Porsche Taycan review - Interior, design and technology

The Taycan is squat and wide, with the lowest centre of gravity of any Porsche currently on sale. This is needed to counter the effects of the heavy weight it must carry around.

It’s unmistakably a Porsche. The front is dominated by a pair of four-point LED headlights, with an optional matrix beam available. In profile, the Taycan looks more like a sports car than a four-door coupe, with a set of flush, automatically extending door handles to add to the theatre.

The rear design features a light strip made of glass, with the Porsche logo running along the middle. Above it is the three-stage rear spoiler system, while the absence of exhaust pipes gives the back a clean and uncluttered look.

Inside, the seat position is derived from the Porsche 911, creating the best driving position you’ll find in the electric car segment. It’s a tech-heavy and minimalist approach, dominated by up to three digital screens and a centre console with touch control.

Indeed, the only physical buttons are on the steering wheel and doors, creating a look that’s both modern and futuristic. Not everyone will appreciate the lack of buttons, but the interior looks stylish and upmarket.

Even the entry-level 4S comes with a long list of standard equipment, including adaptive air suspension, LED headlights, part-leather seats, electric adjustment for the front seats, sat-nav and 19-inch alloy wheels.

The Taycan Turbo adds the likes of 20-inch alloy wheels, sports seats and Matrix LED headlights, while the Turbo S gets 21-inch alloy wheels, larger brakes and greater adjustment for the front seats. There’s also a long list of options to choose from.

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Sat-nav, stereo and infotainment

The Taycan has a dual-touchscreen layout: a 10.9-inch central touchscreen display as standard, along with a 16.8-inch curved display in front of the driver. The top display handles the standard infotainment, and the fast loading times and clear graphics mean that it does a great job. The one issue is with its position, which is recessed quite deep into the dash, so you might have to lean forward to adjust some functions. 

This is mitigated slightly by the lower touchscreen, which includes shortcuts for the navigation, audio, telephone and system settings along its upper edge. The climate controls and heated seat functions are also operated using the screen, and because they are its primary function, they’re quite easy to access, if still not as easy to use on the move as a regular switch. It feels under- used, too; the portrait display is quite large, but there’s a lot of blank space. Wireless Apple CarPlay is a useful feature, and Porsche has added Android Auto tech.