70-Mph Range Test: How the Latest Software Update Improved the Porsche Taycan's Range

Despite skepticism, the electric Taycan proved one of the most successful Porsche models, with more than 75,000 units sold since its launch in 2019. It came into the market as a sportier challenger to Tesla Model S and lived up to its promises, beating the American sedan on the racetrack. Later, Tesla accepted the challenge and significantly improved the Model S, but that’s beside the point. What matters is that the Porsche Taycan has also evolved, and a recent software update brought many improvements to the performance EV.

Chief among them was the range, which is excellent news for Porsche Taycan owners. The longest-range Taycan is the RWD variant in base trim ,which, according to the EPA, is rated at 225 miles (362 km). That’s precisely the model that InsideEVs got to test. Thankfully, they had the figures for the previous version as well. This allows for an almost like-for-like comparison, although many variables influence a vehicle’s range.

Porsche promises the most significant range improvements for the AWD versions of Taycan, thanks to decoupling and de-energizing the front electric motor when not needed. With only one electric motor at the rear, the rear-wheel-drive Taycan should still see some improvements, but not as big. This is because even the one-motor version gets freewheeling to reduce frictional drag while coasting.

The 70-mph range test was done on a 2022 Porsche Taycan with the 2023 software update. A similar test was performed in November 2021 on the same car version. Without the update, the test returned a range of 297.3 miles (478 km). It’s significantly higher than the EPA findings, which is typical for the Taycan. The new software improved the range, and the InsideEVs test showed the car can travel 305.6 miles (492 km) on a full battery. It’s not groundbreaking, but an improvement nevertheless, especially considering it was windy and the topography was more taxing this time.