Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid: A family Sports Utility Vehicle with a conscience

Porsche ’s big Cayenne SUV was quite a sensation when it burst onto the scene in 2002. The firm’s ‘family’ looks were instantly recognisable but could this really be a Porsche; all big, macho and high-riding? Looking as though it was capable of going right off-road like no Porsche before?

Driving it was a sensation. Anyone used to driving the firm’s traditional sports cars - the 911, or Boxster for instance - could not fail to be impressed at how this a large vehicle offered such handling and performance - all while carrying the family. And the shopping. At speed. It was exhilarating. And it had wonderful, stylish, slightly quirky interior too.

It’s now on the third generation, and has recently undergone major revisions to the engines, chassis, interior and other equipment, one of the most extensive upgrades in Porsche’s history, says the firm. So what’s new on Porsche’s best-seller?

Both V8 and V6 engines have been overhauled, and both can be had - as in the case of the E-Hybrid V6 we drove - with electrification. All engines are, of course, more powerful, more economical, creating fewer emissions.

Shock of the new

Ride-wise, there are now new, uprated shock absorbers (no bad thing for the hybrid models with all that extra battery and electric motor weight), and air suspension on some models (included as a £1,760 option on ‘our’ E-Hybrid), for even more adaptability and refinement, while offering extra differentiation between Normal, Sport and Sport Plus driving modes.

Inside the (still) unmistakable Porsche-themed interior, the upgrade has introduced a completely revised display and what the marketing people call ‘control concept’, originally introduced on the Taycan. In practice, this means that controls used frequently by the driver are closer to the steering wheel, such as the lever behind the wheel, now loaded with additional functions for operating driver assistance systems.

My favourite new touch: the automatic transmission ‘gearlever’ is now a small, rugged, beautifully-designed knurled black metal affair, protruding from the dashboard. It looks - and feels - great, and makes more room on the new centre console for storage compartments (how these things grow in importance as life wears on), and a larger air-con controller.

The redesigned cockpit now includes a 12.6-inch instrument cluster, and there’s a head-up display as an option (an extra £1,001 on the model we drove). The main 12.3-inch display sparkles, proving a great access point for all those apps you use on your iPhone (or Android), and can’t do without on your travels. How useful they are; how addictive, too.

And the looks? It’s still instantly recognisable as the Cayenne, but has lost the ‘shock and awe’ factor of that first model, whose more angular looks have become somewhat iconic, and which some prefer. The latest incarnation is more slippery and probably does wonders for fuel consumption, but looks less impactful, less ‘different’ as a result.

The E-Hybrid we drove had the V6 2,995cc and electric motor combo, jointly producing a whopping 464 bhp (enough for 0-62 mph in 4.9 seconds and a top speed of 158mph). To bring it all to a stop again, there are powerful six-piston calipers up front, working on 390mm discs. It’s worth noting - caravanners - that this beast can tow up to a maximum of 3,500 kgs. Not bad at all for a hybrid. I wonder how many owners tow, rather than checking into a posh hotel, though?

On the road, there’s no doubt that the E-Hybrid feels luxurious, although the cabin still has a certain functional - rather than lavish - quality. Noise suppression is very good, vision out is too, and the cockpit controls do fall nicely to hand so that ‘control concept’ works.

Getting to know you

As with any car that evolves over the years - and that takes advantage of the latest amazing technology - there’s an awful lot to think about in terms of the ‘toys’ (that multifunction steering wheel, Adaptive Cruise Control, a £1,092 option, the four-zone automatic climate control costing £639, a very fancy £1,052 Bose sound system). It would take several weeks of ‘getting to know you’ before anyone could operate all the systems without having a good think first. Hopefully not while on the move.

It feels fast and surefooted - if a little wide (2,194mm with mirrors out) - in narrow country lanes and, at times, a little heavy compared to previous models without all those hybrid batteries. Fortunately, with that all-wheel drive system, it’s not afraid to mount a verge in a tight spot now and again, even if you do tend to worry about the lovely paintwork (Quartzite Grey Metallic costing £899 on the test car).

With the windows down, on a hot day, one disappointment is that instead of any audible evidence of the V6 engine (never as exciting as the V8, of course), there is instead that pervasive, ubiquitous electronic ‘hum’, now built routinely into electric-assisted cars, as a warning to other road users. It might well be necessary, but is also rather irritating inside the car, when you’re in electric mode. The other electric downside on a Hybrid that can also be plugged in is the need for cables, which take up valuable space in the boot, and even underneath it. You can’t win’em all.

Strangely, for such an otherwise sophisticated and refined car, the brakes were not always consistent in feel; more than once I was surprised by a variance in pressure required/delivered during lower-speed manoeuvres, though this was never a safety issue, just an observable niggle. Same applied when trying to extricate the car from a (very) tight parking spot at less than walking pace. Sensing what the car’s electronic ‘brain’ considered an imminent collision (I had to get close to a bollard), the brakes had a tendency to overreact, making the process less than smooth. Better than grazing that paintwork, however.

There wasn’t an opportunity to venture off-road the original model was more capable than it looked, away from the tarmac. The addition of air suspension on the E-Hybrid - and the ability to raise ride height - should improve matters further.

Particular pluses on the test car? Wonderfully ‘connected’ steering, tons of power for safe acceleration, and the overriding feeling of luxury - coupled with the conscience-salving hybrid application. At the end of the day, this Cayenne feels like a well-honed, highly capable, environmentally-conscious evolution of that thrilling car that burst onto the scene over two decades ago.

The facts

Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid

Cost: £ 79,800.00

As tested with options: £101,865

Top speed: 158mph (84 mph in electric mode).

0-62 mph: 4.9 seconds

Fuel consumption (WLTP): 156.9-188.3 mpg

Emissions: 42-33 g/km

Claimed charge time: 2.2 hours

Claimed city electric range: 55 miles

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