Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 2021 Review

Wagons generally tend to look better than their sedan counterparts, and the 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is no exception to this rule.

Its longer roof and sloped rear are clearly inspired by the Sport Turismo estate version of its predominantly combustion-powered stablemate, the Porsche Panamera.

But it wears the distinctive Taycan signifiers of a smoothed-off bonnet, full-width tail-light strip and those flattened headlight clusters to good effect.

To this is added black plastic addenda around the sills and wheel-arches, as well as revised front and rear bumpers with silver scuff guard areas.

It also gains its own design of 20-inch alloy wheels (optional 21s on our test car), and the whole, resulting confection is just terrific.

If this is the long-term future of personal motoring, sign us up right now. We’ll have it in Mamba Green, thanks.

Climb into the front seats of the 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo and you might easily forget that you’re in the off-roading estate model. It looks no different to the sedan up front.

Nor does it feel it, despite a 30mm-higher stance that comes with the fitment of the optional Off-Road Package.

The driving position gives a good view out, but it doesn’t come across as being appreciably taller to sit in compared to a regular Porsche Taycan.

The Cross Turismo-specific Gravel mode in the settings reminds you that you’re in a crossover wagon, while a glance in the interior mirror shows the rear windscreen is further away.

But otherwise this is standard Taycan fare. And that means the cabin is exceptional.

Fit the optional passenger dash display and you’re presented with no fewer than four magnificent, pin-sharp digital screens on the fascia – all of which work intuitively and sweetly, as you might expect of this marque.

Material finishing is also top-drawer throughout, as you’ll find no scratchy plastics here. Just as well, on a near-$300,000 wagon.

It’s also good news for rear seat passengers, who enjoy 47mm of additional headroom. That extra space really is noticeable when you sit in the back behind a taller driver, when compared to the Taycan sedan.

However, the boot space isn’t that much better than the sedan’s figure.

The Turbo Cross Turismo can swallow 405 litres with all seats in place, when the Turbo sedan takes 366L.

At least you can fold down the Cross Turismo’s rear seats to liberate fully 1171 litres of cargo capacity, but by large estate standards that’s not a huge amount of stowage space at all.

That said, there’s also a front luggage compartment that can hold up to 841L.

Unlike the Taycan sports sedan, which is available as 4S, Turbo and Turbo S models, the 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo is offered only in 4S and Turbo derivatives.

Don’t worry about that lack of an ‘S’ in this non-turbocharged Turbo’s badging, though, because unless you’re messing around in launch control, you don’t enjoy the additional 60kW of power or 200Nm that the Turbo S delivers on paper.

And, trust us, the sheer ferocious force of 460kW hitting from standstill is quite outstanding.

No word of hyperbole – snap the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo’s throttle (can we even call it that anymore?) open fully at walking speeds and the Porsche will smash your head back into the seat’s restraint, so violent is the resulting acceleration.

And, if fitted with the optional Porsche Electric Sport Sound (PESS) system, then if you’re in Sport Plus mode, the Taycan wagon takes off up the road with a wonderfully bizarre sci-fi whoop overlaying proceedings.

Speed is not something for which the Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo lacks, then.

Okay, the wagon has a 10km/h lower V-max than the equivalent sedan, which’ll run to 260km/h where permitted.

But as it is only 15kg heavier than the four-door Turbo EV, the Cross Turismo still posts some outrageous stats for a 2.4-tonne (with driver and fluids) machine: 0-100km/h in 3.3 seconds, 0-160km/h in 7.0sec and 0-200km/h in 10.7sec, with an 80-120km/h time of just 1.9sec.

Better yet, it’s the beautiful calibration of the throttle mapping and the difference between the three driving modes of Normal, Sport and Sport Plus that genuinely marks this out as a true Porsche, even if it doesn’t have a howling flat-six under its bonnet. Or backside.

With three-chamber air suspension, Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and the jacked-up stance, the key here is whether the 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo handles with the same fluency and grace as the electric sedan.

We’ve already covered the minimal weight gain, so we’re not worried about the Cross Turismo feeling heavy relative to a normal Taycan – even if it’s a proper porker in both senses of the word with a 2395kg kerb weight.

It also comes with the Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus electronically-controlled limited-slip differential, integrated Porsche 4D Chassis Control, six-piston front and four-pot rear brake callipers gripping 410mm/365mm (front/rear) Porsche Surface Coated Brake discs, and Rear-Axle Steering with Power Steering Plus.

All of which adds up to a seriously capable vehicle across all the dynamic disciplines.

The steering and agility of the Taycan Cross Turismo bely its mass. With loads of feel from the tiller and the ability to perform rapid directional changes without too much body lean, the electric Porsche feels far smaller than it actually is.

So it feels just as good in the corners as the sedan, with masses of grip, unbreakable traction and a sense of balance that few other EVs can hope to get close to matching.

However, while it might not feel any different from behind the wheel when stationary, the Cross Turismo’s taller stance makes the wagon even more comfortable to travel in than the sedan.

It has dignified manners on even the worst surfaces and with impeccable noise suppression – thanks in part to, yes, go on, guess, optional noise-insulated glass – it’s just a delight to travel in.

The final cherry on the cake is that the Cross Turismo has the same 270kW DC charging rate as the sedan, so you can juice its battery in just 22.5 minutes on its maximum charging rate. It will suck down 100km of range in a little more than five minutes.

With a full 93.4kWh (83.7kWh net) battery, the long-distance range of the Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo is 345km.

It’ll go between 395km and 452km on a single charge, officially in mixed driving, while its city distances are 438-510km.

Take one utterly brilliant electric vehicle, add a bigger boot, smarter styling and a gloss of off-road/lifestyle desirability, and what you end up with is the 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo.

It loses nothing in terms of handling when compared to the equivalent sports sedan, yet it does bless its occupants with a more cushioned, comforting ride quality as a direct corollary of its taller air suspension.

Sure, this 500kW (on overboost) and 850Nm wagon isn’t what you’d call cheap. And it’s still one of the heaviest road-going vehicles Porsche has ever made.

But when EVs are this much fun, this dementedly fast and this damned likeable, the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo doesn’t feel overpriced. It’s a phenomenal all-rounder.

How much does the 2021 Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo cost?
Price: $271,200 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now (first deliveries third quarter 2021)
Powertrain: Two permanent magnet synchronous motors
Output: 460kW/850Nm (500kW on overboost)
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear (front axle), two-speed auto planetary gear set (rear axle)
Battery: 93.4kWh lithium-ion
Range: 395-452km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 22.6-25.9kWh/100km (WLTP Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested