- when we tested a 2020 porsche taycan 4s it achieved 180 miles of range on a full charge, 23 miles less than its 203-mile epa rating.
- this taycan came second-closest of any ev we've tested to achieving its epa combined range figure, just 11 percent shy of its label value, even though our test car was equipped with the least efficient 21-inch wheels and summer tires.
- for 2021, the taycan 4s with the larger battery is now epa rated at 227 miles, up 24 miles compared to the 2020 model.
after this story published, we realized we made a mistake and have since updated the taycan's real-world range figure to 180 miles instead of the initial 190-mile figure we reported. our taycan 4s test car actually made it 188.6 miles, but we round our real-world ev range down to the nearest 10-mile increment. we apologize for the error.
the environmental protection agency's (epa) estimated range figures for electric vehicles are one of the most important yardsticks for bragging rights among evs and a critical figure for shoppers to consider during the buying process. however, factors such as climate and speed affect evs more than gas-powered vehicles, so we run them through our own challenging ev range test that's a highway run at a steady speed of 75 mph. in a 2020 porsche taycan 4s, we made it 180 miles.
our test was conducted with a 2020 model equipped with the larger, 83.7-kwh battery pack (porsche calls it "performance battery plus") and 21-inch wheels and pirelli p zero pz4 elect tires shared with the top-dog turbo s model. that wheel and tire package is the least efficient among the taycan's choices and likely shed more than a few miles off our range result. but its 180-mile showing still makes the taycan 4s second only to a 2019 audi e-tron in achieving the highest percentage of its epa combined range figure, missing it by 11 percent.
for the 2021 model year, porsche is adjusting its epa ratings upward to account for some of the relative conservatism in its ratings compared to its ev peers. for example, an equivalent 2021 taycan 4s is now epa rated at 227 miles, while a smaller, 71.0-kwh battery is newly available on the 2021 taycan 4s, and it's good for 199 miles, according to the epa. however, those improvements aren't due to hardware or software changes, but rather an adjustment due to the fact that customers are buying taycans on the more efficient wheel-and-tire combinations. we don't expect the 2021 taycan to go farther than a comparable 2020 model in our real-world testing.
weather affects ev range. during our test of the taycan 4s, the outside temperature was 48 degrees fahrenheit, and it dipped below 40 toward the end of the test. we noted that at the halfway point (approximately 100 miles), the indicated range began to decline more rapidly than it did on the first half of the trip. however, this is true for the majority of electric vehicles we test. our distance is carefully tracked with a racelogic vbox gps data logger.
epa range figures will also increase for 2021 taycan turbo and turbo s variants, although those have yet to be announced. a base taycan with rear-wheel drive is now available for the 2021 model year with both battery packs, though the epa has not yet released range figures for either configuration. they're available to order now and will arrive in the spring.