2025 Porsche Taycan First Drive: Heard, Understood, and Acknowledged
When it came time to update the Taycan, Porsche understood the assignment.
America exports a lot of culture, and it seems the Germans may have picked up a new slang term from the American military personnel stationed in-country. No one knows for sure where “hooah” (or “oorah” as the Marines say it) came from, but one popular theory is that it’s derived from the acronym “H.U.A.,” for “heard, understood, and acknowledged.” At least, that’s how the Porsche team in Stuttgart seems to understand it, because it perfectly describes the approach it took with the refreshed 2025 Porsche Taycan.
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Go Farther
The upgrades and enhancements to the new Taycan reads like a list of what folks disliked about the old one. At the top of that list: range. Porsche made it very clear when the original Taycan made its debut that performance was the priority and range was secondary. Although our testing showed the Taycan could travel considerably farther on a single charge than the EPA reported, even then, the numbers weren’t impressive, with a range in the low to mid 200-mile neighborhood depending on model.
No more. Now Porsche says range is up by as much as 35 percent. Exact numbers are still pending, and it’s important to note that percentage is based on the more generous WLTP test cycle. Still, the idea that even one Taycan model could approach or even crest 300 miles of range would make it far more competitive in today’s EV landscape.
This assumes, of course, you spring for the Taycan’s Performance Battery Plus option, which will set you back $5,570 to $5,780 depending on model. This bumps your battery capacity from 89 kWh (83 kWh usable) to 105 kWh (97 kWh usable). In addition to range, the bigger battery also buys you more horsepower, torque, and (assuming you also spring for the $1,300 to $1,440 Sport Chrono package) a push-to-pass button that dumps an extra 70 kW (94 hp) into the motor(s) for 10 seconds at a time. It’s more than enough temporary juice to feel the difference, even when you’re already traveling at highway speeds.
Go Quicker, Charge Faster
Power wasn’t on anyone’s dislike list for the outgoing Taycan, but no one is going to complain about more of it, either. After all, it’s a Porsche. Every 2025 Taycan is fitted with a lighter, yet more powerful rear motor, which brings another 80 to 107 hp to the table depending on model. While you’ll certainly appreciate it across the board, it’s most appreciated on the base, rear-drive Taycan. With 402 hp and 272 lb-ft (302 lb-ft using launch control) available out of the gate, the base model finally feels like a proper Porsche. It doesn’t have the giggle-inducing acceleration of the more powerful models, but it no longer feels like it ought to be quicker (plus, you can bump it to 429 hp and 280 to 309 lb-ft with the optional big battery). Either way, Porsche says it’ll rush to 60 mph in as little as 4.5 seconds. It feels a little quicker than that (and probably is).
Add a motor to the front axle, which comes standard on every other trim, and things really start to get spicy. Just stepping up to a Taycan 4S all-wheel-drive model drops the 0–60 time to 3.5 seconds and is more than enough for most people. It’ll certainly feel like you’re driving a damn quick car, especially coming out of a corner when you sense the front axle helping to pull it down the road.
But if you're looking for the full six-figure Porsche EV experience, you can always go big. Taycan Turbo big. Step up to the Turbo, and the front-axle motor and big battery both come standard. With nearly 700 hp on tap (871 hp with launch control), it’ll motor to 60 mph in a stupid fast 2.5 seconds. At that point, though, you might as well go all the way and ladder up to the Turbo S to get the full 764 hp (938 hp with launch control) and another two-tenths shaved off the Turbo’s already ridiculous 60-mph time. Keep your foot to the floor from a stop in the Turbo S, and you’ll literally feel the g-forces pushing on your abdomen as your organs are squished against your back. It’s a wild experience and one you'd be well advised to try only in a controlled environment.
Of course, using all that power will drain your battery more quickly. Ah, but Porsche has an answer for that one, too. The new batteries now accept up to 320 kW from a DC fast charger and up to 400 kW of regenerative braking. The latter figure means you get more power back every time you brake, and the former means you spend less time on the charger, as little as 18 minutes in an ideal situation. That makes it one of the quickest-charging cars on the market.
Under the Knife
Shorter charge times mean you’ll have less time to stand around and admire your new prized possession, but you don’t need much, anyway. In true Porsche fashion, the company claims every body panel forward of the windshield is new, but if you can tell the difference without parking it next to an old one, you probably own an old one. Same for the new rear fascia. The big tell is the lack of tear stains under the headlights, which is one of the things on that list of what people disliked about the old car.
Go Up Around the Bend
Porsches are often thought of as small, nimble, and lightweight. EVs aren’t, so although the old Taycan drove like a real Porsche, it also drove like a real heavy Porsche. Knocking as much as 57 pounds off the curb weight of the new car depending on model doesn’t make a noticeable difference in the driving experience, but it’s a step in the right direction at least. It’s also impressive considering you get more standard equipment than before.
Also encouraging are a pair of new physics-cheating technologies. The headliner is an electro-hydraulic damping system, called Porsche Active Ride, which fits high-pressure hydraulic pumps to each shock absorber that are designed to be quick enough to cancel pitch, dive, and roll before you feel any of it. Offered only on dual-motor cars with the big battery as a $7,140 option, the system also does a fun party trick, rapidly raising the car 2.1 inches when a door is opened for easier entry and exit, aided by the standard air springs. The shocks are also adaptive and electronically adjustable, and the hydraulic pumps negate the need for anti-roll bars.
