2025 Porsche Taycan review: International first drive

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2025 Porsche Taycan

Midlife model updates are rarely this comprehensive. But such is the pace of technological advancement in the still nascent world of battery-electric vehicles that just four years after its initial launch, the Porsche Taycan has undergone a transformation.

You’d be hard-pressed to spot the differences just by looking at the new Porsche Taycan. Sure, there are some new alloy wheels and the headlights have gone under the surgeon’s knife – and to dazzling effect – but externally, the 2025 Porsche Taycan looks pretty much like the model it replaces.

The big changes, however, have come under the skin.

The old Porsche Taycan was already a very good electric car. Fast, with decent driving range, and a level of driver engagement that largely defied the electric car genre, Porsche would have been forgiven if it had rested on the Taycan’s laurels and made some minor and incremental changes with this midlife update.

But that’s not the Porsche way, and what you see here is a Taycan that can be driven faster, for longer, and that can be recharged quicker than ever before.

Underlining the new Taycan’s revamped performance are a bigger battery, and more powerful and – crucially – more efficient electric motors.

Combine that with some aerodynamic improvements, and the result is an uplift in power outputs of at least 25 per cent and an improvement in driving range by at least 34 per cent. And that’s across the entire range. No Taycan in the range has been left wanting with Porsche’s ‘Higher Faster Further’ midlife update. It is, according to the German brand, “not your average facelift”.

How much is a Porsche Taycan?

The updated Taycan range is due in Australia by the middle of this year. But, before then, Drive was invited to the Taycan’s global launch in Spain to find out if the wholesale changes made to Porsche’s first electric car have indeed improved the breed.

Australia will receive a truncated range of the broader Taycan line-up. Alongside the four sedan variants – Taycan RWD, 4S, Turbo, and Turbo S – Australian buyers can also plump for the Taycan Cross Turismo, the high-riding station wagon that blends the line between a regular estate and an SUV. Australia misses out on the Sport Turismo range.

Of course, wholesale midlife changes don’t come cheap, so it’s unsurprising that prices have increased across the range. The table below outlines the price increases as well as key technical changes to the Australian Taycan range.

All prices excluding on-road costs

Porsche says the changes made to the Taycan are not just about improving range and efficiency, but also focus on driver engagement and enjoyment. We’ll get to the latter later in this review. For now, let’s focus on the technical enhancements that have vastly improved range and charging.

All Taycans now feature a 105kWh battery pack, up from the outgoing model’s 93.4kWh. And yet, despite the growth spurt, thanks to improved energy density, the new battery array is actually 9kg lighter than before.

Additional improvements to the battery pack’s cooling and ancillary systems have resulted in a broader charging temperature range, now optimised at between 15 and 35 degrees Celsius. The net result? Faster charging.

Porsche says the improved temperature range now means that DC charging can start 17 seconds quicker than previously (32 seconds against 49sec). Peak charging has been improved too, now 320kW against 270kW, while the system can sustain charging at over 300kW for up to five minutes.

These improvements are crucial to reducing charge times, and reduced they have, with Porsche claiming the Taycan’s battery can be replenished from 10–80 per cent in just 18 minutes, down from 21.5 minutes. Additionally, Porsche claims the system can add 315km of driving range in just 10 minutes, representing an improvement of 90km over the outgoing model (225km). AC charging remains unchanged at 11kW. Porsche quotes a charge time of nine hours on AC charging alone.

Driving range has also been improved, and significantly, now rated at – on the WLTP cycle – between 597km to 678km depending on the variant. The biggest winner is the entry-level RWD Taycan which, with its 678km of range (WLTP) claims the mantle of longest driving range of any electric vehicle on sale in Australia.

The improvements are down to several factors and not just increased battery capacity. The Taycan’s new 21-inch  ‘Aero’ wheels are said to add 40km of range alone, while Pirelli tyres with less rolling resistance add a further 30km. Energy recuperation has also been improved too, up over 30 per cent against the older model – from 290kW to 400kW. Simply, more energy can be harvested and fed back into the battery under braking or while coasting.

External design changes are minimal, although those with a keen eye will spot a new front splitter and revised air intakes. The design of the headlights have also been slightly tweaked, adding to the impression of the Taycan’s overall width, even if dimensionally it remains unchanged.

