The 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is the new champion of our DC fast-charge test.
When charging from 10 to 90 percent, the Taycan Turbo GT averaged 213 kW, which means it dethrones the 2024 Chevy Silverado EV (198 kW).
Porsche's electric sedan also peaked at 317 kW and needed just 24 minutes for its 97-kWh battery's state of charge to go from 10 to 90 percent.
Welcome to Car and Driver's Testing Hub, where we zoom in on the test numbers. We've been pushing vehicles to their limits since 1956 to provide objective data to bolster our subjective impressions (you can see how we test here).
Charging an electric car is simple. Park, plug in, and pay, which sometimes happens automatically. Unlike a gas station, there's no difference in octane, no risk of accidentally adding the incorrect type of electricity. In theory, the whole experience can be as thoughtless as recharging your cellphone. But, when it comes to how long it takes to reach a "full tank," things can get a little complicated. That's why we've added the DC fast-charge test to our Honey Do List for electric vehicles. And in the case of the 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT we recently unplugged, it illustrates just how wildly better some cars do it.
Our test is between 10 and 90 percent state of charge, and we record average charge rate, time, and cost—actual results from actual chargers, not whatever best-case scenario the marketing department cooked up. We precondition the battery (if possible) and avoid DC fast-charging tests in extreme temperatures that may have an ill effect on maximum performance.
Turns out, the 1019-hp Porsche Taycan Turbo GT that reached 60 mph in just 1.9 seconds at the test track is just as rapid when it comes to putting energy into its 97-kWh battery pack. Porsche says as part of its 2025 overhaul, the Taycan charges much more quickly than before and is capable of fast-charging speeds of as high as 320 kW. Six minutes into the charging test, it had hit 317. In fact, in the first 10 minutes of charging, the Taycan Turbo GT averaged a charging rate of 307 kW, increasing its state of charge to 65 percent, from just 10. A Chevy Bolt EV owner, parked a few plugs over, asked us, "The numbers go up that high?" Not for you, silly goose.
As with every EV, the peak charging rate begins to taper off at around 70 to 80 percent. For the Taycan, the drop in speed during that window falls to 102 kW from 210, which is still plenty fast. There are endless metaphors to describe why the rate of charging falls as the state of charge increases, but my favorite uses the parking lot at Costco.
Imagine you're energy; yes, you (there is no age limit to imagination, folks). You're trying to find a parking spot during the weekend, but of course, the lot is packed. An empty space is tough to see, and finding one requires you to slow down amongst the crowd. If it were empty, you could zoom to the row nearest the entrance. That's similar to how chemical reactions work, as energy attempts to reach every cell in the battery's pack. The busier the parking lot, or in this case, the more energy already in the pack, the harder it is to find an empty spot, or cell. Additionally, the EV's software limits energy speed to prevent heat issues or damage to the pack's lifespan.
It took the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT just 24 minutes to go from 10 to 90 percent state of charge, a tie with the Genesis Electrified GV70 for the quickest-ever recharge in our testing (although the GV70 has a much smaller battery pack with a net capacity of 77 kWh). The Electrify America station pumped out 85.152 kWh at the cost of $47.82. Using the current national average of premium fuel (we use 93 octane in every gas-powered test vehicle), that's the equivalent price of pumping nearly 12 gallons of gas. Which would only take 24 minutes to do if the person ahead of you in line is buying Swisher Sweets and lotto tickets. However, in the world of electric vehicles, that's ridiculously quick.
That means the average charging rate of the Taycan Turbo GT is 213 kW, which is more than the peak rate of any other EV we've tested, such as the BMW i4, Mercedes-Benz EQS, or Polestar 4. As the Taycan hit 90 percent battery at the 24-minute mark, the charging rate was still 64 kW, or nearly 10 kW higher than the peak rate of the Bolt. Okay, I promise I'm done taking cheap shots at that precious and affordable little guy.
Previously, the Chevy Silverado EV held the record for highest average, with a DC fast-charging rate of 198 kW. But the 8800-pound pickup carries a massive 205-kWh battery pack, more than double the capacity of the sportiest Taycan, and it predictably took much longer to charge (58 minutes) and required more than double the cost ($107).
While the Taycan Turbo GT's DC fast-charging and acceleration are both fantastic, from a full 100 percent charge, it completed 270 miles during our 75-mph highway range test. A minor inconvenience of producing over 1000 horsepower.
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