Prior to the introduction of the Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT, the world of large EVs looked quite a bit different. Either you bought a Tesla Model S, or you didn’t. It’s hard to understate just what an impact that car had (and continues to have, 12 years on from launch), but we also shouldn’t forget how much progress has been since the 2020 arrival of the J1 architecture twins, either. Tesla isn’t going to be given such an enormous head start on any EV niche in future, that seems certain. Just in this decade we’ve seen the Mercedes EQE and EQS launch, the BMW i5 and i7, the Lotus Emeya, the Lucid, and we eagerly await Jaguar’s second foray into battery-powered cars. What was once a sparsely populated luxury sector now spoils the consumer for choice (and secondhand bargains, it seems - but that’s a discussion for another day.)
Having set the bar as high as they did, with impressive handling, smart styling and good ranges, the task faced when updating both Audi and Porsche was perhaps less substantial than will be faced elsewhere. Larger batteries are now installed, a new rear motor is more efficient, more powerful and lighter, air suspension is standard and the cooling has been overhauled. Meaningful changes underneath, then, pushing the efficiency of both 598hp Porsche and 680hp Audi beyond three miles per kilowatt hour and their ranges to more than 350 miles on the WLTP test. Both will reach 62mph in less than four seconds and 150mph. In being absolutely more than fast enough, the 4S and S e-tron GT qualify as mid-tier EV super-saloons. Quite what possesses anyone to go faster still remains unclear.
Neither the Audi nor the Porsche makes a huge fuss about their Gen 2 status. Not a big deal, really, given they were handsome, well-proportioned beasts at the first time of asking, though maybe those stumping up for a new six-figure EV might want a little more than trims, wheels and lights to mark it out from a used example that could cost half as much. Tricky balancing act when first time around went so well; how do you retain the same appeal while meaningfully freshening up the looks? For what it’s worth the Taycan perhaps looks maybe a tad more assertive for its new front end (though the rear is certainly where it looks most Porschey) and the Audi is now fussier for its new front bumper treatment if still the more handsome of the pair.
Of the two, the e-tron GT still doesn’t get the credit for looking as good as it does, a fact only made more stark by the arrival of subsequent Audi EVs. Though these aren’t like-for-like bodystyles, it’s hard to imagine any spec of Taycan surpassing the Audi for visual appeal; time and familiarity has done little to dim the impact of the e-tron’s good looks, low and lean in a way that nothing comparable with an engine could be. Look even at the new A6 e-tron by way of comparison; any advances it might make as an EV or luxury car feel rather undone by its relative dumpiness. The Porsche remains a nicer place to sit than the Audi. While both have a healthy options spend to spruce up every bit of the package (£30k of options skews for the 4S, a little more than £20,000 for the GT), the fundamentals are better positioned in the Taycan.
Where once Audi’s commitment to buttons was a welcome touch of tradition in such a contemporary car, it’s just starting to look a tad dated now; drive select is a reach across the dash (rather than on the wheel in the Porsche), the volume pad is weird and a PRND switch feels cheap. Even some beautiful Audi Exclusive leather and Birch wood can’t quite lift the aura above good but not quite good enough. The Porsche layout isn’t without quibbles (like a few too-small touchscreen icons), but keeping a lot of the important driving stuff on or close to the wheel feels preferable. As do the physical buttons on the spokes.
That sense of prioritising the driver extends to how these two drive, too. The e-tron GT, freed from its top-tier RS status, is brilliant: direct and precise as well as exceptionally comfortable. There’s precious little to configure on this car (the suspension is Comfortable or Dynamic, the height standard, low or really low, then powertrain), and however it’s set the Audi does a fine job of managing both its mass and the road. In addition to the traits that are familiar from a few EVs, there’s a nice weighting and response to all the controls; it doesn’t merely feel like it was all left to chance once the weight was low and the power was reaching all four wheels.
Quite what a Performance model with another 50 per cent more power is going to feel like in the UK it’s hard to fathom (there's an overseas glimpse at it here) because 592hp - the 680 is an overboost - seems almost excessive without gears or turbos or revs to think about. In that familiar Audi e-tron way, complete with a sound that can be Subdued, Balanced or Dynamic if you must, the GT goes about the business of going extremely fast with very little commotion at all.
There can’t be many comparisons where a Porsche Taycan is the slower car, but the slight tail off at higher speeds against the Audi is undeniable. A surprising weight advantage in the Porsche’s favour means there’s nothing really in it when accelerating, and the launch control shenanigans of the Taycan can convince you it’s a little quicker. Again, they’re both rapid enough to seem almost RS7 and Panamera Turbo spec, which is quite fun in comparatively unassuming cars.
