Porsche Taycan 4S – long-term review

There is a Mamba Green Porsche Taycan 4S parked outside my house and it’s causing quite a stir with the neighbours.

I’ve had texts from three of them – all positive, mildly jealous in tone - five or six impromptu natters in the street with others, explaining performance, price, range etc, but mostly that colour. And it’s killing me. It’s been outside for 48hrs now and besides a quick run around the block to win a bet with my four-year old daughter (sorry Rubes, told you it was fast enough to make you feel sick, Daddy wins) it hasn’t moved. Lots of work and lockdown makes Jack a dull boy.

Don’t worry, I have big plans for the Taycan (it’s with us for the next four months) so for now, let’s just appreciate the perfection of this spec. By all accounts the 4S is the Goldilocks model to go for – as fast as the Turbo and Turbo S in most normal situations, but not as eye-wateringly expensive. To be fair, I haven’t driven the entry-level RWD Taycan yet which has won some plaudits, but I like the security of 4WD given the changeability of British weather (as I type it's 23 degrees and sunny, but snow is forecast in five days time. No seriously).

Bits I love then: the 20-inch Turbo Aero wheels (£1,524) are fantastic – you really only notice some of the spokes are filled in on close inspection – and the 45-profile tyres offer a pleasing amount of sidewall and squish. The ride, on the standard air-suspension is plusher than you’d expect from a Porsche.

The colour is magnificent, punchy without being shouty, and when paired with an interior that’s fifty shades of grey (although I did notice the isofix clips imbedded in the back seats are colour coded to the exterior), it keeps you just the right side of show off.

Other choice options include the Performance Battery Plus (£4,613) which gives you 93.4kWh and a 289-mile WLTP range (up from 79.2kWh and 253 miles), a must for me, the motorised charging port flaps (£443) because why not, and Bose surround sound (£956) which is crisper than a new £10 note.

I could live without the gangster-spec privacy glass (£354) in the rear, although my children are enjoying blowing raspberries at clueless passers-by, and four-wheel steering would have been handy to help with low-speed manoeuvres around London, but I can’t complain. It’s a special car and I’m feeling a bit giddy at the prospect of running one for a bit.

Is this the car capable of convincing die-hard petrolheads to make the switch? Can a 2.2-tonne car ever be truly dynamic? Is 250-miles of real-world range really enough? And can a family of four fit enough underpants in the boot for a week away?

All this and more shall be addressed in the coming months. Right, time for a drive…