Porsche Cayenne Electric 325kW 113kWh 5dr Auto

Ten Second Review

Porsche's Cayenne Electric is a completely different kind of Cayenne - and not only because it's battery-powered. It's sleeker, more technically advanced and has a fresh generation of interior design. In top Turbo form, it's faster too. Here, Zuffenhausen has reset the standard for what a large, sporting luxury SUV should be.

Background

Back in 2002, the Porsche brand was changed forever by a big, bold SUV called the Cayenne. And a quarter of a century on, here's another model of that name, the Cayenne Electric, that might have almost as much impact. In original concept, it was meant to be even more important than that; it wasn't very long ago that Porsche was boasting that 80% of its line-up would be full-electric by 2030. But those unrealistic ambitions have been scaled down radically, as proof of which updated versions of the existing combustion Cayenne will continue to be sold well into the next decade. The Cayenne Electric shares nothing but its name with that car. It rides on a completely different PPE platform (shared with the Macan Electric) which allows it to be significantly bigger. Plus it sets new standards for EVs in terms of towing weight and the introduction of an inductive charging system that doesn't require you to physically plug the car in. Let's take a closer look.

Engines and Tech Spec

One by-product of the EV revolution is that power outputs in cars like this have spiralled. Did you ever think an SUV, even a large luxury premium one like this with sporting pretensions, would develop 1,156PS. Or deliver a 0-62mph sprint time (2.5s) quicker than the fastest 911 (the Turbo S). Yet that's what the curiously named top 'Turbo' version of the Cayenne Electric can deliver. Despite weighing a minimum of 2.5 tonnes in its lightest possible form. We'll come back to that because we want to concentrate here on the versions of this car that possible owners are more likely to end up with. At the base of the line-up, as with the Macan Electric, you can ask your dealer about a single motor rear-driven model. But the bulk of sales will be accounted for by the Cayenne 4 Electric. Like the Turbo, it also has a dual motor AWD powertrain but here, the total possible output is a more modest 442PS, so the 0-62mph time is extended to 4.8s. You don't get much of an EV range benefit for the drop in power though, the Cayenne 4 Electric's 398 mile figure just 11 miles down on the Turbo. The big output gap between these two models (likely to be filled by GTS version) is partly explained by the fact that during normal driving, the Turbo version only puts out 857PS. The extra 299PS is available only for 10 seconds at a time via a 'push-to-pass' button on the steering wheel. This activates extra power from the rear motor, into which a special motorsport-tuned direct oil cooling system has had to be integrated to accommodate it. The Turbo's top speed is 162mph. You'll need that top Turbo to get the brand's clever Porsche Active Ride system, which Zuffenhausen has never previously fitted to an SUV. Instead of anti-roll bars, this uses a motor pump-equipped active damper on each corner of the car. During cornering, braking and accelerating, that pump builds up active activating forces on the 'dampers' to keep the car level and free of body roll. There's even what Porsche calls a 'helicopter mode' when the car can actively tilt forward in harsh acceleration to increase velocity like a helicopter. Curiously, Porsche Active Ride doesn't work in the car's faster 'Sport' and 'Sport Plus' drive modes. All models get adaptive air suspension with PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management). The Turbo also gets the brand's 'PTV plus' limited slip differential. Rear-axle steering is optional and works more directly than it does on petrol Cayenne, turning the rear wheels by up to 5-degrees (up from 3-degrees in the combustion car). Porsche is offering an optional 'Off-road package' with modified geometry for the front end. You'll need this to unlock the full potential braked towing capacity (up to an impressive 3.5-tonnes).

