By Tony Markovich

The Porsche Taycan Turbo already passed its biggest initial test. By our estimations, it drives and feels like a real Porsche and deserves the name and crest it wears (the Turbo part is a different story). But its second major test is serving as a properly usable everyday electric car, and its credibility in that regard just took a right hook from the EPA. After initial Porsche estimates pegged the Taycan Turbo’s full-charge range at about 280 miles using the generous WLTP rating, the EPA gave it an official range of 201 miles. Uh oh.

In our First Drive Review of the Taycan, we guesstimated a real-world driving range of about 230-240 miles with the idea that most drivers will be baited into taking advantage of the Taycan’s performance prowess. But even when considering imperfect driving manners, our number is high. If the 201-mile number were to be true, the Taycan would have one of — if not the — worst cost-per-electric-mile ratios on the market.

The size of the Taycan’s battery, which is located in the underbody, is not an issue, as it has a total capacity of 93.4 kWh. The two-tier battery has 33 cell modules, each of which has 12 individual cells. In total, it has 396 cells. When the Taycan launched, Porsche claimed it was the first manufacturer to use an 800-volt system in a production car, compared to other electrics that used 400-volt systems. The change gives the Taycan the advantage of repeated performance and quicker charging. But according to the EPA, that isn’t helping its range.

There’s another relevant number out there, too: 275. As Jalopnik points out, Porsche has already worked with independent testing company AMCI Testing, which gets its readings by using the car in a variety of normal city and highway tasks. It estimates the Taycan has a range of 275 miles.

New Model S has 370 mile / 595 km range https://t.co/D6bY7F2wUT

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 24, 2019

Without increasing the size of the battery, Tesla claims it’s improved range, power and torque and faster 0 – 60 MPH times. The Long Range Model S was previously rated for up to 335 miles on a charge, and now it can go to 370. The Long Range Model X, meanwhile, extends to up to 325 miles. The company took Motor Trend for a drive in one of the new sedans yesterday during its autonomous event and traveled 359 miles from Fremont to LA without a recharge, using 83 kWh and showing 11 percent charge left — good enough for around 400 miles.

Other changes in the vehicles include “lubrication, cooling, bearings, and gear designs,” as well as a fully adaptive air suspension that responds to both road conditions and driving style. According to Tesla, it’s also better at keeping the car low while cruising to cut down on wind resistance. Finally, there are also new tire designs on “certain variants.”

The new cars won’t quite match the Model 3 for speedy charging, but updates there allow for up to 200 kW charging on its new V3 Superchargers, and 145 kW on older V2 ones, enough to claim that recharging is up to 50 percent faster.

That’s no small slate of upgrades arriving — on the evening before Tesla announces its Q1 earnings results — and there are a couple of changes to entice buyers that are new or potentially upgrading. The “Standard Range” option with a lower available battery capacity for a lower price is back, while existing owners of a Model S or X who get a new Performance one can add the $20,000 Ludicrous Mode option for free.