Styling
Like any of the facelifted Mk3 Cayennes, the S E-Hybrid wears the new front-end design, which includes a fresh design of bonnet, resculpted front wings, a tweaked bumper and technical-looking LED headlights. Around the sides, no major changes are forthcoming, so at the back it's worth noting the more defined light strip across the boot and, again, a reshaped bumper. We're testing the Coupe here, but if you stick with the regular SUV Cayenne then perhaps the most noticeable update is the relocation of the rear numberplate from the bootlid previously, to the bumper housing here. That makes both SUV and Coupe look more closely related when viewed from behind. Like any Porsche PHEV E-Hybrid, the new S version has Acid Green-tinged badging and brake callipers as standard, the former relating to both the boot iconography and the italic-scripted 'e-hybrid' legend on the SUV's front wings.
Of course, owners can choose spec options which either get rid of the green-edged writing or they can upgrade the brakes with a selection of calliper colours, so really the only differences between this and the 470hp E-Hybrid are its 20-inch Cayenne S alloys in Vesuvius Grey as standard, quad tailpipes at the rear instead of a pair of boxier exits, and the 'Cayenne S' badge on the bootlid. The hybrid nature of any Cayenne PHEV is, naturally, given away by the fact it appears to have a fuel filler cap on both of its rear three-quarter panels, but obviously one of them is the charging port.
Interior
Again, like the exterior, the Cayenne S benefits from the updates that the rest of the Porsche SUV range has received. So there's a 12.6-inch, cowlless digital instrument cluster, similar to the one you'd find in a Taycan EV, behind the steering wheel, while the gear selector has moved from the transmission tunnel up onto the dashboard, next to the steering wheel. This frees up space in the central storage area, allowing Porsche to now fit a wireless smartphone charging pad which is not only powerful, at 15 watts, but which will also cool your phone while it charges up. Neat. An option includes the 10.9-inch passenger-side display, bringing the screen count in the front of the Cayenne up to three if you so wish, and the brilliance here is that when the passenger is using it, clever covering films and software graphics mean the driver only sees a blank panel - so there's no fear of distraction while you're on the move.
Practicality
With the Cayenne S E-Hybrid available in the same SUV and Coupe body styles as the rest of the range, the obvious practicality winner is the regular-shaped model. It has more rear headroom and a larger 545-litre boot, rising to an ultimate 1,557 litres with the back bench of seats folded away. The Coupe, by comparison, totes 404-1,344 litres, which are not great numbers for an SUV of this size and class - and they're comparatively low because the positioning of the E-Hybrids' battery packs is under the boot floor; regular petrol Cayenne SUVs, for instance, have upwards of 700 litres of boot space to play with - but overall the flat floor and 40:20:40 split-folding rear seats make the cargo area good enough for most people's needs. Viewed in isolation, head- and kneeroom are actually OK in the back of the Cayenne S E-Hybrid, too, despite the fact all Coupe Cayennes are fitted with a panoramic sunroof as standard, an item that can often reduce headroom rather than improve it.
Performance
The Cayenne E-Hybrid continues much as it did before, going from 462hp prior to the facelift to 470hp now. At the other end of the scale, the Turbo E-Hybrid might have lost its small but significant 'S' signifier during this round of updates, but don't be fooled by that. With monster outputs of 739hp/950Nm, it is comfortably the most powerful Cayenne the company has ever built and also the most powerful vehicle it has ever fitted with an internal combustion engine of some kind, save for the 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar of ten years ago.
That leaves the S E-Hybrid as the new kid in the range, but let's get something that might be a disappointment out of the way first: while the related
Cayenne S pure petrol model has reverted to using a V8 for the first time in years, the S E-Hybrid sticks with the 3.0-litre V6 used in the basic E-Hybrid instead. The changes here are basically that the petrol engine delivers an additional 49hp and 80Nm in the S E-Hybrid, raising overall outputs to 519hp and 750Nm - those compare to 470hp and 650Nm maximums in the E-Hybrid.
It doesn't do a huge amount for the performance, the S adding 5mph to the top speed for a 163mph system maximum, while also trimming two-tenths from the E-Hybrid's 0-62mph benchmark sprint with a 4.7-second run; that's exactly as quick as the 474hp, lighter, V8-powered Cayenne S petrol, for reference.
But, again like all Cayenne E-Hybrids in the update, the best changes come with the electric side of the powertrain. The e-motor, sequestered in an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic, delivers 130kW (176hp) and 450Nm all on its ownsome. Previously, the same numbers were 100kW (136hp) and 400Nm. There's also a much larger battery, rated at 25.9kWh now when it was 17.9kWh prior. It even charges quicker, thanks to 11kW AC capability in the Cayenne PHEV, so you can top it up to 100 per cent in just two-and-a-half hours on the right connection.
What it means is that the Cayenne S E-Hybrids all-electric driving range is in the order of 40-45 miles, or thereabouts, while the quoted fuel economy and CO
2 stats are 166.2mpg and anything up to 39g/km. You can still do up to 84mph on the electric motor alone, but those on-paper numbers - whether they're ever truly achievable in real life or not - do at least help the Cayenne with various taxation benefits.
