What’s the new Porsche Taycan like to drive?

What’s the new Taycan like to drive? Content creator Karl Conrad takes the wheel

Popular YouTuber Karl Conrad reviews the new 2025 Porsche Taycan

November 7, 2024

YouTuber Karl Conrad and Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo

With a love of sportscars and technology, Karl Conrad was the perfect choice to test drive the new Taycan in Germany – with some special Porsche behind-the-scenes access thrown in

With nearly a million subscribers to his YouTube channel, Karl Conrad is a content creator from Toronto, Canada who originally built a reputation for working in the technology space. However, in recent years he’s expanded his remit to lifestyle, travel and cars.

Bundle this all up with the fact that he’s a 911 GT3 owner, and it made Karl the perfect candidate to head to Porsche headquarters in Stuttgart, grab the new 2025 Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo and 2025 Taycan Turbo and head out on a very special road test. He even got to cap it all off with a visit to the famous Weissach Development Centre, which oversees the development and testing of every new Porsche model as well as being home of Porsche Motorsport. Read on to discover Karl’s review of the new Taycan – and look out for an appearance by a rather special guest.

Karl Conrad with Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo at Porsche — Canadian tech content creator, Karl Conrad, who has nearly a million followers on his YouTube account, was blown away by the all-electric Taycan range on a visit to Porsche headquarters in Stuttgart Photo: Porsche

What cars did you drive on your Porsche road trip in Germany, Karl?

“I drove two Taycan models on my German road trip – the Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo and the Taycan Turbo sport saloon. So, I got to experience a really nice mix by switching between the two. I’m a Porsche owner myself [Karl owns a 911 GT3] and usually when a new vehicle rolls out, I’m able to give them a little test drive. But heading to Stuttgart with Porsche meant much longer stints driving one. I drove close to 700km, around 420 miles, over four days. It meant that I really got to know the car better.”

What do you think of the exterior design of the Taycan, Karl?

“First of all, the Taycan feels like a Porsche – there’s an instant familiarity with it. It’s a very modern interpretation of the Porsche take on electric cars, with classic Porsche styling from the front headlights to those famous Porsche lines. The 911 is iconic but when the Boxster came in you could immediately identify that it was a Porsche. And it’s the same with the Taycan – you know instantly what it is, who makes it, which isn’t always the case with some electric vehicles.”

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And what’s it like inside the Taycan?

“It’s a very premium experience inside the cabin of the Taycan. Like the exterior, it has the Porsche DNA. As a Porsche owner, it has that something that your brain is familiar with. It has the fully digital display – technology that we see in the new Cayenne and new Macan Electric, for example. It feels like the Taycan set a benchmark for Porsche when it came to the design language of its electrified cars – and it’s moved it on even more with the second generation of its models.

“When you sit in one for the first time, it’s a special place – distinctive and premium with so many leather surfaces. It feels like sitting in a cockpit. You are hugged by the seats. And, certainly when it comes to the Taycan sport saloon, you really notice the lower driving position compared to an SUV. It feels like a special place.”

Karl Conrad looks at Taycan Turbo saloon at Porsche HQ — Karl, who is a Porsche owner (he drives a 911 GT3), got to drive the Taycan Turbo pictured here, as well as a Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo, while visiting Germany Photo: Porsche

So, what’s it like to drive the Taycan?

“The first thing you notice when you unlock the Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo is how the car raises up slightly before you get in it. And it then lowers back down once you’re sat in the driver’s seat. It’s down to the optional Active Ride suspension tech in the car – which really comes into its own out on twisting roads. No matter the surface, it really smooths out the ride and helps dial out excessive roll through corners. It never compromises on comfort, even when you are driving more dynamically. Oh, and while it has an ‘ON’ button as it’s an EV, I like how they left it on the left-hand side, as it is in my 911, with its nod to Porsche motorsports heritage.

“Of course, it was out on the deregulated stretches of the Autobahn that I really felt the raw power of the Taycan models. I was just accelerating to pass in the left-hand overtaking lane and hitting 200km/h (120mph) with ease… and keeping it there. That power gives you extra confidence while driving. Both the Taycan models I drove were so usable on a daily basis. Cruising around town you can adapt the suspension to your needs. But if it’s a dynamic ride you are after, it’s always there for you, immediately.”

Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package on track at Weissach — A highlight of Karl’s visit to Porsche was some hot laps around the Weissach test track as a passenger with Pascal Wehrlein, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team driver and reigning FIA Formula E World Champion Photo: Porsche

What other features of the Taycan did you enjoy?

