Porsche Taycan review - Interior & comfort
The Porsche Taycan's interior is futuristic and solidly built
Following the Porsche Taycan’s latest updates, the interior is just as well-built and high-quality as before. The car’s cutting-edge, digital interior is something that has been extended even to many of the combustion-engined cars in Porsche’s lineup, where analogue dials are replaced with screens for the instruments, infotainment and climate controls. The interior is finished in beautiful materials and feels special.
Porsche Taycan dashboard
Porsche has given the dashboard a fairly conservative design in terms of its shape and layout, but it’s laden with tech – there’s even an optional second 10.9-inch screen for the passenger. This can be used by the passenger to watch movies and stream music – it’s a nice piece of tech but does feel a little gimmicky. The instrument display is a huge 16.8-inch item with four layouts, including one for the sat-nav, and a Pure mode with just essential information. Smaller touchscreens at either side allow for control of the interior lighting and chassis settings.
Porsche’s latest PCM infotainment system gets wireless Android Auto alongside Apple CarPlay, should you wish to use these instead, but in any case, the system is responsive and crisp. Porsche’s system also has Spotify integration, so it doesn't require a smartphone connection to play music and podcasts. In the Taycan, the setup also brings a charging planner, making it easier to find and prioritise public chargers based on their charging speed.
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Everything works very well, and there’s now clearer navigation guidance within the head-up display, so you rarely need to take your eyes off the road. The parking sensors have been improved, and the latest software update adjusted the thermal management of the battery, so it can now reach higher charging speeds over a wider range of exterior temperatures.
Fit and finish is as good as you'd hope from Porsche, and a major advantage over the cheaper Tesla Model S interior. You can choose from multiple colour themes and leather upholstery or a sustainable microfibre upholstery.
Equipment
As standard, the least expensive version includes plenty of tech, including automatic LED headlights, part-leather upholstery with electrically adjustable front seats, sat nav and 19-inch alloy wheels.
The Taycan Turbo comes with 20-inch alloy wheels, sports seats and Matrix LED headlights, among other extras including a Bose stereo. The Turbo S version gets larger 21-inch wheels, bigger brakes and more adjustable front seats.
Options
As with all Porsche models, the options list is comprehensive and you can personalise everything from its exterior and interior colours to the alloy wheels. A ceramic brake upgrade is one of the costliest options, while you can specify a premium Bose sound system for around an extra £1,000, or a Burmester surround sound stereo for just over a whopping £4,500. A Sport Chrono stopwatch for the dashboard costs around £400, while adding a middle rear seat (the standard car is a four-seater) to boost practicality is just over £350. This also includes a 40:20:40 split and fold backrest.
It’s a shame that the Taycan doesn’t come with a few features that are surely considered must-haves on an over-£85,000 car. If you want heated front seats, a reversing camera or keyless entry, you’ll have to pay extra – and you could find all this equipment on a number of sub-£30,000 family hatchbacks. It's a similar story with the circa-£1,000 adaptive cruise control, which is now commonplace in much cheaper models.
