Mid-cycle upgrades have made the Porsche Taycan a better electric vehicle than before, and that’s clear from the first moment that you step behind the wheel. From battery technology to appointments and design changes, the revised Taycan is a bar setter.
While in Sevilla, Spain last month, Porsche offered up nearly every configuration of Taycan sedan available for test driving: base Taycan, Taycan 4S, Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S. With equal time spent in all, the differences between the models and their target customers revealed themselves quickly.
Spoiler alert: They’re all good.
Porsche has upped the ante for the 2025 model year by making the vehicles quicker (zero to 60 miles per hour (mph) time is improved in the Taycan base model from 5.4 seconds to 4.8 while the Taycan Turbo S is able to move the same distance in 2.4 seconds as opposed to the previous 2.8.
Porsche
That quickness has not come at the sacrifice of range. In fact, the new Taycan base model has a 35 percent increase in range (to 678 kilometers MILES from 503) as measured by the WLTP testing criteria. The Taycan Turbo S has a nearly identical percentage increase, up 34 percent to 630 km from 467.
Those increases come from higher battery capacity (115 kilowatt-hours (kWh), up from 93.4 kWh), increased drivetrain efficiency, optimized drive and recuperation strategy, and vehicle optimization (mass, aerodynamics, rolling resistance).
The way the car is recharged has also changed. When plugged in the model peaks at a 320 kilowatt charge under ideal conditions and then drops off, but consistently maintains a higher level of charge than the pre-refresh Taycan.
New Taycan get recover 315 km of range in 10 minutes under optimal conditions. For the old Taycan, that number was 225 km.
Revisions also allow Taycan to begin fast charging under a much lower temperature than before (15 degrees Celsius versus 35 degrees).
That’s the engineering. Porsche has also refined the looks of the Taycan in and out. Designers sharpened the looks of the Taycan sedan, allowing it to be sharper, and giving more differentiation between grades.
Taycan’s low and wide body design features reshaped air intakes and more intricate headlight design. Streamlined front fenders and an illuminated light strip Porsche logo at the rear make the car visually pop.
Porsche
Buyers looking for a leather-free interior now have Black or Black/Slate Grey color options for Race-Tex microfiber. It’s an option on the Taycan base and 4S, and a complementary switch-out on Taycan Turbo and Turbo S.
Aluminum Prisma trim has also been added to the options list for the 2025 model year. On equipped models it’s foind on the front and rear door panels, sides, and center console.
Porsche has also switched up the way they do two-tone leather upholstery. There’s new color combinations (Blackbettery/Chalk and Black/Limestone Beige), and placement of the leather colors within the interior has been changed to emphasize the contrasting elements.
There’s no bad Taycan in the revised lineup. What it comes down to is what your range requirements are, how sporty you want your drive experience to be and how much you’re willing to spend.
2025 Porsche Taycan Review
The Taycan base model offers just enough style and substance to satisfy someone who really wants a battery-electric Porsche sports car but doesn’t want to spend money on anything to make their behind-the-wheel experience especially sporty.
Porsche
Porsche
It also doesn’t have driver assistance bells and whistles like adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance and a surround view camera as standard (they’re standalone options that cost thousands each). But, it does have a maximum of 429 horsepower when launch control is engaged, and that’s more than plenty to get the heart racing.
The connected drive experience, easy throttle lean in, and regenerative braking that operates like a hot knife through butter are hallmarks of the Taycan in its new form and this base model doesn’t have equipment or algorithms to stray too far from that formula.
With a $99,400 price tag (plus $1,995 in destination charges), the Taycan base model seems something of a right-priced bargain in the luxury electric vehicle market. Granted, that price is up nearly $10,000 from last year, but with the massive, and well-executed changes, this is less of a money grab and more of a upgraded vehicle now being offered.
This Taycan doesn’t come with a head-up display or adaptive cruise control, the first is a luxury easier to live without than the second. Checking both those options boxes adds about $3,000 to the cost of the car.
2025 Porsche Taycan 4S Review
Moving up to the Taycan 4S gives drivers more technology and quickness. Its up to 590 horsepower when launch control is engaged, is more than anyone could possibly need while traveling down the highway at legal speed. Certainly it is more than is needed to get from roundabout to roundabout in southern Spain.
Porsche
Porsche
But buying decisions aren’t always ruled by needs, especially for Porsche drivers. They’re ruled by wants. And, wanting that extra horsepower, and the added bells and whistles that come with the Taycan 4S make it a compelling package.
Above what is offered on the Taycan base mode, 4S versions of the sedan get offered similar technologies and appointments in new bundles. There’s still plenty of standalone options for heated seats, rear-wheel steering, etc. But the real differentiator here between grades is aesthetic- and performance-focused rather than a richer feature stack.
At $118,500 before delivery charges, the Taycan 4S doesn’t feel like quite the bargain the base model does, but for those looking for added performance without the major price jump of getting into the Taycan Turbo or Taycan Turbo S, it’s a solid contender.
2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo Review
With it maximum 871 hp when using launch control, the Taycan Turbo moves the car’s bar from sporty street driver to road-legal beast. Still, the sedan has the same level of drive refinement as the lower Taycan grades.
Everything about the drive of the Taycan Turbo is more aggressive, except for its interior, which remains refined.
Buyers can switch out comfort-style seats (that are truly comfortable for long drives) for sport seats at no additional cost with this model, but still can option equipment like rear-axle steering as standalone options. There’s more packages available for the Taycan Turbo than other, lower grades, bundling comfort, convenience and performance options.
This is the biggest jump in the Taycan lineup in terms of price and performance. The tag reads $175,595 to start.
2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Review
Taycan Turbo S is as close as you can come to a Porsche Taycan track car without all the package bells and whistle to give it over 1,000 horsepower and track-optimized parts. It comes in at 938 hp, which isn’t shy of that thousand mark by much.
Buyers get more Taycan standard in this model, which is to be expected as it tops the range.
Still, this version of the Taycan feels more raw, less refined. Its sporty performance overcomes the technology to deliver the true sports car feeling that track day lovers want.
But that’s not to say that it shies away from technology or comfort. Porsche engineers have worked to give this model a combination of qualities to make it lithe while not allowing drivers to miss out on any part of the sports car driving experience.
Buyers of this $209,000 model are in it for the sheer power, throw-around-ability of the car, and the badging. If spending over $200,000 on an electric sports car doesn’t make sense to you, you’re clearly not the customer Porsche is seeking for this model.
But, the good news is that you can spend half as much and get a perfectly good Taycan. That’s the beauty of the Taycan range: there’s no bad options.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.