In full electric mode, the car is very quiet. As you’d expect from a car costing over £60,000, the materials used are nice to touch and look at. The only gripe we have is the amount of buttons around the dashboard - compared to newer cars, the interior is starting to look a little dated and cluttered, even if the quality is still good. If performance is your top priority, you’d be better off with one of the conventionally powered Cayenne models, but as hybrid SUVs go, there are few out there as fun to drive as the Cayenne S E-Hybrid.īuild quality is excellent, as is the finish of the interior. This shouldn’t matter too much anyway, as the intention is owners will only use the mode when they’re stuck in traffic or driving around town. In pure electric mode, the car is hushed and comfortable but slow. The car’s automatic eight-speed Tiptronic S gearbox works well and can be controlled by paddles behind the steering wheel when you want to change gears yourself. What’s more, the electric motor fills in with extra power when the V6 isn’t at peak power, which makes the power delivery feel even smoother. Once you’ve learned how the car behaves, it’s easy to adjust your driving style to suite the hybrid Cayenne’s strengths smooth, fluid steering inputs lead to precise cornering and the V6 engine sounds good as the revs rise. The hybrid is 270kg heavier than the Cayenne S, which has the hybrid’s V6 petrol engine without the electric motor, and the added weight means the suspension struggles when you attempt to change direction quickly. While the extra bulk of the batteries doesn’t slow the car down too much in a straight line, it’s more noticeable when you take corners at speed. The car will need its first service at two years/20,000 miles, before a major service after four years/40,000 miles. The S E-Hybrid is rated in group 49 for insurance, meaning your policy will be expensive. Porsche offers a three-year/unlimited-mileage warranty on all its new cars. If the starting price of the car isn’t too much of an obstacle, the hybrid Cayenne actually makes a relatively appealing company car because its low emissions mean it gets a low Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) rating of 13%-17%. However, if you want to exploit more of the car’s power, calling on the petrol engine, too, then economy will take a big hit – expect nearer 20mpg than 80mpg if you’re driving enthusiastically. Obviously if you only use the car for short trips around town and you have the opportunity to charge it between trips, it’ll be very cheap to run. The hybrid Cayenne is capable of travelling around 22 miles in electric-only mode, which helps it achieve the impressive official economy figure.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |