Porsche Cayenne Electric

The Cayenne, as we all know it has always been a gasoline powered SUV from Porsche that combines performance and daily use practicality for people who want the best of both worlds. However, Porsche has now launched the electric version of the Cayenne, which brings some mind boggling performance to the package. It is available in two variants, Electric and Turbo Electric. 

For people who still prefer to burn some fuel, the gasoline powered Cayenne is still on sale in both SUV and coupe body styles, but if you want the latest of what the Cayenne nameplate has to offer, that to you will get with the electric version only. 

The Porsche Cayenne Electric goes against some really heavy machinery like Lotus Eletre, Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV and the upcoming Range Rover Electric. Let's take a look at what it packs.

The styling of the Cayenne Electric looks very familiar, with hints of the Taycan and of course, inspiration from the standard Cayenne. 

There isn't much typical SUV styling or ruggedness in the body because Porsche has crafted it for being as aerodynamically efficient as possible. As a result, the nose looks thick and bulbous even, but has very clean and smooth surfaces with a minimalistic styling. It has air channels towards the side of the bumper, while the massive lower air dam with active air flaps. The air vents on the sides are a bit larger in the turbo version. 

The matrix LED headlights sit above, towards the edge of the bonnet and have a very similar shape to what we've seen in the Taycan.

In profile, the curves of the Cayenne become apparent and the silhouette has hints of a shooting brake bodystyle with its slightly sloping roofline, long wheelbase and big trunk area. 20-inch alloy wheels are offered as standard, but with Porsche's customization options, the sky is the limit; the limit being 22 inches. 

The light strip at the rear has to be the most striking detail in that profile, with its distinctive 3D look and animated graphics. Even the Porsche lettering is illuminated here, and the bumper has aggressive diffuser design. The turbo variant looks more serious and hunkered-down in the design with body color diffuser and large vertical airwaves on the bumper sites too that extend for improving aerodynamics. 

There are plenty of exterior colour shades to choose from as Porsche offers 9 standard colour options with the Cayenne Electric: White, Chromite Black Metallic, Vanadium Grey Metallic, Carrara White Metallic, Dolomite Silver Metallic, Mystic Green Metallic, Madeira Gold Metallic, Algarve Blue Metallic, and Napali Blue Metallic.

For an additional Rs 5.1 lakh, you get four more options to choose from, and if you don’t mind spending a sub-4m SUV worth of cash on your exterior colours, then the Paint to Sample has endless possibilities for customisation.

The cabin of the Cayenne Electric is very modern Porsche. The dashboard design is simple, but everywhere you see you'll find a screen as it spans across the width of the dashboard and even into the central console. You get the classic 3 Sport signature Porsche steering wheel for pilot duties, and as for the theme, there are multiple options to choose from. 

Front Seats

Porsche offers comfort seats as standard equipment which are eight way power adjustable and offer you good support. Along with the front central armrest, there is tilt and telescopic adjustment for the steering wheel as well to find a comfortable or sporty driving position, whatever you may wish for. If you want more adjustability in these seats, you can choose for an upgrade which will cost you from anywhere between Rs 1.8 lakh to Rs 2.36 lakh. Ventilation and heating features for the front passenger will further cost you extra cash. 

Rear Seats

The Cayenne Electric gets a bench at the rear with three adjustable headrests, but it will be best used as a four-seater. Because of the shape of the seats, the under thigh support for the middle passenger is really restricted and you will be only comfortable sitting directly behind the front passengers. 

For comfort, rear passengers get a central armrest and rear sun shades.

The Cayenne Electric is high on tech and features, and the amount of customization options that are available, if you are willing to spend some extra cash, make that comfort package even better. 

Unlike other infotainment systems, the central infotainment system is a curved OLED display. It sits alongside the 14.25-inch digital drivers display, while the 14.9-inch passenger display is an optional fitment. There is also a head up display with AR technology available with 87-inches of display area which projects feed 10 meters ahead in front of the vehicle. 

A panoramic sunroof and ambient lighting are offered as standard fitments. 

But if you want a really premium experience with all the bells and whistles, and creature comforts like a branded audio system, more adjustments in the seats with ventilation, heating and massaging functions as well, you will have to spend extra cash for all those features. 

Standard safety equipment on the Porsche Cayenne Electric includes multiple airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX mounts, and a host of electronic assists.

The Cayenne Electric has a 5-star crash test rating by Euro NCAP.

The Porsche Cayenne Electric has a massive boot space of 781-litre, which is expandable up to 1588-litre.It also has a 90-litre front luggage compartment.

Both the standard car and Turbo Electric have the same battery pack. However, the output varies significantly between the two variants. As associated with Porsche cars carrying the Turbo badge historically, the cars carrying this badge are the more performance oriented version and the Cayenne Turbo Electric too is the same with over 1000 horsepower and 0 to 100 time of just 2.5 seconds. 

To put that performance into context, the Lamborghini Revuelto, which is the V12-powered hybrid flagship supercar, takes the same time to hit 100 kmph from a standstill. 

*With launch control

Thanks to a 800 Volt architecture, the Cayenne has a DC fast charging capacity of up to 400 kW, which can take the charge from 10 to 80% in less than 16 minutes. Interestingly, the Cayenne Electric is also the first production car in the world to feature wireless charging capacities using a 11 kW inductive charging pad, so no hassle of plugging in the vehicle for a charge.

As per Porsche, in everyday usage, about 97% of all the braking operations of the car and electric can be handled purely by the electric motors with the mechanical friction brakes really need to intervene. But if you plan your driving your practical electric SUV hard, the Turbo can also be optioned with Porsche's optional ceramic composite brakes (PCCB).

To make sure the car handles well and is comfortable when needed, both the variants get Porsche's Active Suspension Management with adaptive air suspension as standard, and there's also a whole load of electronic trickery and rear axle steering wheel, which helps aid in driving dynamics.

The Porsche Cayenne Electric seems like all the SUV one would ever need. It's got the space, it's got the practicality, it's got the badge value, it's definitely got the performance, and it has the range as well for long distance touring. The turbo variant further offers you a more focused performance oriented version, and if you still want your Cayenne to be powered by a fuel burning engine, you still have that option too. The price tag might be eye watering but it's a lot of car for the price as well.