14 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 25
@ j i m _ h o l d e r
Never mind the busy-looking dashboard: enjoy the perceived quality of the materials and assembly standards
It can whisk you beyond UK motorway speed limits on electric power alone or deliver a pulverising full-hybrid punch
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It delivers huge slabs of measured
performance slickly and on demand
a
Most striking is its high-speed
performance, although it’s a valid
de bat e a s t o w he t he r it ’s t r u l y mo s t
suited to a f lat-out autobahn blast
rather than our 70mph versions. A
more confidence-inspiring high-
s p e e d SU V i s h a rd t o i m a g i ne a nd t he
extra zip available from pressing a
racing-style steering-wheel-mounted
go button, which unleashes 20
seconds of optimised performance,
i s b ot h e nt e r t a i n i n g a nd u s e f u l i f y ou
need to overtake.
The full-electric mode is notable,
too, for its silent, easy operation and
as a defence should cities impose
electric-only driving areas, if not
a s t he l a s t w ord i n g r e e n mobi l it y.
Perhaps more noteworthy on the
economy front was our real-world,
motorway-heavy fuel consumption
of close to 30mpg over 150 miles,
which was astonishing given the
aforementioned concerns abouteconomy when the battery is f lat.
However, there’s no denying that
the car’s added heft comes with
dynamic downsides. At low speeds,
you feel a broken road surface
with more force than in any other
Cayenne, and even with all that
power and torque, the weight casts
an ever-present shadow over the car’s
ultimate potential.
Ye s , it i s f a s t a nd , y e s , it a c c e le r at e s
with eye-widening pace, but it doesn’t
take long before you realise you are
braking earlier and entering corners
slower than you might in a Cayenne
Turbo. As with many cars running
brake regen systems, the pedal feel is
pretty wooden, too.
And the rest? Bar a few details,
from the outside and inside, it is very
much a Porsche Cayenne. Which
i s t o s ay, ov e r- c r owde d d a shb oa rd
a side , it m at c he s or s e t s mo s t of t he
standards for the class.
So far, so impressive, and there’s
something significant – pivotal
even – in the fact that Porsche is
now rolling out a suite of spec-sheet-
topping hybrids. To knock either
the forward-thinking intent or the
mostly brilliant execution of that
feels more than a bit mealy-mouthed.But there’s a nagging doubt that
while this is a fine, highly polished
example of the car industry’s
brightest minds answering a
question posed of them, it is also a car
- a Porsche, no less – that does more
to guild egos, appease legislators and
dodge tax bills more than it does push
dynamic boundaries.
It ’s e a s y t o u nde r s t a nd w hy
someone would buy it. But it’s also
TESTER’S NOTE
The eerie sensation
of topping out at
just below 84mph in
electric-only running
is every bit as enticing
as a full-bore, full-
hybrid launch. JH
Price £123,349
Engine V8, 3996cc, twin-
turbocharged, petrol,
plus electric motor
Power 671bhp at 5750-6000rpm
Torque 664lb ft at 2100-4500rpm
Gearbox 8-spd dual-clutch automatic
Kerb weight 2535kg
Top speed 183mph
0-62mph 3.8sec
Economy 52.3-58.9mpg
CO 2 , tax band 110-122g/km, 26-28%
RIVALS Bentley Bentayga,
Range Rover Sport
PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO S E-HYBRID
A towering technical achievement
that will attract buyers but the extra
weight blunts its ultimate potential
AAAAC
worth pausing to question whether
- if money really was no object, as
it m ay b e at t h i s pr ic e p oi nt – y ou’d
rather plump for the Turbo.