While the technology is impressive, the system is so imperceptible as to make you question its value. It may be highly capable on paper and during instrumented, 10/10s testing, but we had trouble detecting any significant difference in pitch, dive, and roll with the system turned off, or when compared to a base model, which gets standard dual-chamber air springs, adaptive dampers, and mechanical anti-roll bars. Similarly, the ride quality with the hydraulic suspension isn’t noticeably better than cars with the base suspension except over the worst surfaces, and even then, it’s still a stiff, Porsche-like ride.
The other tech trick is everyone’s favorite new toy: rear steering. The Taycan is a deceptively large car, its taut bodywork making it look smaller than it is. It’s always driven smaller than it is, too, but rear steering (optional on lower-models and standard on Turbo and above), enhances that feeling. Virtually shortening the Taycan’s wheelbase shrinks the car around you considerably, right up until you get it on a particularly narrow road when its actual girth becomes abundantly clear. Still, both at high speeds and in parking lots, the Taycan feels smaller, lighter, and nimbler than ever, and it’s a welcome advancement.
In an uncharacteristic miss, though, there’s an odd behavior in the rear steering system Porsche should’ve caught. Although it works very well in nearly all situations, long, sweeping turns can catch it out. Should a sweeper tighten up midway through, even the smallest correction you make will be unduly amplified by the rear steering. Normally invisible, at least in this one reasonably common scenario we encountered, the action at the rear axle is suddenly too sharp and makes the car feel darty and unsettled, requiring further input from the driver to correct the overcorrection. Porsches don’t do this, and yet the Taycan did, repeatedly. Thankfully, it’s almost certainly something that can be fixed with a software update to the rear-steering controller, which is hopefully forthcoming.
Go Fish
If you didn’t care for the old Taycan’s all-screens-all-the-time interior and were hoping for a big update, then prepare to be disappointed. Nearly everything that’s changed inside is limited to software-related enhancements.
The biggie is a deeper integration of Apple CarPlay. In most typical setups, CarPlay is a separate ecosystem from the rest of the car, and you normally need to back out of it to get to the controls for the car’s built-in features. Now you can adjust the radio, air conditioning, ambient lighting, and more through CarPlay. You can even display CarPlay on the instrument cluster as well as the upper center screen. Android Auto is equipped, too, but it doesn’t do that cool stuff because Porsche says most of its owners use iPhones and there’s less incentive to develop an Android version.
You can do a lot more on the instrument cluster than look at CarPlay, too. Porsche has finally caved and followed the lead of its compatriots in offering six different instrument cluster views for you to play with. It has also applied a film to the upper center and passenger-side screens that allows passengers to watch streaming video but prevents the driver from seeing it (assuming this is allowed in your country).
Elsewhere on the myriad screens, Porsche has moved some functions around. Regenerative braking is now a menu option instead of a hard button, and there’s still no one-pedal driving mode. The user interface has been updated to Porsche’s latest and is easier to navigate than before. The Individual drive mode is gone, as you can now customize every other drive mode except Normal. There’s also a handy addition to the battery gauge that tells you the maximum amount of charging power the car can accept at its current battery level, so you’ll know whether you really need to use the fastest charger at the station and whether or not the charger is giving you full power.
Go Check Your Bank Account
The new 2025 Taycan hits American dealers sometime this summer, and all the extra standard equipment doesn't come free. Base price has risen nearly $10,000 to $101,395 after delivery fees. The Taycan 4S sees the smallest price jump and is probably the sweet spot for most buyers. The Turbo and Turbo S, meanwhile, see roughly $14,000 and $15,000 jumps, respectively, topping out at $210,995 before options.
Were you one of those kids who taught themselves to identify cars at night by their headlights and taillights? I was. I was also one of those kids with a huge box of Hot Wheels and impressive collection of home-made Lego hot rods. I asked my parents for a Power Wheels Porsche 911 for Christmas for years, though the best I got was a pedal-powered tractor. I drove the wheels off it. I used to tell my friends I’d own a “slug bug” one day. When I was 15, my dad told me he would get me a car on the condition that I had to maintain it. He came back with a rough-around-the-edges 1967 Volkswagen Beetle he’d picked up for something like $600. I drove the wheels off that thing, too, even though it was only slightly faster than the tractor. When I got tired of chasing electrical gremlins (none of which were related to my bitchin’ self-installed stereo, thank you very much), I thought I’d move on to something more sensible. I bought a 1986 Pontiac Fiero GT and got my first speeding ticket in that car during the test drive. Not my first-ever ticket, mind you. That came behind the wheel of a Geo Metro hatchback I delivered pizza in during high school. I never planned to have this job. I was actually an aerospace engineering major in college, but calculus and I had a bad breakup. Considering how much better my English grades were than my calculus grades, I decided to stick to my strengths and write instead. When I made the switch, people kept asking me what I wanted to do with my life. I told them I’d like to write for a car magazine someday, not expecting it to actually happen. I figured I’d be in newspapers, maybe a magazine if I was lucky. Then this happened, which was slightly awkward because I grew up reading Car & Driver, but convenient since I don’t live in Michigan. Now I just try to make it through the day without adding any more names to the list of people who want to kill me and take my job.
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