The Porsche Taycan - The Best Luxury Electric Car Lease Deal of 2023?

Is the Porsche Taycan the Best Luxury Electric Car Lease Deal of 2023?

Looking to spend around £150,000 on a new electric car in 2023? The good news for any lucky personal or business leasing customers with that budget is that there is a litany of solid brands which will happily take your money and deliver you a 1st class automotive product.

While the Porsche Taycan, with the Saloon, Cross Turismo and Sport Turismo, seems to have eclipsed all other manufacturers to the title of “Most luxurious EV brand”, from 2023 - 2025, there will be a healthy line-up of competition with the Rolls-Royce Spectre (from £350,000), Lightyear (from £265,000), Maserati GranTurismo Folgore (starting at £200,000), Mercedes EQS AMG (from £160,000) and the Lotus Eletre R (from £120,000) all available for reservation or order.

While some of those non-EV fans might think such cars are ludicrous or fanciful objects, it is true to say there is an overwhelmingly positive feeling about battery-electric luxury cars; many of these aforementioned have substantial waiting lists!

Who is buying / leasing these high value and performance vehicles?

It would be remiss not to address the elephant in the room … many of these prestige BEVs are being enjoyed by businesses, fleet and salary sacrifice schemes. In some respects, this can skew the “desirability” of the performance or luxury EV, as there are monumental tax incentives for pursuing them.

For a business utilising a cash purchase, or finance products like Hire Purchase, there is an ability to claim 100% of the invoice price against corporation tax based on capital allowances. In contrast, a combustion vehicle, where a Main Rate Pool (18%) or Special Rate Pool (6%) write-down allowance applies, the tax reclamation can be slow and arduous. In the same way, contract hire allows a business to claim 100% of any initial rentals / monthly rentals against corporation tax, as opposed to the 85% in the case of a 51g/km+ combustion option.

Electric vehicles offer the business a far more tax efficient position when conducting a like for like comparison. Unlike your Lamborghini Urus, Ferrari California or Range Rover, where you would not achieve such considerable write-offs. This is one of THE key reasons for the growth of this segment within the EV industry.

And for the end user, the director or employee, there is a cost consequence for using a company car - this is known as company car tax. Fundamentally, the more polluting a vehicle is and the higher its value, the more personal tax you pay. Quite crucially, the level of tax you pay on a company car is determined by the emissions, showing as “g per km or g/m” on each vehicle.

Because an EV emits zero tailpipe emissions, denoted “0 g/km”, they currently have a 2% BiK (Benefit in Kind) threshold. With most performance and luxury cars emitting well over 170g/km of CO2, these will incur a 37% BiK rate. For the end user this literally equates to hundreds/thousands per month in tax!

For financially sage and intelligent UK drivers, the last 3 years have proved to be beneficial for those looking at robust and luxury EVs for little to no personal tax exposure. Of course, the same arguments do not apply to the consumers / retail customers using cash purchase, PCP and personal lease products. This is where more detailed and somewhat fragmented arguments have arisen based on the Whole of Life Cost analysis.

This is where a combustion is compared alongside an electric car on a number of facets including rental / finance costs, maintenance and servicing analysis, fuel costs and insurance i.e. what does the vehicle actually cost me in total! With constant increase/decreases in fuel costs coupled with introductions of Clean Air Zones, and Congestion Zones, looking to charge drivers for moving in towns and cities, actually forming a conclusion has been tough.

But what cannot be ignored is that EVs are offering incredible driving experiences to the driver. While they lack the sound, and coarse brashness, of combustion supercars there is no argument that lightning 0 - 62 times, ridiculous top speeds and incredible aesthetics are available with battery vehicles. Moving to zero-emissions is not “boring”.

This is why the upcoming  Lotus Eletre   is so defining for us. A historic motorsport brand, which fell out of popularity, is now back with a vengeance in the EV-supercar world and the hyper car R model is set to do some amazing things. A purported 107 kWh usable battery will deliver 675 kW (some 905 hp), 0 - 62 times of 2.9 seconds and top speeds of 162 mph.

Combined real ranges at 240 miles in cold weather and 310 miles in warmer weather (on a full charge) demonstrates just how capable this hyper EV is. And where the Lotus is truly unique is with charging times / capabilities - the 22 kW AC max allows a 0 - 100% session in under 6 hours with the 350 kW DC rapid charge enabling 20 minute 10 - 80% times. With the right charging infrastructure can you really complain about this?

