Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Review

Introduction

Long gone are the days when Porsche just made two-door, rear-engined sports coupes. In fact, gone are the days when many manufacturers’ line-ups were logically understandable.

The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo falls into the latter category as it’s a taller, more rugged, estate version of its all-electric Taycan sports car. And it even has off-roading capabilities.

Indeed, given many automakers are pouring their development into SUVs and SUV coupes, it isn't easy to fathom what the Taycan is supposed to be or which segment of the market it’s aiming at. Porsche seems to be targeting all of them. But looking at the car provides little clarity.

At A Glance

The front is traditional Porsche – a rounded front end, a sloping bonnet and two headlights on either side, albeit they're less rounded these days. The lower grille remains, accommodated by the bodywork curving over the front splitter.

Around the sides, the model’s SUV-like credentials are more noticeable. This is thanks to the extra cladding around the wheel arches and at either end of the side skirts, plus the roof bars. 

There is a sizeable vertical side fender, from which a crease sprouts backwards at the top, with a larger indentation in the lower part of the doors. The roofline curves towards the back; although being an estate, the curve is less drastic than you’d find on a coupe.

The rear is sportily styled but in a less traditional way. Although the wide Porsche hips remain, the raised roofline of the estate means it’s taller, while a roof spoiler overhangs the back window. A horizontal strip of LEDs runs across the rear, while the bottom creates a diffuser-like effect, connecting to some dark-coloured bodywork that houses the number plate.

Porsche purists might hate it, but it looks the part. However, with a sports car front, an SUV middle, and an estate car rear end, we’re no closer to understanding what this car is all about.

Key Features

What complicates things further is that, rather than marketing the same car with a choice of trims, Porsche prefers to market each trim individually as if they’re separate vehicles.

As a result, all have slightly different names. There is the 4 Cross Turismo, the 4S Cross Turismo, the Turbo Cross Turismo, and the Turbo S Cross Turismo.

With Entry-level ‘4’, you get 19-inch alloys, a powered tailgate, thermally insulated glass, launch control and adaptive air suspension. You also get black brake callipers, auto hold, tyre pressure monitoring, LED headlights, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, and rain-sensing wipers. 

But that's not all; the car houses two-zone climate control, a heat pump with pre-climatisation, a partial leather interior, and eight-way electrically adjustable comfort front seats. Then there’s a 16.8-inch infotainment screen with Satnav, DAB radio and Apple CarPlay, a 10-speaker surround sound system, and a gravel mode (for rougher road surfaces).

The 4S gets red brake callipers and adds a dynamic lighting system.

The Turbo has 20-inch alloys and black brake callipers, torque vectoring, matrix LED headlights, and a Race-Tex roof lining. You also get 14-way electrically adjustable comfort front seats, a leather interior and a 14-speaker Bose surrounding sound system.

The Turbo S gets an electrically adjustable GT sports steering wheel, a synthetic engine sound, ceramic brakes and 18-way electrically adjustable heated memory sports seats.

On top of that, there is any number of things you can customise to personalise your Taycan Cross to your heart's desire.

All are four-wheel-drive, and the car is around 20mm higher than the standard Taycan. There is an optional pack, too, which can add a further 10mm to the ride height at the push of a button.

What this means, then, is that the focus of this Porsche is on practicality rather than driveability. The inclusion of a gravel mode and the cladding around the wheel arches, plus the exclusion of any rear-wheel-drive versions, shows that this is a car built for the rough stuff.

Range & Batteries

All versions of the Taycan Cross get the same 93.4kWh battery (of which 83.7kWh is usable, so we’ll go with the lower figure). No idea how that converts? Refer to our handy guide explaining kWh and kW.

Due to the marginal differences in the car’s features, plus each one getting different power outputs, all versions have their own range.

The entry-level ‘4’ will do 283 miles, while the 4S and Turbo can both manage 281 miles. The Turbo S will run out of juice after 260 miles.

Some all-electric whips are starting to break the 300-mile barrier (the standard Tesla Model S can do over 400 miles). But, in truth, the Taycan Cross is intended to be more of a rural runabout than a cruiser, so it’s unlikely this will be a problem.

Besides this, the actual range depends on many factors, including ambient temperature, road conditions and driving style. But, let's face it; if you're leasing a Porsche, you’re hardly going to be feathering the throttle, are you?

