DESIGN

Where the Taycan saloon’s profile smoothly sweeps down towards the tailgate, the Cross is more upright with a sports wagon rear end, giving rear seat passengers a few extra inches of headroom. Loadspace is 405 litres with the 60:40 rear seats up and 1,171 with both folded, with a further 84 litres of space in the front ‘frunk’. Cross Turismo models have protective cladding around the wheel arches, side sills, front valance and rear diffuser for those occasions when you feel like venturing off road. They also ride some 20mm higher than the Taycan saloon or Sport, giving a little more leeway on steep ramps and bumpy road surfaces. Wheels are 20-inch Turbo S aero designs. Inside, there’s Race-Tex napped fabric on the steering wheel and roof lining while the driver and front-seat passenger get Adaptive Sports seats with memory package including steering wheel height and fore/aft adjustment.

PERFORMANCE

Let’s start with the brakes. These are Porsche Ceramic Composite Brake (PCCB), internally vented brake discs, 420mm diameter at the front and 410 mm on the rear. Why start there? Because a 2.3-tonne car that’s capable of hitting 0-62mph in just 2.9 seconds, 0-124mph in 9.7 seconds and 155mph top speed takes a bit of stopping, which those discs and 10-piston aluminium monobloc front brake callipers do with uncanny ease. To put that 0-62mph time in context, that equates to 1.2 times the force of gravity, or faster than a skydiver in freefall. The Taycan Turbo S powertrain takes its power from the 93.4kWh Performance Battery Plus, distributing it to Permanent magnet Synchronous Motors (PSM) on the front and rear axles. The front axle has a single speed transmission, the rear dual speeds to aid initial acceleration. Total power in overboost Launch Control mode is 761 metric horsepower and 1,050Nm of torque which in normal use drops to 625PS. Adaptive air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and rear-axle steering come as standard, as does the Gravel Mode for enhanced rough road and loose surface capability.

TECHNOLOGY

Porsche’s 16.8-inch Curved Display offers the option of up to five different configurable views, with external touchscreen control panels for controlling the light and chassis functions. Another 10.9-inch central touchscreen controls audio, navigation, and communication, though you can also use voice commands. A third touchscreen on the centre console controls media, telephone, settings and Apple CarPlay. There’s also a 10.9-inch optional front passenger display and a 5.9-inch version for rear seat passengers. The Turbo S specification includes the multifunction GT Sports Steering wheel in Race-Tex as well as the Sport Chrono Package. Driving modes include Normal, Sport and Sport Plus – the latter drops the car to its lowest suspension setting and primes the rear-axle steering for maximum performance. A Bose surround sound system boasting 710 Watts is standard; the optional Burmeister 3D High End system packs 1,455 Watts and 21 speakers into the cabin.

SAFETY

Assistance systems include Collision and Brake Assist, which can intervene autonomously to brake to prevent or mitigate a front-end collision, plus Lane Keeping Assist with Traffic Sign Recognition. Parking Assist includes front and rear sensors with visual and audible warning and rear camera. Options include Porsche InnoDrive adaptive cruise control with a prediction horizon of around 2 miles, using navigation data and information supplied by the radar and video sensors.