We Put The Base Porsche Taycan Through Our Standard 70 MPH Range Test

Name: We Put The Base Porsche Taycan Through Our Standard 70 MPH Range Test
Uploaded: 2021-03-12T14:01:20Z
Description: Porsche recently launched a new Taycan model. It starts at $79,900 and comes with rear-wheel drive. Kyle tested the Taycan with the upgraded battery pack.

How many miles will the new rear-wheel-drive Porsche Taycan base model travel?

Steven Loveday

By: Steven Loveday

Mar 12, 2021 at 9:01am ET

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Our own Kyle Conner got his hands on the all-new Porsche Taycan base model. So, of course, it was time for an updated range test.

Until recently, the Porsche Taycan started at a whopping $103,800. That's for the Taycan 4S, which comes standard with all-wheel drive. We already range-tested that car, and if you search online, you'll find a host of Taycan range tests. Nearly all of them prove the Taycan has much more range than the EPA's estimates suggest.

The new Taycan base model is simply called "Taycan." It only comes with rear-wheel drive and starts and $79,900. Would you be interested in buying the Taycan at a $24,000 savings? If you're even slightly interested, you probably need to know how it performs and how much range it's capable of.

We have to pause here and be clear, because it may seem like there's a catch. The Taycan is offered with the choice of two different battery packs. The Performance Battery, which has a usable capacity of 79.2 kWh, and the Performance Battery Plus, which is 93.4 kWh. Conner tested the base Taycan with the larger, Performance Battery Plus. It adds about $6,000 to the starting price. Still, this Taycan costs nearly $20,000 less than the 4S.

According to Porsche, the Taycan base model has a 200-mile range with the smaller battery pack and a 225-mile range with the larger Performance Battery Plus. Porsche says the 225 miles is an EPA estimate, though it's not yet on the EPA's site. The automaker also points to an AMCI independent range test of the base Taycan with the larger battery. It comes in at 282 miles.

Kyle takes the car out on our usual, highly consistent 70 mph loop-style range test. Not surprisingly, his results are much closer to the AMCI test than the EPA figure. In fact, he exceeds the AMCI estimated range, getting a whopping 293.3 miles on a single charge. The Taycan has beaten the odds yet again.