2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo S prototype ride
Has Porsche's midlife update delivered tangible improvements to the German sports car maker's first electric vehicle, or is it just brochure fluff to keep sales ticking over? Glenn Butler flies to Germany to find the answer.
It's not often that we fly 16,284km in 24 hours just to sit in a car as somebody else drives. It's also not often that a car can accelerate so ferociously it feels like your stomach is devouring your lungs.
It's a weird physical sensation that's both exhilarating and frightening.
If you've ever lost control of a speeding car or jumped out of a plane, or learned that you're having a baby… you know this feeling. It churns your internal organs and makes it impossible to breathe.
It's the 'what have I done?' moment when courage collides with regret.
That's what the 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo S feels like accelerating from standstill to 100km/h in just 2.4 seconds – three hyperventilating heartbeats.
It's a feeling that no other EV currently on sale in Australia can match, and will cost $374,200 to experience when deliveries commence in July 2024.
Key details | 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo S |
Price | $374,200 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Black |
Options | N/A |
Price as tested | $374,200 plus on-road costs |
Drive-away price | N/A |
Rivals | Mercedes-Benz EQS53 AMG | Audi RS E-Tron |
This exhilarating acceleration is one of the major improvements in the 2025 Porsche Taycan, a midlife update that leaves no stone unturned in improving Porsche's first-ever EV four years after it debuted.
The update is far-reaching and finesses every measurable aspect of this phenomenal car.
Peak power is up on every variant, and cuts straight-line acceleration times. Suspension changes bring dynamic enhancements, too, making the Taycan not only faster on the drag strip but also faster around a racetrack.
In fact, Porsche recently took the Taycan to the Nurburgring with the express goal of snatching the four-door EV lap record back from Tesla. And, in typical Porsche fashion, it did exactly that, lowering the mark by 18 seconds to 7min 7.55sec.
Porsche failed to take the outright production EV record, falling just 2.25sec off the Rimac Nevera's 7min 5.298sec time.
But there are two things you need to know about these times. The Rimac is a 1388kW, two-seater hypercar with no care for commuting or cargo and a $1.8 million price. The Taycan that set the Nurburgring lap time is, well, we don't really know what. Not for certain.
"This is a completely different thing than what we are presenting here," Porsche Taycan spokesperson Mayk Wienkotter told Drive at the prototype event.
So the Nurburgring car is not anything that we've seen or driven in today?
"Maybe or maybe not. I would have to leave that open. I can't go into any technical details other than that it did the 7min 7sec lap.
"We will be talking about more Taycan news later this year because we are expanding the model line in many directions. In theory, the Taycan family will grow even bigger ... It's more variants in terms of powertrains, not like body styles. We are going to stay with the three body styles but the powertrain variation might increase."
Word is the Nurburgring record-setting Taycan is the new Turbo GT flagship that will pip the current range-topping Turbo S for power, performance and price. We're also led to believe it will debut an innovative three-motor set-up yielding something in the vicinity of 1000kW of power.
Let's leave that aside for now and return our focus to the updated Porsche Taycan range that lands locally in July 2024. Australia will stick with two body styles – sedan and Cross Turismo wagon – in up to four powertrain variations. Overseas markets get a third Sport Turismo body style – a Cross Turismo without the cladding and raised ride height.
The Taycan RWD base model now has a 300kW rear electric motor, up 60kW from before, and is capable of trimming 0.6sec off the previous car's 0–100km/h time of 5.4 seconds.
The top-spec Turbo S that I rode in has 570kW of power on tap and can add another 70kW for up to 10 seconds at the press of a button. Porsche calls this function "Push-to-pass" and said it was inspired by a similar function on the Formula E race car.
Engage the Turbo S's Launch Control mode and you get the vehicle's full 700kW, which is what you'll need to experience 0–100km/h in 2.4 seconds.
