MEGA GALLERY: Porsche Taycan 4S

Ah, the Porsche Taycan. Born of zealous German engineering, the fully electric sports sedan is the antithesis to single-faceted, point A-to-B electric cars. Out of the many new models Porsche has introduced over the past few years, the Taycan is easily the most hyped, among the most sought-after EVs, and named by scientists as 2020’s most innovative car.

Porsche also rolled out new variants and body styles in record time. It has only been less than two years since the Taycan made its world debut, but customers already have up to 10 variants and two body styles – the Taycan Cross Turismo – to choose from. That, plus a range of genuine, made-for-Taycan accessories like a bicycle carrier and Performance roof box.

Sales-wise, the Taycan is quite the success story as well. In just the first three months of the year, Porsche sold 9,072 units of the electric car globally. That’s about as many 911s sold (9,133 units) in the same period! But what’s really interesting is that half of the Taycan owners are completely new to the Porsche brand. It’s quite the recruiter.

For those looking to buy the Taycan in Malaysia, the starting price is RM725k, and that is for the 4S variant sans options. Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP) will be introducing the entry-level rear-wheel drive variant soon, and that is set to start from RM585k. There’s absolutely no shame with purchasing the base model, because it slid into the Guinness World Records for achieving the longest drift ever set by an electric vehicle, with a sideway distance of 42.171 km.

The Frozen Blue Metallic example you see here is fitted with close to RM126k worth of options, so if you wish to spec things as such, you’re looking at a price tag of RM850k. The add-ons are not outrageously over-the-top, but it is fitted with the fancy 10.9-inch passenger display, so the dash alone features four digital screens (including the gigantic 16.8-inch curved instrument panel for the driver!). Quite a party piece, and one that you should tick, considering that it costs just under RM7,000.

Big-ticket accessories include the 20-inch Taycan Turbo Aero wheels (RM14k), smooth interior leather upholstery (RM24k), 14-way power adjustable comfort front seats (RM11k), LED matrix headlights with Porsche Dynamic Light System Plus (RM11.3k), and the Bose premium surround sound system (RM9k). Of course, you can personalise the vehicle to your liking, just like any other Porsches.

As electric cars go, you’ll hardly need any more power than what the Taycan 4S offers. It has twin electric motors that produce a total system output of 390 kW, which equates to 435 hp and 640 Nm of torque. The standard overboost function can temporarily raise power to 530 hp, allowing you to sprint from standstill to 100 km/h in four seconds flat. You can do this repeatedly for over a dozen times without noticing any diminishing performance – that’s the Taycan mantra from day one.

The 4S ships with a 79.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack as standard, which gives it a maximum WLTP-rated range of 408 km on a single charge. That’s enough juice to get you acquainted with most types of day-to-day use cases, but we suggest opting for the optional Performance Battery Plus upgrade, which is a 93.4 kWh unit that offers up to 464 km.

The Taycan prides itself as the first production electric car in the world to be equipped with an 800-volt electrical architecture, so while the wiring harness is more lightweight, it is also capable of supporting ultra-fast DC charging at a rate of up to 270 kW. If you’re worried about instate journeys, SDAP has teamed up with Shell to supplant the North-South Expressway (PLUS highway) with at least six 180 kW DC chargers by the first half of 2022, so that should alleviate some range anxiety issues.

Now, while on the subject of charging, the Taycan can be charged via AC or DC outlets. AC charging requires a Type 2 connection, and the port is located on the driver’s side front fender. DC charging, meanwhile, uses the CCS Combo 2 interface, and the socket is located on the passenger side fender. Note that all 2021 model year will ship with a faster 22 kW onboard charger as standard (up from 11 kW previously), so it is in your best interest to purchase a wallbox charger to make the most out of it.

With AC charging, Taycan models with the smaller 79.2 kWh battery will require eight hours to get from zero to 100% state of charge (SoC), while the 93.4 kWh-equipped variants take nine hours. When plugged into a 50 kW DC charger, it takes 93 minutes to get from 5% to 80% SoC, or around 30 minutes for 100 km of range. At the full 270 kW charge rate, it takes just 22.5 minutes for a 5-80% SoC, or five minutes for 100 km of range.

If you’re looking to purchase the Porsche Taycan, note that the amount of road tax you have to pay is based on kilowatts. So, the higher the car’s output, the more you pay. In the case of this 390 kW model, the annual road tax is RM1,800. What do you think of the Taycan? Feel free to check out the huge gallery, below.