Performance & Drive

Acceleration off the line is superb, with even the entry-level ‘4’ (476PS) and 4S (571PS) getting to 62mph in 5.1 and 4.1-seconds, respectively, and on to a top speed of 137 and 149mph.

The Turbo (680PS) and Turbo S (761PS) are even faster, getting from 0-62mph in a mind-boggling 3.3 and 2.9-seconds, respectively (both top out at 155mph). But, if they are beyond your price range, you won’t be disappointed settling for the 4 or 4S.

No matter which one you drive, it sprints off with a burst of instant torque the second you put your toe on the accelerator pedal.

Overtaking is effortless. It never feels like it'll stop accelerating. And once you're up to speed, the Porsche feels like it could carry on doing 70mph (or whatever speed you’re doing) all day.

Despite saying it's not meant to be a comfortable cruiser, it isn't tiring to drive long-distance. This is, in part, because the active suspension management and electronic damper control help with the ride comfort. But, of course, it's equally capable of setting your trousers on fire, too.

The Taycan’s higher ride height does mean the centre of gravity is marginally higher, so there’s slightly more body roll. But it isn’t a gamechanger by any means.

Putting it in the Sport or Sport Plus setting sharpens up the handling, too, giving it a more traditional sports car feel. The amount of grip is phenomenal, navigating its way around twisty B-roads without feeling like it’s even trying. We would never go as far as to say it’s ‘uncrashable’ – and we’d caution against overconfidence. 

But it somehow seems as though losing control of it would take more effort than neatly sliding your way around a bend.

The steering is extremely responsive with great feedback, giving you the certainty that your inputs are making a difference.

You will get even better handling by going for the standard Taycan Turismo. But the two are not as far apart as you might expect. Besides this, the higher ride height of the Cross means you don't need to worry about the car bottoming out when the road surface goes AWOL.

The one thing the Taycan Cross Turismo is meant to have, though, is off-roading credentials, and the gravel pack is supposed to help it navigate rough terrain. In fairness, it does – we took it on a dusty farm track, and it was okay.

But it would struggle at anything more than a muddy road. It will be fine if you have a lengthy, gravelly driveway or need to drive over grass regularly. But it’s not capable of much more than that.

Finally, it has commendable stopping power, too. Like most all-electric cars, it features regenerative braking to put some energy back into the batteries under deceleration. This system often feels ill-judged, inconsistent and grabby on many vehicles, but it’s easy to get used to in the Taycan Cross, feeling well-weighted and predictable.

Charging

The 83.7kWh battery can be charged at 270kW, which is superior to most other all-electric cars. However, charging speeds are being developed at (ironically) a brisk pace.

That means a 10-80 per cent top-up can be achieved in about 20 minutes, while a 0-100 per cent charge with a 7kW wall box at home will take approximately 13 hours. 

Not sure about the charging side of things? We've put together a helpful guide to refer to when choosing your ideal charging solution! And fear not, there are also plenty of ways around the problem if you can't charge at home.

Running Costs & Emissions

There is nothing to pay road tax-wise, thanks to its zero emissions, while Benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax will be low, too. This might make the Porsche a dream car for company executives.

Porsche doesn't have the best reputation for reliability, though. The Taycan Cross Turismo, being an all-electric car, may buck the trend. But it’s too early to tell.

Like the car, expect servicing costs to be expensive. However, with fewer moving parts, the lack of an engine might mean you’ll be pleasantly surprised if you’re used to paying Porsche maintenance money.

Interior & Technology

The cabin is as luxurious as you'd hope it to be. You might think it would be more rugged given the vehicle’s exterior looks, but it's basically identical to the standard Taycan.

Nevertheless, that’s no bad thing as the cabin is simply lovely. The virtual cockpit sits behind the steering wheel, with the infotainment screen lower down to its right, buried into the dashboard. Underneath it, and on a diagonal section of the centre console, is a third 8.4-inch screen.

The bad news is almost everything is digitised, and this third screen is used in place of physical buttons, providing haptic feedback. This means that, apart from on the steering wheel and the doors, there are no physical buttons, which makes things tricky on the move.

While the screen is clever, it’s too much hassle, especially as you need to focus on it to work out what you’re pressing.

At least the infotainment system is friendly to use, although finding your way around it will take some getting used to. The virtual cockpit is customisable, so you can display various bits of information – and it even has a G-force meter built into it.