All Porsche Taycans have a higher capacity, lighter and more efficient 105kW battery pack that can deliver more power than before and recoup more power through the brake energy recuperation system. It's also faster to charge, considerably faster.
If you want to know more about how Porsche has upgraded the Taycan for MY2025, check out my more detailed report here. For now, let's return to my drive ride impressions.
Looking at the Taycan Turbo S from the outside, the changes are not immediately obvious. They are there, like the more aggressive front spoiler, HD Matrix LED headlights and the more aerodynamic 21-inch 'Aero' alloy wheels.
The rear end receives a similarly subtle update to its lower fascia and full-width tail-light graphic. None of this transforms the Taycan visually; it just sharpens things a tad to make the Turbo variants stand out more from lesser variants.
It's a similar story once you're inside the car. To anyone who has sat in a current Taycan, the interior will be absolutely familiar. Evolution over revolution, and most of it confined to the various digital displays.
For example, the trademark five-dial driver's instrument cluster now has more overt charging graphics to convey the car's state of charge and recuperation rate. The centre screen gets the new Apple CarPlay Plus which, among other changes, integrates air-conditioning controls into the CarPlay ecosystem – even though the Taycan has dedicated climate controls on the lower centre screen.
The passenger side screen – where fitted – can now play videos from streaming services like Netflix and YouTube while the car is on the move. The driver can't see the video thanks to a clever film that makes the screen black when viewed from such an angle. Sadly, the audio system can't reroute the soundtrack to a set of headphones, which means the driver will be able to piece onscreen action together from the dialogue.
If the transmission is in Park, video can be played on the centre screen for all to enjoy. Handy for those recharging stops.
Arguably the biggest physical change inside the car is a repurposing of the button inside the drive mode dial that now engages Push-to-Pass on all-wheel-drive variants.
As my chauffeur/engineer drove, I played with the various suspension systems. Porsche has put considerable effort into improving the Taycan's ride and handling capabilities, starting with making adaptive air suspension standard across the entire range.
The Active Ride system debuted on the Panamera makes an appearance here, too, and really steps things up. Trick functions like Curve Tilt and Helicopter Mode lean the car into the g-forces generated by acceleration and braking (like a helicopter) and cornering (like a motorbike). We're talking a handful of degrees but it's enough to notice, and it does reduce the lateral and longitudinal forces on occupants during more spirited driving.
Active Skyhook is easy to feel as it magically glides the car over rough surfaces, managing the air suspension and active dampers to soak up the bumps and ruts before they jar occupants.
Porsche's Active Ride is a fast-acting electro-hydraulic system that does away with the need for anti-roll bars, and also the need for a 48-volt electrical network, reducing the car's electric needs to just 12V and 800V. This played a part in the Taycan's 15kg overall weight reduction and talks volumes to Porsche's demonstrated ability to get more from less.
Key details | 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo S |
Engine | Dual electric motors |
Power | 570kW standard 640kW Push-to-Pass 700kW Launch Control |
Torque | N/A |
Drive type | All-wheel drive |
Transmission | Two-speed automatic |
Power to weight ratio | 307kW/t |
Weight | 2280kg |
Spare tyre type | None |
Turning circle | 11.2m |
But again, that's typical of Porsche, the most engineering-led of all the major car companies. Midlife updates are not just about adding more; they're about getting more performance out of what's already there and giving drivers a more thrilling and more rewarding experience.
Very few companies have the ability to take a car that already seemed complete and make it even more capable and commanding, and yet more comfortable and competent.
On paper, the 2025 Porsche Taycan could cynically be nothing more than Porsche leapfrogging rivals that had overtaken it since 2020.
But in reality, this midlife update is much more than your typical midlife update. More potent performance and yet more comfortable cruising. A bigger battery with better efficiency, and a greater range and yet less weight. More features and functionality inside, yet it's even easier to use.
The 2025 Porsche Taycan update arriving locally in July brings worthwhile improvements that will again put Porsche at the forefront of the EV revolution, and will be of tangible benefit to owners.