Gold is so in proper now. It’s turn into a well-liked new automotive shade for the stylish luxurious set, and I’m not simply saying that as a result of I purchased myself a shocking gold automotive earlier this yr. Within the trend and structure industries, gold is having a renewed second. Hell, precise gold simply hit an all-time excessive. I’m additionally pondering of gold as a result of it’s awards season, my private favourite season, and we’re coming off of a incredible Olympics. If there have been an automotive Olympics, or an automotive Oscar to provide out, the 2025 Porsche Taycan GTS would take residence the gold — and never simply due to this one’s paint-to-sample Nordic Gold paint.
There are electrical automobiles on the market with extra outrageous efficiency and pace, there are fashions which are sillier and extra hoonable, there are actually ones which are cheaper. But when what you’re in search of is the very best total efficiency EV, in the event you can solely give out one award or one thing has to get gold, it’s the up to date Taycan GTS. Whereas not one of the new stuff for the Taycan’s 2025 facelift is a complete gamechanger (properly, besides one factor), it’s a complete replace that makes an incredible automotive even higher.
Full disclosure: Porsche flew me to Atlanta, drove me out to northern Georgia and put me up in a pleasant lodge so I might drive the 2025 Taycan GTS and 2025 911 Carrera T. They even took us to a restaurant with German-style pretzels.
From the surface, you’d be forgiven for not pondering a lot has modified. The GTS shares its entrance finish with different non-Turbo Taycans, and whereas I wasn’t an enormous fan of the redesigned bumper at first I believe it’s rising on me, although that might simply be due to this glorious gold paint. You get extra black and Anthracite Gray trim bits, the Sport Design splitter and completely different finishes for the wheels, however that’s about it. That Porsche aspect stripe is a $460 possibility; if that’s not cool sufficient, you possibly can spend $1,210 on a Taycan decal set with a extra dynamic design that provides a stripe throughout the hood and the roof as properly.
For 2025 the Taycan GTS now makes 690 horsepower and 582 pound-feet when utilizing launch management (or 596 hp and 534 lb-ft in regular driving), a rise of 100 hp over each final yr’s GTS and what you get within the 2025 Taycan 4S. Each new Taycan has a extra highly effective rear-axle motor and bigger battery packs, with the GTS solely being supplied with the larger 105-kWh pack that’s non-obligatory on lowlier Taycans. Porsche says the GTS will now hit 60 mph in simply 3.1 seconds, 4 tenths faster than earlier than, and go on to a quarter-mile run of 11.1 seconds, nearly a full second faster than earlier than — and each of these figures really feel conservative in the true world. The best way the Taycan GTS accelerates is intense, not simply when utilizing launch management, and I like the kick you get when the two-speed transmission shifts. Regardless of the wild quantity of energy, crucially the GTS doesn’t really feel too quick to really use in the true world. You actually don’t want the 871 horsepower of the Turbo, although that automotive’s 2.5-second 0-to-60 time undoubtedly is entertaining.
As a part of the usual Sport Chrono bundle, a brand new push-to-pass button within the steering wheel’s drive mode dial unlocks 93 horsepower of additional juice for as much as 10 seconds, and it raises the torque to the launch-control determine. It does make a noticeable distinction if it is advisable to cross a slow-moving automobile or wish to actually blast out of a nook, plus the accompanying sounds and animated countdown timer within the gauge cluster are enjoyable. Should you spec the non-obligatory GT Sport steering wheel it comes with a pair of paddles, one in every of which prompts the push-to-pass perform and is certainly simpler than reaching for the button.
Porsche nonetheless doesn’t do regenerative braking within the vein of different EVs, the place you the automotive will start to decelerate while you let off the accelerator, and I nonetheless suppose that’s a disgrace, but it surely’s not as disappointing when your brakes are as rattling good as Porsche’s are. This explicit Taycan GTS has the non-obligatory $9,070 carbon-ceramic brakes (add on an additional $910 for the black calipers) and they’re a few of the finest available on the market. There’s no fade, no squeaks, no aggressive tip-in, no jerky operation; simply linear pedal really feel and exceptionally sturdy braking energy. The Taycan may not have the regen you’re used to, but it surely’s now capable of recuperate as much as 400 kW of vitality beneath braking, and I can really feel that recuperation working to assist sluggish me down once I stomp on the left pedal.
