NEW Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid Review - Is this the Ultimate One Car Garage?
Watch Vicki Butler-Henderson give her verdict on the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid.
With over 20 years of development, Porsche have released the latest version of the much-loved Cayenne, the Cayenne E-Hybrid. In this review, Vicki Butler-Henderson gives her verdict on the latest SUV offering from Porsche which theoretically could tick a lot of boxes!
With prices starting at £84,000, the latest Cayenne is at the pricier end of the market, but with good reason. This particular model is essentially three cars in one providing a combination of petrol, electric, and hybrid performance.
Specification Checklist
• 470 PS (Power combined).
• 0 – 60 mph happens in 4.6 seconds.
• Top speed 158 mph.
• Electric range is 41 – 57 miles.
Design & Exterior
Porsche have been perfecting and crafting the Cayenne into the car that it is today, Porsche claims that it has been subject to one of the most expensive product upgrades in the company’s history. There are two body styles on offer with one being the coupé which offers a sportier and more dynamic version with a sloping roofline and the other is the SUV body style offering a balance of luxury and utility.
This updated and upgraded version stands a little shorter in height than the previous version but is slightly longer and is complete with a new front end boasting an impressive large air intake, flatter profile, and new Matrix Led headlights. At the rear of the car, Porsche have added a glass bar which spans the width of the rear and illuminates at night adding to the luxury look and feel of the car making it distinctively Porsche.
Boot Storage & Electric Towbar
Boot storage is not an issue with the Cayenne E-Hybrid with a minimum of 627 litres which is more than the BMW X5 hybrid rival, however, when you fold the seats down in both cars, the X5 has more room.
There isn’t an option as a 7-seater here, but it can tow heavy loads if you fork out an additional £1,000 for the electrical extending towbar. Convenience is at the forefront of towing capabilities with the Cayenne E-Hybrid as you can slightly lower the car to help with hooking whatever your load is to the back of the car.
Wheels & Tyre Talk
There are plenty of options when it comes to wheels for the Cayenne E-Hybrid. With rim sizes starting at 20”, you have options rising up to 22” and prices range from circa £420 to nearly £4,000. The model in the video is sat on the 20” Cayenne design rims which are complete with Hankook’s S1 Evo Z tyres the high-end super sports tyre which have been crafted with motorsport technology especially for Porsche which is recognised by the NCO marking on the tyre’s sidewall.
Interior Design & Features
Porsche have really gone to town on this car to give it the luxury look and feel in the cabin. A meticulous approach is evident where a combination of high gloss finishes, stitched leather, premium real buttons, and haptic controls really justify the cost of the car. The only negative – and perhaps not that much of a problem for most – is Vicki mentions how the whole panel (in the centre console) moves when buttons are pressed.
Unlike other models Vicki has reviewed with DriverReviews, the door cards are lined with felt which is ideal to stop items from rolling around too much during a drive, or worse making lots of noise. The familiar feature of grab handles are described by Vicki as fantastic and on this particular model, the doors are soft close which might be of benefit to you.
The digitalised dash runs the width of the cabin with a screen in front of the passenger which is handy as they can access things like the sat nav for those situations where you might just need to amend the route. Ahead of the driver is a curved screen which is the same one used in the Taycan and you can personalise the screen to display what is most important to you. Between driver and passenger is a screen where most if not all the functions are housed, the Cayenne E-Hybrid comes with Apple CarPlay too so you can connect your phone with ease.
A clever bit of technology is the air quality system which will use the satellite navigation system to detect when you are coming up to a tunnel and will switch on the recirculating air system for you. If this is of importance to you, it can be taken even further for an additional £300 to include a filter which can ionise the air inside the cabin and improve the air quality.
Interior Storage & Back Seats
Just about every single detail has been thought of by Porsche as the mobile phone storage space is not only a fast charger but it is also cooled to ensure that your phone does not overheat, especially on those longer journeys if you needed to leave your phone there for a while. Other than that, it comes with a small amount of storage towards the bottom of the centre console and two cup holders further back. The driver convenience storage is complete with space underneath the sliding armrest.
As we look into the rear of the cabin, Vicki mentions that it is very spacious for two people and that the seats in the rear can actually move backwards and forwards, and best of all, they recline (a little bit). The “unfortunate” middle person does lose space though and might find sitting there quite uncomfortable over longer journeys as leg room is shared with the passengers either side of you. To make things a little more comfortable though, there are passenger controllable air vents at the rear of the arm rest facing those rear passengers and USBC ports for their convenience.
Engine, Performance & 0-62 mph Test
Don’t let the fact that it is a 4x4 make you think that this is all it’s capable of. With the Cayenne E-Hybrid being a Porsche it has distinct driving modes including sport and sport plus (just a couple of Vicki’s favourites). This thing is no slouch too as when you combine the power of the e-motor, the battery, and the V6 engine you get a total of 470 horsepower! In the video, Vicki does a 0-62mph test which happens in just under 5 seconds which is impressive given that the car weighs around two and a half tonnes!
As already mentioned, this car is like owning three different cars in one with it being the E-Hybrid model. You can drive the car in hybrid mode which is perfect for shorter trips as the electric power and petrol power combine to power the car and if you remain under 34 mph, you’ll capitalise on maximum efficiency.
That powerful V6 engine will solely kick in once you run out of electric power and while it is in use, it can actually regenerate the electric power back up to 80% which is great if you can’t quite get the car to an electric charger. A full charge happens in approximately two and a half hours using a home wall box which points to the final driving mode which is full electric. It will do 56 miles in this mode which isn’t as good as the competitor X5 hybrid but will do 84 miles an hour (but not for long).
Vicki’s Verdict
“The Cayenne has always been the driver’s choice in the marketplace but sadly in hybrid guise the driving experience is a bit diluted for me”.
Overall, Vicki seemed to be well impressed with the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid, every aspect of the car from the modern light bar at the rear of the car, to the luxurious interior and personalised dashboard are all features that she speaks highly of. However, Vicki does prefer her cars to be a specialist in one thing rather than good at a few things (referring to the different driving modes). Yet Vicki does praise the Porsche for its versatility across different uses from the school run to board meetings, and even towing a race car at the weekend (perhaps a 911 GT3 RS?).
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