New-look Porsche Cayenne gets power, EV range and tech boosts

The Porsche Cayenne has been radically overhauled in a bid to ensure its sustained appeal as it remains on sale up to the end of the decade - alongside an all-new and technically unrelated electric Cayenne arriving in 2025.

This round of updates is much more significant than a regular mid-cycle update. In fact, Cayenne product boss Michael Schätzle called the facelift "one of the most extensive product upgrades in the history of Porsche" - one that will keep Porsche's best-seller at the top of its segment as the company embarks on a wide-reaching global electrification initiative.

Ben Weinberger, spokesperson for Porsche's SUV models, told Autocar that the Cayenne needed an extensive refresh if it was to remain competitive for nearly another model cycle. He said: "We already announced that we're going to bring the electric Cayenne in less than two years, and this car will stay on the market in parallel for quite some time. So that was the reason why we said: 'okay, we need to do a lot to keep it fresh for the next few years'."

Chief among the mechanical upgrades is a swap from V6 to V8 power for the Cayenne S, with the twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre unit – familiar from the Porsche Panamera and Lamborghini Urus – pumping a healthily increased 468bhp and 443lb ft to both axles for a 0-62mph time of 4.8sec and a top speed of 167mph.

The entry-level Cayenne gets a twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 (replacing the previous 2.9-litre V6), and power and torque are up here as well, to 351bhp and 369lb ft.

The V6 also forms the basis for a heavily upgraded plug-in hybrid drivetrain for the Cayenne E-Hybrid, teamed with a boosted electric motor for a combined 464bhp and supplemented by a larger 25.9kWh battery. It claims a competitive electric-only range of 52 miles and can now be charged in just 2.5 hours courtesy of its new on-board 11kW charger.

A further two PHEV variants will be added to the line up later, including a hotter, V8-toting Turbo S E-Hybrid.

There's also a power boost for the top-rung, V8-engined Cayenne GT, which now touts 650bhp and clocks 0-62mph slightly quicker than the 911 GT3, in a blistering 3.2sec - but this range-topper has been taken off sale in Europe for emissions-compliance reasons. Europe is in line to soon receive a stiffened-up, V8-engined Cayenne GTS, however.

Just as significant as the drivetrain revamp is the work that Porsche has carried out to give the Cayenne an "increased range between ride comfort and performance". New two-valve shocks – working in conjunction with a two-chamber air suspension system – with separate rebound and compression stages are said to boost agility in hard corners, enhance ride comfort at low speeds and reduce pitch and roll.