Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe GT Package review: long on name, big on ability

4.0 out of 5

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Alongside all the sporty stuff, the quality of the Cayenne interior is hugely impressive – as is the tech. The widescreen infotainment system is crystal clear, brilliantly effective and simple to use, while the confusing array of buttons from Cayennes of old is long gone. There’s a sensible amount of space inside, too, with decent legroom in the back and 434 litres of boot space. Of course, this can be extended to 1,344 litres if you want to take a quick (and we mean quick) trip to the tip.

That GT steering wheel is lovely to hold with a Sport Response button to instantly give you maximum fizz for 20 seconds. Alternatively, you can twist through the various drive modes, taking you from fast to rocket ship – this sizeable SUV will get from 0-62mph in just 3.6 seconds.

This Porsche isn’t quite perfect, though. You can use the modes to keep it running on battery power for as long and as much as possible – and Porsche says it will go nearly 45 miles on electricity alone thanks to a larger 25.9kWh battery. 

The steering provides more accuracy and feedback than you’d expect from an SUV, while the Porsche Active Suspension Management system, along with Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus and a lower ride height, do their best to disguise the height and weight through all kinds of corners. We doubt there’d be many faster SUVs around a track – even if referring to SUVs and tracks does sound a little odd.

Although we were on a circuit, this will be the firmest of Cayennes on road. But when we were pootling around away from the main straight and in the gentlest of drive modes, the ride quality actually felt fine – and not as bruising as fast SUVs used to be.

What is really refreshing from a car with a decent slug of electric power is the noise this Cayenne makes. The titanium exhaust makes a fantastic sound that makes you forget about the electric boost that’s doing so much to help the car along. This setup saves weight, too.

Not that efficiency will be high on the list of many Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupé buyers requirements, but for the record, the official figures claim a frankly ridiculous 148.7mpg if you drive in the manner those official tests require – that is, plugging in as often as possible.

CO2 emissions of 43 g/km means there is some tax advantage to running this plug-in hybrid after all, especially if you’re lucky enough to consider one as a company car. Which will come in handy with a list price of £154,000 without any of the many tempting but expensive options…

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