Porsche has taken the wraps off the Taycan Cross Turismo, and to nobody’s surprise the EV sedan’s off road brother looks almost identical to the cool Mission E Cross Turismo Concept from 2018. If there is a surprise, it’s the price: the entry level Taycan 4 Cross Turismo costs US$ 90,900 plus delivery in the US (£ 79,340 in the UK). Taken at face value that makes the Cross Turismo US$ 12k more expensive than the entry-level sedan. But Porsche North America says the wagon version is only US$ 1,530 more than the sedan after the new car’s extra equipment is taken into account.

That equipment includes all-wheel drive, which you don’t get in the base Taycan and the bigger 93.4kWh Performance Battery Plus, which you can get in the base Taycan, but have to pay extra for. Other standard kit includes adaptive air suspension and a panoramic roof. But the big draw for many buyers – and one that gives Porsche an advantage over the Tesla Model S and Audi e-tron GT – is the crossover version’s extra practicality.

 

The longer, flatter roof adds a tiny bit of headroom front passengers, but a handy 47 mm more in the back. You also get a bigger trunk. Drop the back seat and there’s 1,212 liters to play with, plus the 82-liters in the frunk. It’s no E-class wagon, but the Cross Turismo is a whole lot more useful than a standard Taycan.

And that practicality extends to where you can take your cargo, not just how much you can fit in. The Turismo rides 20mm higher than the sedan, and can be lifted a further 10mm by switching to gravel mode. If that’s still not enough an Off Road Design packs puts another 20mm of daylight between the floorpan and the road.

 

Beyond the standard 4 Cross Turismo there’s a 4S, Turbo and Turbo S line-up that mirrors the Taycan sedan. They all get twin motors and all-wheel drive, and the extra rear bodywork only costs a tenth in the race to 60mph in each case. The base car needs 4.8secs to get there, but the Turbo S can do it in 2.7sec (Taycan sedan 2.6 sec).

Complementing the latest addition to the Taycan family, are two new electric Porsche bikes. The Germans don’t quote any figures for the two e-bikes, which handily slot on the Cross Turismo’s bespoke cycle carrier, but we suspect they’re slightly slower. We don’t have US prices for the two-wheelers, either, but the road-biased eBike Sport costs £ 9500 (US$ 13,200), and the dirt-destined eBike Cross is priced at £ 7500 (US$ 10,420) in the UK. Which, it strikes us, is enough to buy an old Cayenne and a Specialized to throw in the trunk.