Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo's official EPA range numbers don't tell the whole story
In our real-world testing, the Taycan continues to trounce the EPA's estimates.
The EPA released official range estimates for the 2021 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo on Friday and, sorry to say, they aren't great. But as we've experienced in our testing over and over again, the Taycan has no trouble beating its EPA numbers -- and not by a small margin, either.
Here are the EPA range estimates for the 2021 Cross Turismo models:
- Taycan 4 Cross Turismo: 215 miles
- Taycan 4S Cross Turismo: 215 miles
- Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo: 204 miles
- Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo: 202 miles
As expected, all of these numbers are slight decreases from the equivalent Taycan sedan variants, though weirdly, the Turbo S Cross Turismo actually sees a one-mile improvement. However, when we tested a Taycan 4 Cross Turismo earlier this year, our observed mileage and battery usage equated to a real-world range of 277 miles. Other outlets saw similar numbers in their own independent testing.
This lines up with our previous Taycan experiences. The base Taycan sedan with the performance battery is EPA-rated for 225 miles, but we observed 280. The Taycan Turbo sedan is rated at 212 miles, but we saw 248.
So, what gives? As Edmunds explains, the EPA has five test cycles for EVs, but automakers are only required to use two. Like most manufacturers, Porsche reportedly uses the two-cycle method, simply because it's expensive to complete the other three, and that cost would have to be passed down to you, the consumer. Unfortunately, going this route means the Taycan faces a more severe range adjustment penalty. And as Car and Driver explains, Tesla runs three extra cycles, giving it a more favorable adjustment factor.
Indeed, the real-world numbers speak for themselves. While we and other outlets have had no trouble surpassing the Taycan's EPA numbers time and time again, independent tests find Tesla's higher range estimates difficult to hit. Obviously, as they say, your mileage may vary. But it's definitely worth remembering that EPA estimates are exactly that.
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