Nothing inspires mixed emotions quite like a performance plug-in hybrid. At first, it seems like a perfect middle ground between gas and electric. There’s smooth, emissions-free driving for running around town, big range and quick refueling for long trips, and huge performance when you let the engine and motor work in tandem.
The new Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid does offer all that. But, it’s not quite as simple as having your cake and eating it too.
| Quick Specs | 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe |
| Engine | Twin-Turbo 4.0-Liter V-8 PHEV |
| Output | 729 Horsepower / 700 Pound-Feet |
| 0-60 MPH | 3.5 Seconds |
| Weight | 5,719 Pounds |
| Base Price / As Tested | $153,050 / $191,230 |
Porsche facelifted the third-generation Cayenne for the 2024 model year, and the changes are extensive. For the plug-in hybrid models, the battery capacity increases from 14.1 kilowatt-hours to 25.9 kilowatt-hours, which brings a big bump in electric range. The motor also gets an increase from 134 to 174 horsepower, and combined with a revised twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8, the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid produces a ripping 729 hp and 700 lb-ft of torque. That’s more than the old Turbo S E-Hybrid. More than any combustion SUV out there now, save the mechanically similar Lamborghini Urus SE.
But there is a price to pay for this blending of combustion and electricity—and not just the steep $158,995 base price of the 2025 model (our tester was a 2024). Porsche quotes a curb weight of 5,719 pounds for this Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe. The Cayenne GTS Coupe, which uses the same V-8 without the hybrid system, weighs nearly 700 pounds less.
The whole thing is a little absurd. Not just the weight figure on its own, I mean the whole thing. A luxury SUV that nods toward efficiency and the need to reduce our environmental impact but also has a twin-turbo V-8 and weighs as much as two original Boxsters. It’s just so much car.
Pros: Huge Performance, Incredible Ride & Handling, Good Electric Range
The weight dominates everything. Admittedly, this Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid coupe handles its weight as well as it can, thanks to the optional rear-wheel steering and active anti-roll systems. It’s freakishly agile and body roll is kept to an absolute minimum when you put it into Sport Plus mode, where the car lowers on its air springs and stiffens up its adaptive dampers. Through corners, this Cayenne doesn’t feel its weight whatsoever.
Steering is precise as you’d expect from a Porsche, but surprisingly light. And below 50 miles per hour, when the rear wheels are calibrated to turn in the opposite direction of the fronts, there’s this slightly unnatural sense of the car castering around that takes a bit to get used to.
Porsche revised the springs and dampers for all facelifted Cayenne models, and here, they provide an uncanny-good spread of soft, cushion-y ride quality and sport-sedan-like handling. Even on the optional 22-inch wheels, big bumps barely make a blip. Basically, it rides and handles in a way that is entirely divorced from its huge weight and tall ride height.
Still, you’re always conscious of the weight under braking. Even slowing down at low speeds for a stop sign, you can feel all that mass shifting around beneath you. It never feels quite right. Also not helping matters is the fact that the braking is inconsistent. It’s always a challenge to blend regenerative braking from the motor and friction braking, especially when you have carbon-ceramic rotors, as our tester does.
Cons: Enormous Curb Weight, Expensive, Poor Fuel Economy With Dead Battery
Coming to a complete stop around town, you always end up getting a bit more braking than you want. The motor drives through the Cayenne’s eight-speed automatic, so when you’re coming to a stop, the car has to balance motor regeneration with downshifts. You don’t feel the shifts, but the sensation is similar to aggressive engine braking. Trying to be perfectly smooth rolling to an intersection is a real challenge.
Occasionally the hybrid system hiccups when getting up to speed too, but once you’re going, it’s all very smooth. The engine cuts in and out seamlessly, and the motor is always ready to deliver a wallop of torque.
It’s silly quick, unsurprisingly. The electric motor and engine combine to make the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid feel like it’s got a supercharged Chevy V-8 under the hood. You go to pass someone on the highway, and the eight-speed auto downshifts a gear, maybe two, before an endless surge of power. Get on it hard from a low gear, and it’s even more eye-opening. Performance like this was not long ago exclusive to upper-echelon 911s.
This might be heretical to say, but it sounds better than a lot of new 911s, too. As part of the Lightweight Sports Package—a laughable line item for a 5,700-pound car—you get a center-exit sports exhaust, and it’s raucous. Even in its quiet modes, there’s an ever-present burble from the V-8 and a muscle-car thunder with the valves fully open. It’s childish and totally addictive.
Still, the harder you get on it, the more fuel you’re going to burn. Which is, of course, obvious, and normally not a concern in a hi-po SUV. But in a little over a week with the car, I couldn’t stop thinking about fuel economy. I imagined a guilt-free yet powerful V-8 experience, and while the hybrid system can decrease fuel consumption, it doesn’t turn this Porsche into a Prius.
As with all plug-in hybrids, you have to charge it often. Updated Cayenne hybrids get an 11-kilowatt on-board AC charger, so if you have the right setup at home, you should be able to get a full battery in around two and a half hours. And the range is excellent. The EPA says it’ll do 24 miles on a charge, but I regularly saw figures closer to 40 miles.
If you’re driving around town slowly, you’ll get great fuel economy. Hell, you can leave the Cayenne in E-Power mode and the V-8 will never even turn on until you get on the throttle hard. Longer trips at higher speeds are a mixed bag, though. I drove the car 200 miles and back mostly on the highway, but with about 20 miles of slow New York City traffic. With a full battery, I managed nearly 27 mpg compared to 22 mpg with around a quarter of a battery. It’s not nothing! But, it’s still conspicuous consumption.
Ultimately, you’re left with something that's the best of both worlds, and the worst of both worlds. Under the right circumstances, you can get a big efficiency benefit from the hybrid system, but at other times, it’s a lot of extra weight to carry around.
Philosophically, the base Cayenne E-Hybrid and Cayenne S E-Hybrid probably make more sense, pairing a lighter, more efficient V-6 with the same battery and motor. But, the performance and speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick personality typical of a Porsche Turbo is undeniable. I like this thing a lot, even though I also find it totally ridiculous and suspect that it’s likely not quite as satisfying as a pure gas car, or a full EV.
And this being a review of a Porsche, we can’t end before talking about the price. It is so damned expensive. Notably, the base price between this 2024 test car and the equivalent 2025 model jumped from $153,050 to $163,945. The as-tested price of this one rises from $191,230 to just under $200,000. You can skip a lot of the options our tester has, like the $9,070 carbon-ceramic brakes and the $10,700 Lightweight Sport Package (though it is the only way to get these amazing houndstooth seats). Still, it’s a very expensive car no matter how you slice it.
I suppose it’s natural for a complicated car to engender complicated feelings. Some moments, you love it. Others, you’re baffled by it. And often, you’re left astonished by just how silly it is. I sort of want one, and I’m slightly disturbed by that notion.
Like I said earlier, mixed emotions.
Competitors
Gallery: 2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Review
2024 Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe
