The Cayenne has no such need, so is denied the smaller, stronger engine. Still, the 3.0-litre unit can generate 335bhp all by itself, to which a further 134bhp of power is added from the electric motor - and that's, indeed, identical to that used by the Panamera.
Total system power therefore amounts to 469bhp. Which sounds good until you realise that while Porsche is making no official claims for this as-yet-unhomologated car, the hybrid system in the Panamera adds 320kg to the weight of the standard car and there’s no good reason why the same (or similar) will not be true for the Cayenne.
The other difference is that while all Panameras have Porsche PDK dual-clutch gearboxes, all Cayennes have conventional eight-speed automatics. This might not sound too important in the context of a hybrid, but, as I found out in two days of roaming around South Africa in one, it quite demonstrably is.
I can’t tell you how quick it is but, with substantially more power and torque than the old Cayenne Hybrid, I’d estimate a 0-62mph time of a little over five seconds and a top speed of a little less than 160mph. So quick enough, in other words. It should do around 25 miles on electrical power alone – five fewer than the lighter, lower, more slippery Panamera – and 84mph, rather than 87mph, on electricity alone.
But you notice the extra weight less in the Cayenne than in the Panamera; I guess because your dynamic expectations are more modest for a luxury SUV. What you notice far more is how much smoother this powertrain is. All the joins between internal combustion and electrical power are smoothed over by the ZF box in a way the Panamera's PDK cannot manage.
The result is that the big off-roader actually feels more sophisticated than the closest thing to a limo Porsche has ever built. The electric drive system will also prove a boon for those few owners who go off-roading because there’s never been a more precise, easily regulated way of controlling a car’s speed to the fractions of a mile per hour required for rock-hopping.
Join the debate
Citytiger
Rivals
you name the X5 40e and the GLE 500e, but not the XC90 T8, why is that? Is it because its the only hybrid SUV with 7 seats?
scrap
It’s a massively flawed
It’s a massively flawed concept isn’t it? A car that has about as much accommodation as a Mondeo yet weighs 2.4 tonnes and uses a whole load more of the Earth’s precious resources to make.
If you need its off road or towing capability, bash on. Otherwise, buy something better.
scrap
And why does it say ‘2.0’ on
And why does it say ‘2.0’ on the engine cover?
Ski Kid
dead weight to be carried about with a hybrid
They must be expecting further adverse controversy on Audi VW diesels re cheating to try to distance the brand from it.
Neil2129
Its the WLTP effect
Not so much further controversy, more that the effort of getting the engines through the WLTP and Real Driving Emissions tests before September's deadline is better spent on the higher-volume Audis and VWs, and the higher-margin Bentayga. Total Porsche sales may also be less sensitive to a lack of diesel availability - if you want a Cayenne or Panamera, would you buy something completely different just because you can't get a diesel, or would you stick with the Porsche and just choose the petrol or hybrid?
289
I just dont understand....
.....why you would buy a Cayenne in the first place if running costs were a concern to you.
The running costs (i.e. Discs/pads, Exhaust etc) are so much more expensive that a Touareg (which is basically the same car anyway), so if thrift was your motivator despite needing a large SUV, surely you would buy theTouareg
androo
Litres?
" It should do around 25 miles on electrical power alone – five litres fewer than the lighter, lower, more slippery Panamera..."
An interesting, if puzzling sentence.
BeamMeUpScotty
I must agree with al of you, folks...
...although I’d not entirely equivalate a Cayenne with a Touareg.
These pseudo-eco elephants represent anyway a mega-hypocrisy produced for the richest, mainly allowing them to access the inner-city zones, and not only in a Yaris Hybrid (as this restrictive rule appears in Italy lately -- don’t know the exact situation in the UK, but I guess it might be worse in London than Neaples. :-))
xxxx
Keeping that price back till the last minute
There was alot of bile about when the all new £59k I-pace (similar size interally) got annonced so If this comes in at £90k it should get similar stick, especially being so much slower to 60
bomb
Blimey that front end is ugly
Blimey that front end is ugly. And seems like such an overblown, wasteful way to be 'eco'.
Pages
Add your comment