Pooch-preferred Porsche revealed

Not quite the most practical choice for that Saturday morning run to Bunnings, but still the Taycan more suited to slightly adventurous lifestylers.

IN Porsche-speak, ‘it’s a cross utility vehicle’ – in the language of the street, it’s a four-wheel-drive soft-roading version of the make’s fully electric car with body cladding.

The Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo finally fully revealed overnight (the video’s here to see) could also be called a schmantzy lifted station wagon, given it also delivered to same design definition that dictates the look of your everyday family hauler.

It’s not quite a full-blown alternate to the large Cayenne sports utility that saved the brand’s bacon back in the day, but will probably become attractive to those among that car’s supporter base who are savvy enough to recognise that this is an excellent time to abandon that hugely proliferate, big drinking dinosaur for something much more on trend. 

Basically, if you’re looking for a Porsche that offers some level of practicality, is better-shaped for carting pooches, has some degree of off-seal ability (that’s the ‘Cross’ part) but will also assuage environmental sensitivities, then here it is.

 Well, not quite ‘here’ as in ‘here in New Zealand.’ The make’s New Zealand distributor expects arrival in the fourth quarter, with three derivatives represented. Though full pricing detail has yet to be shared, the car will start at $194,900, marketing manager Stefanie McCallum said today.

The cheapest Taycan here at the moment is the entry rear-drive, which costs $173,900 but has no direct equivalent in the Cross Touring line (and those models are all AWD), and the most expensive, the Turbo S, is a $366,900 hit.

Porsche has developed the Cross Turismo in Taycan 4, 4S, Turbo and Turbo S variants. McCallum indicated today that the 4 Cross, 4S Cross and Turbo Cross are incoming.

All versions are fitted with the make’s 93.4kWh Performance Battery Plus.

The car is based on the same J1 platform as the sedan, but bolstering its off-road credentials and all-round versatility, the Cross Turismo is only available with four-wheel drive.

They also achieve Porsche Active Suspension Management with three-chamber adaptive air suspension. With an optional Off-Road Package, the car’s ride height can be raised by a further 10mm for a total of 30mm of extra ground clearance compared with the Taycan sedan.

There’s also a Gravel driving mode for Porsche’s latest EV, which alters the chassis, stability control and throttle calibration for use on loose surfaces, boosting ability off-road.

Off-road design elements include new wheel arch trims, different lower aprons at the front and rear, and side sills.

The higher roofline delivers 47mm more headroom in the back than a regular Taycan offers. The big hatchback reveals up to 446 litres of boot space with the seats up, and a maximum of 1212 litres with them folded down.

The design draws heavily from the Mission E Cross Turismo Concept of 2018 with the design brief being to “offer a little bit more space, a little more flexibility and versatility” than a regular Taycan, according to model line chief Stefan Weckbach. He reckons it is a “a car that is perfect for both an urban environment and the countryside.”

Fair dues to Porsche. While a whole heap more time was spent at the Nurburgring and Hockenheim racetracks as well as the Nardo test track, it was also thrown into some seriously testing off-seal conditions.

Which means, in respect to off-road aptitude? “The Cross Turismo has to be capable of high performance on the race track and must also be able to handle scree, mud and gravel,” Weckbach said.

“The Cross Turismo is not a hardcore off-road vehicle, but specialises in unpaved and dirt roads. It’s like a type of Swiss army knife on up to 21-inch wheels.”

From the front it has the same quad light signature, thin wide lower grille and narrow front fascia as a road-bound Taycan but clearly stands taller. In silhouette, the design path heads in a different dsirection; theroofline and silhouette are more strongly reminiscent of the Panamera Sport Turismo, albeit with chunkier rear haunches.

The Taycan 4 Cross Turismo offers around 280kW, with overboost of 350kW during launch control starts for a 0-100kmh time of 5.1 seconds. Official range stands at 455km, according to Porsche.

Going to the Taycan 4S Cross Turismo sees power climb to 360kW, with up to 420kW available on overboost to shave one full second from the base model’s 0-100kmh time.

The Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo’s performance takes another significant leap on, with up to 500kW on overboost for a 0-100kmh time of 3.3 seconds and up to 482km of range possible. Most of the time Turbo produces 460kW.

The top-spec Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo boasts 560kW with overboost and launch control engaged. It means a 0-100kmh sprint time of just 2.9 seconds; it produces the same level of power as the standard Turbo otherwise, with an official range claim of up to 420km.