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Porsche Cayenne S e-Hybrid: Hybrid Shocks
Words by Alessandro Marrone
Photos by Jay Tomei (The Looking Glass)
Marco Ranzani has just removed me from his friends list, and this only because I’m not sitting at the wheel of a Cayenne Turbo. It does not matter if he still has the very first model, he could not stand the idea of seeing the S, let alone talkin’ about hybrids. I do not intend to beg him to change his mind – after all what do you expect from a person who binds a couch on the roof of his SUV to show Cantù that he was born with a wallet full of cash – I would, but I won’t do that. Every talk about hybrid engines takes time and an open mind, and he does not have it; leave him alone with his higher consumption Mark I and with performance still not too far from my S e-hybrid.
The third generation Cayenne makes it seem the first one exceeded by more than a few decades, and despite I’m the first fan of the very first model, I have to say that a seemingly impossible leap has been made here. I do not only refer to the lines, now less curved but equally in tune with each other, but to the complete package that Porsche offers to those who want the flagship SUV born in Stuttgart, and which may now find their ideal model , ranging from the diesel one, passing through the S, GTS, Turbo and Turbo S. Oh yeah, then there’s this hybrid, the one this week I’m driving and that is giving me a strange desire to make a family and go to live in the countryside, since I would need a couple of good excuses to justify this purchase. You recognize it immediately by the details that do not pass unnoticed to a car guy: first of all the lime green brake calipers that recall some profiles that surround the badges and are also present inside, thanks to the needles of the instrumentation. But what do the others know, they see it only from the outside, maybe they can hear it – yes, unless you are in electric mode, where with the V6 petrol completely disabled, you’re able to cruise for a good thirty kilometer . Then the autonomy ends and the 3-liter comes into play and at that point we improvised board commanders and choose if moving in “full hybrid” with both the internal combustion engine and the electric one, or with only the power of the V6. Here we go with some numbers, because never before figures are important: the internal combustion engine is generous and quiet, you feel it barely when it enters the game due to a lack of electric range or a more decisive pressure of the right foot on the throttle. It delivers 333hp and 440Nm of torque from 3000 to 5250 rpm – and these would already be excellent numbers. But that’s not all, because the electric motor adds a correspondence of about 95hp and offers 310Nm of torque (in this case, instantly available). Follow me well, because math is not an opinion, and engineering neither (in high school I was a real disaster): in full hybrid mode, so with both engines to provide power simultaneously, the output power it is not the precise sum of the two, but 416hp and 590Nm of torque. In the latter case, the interesting part is represented by the possibility to recharge the batteries of the electric unit while driving; how? At highway speed (around 120/130 kph) or braking, for example during downhill stretches. But I would not recommend driving this Cayenne with an eye on the display, constantly looking for recharging or for the better use of the two engines, because it would become a rather grotesque disease.
The sense of the hybrid, in this case, is different from that of lower segment cars, pointing almost exclusively on eco-sustainability and practicality in large cities, but also different from that of emblazoned hypercars using the electric motor as a further boost , useful for the search of the maximum performance possible. Here we are talking about an XL size SUV, which as a puppy of a few extra pounds, asks to come with you to the office, promising not to make a mess. Recharge it completely at home and you will return without spending even one penny in petrol – laughing at your neighbor with the GPL Picanto! Ok, we have promoted the hybrid speech, though it may sound convoluted and complex at first glance (whatever you accept the fact that you will never be able to recharge the batteries of your Porsche from a Tesla column, I talk for experience!), but there are also many other factors that make you want this car because it is a Cayenne and not another model. Let’s start for example from that perfect feeling of luxury and precision that envelops you the moment you open the door and you find yourself in front of a cabin like this, finished with soft leather, with one of the most beautiful steering wheel ever seen and an 8-speed PDK gearbox, so fast, accurate and relentless. It’s like seating in a 911 wearing Hogan, but splurge it on corners as you would have done with the petrolhead’s most beloved coupe and you’ll come out with a bemused smile painted on your face – it drives like a car and it allows things that other SUVs are not able to offer. This is blue blood, it is a family matter, which is why the Cayenne is a true Porsche. In electric mode, you hear a slight hiss and a minimum tire rolling warns the old woman who is walking in the street, that there is an SUV of about € 100,000 ready to ride over – er, to dodge it! The paddles behind the steering wheel are also among the best on the market, and with their “clack” go up or down at your command, making you use the gearbox in manual mode more often than you would have ever thought. Careful not to overdo that, because you might as well consume all the fuel you have saved the previous week, using the electric unit only – but maybe the game is just that: to tighten your belt when you have to sit stuck in traffic, where to move these two tons, you would waste fuel unnecessarily, and then unleashing torque and gearbox when the road opens up and you thank heavens for having chosen a Porsche, once again.
Surely it is a subjective argument, as subjective is the choice to go for a little ‘off-road, aware that the all-wheel drive is there, but probably you would sell your grandmother just to avoid scratches to the bodywork or gratuitous violence to the fantastic 21-inch wheels. The sat-nav is exceptional, accurate and intuitive, something rare to find in stock systems today, but what is most surprising are the brakes, always ready and extremely powerful, in short, another bad boy who does nothing but entice you to go hard on the throttle. And what about performance? It is fast, it takes 5.9 seconds to sprint from 0 to 100 kph and nearly reaches 250 per hour, but the best part of going fast with this, it’s its handling, even in small roads, where many of its competitors trudging inexorably. And then you’d love to play with the display located next to the speedometer, which in addition to browse between radio stations and the various info of the car, it shows you the navigation map and the battery charge level. Maximum charge means two things: you can deal with rush hour traffic without wasting a penny, or crushing heavy on the gas because you have 416hp at hand. Fuel economy? We should write an article on its own – I wasn’t able to top the 3.5l/100km declared, but I do not even complain – and in any case, would you really choose a Porsche for its fuel consumption?
PORSCHE CAYENNE S E-HYBRID (2015-)
Layout – front-engined, all-wheel-drive
Engine – V6 cylinder 2995cc + electric engine
Transmission – 8-speed automatic gearbox
Power – 416hp (333hp+95hp electr.) @ 5500 rpm (full hybrid)
590 Nm @ 1250-4000 rpm (full hybrid)
Weight – 2350 kg
Acceleration – 5,9 sec.
Top Speed – 243 kph
Price – from 89.000 €
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