Wireless Apple CarPlay is included, but Android users will be disappointed as it doesn’t come with Android Auto. However, at least if you do have an Android phone, you can take advantage of the wireless charging.

Visibility is good, partly helped by the additional couple of centimetres in the Taycan Cross's increased ride height. But, of course, being an estate car means it's easier to see out of the back. And, if the rear pillars get in the way, then parking sensors and a rear-view camera are also included as standard.

Practicality & Boot Space

It is a cinch to find a comfortable driving position as the steering wheel and seats have a wide range of movement. Therefore, they can be easily adjusted to suit all shapes and sizes of drivers.

There is a bunch of room in the front, so you don’t feel excessively hemmed in. In the back, the raised roofline of this estate car means passengers will be precisely 47-millimetres happier with this than a standard Taycan in terms of its additional headroom. Indeed, for that reason, Porsche has tried to focus efforts on making the rear as accommodating as possible.

When you lease a Taycan Cross, you’ll get the option of having it as a four-seater or using the middle rear seat to accommodate five people. If you pick the latter (known as "four plus one"), then the central chair creates a bit of a hump, and it's not suitable for adults. However, if you need to carry an extra passenger, at least the option is there.

One advantage of the “four plus one” option is that the rear seats can be folded individually in a 40/20/40 split. However, if you don't take this option, the seats will fold down in the less versatile 60/40 configuration.

Boot space measures up at 446-litres (80-litres more than the standard Taycan), expanding to 1,212-litres with the rear seats down.

There is a lot of storage room inside the car, too, and it has four USB-C ports – a couple in the front and two in the rear.

Safety

Safety body Euro NCAP crash-tested a standard Porsche Taycan in 2019, which should give us a good idea of how the Cross version will perform.

It earned a five-star rating, scoring 85 per cent for adult occupants, 83 per cent for kids and 73 per cent for safety assists.

Gadgets include lane-keeping assist with traffic sign recognition, cruise control and adaptive speed limiter, collision and automatic emergency braking and ParkAssist (front and rear).

Other driver assistance tools which improve safety, such as blind-spot monitoring, are available as part of an optional pack.

Options

There is no shortage of optional extras offered by Porsche, that’s for sure.

As we indicated earlier, Porsche’s mantra is to keep the standard specifications similar across the range (which is another reason it lists its variants separately, rather than as trims of the same vehicle). This allows you to pick the garnish you want on top, effectively creating your custom trim in the process.

There are no fewer than 17 different paint colours. Black or white are standard, while metallic shades and "special colours" (we're not sure what's special) cost more.  You can pay a four-figure sum and have any colour from Porsche’s pre-approved list if you're feeling wealthy. Pay a five-figure amount, and you can pick anything you want.

If you want to change the wheels, there’s a selection of 19, 20 and 21-inch rims costing anything from a few hundred pounds to over three thousand notes. Then there are 19 choices of interior colours (some costing up to four figures).

That is the tip of the iceberg, though. You can upgrade the motorised seats or choose the hue of the seat stitching, while the Offroad Design Package costs more, depending on which colour you desire. In addition, you can add roof rails, customise the door mirrors, change the shade of the brake callipers, add dynamic chassis control and much, much more.

In short, you can change just about anything. Of course, although all models are similar, some of the options above may be standard on some variants, so make sure you check first.

Rival Cars

It is challenging to pick rivals because no other premium brand offers a sports car that’s an estate car with off-road bits – let alone an all-electric version.

Lexus says it’s building one, but that’s not going to be with us anytime soon.

For now, you’re going to be looking at estate cars like the Audi RS6 or the Mercedes-Benz AMG E63. BMW no longer offers an estate version of its M5, sadly.

You could also consider some of BMW’s small SUVs or even a Tesla Model Y.

Verdict & Next Steps

The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is a blinder of a car in a rather odd way.

It is a novel idea from Porsche to try to combine the best of all worlds into one vehicle. However, we can’t see why you’d lease one of these over a standard Taycan Turismo unless you live on a dirt track, or you must have that extra ride height.

Nevertheless, its drivability is excellent; it goes like hell and has that sprinkling of additional practicality.

Just don’t expect to have much money left once you’ve checked out the options list.

Where to next?

View our latest Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Leasing Deals - from just £883.04 per month inc VAT**

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*Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top five leading independent car website reviews of the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo

**Correct as of 21/04/2022. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles over a 48 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments or £7,947.36 Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.