- the base-model porsche taycan achieved a 280-mile range and 97 mpge in our real-world 75-mph highway range test.
- our test car was equipped with the optional 83.7-kwh performance battery plus, and the epa estimates that configuration will travel 225 miles on a single charge.
- this makes the taycan only the second car we've tested to beat its epa-estimated range figure, with the porsche doing so by the widest margin.
porsche recently added a rear-wheel-drive base model taycan to the electric sedan's lineup, which also includes 4s, turbo, and turbo s variants. the base-model taycan is epa-estimated at up to 225 miles of range, but it's now the second electric vehicle to exceed the epa's estimates in our real-world 75-mph highway test, achieving an impressive 280 miles and 97 mpge.
we tested a frozen berry metallic example equipped with porsche's optional 83.7-kwh battery pack (a $5,780 option), which it calls "performance battery plus". the standard pack has a 71.0-kwh capacity and is rated at 200 miles of range on the base model. our test car was equipped with 19-inch aero wheels wrapped in michelin pilot sport 4 rubber.
this result makes the base taycan the ev that broke its epa-estimated range by the highest margin in our testing, at an additional 55 miles or 24 percent. we suspect that part of the taycan's standout range is due to its two-speed transmission on the rear axle that allows the motor to spin at a lower and more efficient speed while cruising at interstate speeds. there's only one other ev that's ever beat its epa rating in our 75-mph test, and that's the 2020 audi e-tron sportback. it traveled 220 miles, beating its epa range by only two miles. for comparison, the ev we've tested with the longest range was the tesla model s long range plus. it traveled 320 miles at 75 mph, which also makes it the first ev that broke the 300-mile barrier in our testing. but it fell well short of its 402-mile epa figure.
porsche's range estimates have been relatively conservative in the past, and they were adjusted slightly upward for the 2021 model year. we've also put the taycan 4s, which was equipped with the larger battery pack, through our 75-mph highway test, and it achieved 180 miles, 23 miles short of its epa-estimated range. however, compared to the base model, it's 308 pounds heavier, and it has all-wheel drive.