One of the reasons we love YouTuber Bjorn Nyland is because when he gets an EV on loan, he pushes out a series of videos where he does all kinds of tests with the vehicle. However, his DC fast charging videos are some of the most informative because they aren't strictly opinion-based, as are driving impression reviews. He records the charging profiles and talks about what was observed.
In this video, Nyland records the charging behavior of the Porsche Taycan 4S with the smaller, 79.2 kWh battery which comes standard on the 4S version of the Taycan. The Taycan Turbo and Turbo S, both came standard with the larger 93.4 kWh battery, which is also available on the Taycan 4S for an additional $6,580, and is called the "Performance Battery Plus" option.
Porsche Taycan news
Nyland describes the three different charging sessions he did, including one on a 350 kW Ionity charging station where he goes from 2% to 40% in ten minutes. The Taycan was still accepting 100 kW when the state of charge reached 80%. After 80%, most EVs begin a dramatic reduction of the power they accept, and some EVs even do that well before 80%. However, the Taycan accepted more than 100 kW all the way up to 80%, which is very good.
Nyland then takes the vehicle to a 150 kW station. The Taycan did reach 150 kW, but quickly lowered down to 120 kW. Nyland explains that it was most likely because the battery was a little cooler than ideal.
I remember when I did the Taycan media drive from Copenhagen, Denmark to Hamburg, Germany last year, the Porsche engineers explained how the maximum charge rate of 270 kW can only be attained if the battery was at least 32° Celcius (90°F).
Lastly, Nyland also plugs into a 50 kW station and explains how Porsche deals with the Taycan charging on a 400-volt charging station while the Porsche Taycan battery is an 800-volt system. While the Taycan can charge at up to 270 kW on an 800-volt DC charger if it's a 400-volt charger the vehicle needs to run the power through a DC to DC voltage boost converter.
Gallery: Porsche Taycan 4S
Porsche calls this a “built-in 400-volt DC charger”. The converter takes the 400-volt DC charging power and converts it to 800-volts, so it can be put into the car’s 800-volt battery pack. The Taycan come standard with a 50 kW DC to DC converter, but a 150 kW one is available as an option. Nyland doesn't take a position on whether or not it's worth ordering, because it depends on where you live.
If you live or frequently drive to an area where there are 400-volt DC fast chargers that can deliver more than 50 kW than it might be worth it. However, many of the chargers that can deliver more than 50 kW today can also deliver 800-volts, so the use case is rather small in most areas.