by Maxime Dobremel
Leaving Paris one morning to reach Rennes, with a detour via Saint-Malo: the itinerary fits on a road map, but it says a lot about what one expects from the road. Behind the wheel of a 4 Porsche Taycan Dressed in denim blue, the route becomes a testing ground. The testing ground of an electric car that refuses to look like any other electric car.
A blue denim dress waiting for the sun
In the still-soft morning light, parked in the middle of a garden, the Taycan 4 initially displays the understated air of cars that have nothing to prove. The metallic denim blue, dark and almost subdued under an overcast sky, reveals only a part of itself. The low lines, the plunging hood, the sloping rear: everything is a matter of tension, as with all Porsches, but here without the slightest auditory embellishment.
You have to wait until you reach Saint-Malo and the bright light bouncing off the ramparts to truly understand this particular blue. Facing the sea, the car's character changes. The denim seems to vibrate, almost violet in some angles, deep and metallic in others. The 20-inch Turbo Aero wheels, designed to cut through the air rather than to shine, add a touch of technical restraint that contrasts sharply with the usual exuberance of this style. You understand, in the carThis Porsche was designed to be driven before it was designed to be seen. And it succeeds at both.
A simple interior, designed for long journeys
Inside, the smooth, two-tone black and chalk leather immediately creates a refined atmosphere, a far cry from the all-digital trend now found in other electric vehicles. The front seats, electrically adjustable in eight positions, support the back without ever feeling restrictive, even after several hours on the road. A fun detail noticed upon settling in: the seatbelts, tinted chalk to match the upholstery—the kind of thoughtful touch you only notice when you're looking for it. On the center console, a screen dedicated to the passenger allows them to consult the map or start a playlist without distracting the driver—a technological courtesy rather than a mere gimmick. The air quality system, however, is most noticeable outside of major cities: the cabin remains clean, free of hot asphalt smells and traffic fumes, even in the industrial suburbs of Le Mans. The door closes silently, thanks to the comfort access which eliminates the need to take the key out of your pockets, and you understand that this car was designed for long journeys, not for journeys that are endured.
On the highway, serenity has changed in nature
On the A11 motorway between Paris and Brittany, the Taycan 4 first and foremost imposes a different relationship with the journey. The silence of the electric motor is anything but empty: you can hear the air rushing against the bodywork, and that discreet, almost musical electric note that Porsche has chosen to preserve rather than eliminate. You drive for long periods without giving it a second thought, carried by a range that, in this configuration with the Performance Plus battery, exceeds 600 kilometers in the combined cycle. Enough to cover the distance to Rennes without any anxious calculations, and to choose your charging stops for yourself, not because the battery gauge dictates them.
This is precisely the key advantage of high-power direct current. At a fast charging station, the Taycan 4 accepts up to 320 kW and regains 70% of its range in less than twenty minutes—the time it takes for a chosen rather than imposed break, while admiring the car's paintwork as it regains its color under the sun that finally breaks through between Le Mans and Laval. It's also time to notice that other electric vehicles are still waiting at the neighboring charging station.
On the small roads of Brittany, the Porsche finds its voice again
Beyond Rennes, on the winding country roads leading to the coast, the Taycan transforms. It's there, before a castle seemingly emerging from a wooded area, in this countryside near Rennes where hedgerows enclose the road at every turn, that the car ceases to be a mere technological showcase and becomes, quite simply, a Porsche. The all-wheel drive distributes power seamlessly, the rear-wheel steering tightens the turning radius on the tightest hairpin bends, and the body remains flat and planted, even as the road becomes more unpredictable.
The acceleration, in particular, is surprising. A firm press of the accelerator is all it takes to propel the Taycan towards the horizon with that smooth, almost brutal power characteristic of electric motors, without the slightest hesitation, without the noise that usually accompanies and betrays the effort. Here we find what we came for: road holding, precise front-end handling, that feeling that the car anticipates your every move before it's even fully executed. All of this is enhanced by a Bose Surround sound system whose volume you'll gladly crank up on straightaways, as if to fill the mechanical silence with another kind of pleasure.
A Porsche before it was an electric car
Let's be clear: the Taycan 4 won't appeal to those seeking the latest technological frontier in electric vehicles, with its cascade of cameras, sensors, and driver assistance systems. Other brands are taking that approach, and doing it well. Here, the promise is different, almost the opposite. This isn't aimed at those who want an electric car and wonder, as an option, if it could also be a Porsche. This is aimed at those who want a Porsche for its history, its prestige, its unique response in a tight corner, and who accept, or even desire, that this Porsche is now electric.
It's a subtle difference that changes everything. The Taycan 4 isn't trying to convert anyone; it's trying to reassure those who didn't need reassurance. It doesn't replace anything: it translates, into a new language, a grammar the brand has long mastered. The rest—the understated dashboard, the clear instrumentation, the absence of unnecessary digital clutter—confirms this intention. This isn't a connected device on wheels, but a sports car that simply no longer burns gasoline.
A broader question remains, one that goes beyond the Taycan alone: how many brands born from the roar of the internal combustion engine will be able, as Porsche demonstrates here, to convey their character without diluting it? On the winding roads of inland Brittany, the answer is already evident. The Taycan 4 has lost none of what makes a Porsche.
Photos: Maxime Dobremel
