Porsche Taycan beats Tesla, Polestar as Australia’s quickest, longest-range electric car
The updated Porsche Taycan – with more power and a bigger battery – is Australia's quickest-accelerating and longest driving-range electric vehicle.
The updated 2025 Porsche Taycan will have the longest claimed driving range – and fastest acceleration – of any electric vehicle currently on sale in Australia when it arrives mid-year.
Due in Australia in July 2024, the facelifted Taycan adds a bigger battery, more efficient electric motors and aerodynamic improvements to dethrone the current electric driving-range king, the Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor (655km), by 23km.
Porsche quotes a 678km WLTP driving range for the updated Taycan in entry-level 300kW rear-wheel-drive specification, which is 175km more than the model it replaces.
Even more impressive; Porsche claims the Taycan RWD can cover 821km of driving between charges on the city cycle.
It is also comfortably more claimed range than the Tesla Model 3 Long Range (629km) and BMW i7 (625km).
The German car maker also claims the range-topping Taycan Turbo S, which has a WLTP driving range of 630km, can accelerate from standstill to 100km/h in 2.4 seconds.
It is a full 0.4 seconds faster than its own previous record, and almost a second quicker than its nearest speed rival, the now off-sale Tesla Model 3 Performance (3.3sec).
A 2.5-second sprint was quoted by the Tesla Model S Performance, but it has not been on sale here since 2020. Its successor – the Model S Plaid with a 2.1-second 0-100km/h time – was never built in right-hand drive for Australia.
Key to the updated Porsche Taycan's newfound vigour and longevity are a bigger battery and more efficient electric motors that, combined with other mechanical and aerodynamic improvements, raise the Taycan's power outputs and driving range by at least 25 per cent and 34 per cent respectively across the line-up.
Porsche has also added a Formula E-inspired 'push-to-pass' function that provides an extra 70kW in ten-second bursts.
These enhancements are part of a mid-life update which Porsche says “is not your average mid-life facelift. We’ve pushed the boundaries in every respect."
"The Porsche Taycan proved to be a real gamechanger for Porsche when it launched in 2020," director of the Porsche Taycan model line, Steffen Christian, said in a media statement. "The new Taycan is better in every respect: more efficient, more power, more agile and more emotional."
Pices have risen across the Porsche Taycan range by between $7800 and $15,100 depending on the variant, raising the price of entry to $175,100 plus on-road costs.
More detail about the styling, mechanical and equipment changes can be found in this article.
2025 Porsche Taycan | Price | v MY24 | Power (normal) | v MY24 | Push-to-pass | Launch Control | Range |
RWD sedan | $175,100 | +$10,700 | 300kW | +60kW | N/A | 300kW | 678km |
4S sedan | $216,300 | +$11,000 | 340kW | +20kW | N/A | 400kW | 642km |
Turbo sedan | $307,500 | +$14,900 | 520kW | +60kW | +70kW | 650kW | 630km |
Turbo S sedan | $374,200 | +$10,400 | 570kW | +110kW | +70kW | 700kW | 630km |
4 Cross Turismo | $198,000 | +$12,800 | 300kW | +60kW | N/A | 300kW | 613km |
4S Cross Turismo | $224,000 | +$7800 | 340kW | +20kW | N/A | 400kW | 610km |
Turbo Cross Turismo | $310,400 | +$15,100 | 520kW | +60kW | +70kW | 650kW | 597km |
Since the Porsche Taycan’s global launch in 2020, more than 150,000 examples of the German sports car brand's first electric vehicle have been sold around the world. Australia has accounted for just 1496 of these since sales commenced locally in 2022.
Three body styles will continue to be offered globally in the new range – Taycan sedan, Taycan Sport Turismo wagon and Taycan Cross Turismo high-riding wagon – in four specification grades: base rear-wheel drive, 4S, Turbo and Turbo S.
The mid-tier Porsche Taycan GTS is not part of the updated range, at least for the time being.
Australia has again chosen to offer the sedan and Cross Turismo only, with deliveries due to commence in July 2024.
The new Taycan spearheads a flood of new electric vehicles for the German brand, including an electric Macan mid-size SUV, an electric Cayenne large SUV and electric-only replacements for the 718 Boxster and Cayman small sports cars.
Porsche has previously stated that 80 per cent of the vehicles it sells will be electric by 2030, but that the 911 – Porsche's most iconic model – will not be rushed into battery power.