusivity. Being unable to quantify the safety with numbers does not mean the Taycan is an unsafe car. It is pretty safe, with a strong chassis, and it also comes with a list of impressive standard safety features. Some optional driver assistance features make the car even safer and worry-free. 

Some of the safety techs are:

• Porsche Stability Management
• ParkAssist Front and Rear parking sensors
• Lane-keeping assist
• Lane departure warning
• Back-up camera
• Lane Change Assist (optional)
• Surround View (optional)

2021 Porsche Taycan vs 2021 Tesla Model S

You cannot build an EV and escape comparison from Tesla, the pioneer of this industry. While the new Model S has some ridiculous promises and looks extremely appealing on paper, the Taycan still has the Porsche DNA in its handling.

The Model S is way faster in a straight line, but the Taycan handles way better. However, the model S is more practical and offers double the range of the Taycan, while still having one of the best infotainment systems in the game. The Taycan is better if you crave great handling and driving experience, while the Model S is better in everything else.

2021 Porsche Taycan vs 2021 Lucid Air Pure

We know only barebones about Lucid since it is a new start-up. Though it looks pretty promising on paper, whether it can deliver or not remains to be seen.

It has better practicality due to its trunk storage and spacing. It also has promises of being fast, but we doubt it could beat the Porsche in terms of handling. For now, the results are inconclusive.

2021 Porsche Taycan vs 2021 Audi e-tron Sportback

The Audi e-tron is not a direct competitor to the Taycan, since it is a crossover. But the e-tron has the advantages of a crossover, being more practical.

It also borders along the same lines as the Taycan in terms of range. But it's not as quick or dynamic as a Taycan. If you need a sedan, go for the Taycan, otherwise the e-tron.

This German EV has become immensely popular primarily because of its performance-focused packages bundled with the trusted Porsche badge. Buying it is definitely not a regrettable decision. The base model of the 2021 Porsche Taycan is cheaper than the previous year’s model and makes for a sensible option this year. It is pretty quick too, but it suffers due to its low range, less spacious interior, and trunk. The biggest benefit is the styling and handling, but if you want to go fast in a straight line and desire practicality, go for the Model S eyes closed.