The Taycan GTS’ steering is solely glorious, with nice suggestions and a pleasant quantity of heft whereas nonetheless feeling gentle and darty. It’s straightforward to make fast corrections, and the non-obligatory $1,340 rear-axle steering helps the Taycan really feel smaller than it’s. It steers similar to some other Porsche sports activities automotive, and the tall fenders and low hood offer you an identical view out to that of a 911, making the Taycan straightforward to position. Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus is included on each GTS, supplying you with an electronically managed rear differential lock that may variably distribute torque between the rear wheels, additional aiding within the automotive’s maneuverability and letting me get on the ability earlier when cornering. The Pirelli P Zero summer season tires on this GTS’ 21-inch wheels provide tons of grip, too.
As customary the Taycan GTS has Porsche’s Energetic Suspension Administration, an adaptive air setup, however in the event you shell out $7,150 you will get the brand new Energetic Trip setup, which is genuinely magical and the gamechanger I discussed earlier than. As an alternative of utilizing conventional anti-roll bars, the energetic dampers every have an electronically managed hydraulic motor pump that may alter compression, rebound and experience peak in milliseconds. This provides the Taycan incredible experience high quality irrespective of the street circumstances, and there’s primarily zero physique roll. Within the Regular drive mode you possibly can have the Taycan lean into corners like a bike, which is great on extremely banked mountain roads, and it may possibly additionally maintain the automotive completely flat beneath exhausting acceleration or braking — each are belongings you may not discover till it’s identified to you or till the programs are turned off and again on once more, however when you expertise them, you received’t wish to return. These capabilities are unavailable in Sport and Sport Plus as Porsche desires the automotive to carry out in a conventional method, which I get, but it surely’s nonetheless a little bit of a disgrace. Energetic Trip’s finest get together trick is its means to immediately elevate the experience peak by over two inches when one of many doorways is opened.
The one factor we don’t but know concerning the 2025 Taycan GTS is its vary, but it surely’s straightforward to make a guess. The Taycan 4S has an estimated vary of 295 miles whereas the Turbo will do 292 miles, so the GTS needs to be rated at just below 300. With a 98-percent cost, this automotive confirmed a spread of 274 miles, and at 74 p.c after 58 miles of driving (a few of that driving being very quick) it displayed a 173-mile vary. Each 2025 Taycan is ready to cost quicker regardless of having bigger batteries, due to a brand new warmth pump and software program tweaks, with Porsche saying it would take simply 18 minutes to go from 10 to 80 p.c when charging on the Taycan’s new peak of 320 kW, or a still-brisk 33 minutes at a 150-kW charger.
At $149,895 to begin together with $1,995 for vacation spot, the Taycan GTS sits completely between the $120,495 Taycan 4S and the $175,595 Taycan Turbo. Choice a 4S as much as the GTS’ customary tools degree and the GTS appears to be like much more like a discount, particularly when you issue within the further energy and GTS-specific chassis tweaks. After all, it’s straightforward to ship any Taycan’s pricetag into the stratosphere — this Nordic Gold one has an MSRP of $211,055, which is $100 greater than a Taycan Turbo S’ beginning worth, and it doesn’t even have all of the fanciest inside leather-based choices or exterior carbon-fiber components.
I might have gone with a Goldilocks metaphor for my intro, which does have “gold” in it, and I nearly used the phrase “candy spot” within the hed, in a figuring out foolish approach, after all. I dare you to discover a single evaluation of any fashionable Porsche GTS mannequin the place the creator doesn’t describe the automotive as “the candy spot” of the lineup. Hell, even in Porsche’s pre-drive product briefing for the up to date 2025 Taycan GTS, that phrase was used a number of instances. It’s correct, although. The GTS may not be essentially the most highly effective Taycan, or essentially the most environment friendly Taycan, or essentially the most reasonably priced Taycan, but it surely‘s essentially the most well-rounded, particularly in the event you care about driving.
And if wagons are your factor, the Taycan GTS is even simpler to resolve on. Whereas different Taycan trims are supplied in Cross Turismo guise, which all have a barely larger experience peak and extra physique cladding and fender flares, the GTS is the one Taycan accessible as a Sport Turismo wagon sans cladding. The GTS has had the best take price for the wagon out of all the Taycan lineup, with 19 p.c of pre-facelift GTS clients selecting the Sport Turismo. (The wagon made up 12 p.c of the bottom trim gross sales, 7 p.c of the 4S, 4 p.c of the Turbo and 10 p.c of Turbo S.) It solely prices $1,900 further to get the GTS Sport Turismo over the sedan. Do it.
