The Porsche Taycan is an impressive performance EV in any context, and it only gets better as a powerful dual motor Turbo S Cross Turismo. The quickest wagon on sale today is very easy to like, but is it worth a quarter of a million dollars?
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The Lowdown
A mild facelift brought more power and range to the Taycan Turbo S, with those changing applying to the wagon-like Cross Turismo as well as the sedan. Peak output has risen to 938 hp, although that number is only available with the launch control mode. The revisions also bring the option of the Active Ride suspension, which was fitted to the car tested here.
Vehicle Tested: 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo
Base Price: $222,650
Price as tested: $253,465
Location: Palomar, California
More Specs
Powertrain: Dual-motor, all-wheel drive
Power: 764 hp, 938 hp in launch control
Torque: 818 lb-ft in launch control
0-60 mph: 2.4 seconds
Battery Capacity: 105 kWh
Weight: 5192 lbs
EPA Range: 261 miles
How Does It Drive?
This Cross Turismo Turbo S was equipped with Porsche's Active Ride suspension, a $7390 option that risks overshadowing the car's performance bona fides. The tech, which is available optionally on both updated Taycans and current-generation hybrid Panamera models, is essentially a comfort-focused application of the same ideas that made Formula 1 cars too fast for their own good in the mid Nineties. Porsche uses a ZF part to achieve this, but a similar Multimatic system is used in the Ferrari Purosangue.
The more common active anti-roll tech used in heavier performance cars and SUVs fights against body roll in real time. Active Ride goes one step further, fighting back against every rowdy thing the body wants to do from inside the damper itself. That means an Active Ride-equipped Taycan can effectively cancel out both roll and pitch. The former is a familiar feeling in modern high-end cars, but the latter feels downright eerie. Even when stopping hard from highway speeds, the Taycan's pitch control system keeps the car as level as a chauffeured Rolls-Royce performing a "Champagne Stop."
In the most aggressive Sport Plus suspension setting, the supernatural elements of Active Ride fade into the background. Pitch and roll control are muted to provide a more conventional performance driving experience, and like the pre-facelift Taycan Turbo S that won its price class at our inaugural Performance EV of the Year, I found the experience to be stellar. This is a compelling, engaging car that delivers what a Porsche buyer want from a smaller sedan or wagon, regardless of whether or not they like electric cars at all.
Crazy as it sounds, the everyday power peak of 764 hp only qualifies as modest in the segment that the Taycan Turbo S competes in. But coupled with delay-free accelerator response and the car's signature two-speed transmission, this is still enough to punch you into the seat with a jarring amount of force. A push-to-pass button on the steering wheel brings the number up to 857 hp in ten second bursts. If that isn't enough to impress you, launch control brings the number all the way up to 938 hp. These launches are violent, spinning the tires on the way to 60 in 2.4 seconds and other, less legal speeds in similarly quick times. That is quicker than a Bugatti Veyron, and by our reckoning is a record for any production-spec wagon.
R&T's Mike Duff called the sensation of accelerating in a Taycan Turbo S "genuinely uncomfortable." That description is certainly accurate. Between the almighty launching force of the two-motor powertrain and the pitch-cancelling effects of Active Ride, this particular Taycan takes a day or two of getting used to.
What's It Like To Live With?
The Cross Turismo name is modern Porsche speak for wagon. Eagle-eyed enthusiasts will note that Porsche's current idea of a wagon is actually not all that far from the brand's first draft of a sedan back in 2010, complete with a very angled liftgate and a trunk opening above the floor that makes loading and unloading a bit of a pain. That was a frustration, but the opening was still low enough and the cargo area still big enough for a 140-pound St. Bernard mix to climb in. Whether or not that translates to useful cargo capacity will depend on your needs.
Porsche says that Taycan charging speeds peak at 320 kW and that the car can charge from 10% to 80% on in just 18 minutes on a suitably powerful DC charger. The battery never got that low during my test, but this Turbo S did charge from 27% to 80% in the same time on a 350 kW fast charger.
Thanks to serious improvements that bring estimated range up by over a hundred miles, that charging speed is not going to come up as often as it did in the past. The Taycan is still not a standout in range, though, and the Turbo S variant inspires a style of driving that will not help with mile-per-kWh efficiency.
Notably, the Taycan is still not focused on following EV trends. One-pedal driving, in particular, is absent because the car is meant to feel like an internal combustion car under braking. It still follows a few frustrating EV trends, like its touchscreen-operated charging ports and an irritating menu-controlled climate control system which even relegates fan direction to a screen.
Should I Buy One?
Buyers looking for a Taycan have few comparable options in the performance EV space. For those who want a high-end EV performance sedan, that means this question is one of trim levels. $250,000 is a lot of money, even for someone with $250,000 to spend on a car. A Turbo S Cross Turismo with Active Ride packs in everything great a buyer can get, but not every buyer needs every one of those things.
Budget-conscious Taycan shoppers could start by dropping the S. The basic Turbo Cross Turismo still gets to 60 MPH in 2.6 seconds and is almost $35,000 cheaper. If maximum performance is not a must, a Taycan 4 Cross Turismo comes in at over $100,000 less than the Turbo S. That car still has 429 hp in launch control, less than half what the Turbo S packs but more than enough to be quicker than almost any other wagon. If Active Ride, the wagon shape, and the dual-motor powertrain are not musts, the basic 2026 Taycan can be had for $103,900.
Highlights and Lowlights
We Love:
Almighty acceleration from launch.
Impressive Active Ride suspension is so effective that it can be disorienting.
An ultra-engaging driving experience uncommon among even the best EVs.
We Don't:
Improved range on the updated Taycan helps, but not enough to turn the first-generation car's biggest weakness into a strength.
$253,465 is a massive sum of money for any one car.
Arguably more performance than any wagon buyer is likely to need considering cheaper siblings.
Favorite Detail:
Porsche calls the burgundy featured in this two-tone interior "Blackberry." The color is striking on its own, but what really makes the interior work is a two-tone with chalk seats. Best of all, both the headliner and the carpets are in a shade that matches the primary interior color.
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