If you’ve got the means, Porsche’s Taycan is one of the best electric vehicles you can buy today, full stop, end of story. The car not only looks great, it’s plenty luxurious and drives like a proper Porsche. But laurel resting is not an option in Zuffenhausen. To keep this EV competitive with the host of battery-powered vehicles set to launch in the coming years, Porsche is upgrading the Taycan. This EV is set to gain a range of minor but impactful enhancements for the 2023 model year, though several software improvements will be made available to 2020 to 2022 models as well, keeping current customers in the loop, something that’s sure to build brand loyalty… not that Porsche needs its enthusiasts to be more rabid than they already are.
As for enhancements, the Porsche Communication Management (PCM) infotainment system gains a revised user interface with more colorful tiles and an improved head-up display design. Sounds good to us. Integrated Spotify and wireless Android Auto capability are coming, too, so yay for that. As for the Porsche Connect suite of intelligent services, you’ll soon be able to sort charging stations by their power output, which is fantastic news, so you’re not stuck using a snail-slow 125-kilowatt station if a 350-kW unit is just a few miles up the road.
The 2023 Taycan also gains several powertrain improvements. In the normal and range driving modes, the front motor will deenergize on dual-motor cars to reduce parasitic loads. This should, in theory at least, improve the car’s range, but probably only by a tiny amount. Next, your preferred energy recuperation setting will be retained when switching between driving modes and an all-wheel-drive indicator in the instrument cluster shows how energy gets shuffled around. Beyond all that, the battery will soon be able to precondition faster and to a higher temperature, something that allows the car to absorb energy quicker, even at higher states of charge.
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As for visual enhancements, the 2023 Porsche Taycan has a few. Polished and painted Taycan S Aero wheels replace the 19-inch, single-color Aero wheels used before. All models fitted with a panoramic roof have access to Variable Light Control, so you can dim that expansive glass panel as you see fit. Finally, the car can be equipped with a special preparation that supports a Porsche Dashcam. This includes the required wiring harness for both front and rear cameras. Dashcams are a great investment. You should consider getting one if you haven’t already.
Excellence is a reoccurring theme with the Taycan, as EV Pulse head honcho Chad Kirchner noted in his first drive review of the GTS Sport Turismo. “It’s an excellent road trip car. It’s an excellent daily driver. It’s an excellent sports sedan. It’s an excellent electric vehicle,” he wrote. In summary, “It’s an excellent Porsche.” Sounds pretty excellent to me.
None of the improvements made to the 2023 Porsche Taycan are earth shattering, but combined, they should make this already superb electric vehicle even better. Software updates that apply to older models are coming out in the US soon, though the automaker has not committed to an official release date.