Out back, a redesign of the rear incorporates a new tail-light design highlighted by the three-dimensional glass-look of the strip that runs across the width of the Taycan. For those who want to impress, it’s available in a dynamic illuminated version. It looks pretty sharp.

Inside, it’s a familiar landscape with swathes of leather upholstery (and some new colour combinations), powered seats with memory function, a heated steering wheel, a premium Bose sound system, and some new accents.

Porsche Australia has yet to reveal final specifications for locally delivered Taycans, but the European models we drove in Spain point to a nicely evolved cabin without undergoing wholesale changes. This is no bad thing, as the outgoing model’s cabin was already a sumptuous place to spend time in.

In-car technology has received the biggest update inside with more functionality and new graphic elements in the driver’s display that are not only visually striking, but also add a level of functionality. A new battery monitor, for example, displays not only the current State of Charge (SoC) but also the current temperature of the battery and the maximum allowable charge rate at that temperature. It also lets you know when the battery is within the ideal temperature range for maximum DC charging.

The new Taycan also boasts an updated version of Apple CarPlay designed specifically for Porsche. Called Apple CarPlay+, the new set-up features climate controls within the Apple environment accessed via a single press on the screen. It reduces the need to exit CarPlay to dig around in the native software environment, although, call us Luddites, we’d still prefer physical switches and dials. Still, as a modern iteration, it’s a good one.

Also new is the ability to stream video, such as your favourite Netflix show or YouTube channel, on either the central screen (when the Taycan is in ‘park’) or on the optional passenger screen (even while driving). The screen itself cannot be seen by the driver, requiring nearly a full front-on position to be viewable. We tried it. It works.

In terms of cabin space, there is little change, with the second row adequate for room, if not outright spacious. Ostensibly a four-seater, a fifth seat can be optioned for those in need. But it’s a 4+1 at best and not really conducive to long-distance touring with five aboard.

We’ve yet to see official cargo capacity figures, and while it’s been suggested storage will carry over from the outgoing model, the upgrade to a larger battery pack may have had an impact on load-lugging ability. We’ll await final specification for confirmation. What’s not awaiting final specification is how the new Taycan behaves on the road. We sampled two variants at the global launch – a Taycan 4S sedan and a Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo, the latter currently not confirmed for Australia.

The raft of wholesale technical changes don’t stop with the battery. A lot of work has gone into the chassis, a serious overhaul of performance, ride comfort, handling and driver engagement that is hard not to be impressed by.

What is the Porsche Taycan like to drive?

First, the raw numbers. Even at its entry level, the 2025 Porsche Taycan is 0.6sec faster to the benchmark 0–100km/h sprint, now stopping the clock at 4.8sec.

But it’s at the other end of the Taycan spectrum where the full impact of Porsche’s engineering wizardry can truly be felt. Whereas the Taycan Turbo S once completed the benchmark dash in 2.8sec, the new Turbo S shaves 0.4sec to post a time of 2.4sec. That’s astonishingly fast; a force of acceleration that can be felt in your chest and your heart and in your stomach while simultaneously taking your breath away.

And new for this update, a Formula E-inspired push-to-pass function (part of the optional Sport Chrono pack) adds 70kW in 10-second bursts at the press of a button located on the steering wheel. Gimmicky? A little, but it did come in handy several times on our test drive when a big boost of acceleration was required to overtake slower traffic. The experience is heightened by a big countdown graphic in the driver’s display.

The mountain roads of Andalusia in southern Spain provided the perfect canvas to extract some of the Turbo S’s prodigious performance. Yes, straight-line acceleration is otherworldly, but it’s what happens underneath that really demonstrates the care Porsche has taken with the heavy midlife update.

All Taycan models feature a new electric motor at the rear axle. With more power (up 80kW) and more torque (up 40Nm) than the motor it replaces, the new motor is also significantly lighter (down 10kg). And less weight equals better range.

For all-wheel-drive models, a second motor at the front axle electronically decouples itself when the driving conditions warrant, such as low city speeds or gentle highway cruising. Again, this improves driving range and efficiency.