“I often go on road trips in my GT3 – even though it’s a sportscar, it’s great for that – but the versatility of the Taycan is what’s so great when it comes to a road trip. Even in the Taycan Turbo we were able to fit all our filming equipment, as well as our luggage, nicely into the rear luggage area. Whichever Taycan you choose it feels like a car you can do everything with – take it to the track, haul your dog around in it, with more than enough space if you have kids too. It’s literally a car that’s perfect for everything. If you could have just one car in your garage, I feel like there’s a Taycan to fit the bill.”

You have a 911 GT3 – what is your personal Porsche story?

“I was introduced to Porsche by my dad, who’s a big car guy. I still have the poster of a 993 Turbo that was in my bedroom back then. Today, my dad actually has an air-cooled 911 – a 993. That 993 Turbo was the first sports car I was exposed to as a kid… who knew that one day I would become a Porsche owner myself? One of my favourite-ever memories was when I picked up my GT3. We drove there in my dad’s 911 to take delivery together. You get so busy that it’s tough to find those shared moments. So, it was extra special that we got to do that together.”

Karl Conrad and his father at Porsche dealership in Toronto — When Karl picked up his 911 GT3 from his local Porsche dealership in Canada, he brought his dad along – who came in his own 911, a type 993 model

Tell us about your visit to Weissach, the place where every Porsche model is developed?

“Being given an opportunity to tour Weissach is something not a lot of people get to do. As a Porsche fan, standing outside the front gate is about the extent of your visit. To be able to go inside and experience the wind tunnel testing facility, for example – well, a lot of the engineers said that a lot of Porsche employees aren’t even allowed to go in there as they don’t have the clearance level.”

What did you get to see at the Porsche wind tunnel facility at Weissach?

“Being there, in the flesh, and seeing the engineers at work, you truly get to see how meticulous they are and their commitment to achieving their goals. We got to see how the wind tunnel helped in their goal to refine the drag coefficients from the first-generation Taycan to the new Taycan – to sculpt the new front end, for example.

“It also helps in the development of something seemingly as simple as a wheel. But even that can add anywhere between 25-40km extra [around 15-25 miles] when it comes to range. When you read about the spec of the new Taycan, its battery efficiency, its informed by the data they gather here. We talked to one of the engineers and she spent an hour or so talking about how they shaved increments from the drag coefficient. She was so proud and passionate about something that’s perhaps touched on for half a second in a presentation about the new car. But she had dedicated perhaps the last couple years of her life on it. The people who work at Porsche are always solving problems – and they do so because they love it so much. And that shines through in the final product.”

Porsche Taycan sport saloon in wind tunnel at Porsche Weissach — Karl’s trip to Stuttgart saw him granted behind-the-scenes access to areas of Porsche that few members of the public get to see – like the wind tunnel Photo: Porsche

And then you got to do some hot laps as a passenger with current Formula E world champion, Pascal Wehrlein, on the famous Weissach test track…

“I mean, for starters, driving with someone as good as Pascal made me realise just how incompetent a driver I am. I might be able to go fast, but obviously he was so at ease with it. Super relaxed. I wasn’t quite so in control in the passenger seat! We were in a Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach package, the fastest production car, as of today, that Porsche has ever made.

“Everything has just been tuned for racing in it. Look in the back seat area and it’s just a bed of carbon fibre and on the exterior, all that aero kit, like the rear spoiler, gives it a sense of menace. I sat there with Pascal, waiting for some space on the track to open up and then he went. It’s not every day that you get to drive with a world champion. There were times when I thought, ohhhh, we’re probably taking this corner a bit too quickly, but of course, his driving lines were outstanding.

“But as I was asking him some questions, he was really pushing it and I started to feel a bit uneasy, and I wasn’t sure why. We actually had to stop midway through! I had to hop out of the car for a second. I think Pascal was laughing. I went the same green colour as the car but then I was reading off a piece of paper while were doing 200km/h [120mph] through a corner. It was certainly a memorable way to bring my time with the Taycan family in Germany to a close – to get the chance to chat with Pascal, congratulate him on his title and experience the incredible power of more than 1000PS all-electric sportscar at close quarters, driven by a world champion.”

For more videos from Karl’s visit to Porsche – including the top-secret wind tunnel facility and hot laps around the Weissach test track with Pascal Wehrlein – visit Karl’s YouTube channel

youtube.com/@KarlConrad

Consumption and emission information

Taycan Turbo (WLTP): Electric energy consumption combined: 20.5 – 18.0 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions combined: 0 g/km; CO₂ class: A. Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package (WLTP): Electric energy consumption combined: 21.3 – 20.6 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions combined: 0 g/km; CO₂ class: A. Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo (WLTP): Electric energy consumption combined: 22.0 – 19.1 kWh/100 km; CO₂ emissions combined: 0 g/km; CO₂ class: A.

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