Premium EV lovers have one more reason to pick the 2021 version of the Porsche Taycan 4S over the last edition - the latest model now boasts of an upgraded EPA-estimated range, around 12% higher than the 2020 release. With the new specs bump, Porsche, no doubt, is closing the gap to its nearest rival Tesla, and specifically the Model S.

The Taycan 4S of last year was tempting enough but Porsche knew of the one gripe about the EV. The driving range fell short of expectations so it's only appropriate for the automaker to deploy a fix. For the end-users, this means an increased range of between 199 and 227 miles but the exact numbers will be determined by the size of the battery packed with the Porsche EV.

For the most optimal result, the best bet would be the Performance Plus option, which promises the highest gain of range on its 93.4kWh battery.

CNET said the range boost should make the new Porsche Taycan 4S more appealing than ever. It might be that the EV still lags when pitted against its Tesla counterpart but in terms of real-world usage, the difference in numbers easily grey out.

On paper, the Taycan 4S is inferior when compared to the Model S but test results have so far indicated that Porsche fans have no reason to be jealous. Sure, the latter EV enjoys an edge when it comes range coverage but it's too little to even harp about, the report added.

Now the question is how Porsche managed to deliver the range improvement when the 2021 and 2020 versions are pretty much of the same hardware, especially the battery size? It can only be assumed that the automaker applied bits of software tweaks to the system to squeeze that extra range gain.

In the absence of an official word from Porsche, Electrek asked around and was told by an unnamed source that the Taycan 4S got a better efficiency on the account of its new set of wheels. It turned out that the 21-inch wheels found on the previous version were a drag so Porsche decided to switch and go for the 20-inch tires.

The wheel swap did the trick and the 2021 Porsche Taycan 4S now enjoys an extended driving range. And this can further improve if users would use 19-inch wheels, which could potentially boost the range to nearly 300 miles, per the same report.

So the reality of driving range cannot be based solely on the numbers reported by automakers and certified by the EPA. A car could see a drag or get a boost depending on the road condition and the driving style of the person behind the wheel. But in the case of the new Porsche Taycan 4S, picking the right set of wheels proved to be a crucial factor and likely it applies to other EVs.