But, under heavier loads, such as hard acceleration or more spirited driving, the Taycan will summon the front motor back into action within milliseconds.

All Taycans now come with adaptive two-chamber air suspension as standard, a step up for the entry-level Taycan that previously rode on steel springs.

The new standard adaptive set-up blends comfort with performance, ensuring the Taycan remains at a constant height. Additionally, depending on the speed and on the drive mode chosen, the suspension can lower the Taycan by up 22mm, not only reducing drag (and thus improving range) but also improving stability under more adventurous driving.

The twin-chamber air springs work in tandem with two-valve dampers – one for rebound and one for compression – continuously adjusting damper rates to provide not only improved comfort, but also a balanced and composed contact with the road surface.

In short, the Taycan seemingly fits to the road like a glove, with a confidence-inspiring poise that urges you to explore its performance.

Better yet, there is an optional Porsche Active Ride (PAR) suspension set-up that ups the ante in terms of roadholding ability. Each damper is connected to an electronically operated hydraulic pump that distributes flow to each damper as required depending on not only the road surface, but also the demands placed on the car in various driving scenarios.

The system is designed to eliminate the forces usually generated by the acts of accelerating (pitch) and braking (yaw). Constantly reading the conditions and driver inputs, the PAR keeps the Taycan level where one might usually expect the nose (accelerating) or the rear (braking) to lift. The end result? Utterly composed and controlled roadholding in almost any condition.

One other feature of PAR is the easy entry function, which lowers the car by 55mm as soon as the door is opened and raises it again once inside when the doors are closed. There’s nothing new here, with plenty of vehicles with air suspension offering similar ingress and egress ability, but what makes the system in the Taycan stand out is just how quickly it works. Open the door and the car raises itself in but a second, looking for all the world like a Transformer about to unfurl itself. And lowering is completed equally as fast. It’s fun, it’s helpful.

Porsche Active Ride was fitted to both the 4S and Cross Turismo Turbo S we sampled in Spain, and it was quite remarkable how totally planted both Taycans remained on the road, despite heavy braking into corners, stupendous acceleration out of corners and, as a bonus, flat and calm no matter what we threw at it.

Here is an electric car that can be driven like a proper sports car, one where the headline straight-line acceleration is just one tiny part of the performance equation.

Four-wheel steering, standard in the Turbo S we sampled, optional on models further down the range, works in the usual way with the rear wheels turning in the opposite direction as the fronts in slower situations, such as manoeuvring tight urban enclaves or parking. But as speeds climb and more stability is required, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the fronts, providing even more stability when tackling long, sweeping bends.

You can feel it too, especially on tighter sections of the mountain passes we encountered in Andalusia, the Taycan turning in sharply and staying true to the chosen line. Understeer? What’s that?

Some other points worth noting. Not only is the Taycan remarkable in how nicely it holds the road, blending ride comfort with a dynamic ability that elevates Porsche’s EV hero into sports car territory, but it also remained remarkably quiet in the cabin. Noise insulation is, in a word, excellent, with but the softest hint of tyre roar creeping into the cabin.

But for those who want a little more theatre, a distinctly electric soundtrack can be played through the cabin. It’s fun for a minute, but then grinds a little with its electronic whine. Leave it off is our tip.

The brakes too provided plenty of stopping power and pleasingly didn’t display the wooden deadness we sometimes feel when regenerative systems are at play. They felt reassuringly analogue in a world where digital is now king.

The new Taycan is an electric automotive dance, a choreography of modern engineering, blending new-age energy with an olde-worlde tactility and engagement so often lacking in electric cars.

Our time behind the wheel was sadly all too short, so a full and proper evaluation will have to wait until the new Taycan lands in Australia some time in the middle of this year. It’s then when we will be able to dig even deeper into the new Taycan’s significant updates.

For now, though, first impressions, count as they must, are good. This is a car that has been improved in every measurable metric. But crucially, it’s in the intangibles where Porsche has excelled with this midlife update, the new Taycan an even more engaging car to drive. And that takes some doing. Because the old one was pretty bloody good. It’s just that this new one is even better.

The post 2025 Porsche Taycan review: International first drive appeared first on Drive.

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