On the move, the V6 makes an appealing, if muted, gravelly snarl, which is not quite as alluring as the V8 bellow you'd get in the Turbo E-Hybrid, but it still has more than enough acoustic enticement of its own. Coupled together, the performance is every bit as strong as 519hp/750Nm suggests, even though the powertrain is having to shove 2.5 tonnes of Cayenne PHEV up the road for its troubles. Certainly, no one should accuse the S E-Hybrid of being actively slow, at any rate, because it's as powerful and as torque-rich as you'd expect of a grand, luxurious Porsche model.
The Tiptronic, by the way, is fitted rather than the PDK dual-clutch unit because it helps with towing, something that Cayenne owners are fond of doing every once in a while. The gearbox, which is super-smooth and really beyond reproach in normal operation, means that the S E-Hybrid can tow up to 3.5 tonnes of braked trailer, which is the maximum approved mass (MAM) allowed for passenger cars. It, alone of plug-in hybrid SUVs, is the only one capable of that right now, as a combination of its torque and its own bulk means the gross vehicle weight (GVW) of SUV and trailer together does not become too much, even with 3,500kg hooked up behind it. Again, as a point of reference, the more powerful/torquey Turbo E-Hybrids are restricted to 3,000kg of braked trailer, simply because they have a heavier combustion engine than the S E-Hybrid possesses.
Ride & Handling
Modest performance gains aside, there's one crucial area where the Cayenne S E-Hybrid Coupe's price premium over its E-Hybrid equivalent is worthwhile, and that's in the suspension department. It gets two-chamber air springs as standard, whereas that's a cost option on the base Porsche SUV PHEV, and it's definitely a system to have fitted to your Cayenne.
The reason is it teams brilliantly with the new Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) dampers, which now have two valves - one for compression, one for rebound. Previously, one valve had to do both jobs, so although pre-facelift Cayennes sitting on air had three-chamber technology, it's that damper change which has elicited the magic combination for the Porsche: namely, improved refinement,
and sharper handling to boot.
On the latter score, although it's every bit as heavy as the old Turbo S E-Hybrid Cayenne was, the new S E-Hybrid never feels it. There's much greater agility from the coupe-SUV as it jinks one way and then the other in rapid direction changes, while the braking is quite natural-feeling (impressive, given the stoppers have to do regenerative work for the hybrid gear). Porsche's steering remains nigh-on immaculate, the Cayenne blessed with an immediate and beautifully weighted set-up that means you can place the S E-Hybrid Coupe to within the millimetre on roads with the greatest of confidence. Less internal combustion engine-related weight over the nose also makes the S E-Hybrid keener for turn-in, and less resistant to any signs of scruffy understeer, than the larger Turbo E-Hybrid model.
But Cayennes have always been among the best, most physics-defying SUVs to drive, so a slight honing of that character of the car is not as remarkable as the increased refinement. Honestly, rolling about town in this mighty vehicle feels like you're driving a city car. It's light on its feet and doesn't thump nor crash about the place, while the well-calibrated controls ensure low-speed manoeuvring and darting into traffic are both a doddle. Despite running on large 20s with narrow-profile rubber at all corners, the Cayenne S E-Hybrid soaks up imperfections in the road with real grace, ensuring nothing much disturbs the comfort levels of the occupants within.
And once the speeds start to rise, so too does your appreciation of what Porsche's engineers have wrought here. You remain thoroughly acoustically isolated from the tyres' huge contact patches, while an aerodynamic shape ensures the Cayenne cuts through the air, if not soundlessly, then at least getting very close in that direction. The blend of ride comfort to body control is also impeccable when you're out on faster-flowing roads, which means that Porsche's new two-valve PASM dampers and fancy air suspension must be qualified as a roaring success. Whether it comes to road-holding or rolling refinement, to drive in all feasible circumstances the new Cayenne PHEV is right up there with the very best rivals of its type.
Value
The Cayenne S E-Hybrid adds various useful bits of kit to the E-Hybrid Coupe, some of which are mere visual fripperies - grey alloys, quad tailpipes and so on - while others have real merit, such as the increased drivetrain outputs and the standard fitment of air suspension with PASM. It is the inclusion of this last item, as well as all the other small upgrades, that makes us think the £8,200 price walk from the 470hp Cayenne PHEV to the 519hp version is worth it. Even if we're not about to say that a £90,100 SUV with a rather small boot is what you could exactly call a bargain...
Verdict
Porsche has decided not to throw the baby out with the bathwater here, enacting various carefully considered but oh-so-worthwhile technical updates to its third-generation Cayenne as part of a modest midlife facelift. That there are, at the time of writing, now more PHEV drivetrain choices in the line-up than pure petrol options - you have three E-Hybrids to go at, with just the V6 Cayenne and V8 Cayenne S as your non-electrified alternatives - is not surprising, as Porsche has to cut its fleet CO
2 emissions and the Cayenne would, without the hybrid gear, be an expensive thing to run for anyone, no matter how deep their pockets.
However, as you'd expect of Porsche, all the Cayenne E-Hybrids are brilliantly executed vehicles: large, opulent SUVs that are great for handling on the one hand, and thoroughly sophisticated and civilised urban chariots on the other. Our pick of the E-Hybrid range is the new S E-Hybrid for its partricularly delightful blend of attributes, but it's not just the best within its own family - it's probably one of the very best high-end SUVs you can pick, full stop.
