The Car Guide's Best Buys for 2021: Porsche Taycan

Published on March 8, 2021 in News by The Car Guide

Every year, The Car Guide unveils a list of Best Buys covering all the different vehicle categories in the industry.

Electric luxury vehicles are some of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced automobiles on the planet. There aren’t too many of them on the market for now, though, so you’ll find a mix of sedans and SUVs here.

Our Best Buy for 2021

It was a close call, but the Porsche Taycan earns our Best Buy award this year. As the German sports car manufacturer’s first fully electric vehicle of the modern era, the Taycan is available in three trim levels—4S, Turbo and Turbo S. That’s bit misleading since there’s no turbocharger anywhere under that sheetmetal. The powertrain consists of two electric motors paired with a two-speed transmission.

Acceleration and passing manoeuvres are extremely quick despite the Taycan’s weight. Handling is just as stellar. Typical Porsche refinement and build quality help secure the No. 1 spot in this segment.

The Other Finalists

Second place goes to the Tesla Model S, which originally debuted in 2012 and has received a number of technological updates ever since. The new Plaid variant packs over 1,000 horsepower and sprints from 0-100 km/h in just 2.1 seconds. Now that’s ludicrous. The cabin has been revised for 2021 and features a new centre display.

While steering is less sharp and fit and finish is not on the same level as the Taycan’s, the Model S offers longer range, better energy efficiency and access to Tesla’s network of Superchargers.

As for third place, we gave the nod to the Audi e-tron crossover. Larger than the two cars listed above, it’s now available in a coupe-like variant called e-tron Sportback. In typical Audi fashion, build quality is nearly flawless. Meanwhile, acceleration is impressive despite the e-tron’s heavy weight.

On the other hand, pricing isn’t that great and range is limited.