Taking the Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid for a test drive

The Cayenne E-Hybrid is an SUV with an electric drive performance.
Published July 4, 2018

Going electric is a major theme in the auto industry these days, as almost all car makers are experimenting with e-mobility, including Porsche.

If you look at its Cayenne, the first impression is 'big heavy vehicle equals high fuel consumption.' But with it's Cayenne E-Hybrid, Porsche wants to prove this theory wrong.

The Cayenne E-Hybrid is great to drive and is also fuel efficient. Porsche says the Cayenne uses 3.2 litres of gasoline per 100kms. A 340 kW of power and Torque of upto 700 nM will certainly get you to where you wanna go, fast.

In the electric mode, acceleration from 0 to 100km takes just 5 seconds and hardly makes a sound. All this comes at a price: the plug-in SUV costs close to 90,000 EUROs in Germany.

The E-Hybrid looks just like the regular Cayenne, except for some details. The length is the same at 4.92m. The main difference is in the technology inside.

The very term, 'plug-in hybrid' scares some people away. What about the battery? Will it reduce the space in the trunk?

The Cayenne E-Hybrid offers an elegant solution for this: the battery is tucked away under the trunk, and with a cargo space of 645 litres, the trunk is larger than that in the predecessor model.

The interior is pretty much identical to the purely gasoline powered Cayenne.

The SUV has six driving modes, and the switch is integrated into the steering wheel.

In the pure electric mode, the range is 44kms at a maximum speed of 135km/h. The 136 horsepower electric motor is of course virtually silent. The drive mode and level of acceleration determines whether and when the V6 turbo gas engine kicks in.

As with other Porsche E-Performance models, the Cayenne E-Hybrid has the same boost strategy as the 918 Spyder and the E-Panamenra, and it can be used in any driving mode.

The Cayenne E-Hybrid is an SUV with an electric drive performance. It has a generous amount of trunk space, can tow a hefty 3500kgs, and it is not a gas guzzler. Plus, it has the kind of performance you would expect from a Porsche.

But as with all hybrids, unless you set off with a fully charged battery, your fuel consumption wont be so great. Additionally, if you're more of a racing driver, your CO2 emissions wont be that low either.


This content has been published in partnership with Deutsche Welle (DW).