Esquire names the Porsche Taycan its Car of the Year

Officially the Porsche Taycan (pronounced tie-khan just so you know) doesn’t hit the roads until early next year. The tens of thousands of people who’ve ordered one haven’t even signed the delivery papers yet. Which means calling it out as car of the year is probably a little on the premature side.

But having just driven it in California on the twisting mountain roads north of Los Angeles, well, frankly who cares which category year it officially falls into. Let’s consider just how good – and significant – a machine this actually is.

First up, as any contender should, it has the backstory. As the first all-electric production supercar from any of the industry’s traditional heavyweights, it would carry some hefty provenance no matter how good or bad it looked on the drive or performed on the road.

Coming from Porsche, the makers of the 911 – a model which has become an unofficial ambassador of the combustion engine era for over 55 years, it has a provenance double helping with some pedigree sprinkles on top.

And as we near the end of a year when it feels like the environmental penny might have finally dropped, the Taycan comes at a rather opportune time. Electric cars are not going to save us from ecological doom but at least they represent an effort to at least delay getting there.

Against this picture, all Porsche had to do was get the car right. No small task, given it's just four years since they announced the Mission E concept it was based on.

From first glance in the hotel car park, it manages to instantly convey that it is unmistakably a Porsche – headlights, haunches, rear – but with just enough detailing (the additional air intakes in particular) to tell you it is also wired a little differently. Well, ok a lot.

Porsche hasn’t tried to silo this car as an electric oddity but instead integrate it into their existing range, which feels like a smart move.

Even that most petroleum-based word ‘Turbo’ has been retained to denote the fastest car in the Taycan line-up. Many have queried this decision as a bit odd given turbo has no practical meaning in an electric car, but Porsche clearly thinks we need a bit of hand holding as we enter the electric era and this is just one small way to reassure.

Inside, the tone of the interior manages to balance the classic, almost vintage styling seen in the latest 911, with necessary and gimmick-free functions for electric driving.

Behind the wheel for the first time, it has a lot of hype to live up to. Two people have stopped for a photo before we even leave the car park.

In the city, the car gives off a practical, restrained, sophisticated tone. On twisting roads as we leave LA behind, its personality shifts in one prod of the accelerator.

Electric cars need to be big and heavy (the Taycan weighs nearly two and a half tonnes) but the Taycan carries it well. The brakes and steering feel surprisingly natural and thanks to smart electronics, the two electric motors deliver power straight to the wheels whenever you request it.

In Sport + mode an enhanced whirring noise helps replicate the sensation of engine revs. It sounds gimmicky but it works.

Graceful, unflappable, astonishingly fast; the Turbo S has 761hp and can reach 60 in a brutally fast 2.8 seconds.

Whether you need or want your Taycan to be quite this intimidatingly rapid is another question. And for you, there is the 'entry-level' 4S. With a starting price around £55k cheaper than the Turbo S (£83,367 v £139,826) and still hitting 0-62mph in 4 seconds, this stands out as the one we'd quite like to have parked outside.

You could almost say that the Taycan is practical too. Size-wise, it’s closer to a Panamera with plenty of space for luggage and very decent legroom in the back of pretty sizable humans.

As the first electric car with an 800v power system (most have 400v) it can charge an extra 62 miles in just 5 minutes, making it increasingly viable for longer trips. This was an expensive decision but one Porsche felt fitted their vision of the most sophisticated electric car on the planet.

The Taycan is a big deal for Porsche. Even picking the name took a year and a half. It’s the first marker down on a 6bn Euro investment into its electric future but as an example of what an electric car can be, it should be a big deal for the rest of us too.

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