Porsche Taycan the motorised equivalent of a smart phone

I have been roaming around on this rock called Earth for a substantial number of years now, and I have seen it change in so many ways but none more so than in the automotive industry. And here I am once again talking to you about an all-electric car and this time in the form of the Porsche Taycan.

I can immediately delve into the kW, the voltage of the battery, the size of the battery and how the power is stored and transported to the wheels, and so on. And for the record, the Taycan uses an 800 volt battery instead of the 400 volt battery normally found in electric cars, and this optional two deck Performance Battery Plus contains 33 cell modules consisting of 12 individual cells each, which gives you 396 in total, and a total capacity of 93.4 kWh.

Now lie to me and tell me that you got all that and you know exactly what it means to you when you are behind the wheel of an electric car. I don’t even know what half of it means. My main concern is how far can I travel on a single charge and how long does it take to charge so I am not left stranded at the office.

Beautifully sculpted

There is so much ignorance around when it comes to all-electric cars, I am not surprised that many run and hide from the technology. But if you just translate the numbers into basic fuel type numbers like you would have done over the years, there is nothing higher grade about the process.

The R2 277 000 Porsche Taycan comes with a 93.4 kWh battery, which is its fuel tank. To fill it, you must plug it in and charge it, just like you would do when filling up with fuel. This electricity has a cost per kWh, just like fuel does per litre. So, to fill up, or top up, your tank, will cost you Rands, and then you have a range of around 470 km that you can drive with the amount of charge in the battery (fuel in the tank).

RELATED: 5 things you need to know about electric cars.

And a little bit like an internal combustion engine powered car, if you make generous use of the urge available under your right foot, your consumption will increase in the Porsche Taycan. But where an all-electric car turns the tables and comes into its own, is when you are commuting within the city. Energy regeneration, and zero power consumption while stationary in traffic, brings the cost per km travelled to way below what any petrol or diesel car can offer.

Now before you go off on a tangent and tell me that with load shedding you will forever be catching a bus to work. You need to treat your all-electric car pretty much like your cell phone. When you get home, put it on charge overnight, don’t wait for it to be almost flat, and that way you should always have enough power to get you where you want to go. And every day, more and more public fast charge stations are going up around the country, so you should never really get stuck without power.

Screens everywhere you look

The model I was driving is the entry level, rear wheel drive, Porsche Taycan that is good for a full 350 kW of silent power thanks to the Performance Battery fitted. And I can tell you, I never needed any more than that for basic day to day commuting. If you do, then you can opt for one of the more powerful models that see 560 kW being produced and a 0 to 100 km/h time of 2.8 seconds on the cards.

Inside, the Taycan is a digital techno fest with screens everywhere and conventional buttons have been banished to the dark ages. Sure, it takes a bit of getting used to, but once set-up, it is no different to operating your smart phone. Perhaps this is the way all-electric cars will be seen, the motorised equivalent of a must have smart phone.

To see the whole Porsche Taycan range, click here.