Building the Lotus R electric SUV is a great experience. Choose from stunning colours Solar Yellow, Natron Red, Galloway Red and Kaimu Grey or an array of 22” and 23” alloys. For the adventurous driver, add the carbon ceramic brakes at just under £12,000 or the extended carbon pack at £9,000 for the complete carbon finish on the spoiler, bumpers and side mirrors.

Inside you can enjoy Magnetite or Quartz FOC; the Jasper and Ruby interiors are chargeable £3,500 Nappa leather upgrades. For drivers wanting luxury and comfort, the executive seat pack for £6,000 includes 8-way adjustable electric seats with heating and ventilation plus massage and lumbar functions AND two 9” rear entertainment screens for passengers.

For more extreme sports fans, the £3,500 carbon interior pack provides full carbon embellishment trims throughout. And this specification doesn’t stop there with other luxury items like the £3,000 KEF reference Audio system (23 speaker system), £1750 intelligent glass roof, £100 electric towbar, £1,000 parking pack and £1,500 highway assist pack (for near autonomous driving). The more excitable customer, can easily create a £175,000 Eletre R without any real obstacles! To start building, and reserving, your new  Eletre R lease deal

So a Lotus Eletre is better than a Taycan Turbo S?

While slightly different cars, effectively an estate vs an SUV, the choice is always going to be one based on subjective criteria. Vehicles, electric or otherwise, at this level are often made via emotions as opposed to financial necessity.

Comparing the battery performance, the Turbo S Taycan estate uses an 83.7 kWh usable battery will deliver 560 kW (some 751hp), 0 - 62 times of 2.9 seconds and top speeds of 155 mph. Combined real ranges at 205 miles in cold weather and 270 miles in warmer weather (on a full charge).

In terms of charging times / capabilities - the standard  11 kW AC max allows a 0 - 100% session in around 9 hours with the 268 kW DC rapid charge enabling 17 minute 10 - 80% times. However, these charging facets are amendable based on the configuration / options chosen. A Cross Turismo offers 405L of cargo volume too.

Where Porsche create a truly unique experience, is with their configurator / vehicle builder, which allows a customer to utilise a series of FOC and chargeable options as part of  the process. With such a litany of options, it’s almost improbable to have more than a few exact replicas of your variation.

So what does the Taycan Turbo S offer as standard?

For a starting price of just over £140,000, customers do benefit from some luxury options for example the FOC metallic colours (Carrara White, Gentian Blue, Volcano Grey), a series of 20” or 21” alloy wheels, leather interior (Black, Grey, Blackberry, Black and Beige two-tone) or leather-free interior (Black, Grey, Graphite Blue) can be selected.

As standard, enjoy the adaptive sport seats plus (with 18-way electric configuration and memory package), cruise control with adaptive speed limiter, matrix LED headlights, Porsche ceramic brakes, 4D chassis control, rear view camera, GT multifunction sports steering wheel, BOSE surround system with 14-loudspeakers, 16.8” curved display, adaptive air suspension, adaptive damping system, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, heat pump, keyless start, Porsche Traction Management, Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus, Porsche electric sport sound, power tailgate and wireless phone charging.

But there are some amazing options you can still add to your new Taycan Turbo S lease deal. The first, and MOST important option, to add to any Taycan is your charging upgrades. As standard you only have 11 kW AC and 50 kW DC faculties, so do choose 22 kW AC and 150 kW DC options at a minimum.

Charging speed is always as important as the range of your EV. Other key options include the “special metallic” colours (Carmine Red, Crayon, Ice Grey or Neptune Blue), ambient lighting, adaptive cruise control, HUD, Porsche rear seat decoration, sports chrono package, passenger display and Burmester 3D surround sound system. 

In terms of the car shown, the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 560kW Turbo S 93kWh 5dr Auto [22kW], this is based on the following configuration:

•  Porsche metallic - Mamba green
•  Smooth finish two-tone leather - Black/Chalk beige
•  20"" Taycan turbo aero design alloy wheels

What is the range of the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S?

What is the battery capacity and charging speed on the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S?

How long does it take to charge the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S?

Where can I charge the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S? 

What is the company car tax on the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S?