4. Porsche Taycan
Best for: charging speed, handling
Porsche really stole a march on the rest of the luxury car industry when it introduced the Taycan electric saloon.
The first Taycan arrived in 2019, and through that time it was a truly standout car for its handling appeal, driver engagement and its DC rapid-charging speed. The best news is there’s a new Taycan on the way, which is set to bring a host of updates, including better range, performance and efficiency.
The Taycan isn’t the lightest EV of its kind – its 92kWh lithium ion drive battery weighs 650kg all on its own.
But Porsche innovated by effectively cutting holes out of the underfloor battery level to enable the driver to sit lower in the car and to therefore lower the whole profile of the vehicle – and so, by delivering a truly low, sporting-feeling driving position and a low centre of gravity, the car’s tactile, enticing handling gets off to a perfect start.
We would pick a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive model for the purest chassis balance, but between saloons, Sport Turismo shooting brakes, Cross Turismo pseudo-off-roaders and so many hot GTS and Turbo models, there’s an awful lot of choice besides.
Meanwhile, Porsche’s habitual preference for effective cooling delivers 800V charging performance, which the rest of the industry is still catching up with today.
The Taycan is sitting pretty at the top of our real-world rapid-charging performance test chart, with honourable mentions to both the Audi E-tron GT and Hyundai Ioniq 6.
