Will the new rear-wheel drive Porsche Taycan be too much to handle?



Porsche is welcoming the new year with a new Taycan variant, called simply as the Taycan (sans emphasis, obviously). However, sharp-eyed readers will know that the rear-wheel driven (RWD) Porsche Taycan isn’t technically new, as it’s already been on sale in China since last year. In fact, it was also the car that helped Porsche claim the Guinness World Record title for the world’s longest drift with an electric vehicle!

Joining the Taycan 4STurbo, and Turbo S, the new entry-level variant will be offered with two battery options, a 79.2kWh ‘base’ Performance Battery, and the 93.4kWh Performance Battery Plus – identical to the Porsche Taycan 4S, just without the motors on the front axle.

The just-call-me Taycan loses quite a significant amount of weight thanks to its rear-wheels-only drivetrain – approximately 90 kg, but the larger Performance Plus batteries does gain back a majority of them.

In terms of performance, the base Taycan’s rear-axle drivetrain pushes out 240 kW (326 hp) and 345 Nm or 280 kW (380 hp) and 357 Nm depending on the battery pack, though both will do 0-100 km/h in 5.4 seconds, as well as the same top speed of 230 km/h. The Performance Plus battery does edge out a little in the quarter-mile drag race, by 0.2 seconds to be exact.

Despite the difference in battery size, Porsche says that both cars will still charge from 5% to 80% in 22.5 minutes, in ideal conditions of course. The smaller base battery charges at a peak rate of 225 kW, while the larger Performance Battery Plus can charge at up to 270 kW, when such a charger is actually accessible to regular people.

Porsche promises a 431 km range on the base battery, and 484 km on the larger Plus battery pack – both values based on the WLTP cycle. The latter value is actually the highest range offered on any Porsche Taycan variant to date.

As for standard equipment, the RWD Porsche Taycan gets LED headlights, 19-inch ‘Taycan Aero’ alloys (enabling a 0.22 Cd drag coefficient), steel coil suspensions with Porsche Active Suspension Management, as well as aluminium brake discs – with six pistons up front and four at the rear.

Buyers will be able to upgrade to “surface-coated” performance brake discs, three-chamber adaptive air suspension, as well as a 22 kW aC onboard charger.

Inside, most of the features from the higher-end variants are carried over to the base-variant RWD Porsche Taycan, including the large curved digital instrument cluster and the triple-screen set-up that forms the infotainment display, passenger screen, and the climate control (for the most part) control panel.

Eight-way power-adjustable front comfort seats upholstered in “part-leather” are standard-fit items, but customers can also opt for a completely leather-free interior (the Taycan is the first Porsche model to offer this option), as well as an optional head-up display.

Without the front drivetrain, the RWD Porsche Taycan slashes its price down to GBP70,690 (~RM389k) in the UK – approximately GBP13k (~RM72k) or 16% less than the Taycan 4S, the model range’s previous entry point.

In Malaysia, the Porsche Taycan is offered in three variants: 4S, Turbo, and Turbo S, with prices starting at RM725k. The 2WD entry-level variant will certainly be an enticing option for buyers if – or rather when – it makes its way onto our shores.


GALLERY