What the 4S does well here, as Porsches tend to do in all Audi comparisons (or against other makers, for that matter), is prioritise driver reward in the experience. Whether it’s 911 against R8, Panamera against RS7 or this EV shootout, there’s never a huge gulf in ability - especially not with so much shared underneath - but there is greater satisfaction to be taken from just operating the controls. Without powertrains to stimulate the senses in an EV, so elements like brake feel and steering response come to the fore. Here the Porsche’s are nicer, left pedal firmer and more reassuring and steering keener, meatier, better. Active Ride Control is staggering, too, keeping a Taycan level, composed and remarkably comfortable regardless of the situation. No wonder it’s only been made available on the 925hp, £140k e-tron GT - Porsche won’t want everyone having it.
To most, perhaps, it won’t be a concern, but this is PH, so it is - the Porsche driving experience feels like the one where the tiny details have been sweated. It means you have the confidence to push just a little bit harder when the opportunity arises, whereas the Audi is a modicum vaguer and looser once out of its comfort zone. An extremely broad and fast comfort zone, no doubt, yet one that exists nevertheless. The weighting and the feel of the Porsche’s major controls, much as they did before, just add a little extra gratification to every moment behind the wheel.
It's a point worth making because they’re almost identically capable otherwise. The Porsche loses nothing, it seems, as a Cross Turismo against a conventional (not so good looking) hatch, while the Audi demonstrates that it isn’t merely RS models that deserve attention. It has regen adjustable on its paddles, too, a useful advantage denied to the Porsche (where it’s on a screen). Both averaged just about 3mi/kWh across a few hours testing; with those bigger batteries (hopefully not a forever solution, because 105kWh gross does seem a lot) you’re looking at as near-as-makes-no difference 300 miles from a tank. Worthwhile when an earlier Taycan wouldn’t have mustered 250. Both Audi and Porsche are hugely capable, extremely desirable EVs, usefully updated from a strong start. If the style of the e-tron is the convincer, it’s a great choice; similarly, if the allure of a Porsche badge wins out, you can’t go wrong.
For us, the manner in which a Taycan gets down a road just nudges it ahead. It just feels very Porsche, as familiar to the rest of the range as another 911 Carrera or Cayenne. The experience doesn’t necessarily brim with joy (that’s what GT cars are for), though that sense of engineering rigour courses through every bit of Porsche’s first EV. Just a little bit more than it used to, in fact. While there are many more alternatives than there were back in 2020, nothing yet has surpassed the Taycan as large EV of choice. But at the current rate of progress, you wouldn’t bet on it staying that way forever.
SPECIFICATION | PORSCHE TAYCAN 4S CROSS TURISMO
Engine: Permanently excited electric motor, one per axle, 105kWh battery (97kWh usable)
Transmission: Single-speed (front) twin-speed (rear), all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 598 (launch control overboost, otherwise 517)
Torque (lb ft): 512 (launch control maximum)
0-62mph: 3.6sec
Top speed: 149mph
Weight: 2,220kg (EU unladen)
MPG: 3.14mi/kWh (WLTP combined)
Range: 360 (WLTP combined)
Price: £100,400 (price as standard; price as tested £130,406, comprising BOSE Surround Sound System for £1,052, Passenger Display for £1,061, 4-zone climate control for £657, Soft close doors for £546, Adaptive cruise control for £1,092, Surround view with active parking support for £1,088, Privacy glass for £389, Windscreen with grey top tint for £89, Panoramic roof for £1,296, HD Matrix LED lights for £1,755, Porsche electric sport sound for £389, Sport Chrono Package with Push-to-Pass and Porsche Design subsecond clock for £1,931, Active Ride Control for £6,291, Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus for £1,158, Rear-axle steering for £1,593, Preparation for rear bike carrier for £380, Black side window trims for £269, Front and rear seat heating for £338, 4+1 seats for £371, 14-way electric comfort seats with memory for £1,061, Smooth finish black leather interior for £2,792, 20-inch Taycan Turbo S Aero Design wheels for £1,676, Shade Green Metallic for £2,732)
SPECIFICATION | 2024 AUDI S E-TRON GT
Engine: Permanently excited electric motor, one per axle, 105kWh battery (97kWh usable)
Transmission: Single-speed (front) twin-speed (rear), all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 680 (launch control overboost, otherwise 592)
Torque (lb ft): 545 (launch control maximum)
0-62mph: 3.4 seconds (3.6 without launch control)
Top speed: 152mph
Weight: 2,385kg (EU unladen)
MPG: 3.2-3.4mi/kWh
Range: 356-375 miles
Price: £113,106 (price as standard; price as tested £134,261, comprising Wall mount clip* for £125, Audi Exclusive styling package in Cognac Brown for £6,985, Birch wood, natural anthracite inlays for £795, Carbide steel brake calipers in black* for £2,965, Front Sports Seats Pro* for £2,045, Climate and acoustic windscreen + infrared protection* for £465, City Assist Pack (Front traffic cross assist, Lane change assist) for £1,345, S Technology Pack Pro (Matrix LED lights with dynamic indicator and dynamic LED rears, pano roof with adjustable transparency, all-wheel steering, sport steering) for £5,495, Garage door opener* for £260, Air quality package* for £410, Smokers package* for £65. * = options currently unavailable on UK cars, fitted to very early examples.)
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