2021 Porsche Taycan Improved Fuel Economy Revealed

Porsche has a history of being conservative when it comes to horsepower output and other performance-related figures. In real life, those figures are typically always higher. When the EPA range data was revealed for the all-electric 2020 Porsche Taycan last year, it was predictably a bit low. Owners quickly discovered they could easily exceed what Porsche and the government agency claimed. No one was complaining.

And now, the EPA has released figures for the 2021 Taycan 4S that are higher than last year. The 2021 Taycan 4S Performance Plus, equipped with the higher capacity 83.7-kWh battery pack, has an increased range from 203 miles to 227 on a single charge. The Taycan 4S still comes with a 71.0-kWh Performance battery as standard, which achieved a 199-mile certified range.

At present, the EPA has not released numbers for the newly revealed Taycan base model nor the Taycan Turbo and Taycan Turbo S, though both of the latter exclusively comes with the larger battery pack. The base model is the only Taycan featuring a rear-wheel-drive-only setup powered by a single motor. The rest of the lineup boasts a dual-motor, all-wheel drive arrangement.

So, what did Porsche do to improve the Taycan's range? Literally nothing. It really boils down to wheel size. Instead of using the optional 21-inch wheels for the latest set of range calculations, Porsche opted for the 20-inch wheels instead, which apparently can improve the Taycan 4S's efficiency by as much as 10 percent.

The standard 19-inch wheels are likely slightly more efficient. Chances are, the 2021 Turbo and Turbo S variants will also see improved range for the same reason. Expect around 221 miles for the Turbo and 211 for the Turbo S. But again, Porsche is continuing to purposely downgrade the Taycan's range.

The EPA's testing data reveals the 4S variants managed 235 and 212 miles, respectively, but Porsche still marked them at 227 and 199 miles. It's totally legal for automakers to label fuel economy and, in this case, range figures, below what testing indicates.