Porsche Taycan that illuminates the future of electric vehicles with "Porsche-ness"

Porsche / Taikan Turbo (20231,000 yen ~)

It's been years since everyone started using the word "sustainable". As you know, the movement toward a carbon-neutral society called "carbon neutral" has accelerated recently, and it will not be possible to sell new cars equipped with only internal combustion engines in each country by the middle of 2030. Environmental problems such as global warming are important, but on the other hand, every time I touch an electric car that is currently on sale, I feel like "Is the vehicle an electric-powered Tumaranaimono?" However, when I touched Porsche's first electric vehicle "Taycan" that will land in Japan this winter, I was convinced that the future of the car is bright.

Taycan who can enjoy the world of Porsche to the fullest

Taycan at the Japan Premiere on November 20, 2019

It was in November last year that I heard the story that "Porsche makes an electric car". The author who participated in the Japan premiere sighs at a sleek and low body that does not seem to be a sedan like Panamera, and although it is not a status that can be purchased, with the expectation that "this may maintain Porsche" I was staring at the red body.

Taycan car verification.250kW is written in the displacement column, and electricity is written in the fuel type.

It made me think so because the economic benefits of electric vehicles are given preferential treatment compared to gasoline-powered vehicles. Under the current law, automobile income tax is exempt and automobile weight tax is exempted. Furthermore, the displacement of the automobile tax, whose tax amount changes depending on the displacement, is zero. The taxable amount is 29,500 yen, regardless of the vehicle class. Compared to Panamera of almost the same size, the maintenance cost is overwhelmingly cheaper. Furthermore, it cannot be overlooked that the running cost is cheaper than that of a gasoline car.

Panamera's gasoline tank capacity is around 80 liters. Since it is a high-octane car, if it costs around 135 yen per liter, it will exceed 10,000 yen with one refueling. If you subscribe to NCS (Japan Charging Service) for electric vehicles, you can use quick charging for 15 yen per minute if you pay a basic monthly charge of 4200 yen. The charging time for each quick charge is 30 minutes, so it's only 450 yen! However, for users who buy Porsche, the fact that 10,000 yen becomes 450 yen may be a small amount, but it is nice to enjoy the world of Porsche to your heart's content without worrying about maintenance costs.

Taikan has 3 S (390 horsepower / 374km / 14.481,000 yen), Turbo (500 horsepower / 412km / 20231,000 yen), Turbo S (560 horsepower / 400km / 24541,000 yen) due to differences in output and cruising range. Line up models. Here, we will mainly introduce the intermediate model "Turbo" that was tested.

Taycan front face

Taycan side view

Taycan Turbo wonders, "What is a turbo even though it is an electric car?" This probably follows the naming rule of the 911 series that "a fast model gives the title of turbo". The body size is 4963 in length x 1966 in width x 1379 mm in height, and the weight of the car is 2380 kg, which is about the same as or one size smaller than Panamera. You can think of it as a D-segment sedan such as the Mercedes E-Class or the BMW 5 Series. The weight of the Taycan is about 100 kg heavier than the Panamera, but the horsepower is about 40 horsepower higher than the top model (E-Hybrid) of Panamera.

By the way, the price of Panamera E-Hybrid is 15,165,741 yen, so Taycan is about 5 million yen more expensive. However, as mentioned above, tax deductions and CEV subsidies of 400,000 yen will be issued, so the difference in amount at the time of purchase will be small.

Taycan headlights and air intakes next to them

The exterior of the Taycan is similar to Panamera. However, if you look closely, the high fender on the low bonnet is somewhere close to 911. The air resistance is said to be the lowest in the current Porsche. The design of the 4-lamp daytime running light is full of newness while retaining the existing Porsche product identity. Vertical air intakes are installed on both sides instead of the radiator grille. This is said to have the effect of suppressing the air flowing into the wheels.

Taycan has motors on the front and back. A battery is installed in the center.The distribution before and after that is about 50:50

Porsche Center will install quick charging equipment in the future.In addition, this Porsche Center Kyoto has already been installed

A quick charger installed at the Porsche Center. Collaborative development with ABB

When charging, touch the smartphone with the dedicated application installed.

The Taycan is equipped with front and rear motors and operates with four-wheel drive. On the rear side, a two-stage transmission, which is the first in the world to be a commercial vehicle, is used. That's why 0-100km / h acceleration shows an amazing speed of 3.2 seconds when using launch control. It is surprising that the Cayenne Turbo S, which is a high-end model, has 2.8 seconds, which is the same value as the 911 Turbo.

A battery with a total capacity of 93.4kWh is loaded on the floor, sandwiched between motors. This is the same capacity as the Tesla Model S. What should be noted is that the battery voltage was raised to 800V for the first time in a commercial vehicle. By increasing the output voltage, the amount of current can be suppressed, making it difficult for batteries and cables to generate heat, as well as making it possible to reduce the weight of parts and shorten the charging time.

The charging environment for electric vehicles is the biggest challenge. Of the 44 Porsche dealers nationwide, Porsche Japan plans to install quick chargers at 21 at the time of launch and at all 44 stores by 2023. The quick charger is also equipped with a 150kW type, which has the highest output in Japan and was jointly developed with ABB, which is known for the F1 "Formula E" electric vehicle. In addition to being able to travel about 100km in just 10 minutes, it can charge up to about 80% of the battery capacity in just 24 minutes. Of course, a quick charger installed on the highway can also be used (however, since the charger on the highway is a 30kW type, it seems that even if it is charged for 30 minutes, it will not be able to store as much electricity as when using a dealer).

Charging screen on the charger side

Hold your hand over the charging port on the Taycan side to open it

Quick charging port on the passenger side

The state of charging can be judged by the color of the LED

Taycan to charge

Taycan to charge

The Taycan's charging port is located on the driver's side (on the right side of the vehicle) with a household AC type and on the passenger's side (on the left side of the vehicle) with a rapid DC type connector. When charging quickly at a dealer, the smartphone's dedicated app manages payments. Although the detailed amount has not been announced, there are two types of payment, pay-as-you-go and monthly flat-rate payment. By the way, according to the company's estimation, if the annual mileage is about 10,000 km, it can run the same distance as a gasoline car by charging twice a month.

Rear view of Taycan

Rear view of Taycan

Deep luggage space

I opened the front hood

Luggage space on the front side

There are two luggage spaces, one at the rear and one at the front. The large amount of storage is realized because it is a motor drive. The capacity on the rear side is as large as 466 liters. The depth is deep, and luggage can be loaded more than it looks. The front side is deep and the capacity is 81 liters. It seems that a small carry bag of carry-on size can be stored with plenty of room.

Taycan driver's seat

Taycan driver's seat

The instrument panel is a liquid crystal display and is curved. The 5-unit meter follows the Porsche tradition

Taycan instrument panel

Taycan steering wheel

Early model 911 called Narrow Porsche

Driver's seat of the early model 911.You can see that the instrument panel has been curved since this time.