Design and Build

Visually, the Cayenne Electric has much more in common with its fellow Taycan and Macan Electric models than it does a combustion Cayenne. It's sized quite differently to that petrol model too, the 4,985mm body length being 55mm longer and the 1,674mm body height being 150mm shorter. Not everyone will like the front-end look with its lowered nose and quad-LED matrix headlight arrangement. There is no upper grille and lots of aero vanes in the lower section of the bumper. From the side, you notice frameless doors, a two-tone body and wheels ranging from 20 to 22-inches in size. Those rims are aero-optimised, one of the things that contributes to a slippery drag coefficient of 0.25Cd, 0.1Cd better than the petrol model. The Turbo version benefits from active aero blades that deploy automatically (and on the side of which the coordinates of the wind tunnel at Weissach are etched). The Turbo also gets active aero blades at the rear and there's an adaptive roof spoiler. Inside behind the wheel, absolutely nothing is shared with the combustion model. The cabin centrepiece is a big 14.8-inch touchscreen that Porsche recalls the 'Flow Display', an OLED panel that curves in its bottom third. Below this monitor is what Porsche recalls a 'Ferry Pad' - a platform to rest your wrist on. Through the satisfyingly sporty Porsche-crested three-spoke wheel, you view a 14.25-inch instrument display which can be partnered with a head-up display that the brand claims represents an 87-inch screen viewed from 10-metres away. If that's still not enough screen tech for you, then you can add a 14.9-inch passenger-side display, the contents of which aren't visible to the driver when the car is moving. This allows your passengers to do things like watch YouTube, read news items and set nav destinations. Overall cabin quality is superb and there are lovely touches like controllable mood modes and an opening panoramic roof with 'Sunshine Control' setting capacity. Plus there's 'Panel Heating', which warms not only the seats but also the arm rests and door panels. Rear seat space is much better than it is on the combustion model, thanks mainly to the more generous 3,023mm wheelbase length (130mm longer). The back seats are electronically adjustable. Out back, there's a 781-litre boot that's 83-litres bigger than the petrol model and nearly 200-litres bigger than that of a rival BMW iX. With the rear bench folded, capacity increases to 1,588-litres and there's a further 90-litres of space beneath the bonnet.

Market and Model

Unlike the combustion Cayenne, Porsche is only offering this EV model with a single conventional SUV body shape. From launch, Porsche wanted from £83,200 for the Cayenne 4 Electric - about £11,000 more than the equivalent Macan 4 Electric. Expect a more accessible entry-level price from the forthcoming single-motor rear-driven model. For a Cayenne Turbo Electric, obviously you're going to need substantially more; an eye-watering £130,900 was the asking price at launch. Whichever variant you choose, you probably going to want to budget around £5,000 extra for the wireless charging pad, £2,000 of which is for the water-cooled charge receptor it needs to work, which needs to be bolted behind the protective underbody cladding. Perhaps the key luxury item is the opening panoramic roof with its Sunshine Control setting capacity. Or maybe the 14.9-inch passenger-side display will tempt you. There's also the optional Off-Road package, which unlocks this model's full towing capacity and includes modified front end geometry for more capable off-piste excursions. Rear-axle steering is optional on the Cayenne 4 Electric. And on the Turbo version, there's the option of PCCB ceramic composite brakes. There are 13 different paint colours, nine wheel designs (ranging from 20-inches to 22-inches in diameter) and five interior trimming themes.

Cost of Ownership

We gave you the EV range figures in our driving section - 398 miles for the Cayenne 4 Electric and 387 miles for the Turbo Electric. Porsche claims these EV figures are everyday-realistic, aided by an extremely effective battery recuperation system able to harvest what the brand calls 'Formula E levels of recuperative power' - about 600kW. In normal driving, up to 97% of braking can be handled completely by the electric motors. If you've been waiting for a plug-in full-electric car you don't necessarily have to plug-in, this is it. The Cayenne Electric introduces inductive charging, which basically means you simply park it over a wireless charging pad to top up the battery. That wireless charging floor plate (which weighs 50kg) costs extra course and requires special hardware to be fitted to the car to accept it. The pad should fit in your garage (it measures 117cm by 78cm and stands 6cm tall) but it can only AC charge at up to 11kW at which rate 11 hours is needed for a full charge. Battery replenishment is aided by an 800V electrical infrastructure that can accept an ultra-rapid DC public charge of up to 400kW, at which rate you can replenish the big 113kWh battery from 10 to 80% in 16 minutes, or recoup over 200 miles of range in just 10 minutes. What else? Well as usual with EVs, insurance groups will be high, but you'll claim a little back with low Benefit-in-Kind taxation rating (3% until Spring 2026). Servicing is every 24 months or 20,000 miles, whichever comes sooner. And there's 3 year unlimited mileage warranty for the car, plus 8 years of cover for the battery.

Summary

Porsche's EV ambitions, which have taken quite a battering over the last few years, look very different today to when this Cayenne Electric was first conceived. But this car's goal of being the ultimate large sporting electric SUV hasn't changed. It's an impressive feat of technology that somehow the brand has managed to deliver with a very 'Porsche' look and feel. Not everyone will like the styling, the prices are high and, after recent developments, we'd hoped for a little more in terms of drive range. But if you simply want the standard-setter in the segment, this is the class benchmark for the time being. A Porsche Cayenne conceived as an ecological statement; whoever would have thought it?