Battery size: 14.1 kWh
Company car tax: 13%
Emissions: 73-81 g/km
Range: 25-27 miles (electric)
Fuel economy: 91 MPG
Performance
No matter which Cayenne plug-in you go for it can run up to 84mph in electric mode, but getting to 84mph in ‘E-Power’ mode takes some time and battery power. That’s because the Cayenne weighs some 2.4 tonnes and if you press the throttle a little too hard the petrol engine will wake up, destroying the eerie silence. With both the 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 and electric motor working together, the performance is staggering and it’ll match a Porsche 911 in a straight line. It does make you think why you’d need the extra 215bhp of the Turbo S E-Hybrid. With 671bhp it’s an impossibly high power figure for UK roads.
Drive
Many plug-in hybrid SUVs impress with their on-paper figures and tax benefits but when it comes to actually driving them, the positive words dry up. Not with the Cayenne. Porsche has remembered that even though the two models come with a plug, they are at heart Porsches and they have to thrill owners. The extra weight of the plug-in Cayennes is evident but it doesn’t really matter as the big Porsche goes round corners with better precision than a Range Rover Sport P400e, BMW X5 xDrive45e or a Volvo XC90 Recharge. The steering is direct and the ride is comfortable, and there are a multitude of driving modes – from E-Power (EV mode) to Sport. The only negative point is the brake pedal. It feels a little more rubbery than it does in the BMW, but it’s only a minor niggle.
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