Vehicle Layout Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV Engine/Transmission 3.0L turbo DOHC 24-valve V-6 plus elec motor Curb Weight (F/R Dist)
5,325 lb (53/47%) Wheelbase 113.9 in Length x Width x Height 193.6 x 78.0 x 64.4-68.0 in Energy Consumption, City/Hwy 153 kW-hr/100 miles (comb)
CO2 Emissions, Comb 0.88 lb/mileSPECS 2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid (PHEV)
Base Price/As Tested $80,950/$96,790
Power (SAE net) 335 hp @ 5,300 rpm + 134 hp @ 2,800 rpm (elec); 455 hp comb
Torque (SAE net) 332 lb-ft @ 1,340 rpm + 295 lb-ft @ 100 rpm (elec); 516 lb-ft comb
Accel, 0-60 mph 4.2 sec
Quarter Mile 12.7 sec @ 110.2 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph 113 ft
Lateral Acceleration 0.87 g (avg)
MT Figure Eight 25.4 sec @ 0.78 g (avg)
EPA City/Hwy/Comb 13 mi EV, 22 mpg (gas)/46 mpg-e (comb)“wants to be when it grows up.
The handoff from gas to electric is
imperceptible every time, and you
can damn sure feel the power.”
That covers our engineering
excellence criterion with ease.
How efficient is it? The EPA only
supplies combined estimates for
PHEVs, and by that measure, the
2019 Porsche Cayenne e-Hybrid
should earn 46 mpg-e or 22 mpg
on gas alone. On a low battery,
our in-house EQUA Real mpg
team found it to earn 24/27/26
mpg city /highway/combined.
It appears to be as efficient as
promised.
Despite the Cayenne’s
green-ish mission, this is still a
Porsche through and through.
With its turbo V-6 and electric
motor combined output reaching
455 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of
torque, this Cayenne raced from 0
to 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds, the
third-quickest SUV in the field.
But it’s not just rapid. “What a
stupendous chassis,” Evans said.
“It really hunkers down and drives
like a tall Panamera when you ask
it to. The responses are perfect.”
Not only that, but it also took toA
former SUV of the Year
winner and the vehicle
credited with putting
Porsche back in the black, the
Cayenne arrived at this year’s
competition in hybrid guise.
Although we knocked it for
its merely evolutionary exterior
design, it’s what’s inside that
counts. The Cayenne’s new elec-
tric motor generates more than
43 percent more power (134 hp
and 295 lb-ft) than the previous
motor did. Plus, the battery
capacity increases by about 30
percent (to 14.1 kW-hr) without
increasing in physical size.
With a full charge, the
Cayenne e-Hybrid will travel up to
13 miles on electricity alone and
up to a speed of 83 mph before
waking the 335-hp, 332-lb-ft
internal combustion engine.
“In Hybrid Auto, the car smartly
charges, coasts, downshifts, and
more to drive in the most efficient
and most engaging possible
manner,” Seabaugh said. “I wish
all PHEVs were this well tuned and
integrated.”
According to Evans, this is
what the Lincoln Aviator hybridour off-road testing as well as any
other contender, fording deep
sand, enveloping washboard
surfaces, accomplishing steep hill
ascents and descents with ease,
and literally idling through our
“frame twister,” which diagonally
hoists two wheels in the air.
The Cayenne also allowed
some hooligan antics, sliding
around sandy bends like a rally
car. I searched “fun” in judges’
notes and found seven results.
No other contender or finalist can
match it in this regard. Porsche’s
performance of intended func-
tion? Nailed it.
Value, however, is also some-
thing we judge. With a starting
price of $80,950 and an as-tested
price of $96,790, the Cayenne
e-Hybrid was definitely near the
top rung of this year’s group in
terms of price. Most of the stan-
dard advanced tech found on the
other luxury entries is optional on
the Porsche.
Zach Gale was pointed in his
criticism: “Oh, did you want a full
leather interior in your $80,000
Porsche SUV? That’ll be at least
$3,750 more. How about memoryseats with more than eight
ways of adjustment? $1,680. A
panoramic roof? Hands-free
keyless access? Adaptive cruise
control? Ambient lighting?
Heated front seats? All extra.”
Earning finalist status in the
MotorTrend SUV of the Year
contest is an achievement in
itself. That a plug-in hybrid
version of a Porsche SUV did so
might surprise some. Not us. That
Porsche can supply the kind of
experience one expects from a
vehicle wearing that prestigious
badge while also pushing the
boundaries of hybridization is a
very positive omen for the brand
and for SUVs as a whole.
Chris WaltonPRO Great all around • Fun to drive • Up to 13 miles EV range CON Questionable value • Evolutionary styling • Doesn’t check all boxesSUVOTY
2019 Porsche Cayenne
Finalists
34 MOTORTREND.COM JANUARY 2020