Auto review: Porsche's hyper-fast Cross Turismo EV offers exhilarating acceleration

My road to Hell (Michigan) in the wicked-fast, 2022 Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo was paved with good impressions. Though I had to recharge at a weed shop to get there. Porsche’s latest electric vehicle highlights the paradox of performance EVs: state-of-the-art cyborgs dependent on an unreliable charging network to survive.

Let me tell you about a day on the electric frontier in one of the world’s quickest EVs.

The 2022 Cross Turismo, if you’ve been living on Mars, is the much-anticipated sequel to Porsche’s first EV, the Taycan performance sedan. With a hatchback, bike rack anchors and standard all-wheel drive, Cross Turismo is to Porsche’s electric lineup what Panamera is to gas-powered Porsches — a family crossover (ahem, don’t call it a wagon) with shocking speed.

Porsche established its electric vehicle line in 2020 — not with an electrified version of its iconic 911 super-sportscar — but a sedan, the Taycan. With its stunning looks and heavenly handling, it established Porsche as the pinnacle of EV performance.

The Cross Turismo, the brand’s second EV, takes the Taycan and adds a dose of practicality. But, as I have found after owning a lightning-quick Tesla Model 3 Performance model, practicality is a relevant term in the world of EVs.

Though not as sleek as the Taycan sedan, Cross Turismo is still a looker with its low, wide proportions. An Audi Q7 cruised alongside me for awhile, the first of a few rubberneckers.

I set adaptive cruise control (Porsche calls it InnoDrive and it will cost you, ahem, $3,610. Welcome to Porsche’s a la carte options menu).

InnoDrive’s lane-keep feature navigated curves confidently while I got familiar with Cross Turismo’s comfy cockpit (two-tone Club Leather Olea Black/Atacama Beige seats option: $7,140). Per Porsche tradition, the start button is on the left dash — just like the Le Mans racers who ran to their cars, jumped in and fired the car in one motion. Toggle shifter on the dash. Curved, digital LCD screen behind the steering wheel.

Porsche-files will find the controls familiar, unlike, say, a Tesla Model S which is radically different from other cars. Different, too, is the option of piping in an artificial engine growl ($500) to the cabin — whereas Tesla revels in its silence. A programmable steering-wheel button allowed me to turn the sound on/off at my whim.

My Turbo tester ups the power from 375 horses on the standard, Taycan 4S Cross Turismo to 616. It was also a German spec car (U.S. models won’t arrive until this fall), which meant the navigation system was useless and only FM radio available.

The Porsche inhaled electrons at the reefer charger. Two hours later, my Cross Turismo had only gained 24 miles of charge. By comparison, a gallon of gas will give you similar mileage, but fill in 5 seconds.

For 50 more miles, I kept the bridle on Cross Turismo’s 616 horses. Then I released their full fury.

The electric silence was broken with an assault on the senses. Six hundred and twenty-six pound feet of instant torque buried my spine in the seat. Twin motors screamed. A hellish, artificial roar filled the cabin. The landscape blurred as 60 mph went by in just over three seconds.

EVs are for the niche buyers willing to accept their inferior refueling habits. For Porsche buyers with disposable income (and another two grand to install a 240-volt charger at their home/Up North cottage/Florida condo), the Cross Turismo is a new EV toy for their stable.