My first ride in the new Porsche Cayenne Turbo came at the tail-end of last year, around a Leipzig test track. It felt brutally quick from the front passenger seat. I’ve just had another lightning-fast experience, only this time sat in the back, and wow: the brief jaunt confirmed just how rapidly the electric SUV gets on down the road. If your kids like to go fast, it’ll certainly appeal. If they don’t? Err…
I couldn’t help but wonder if, with the Cayenne Turbo, Porsche has developed something a little too fast. Presumably the folks at Porsche think not, having equipped the luxury model with twin electric motors and over 1000 horsepower. Engage launch control and it gets a colossal 1106lb-ft of torque, resulting in some truly impressive official figures. Zero to 62mph arrives in just 2.5 seconds and 124mph is achievable in less than 7.5.
The Porsche Cayenne Turbo felt eager to impress as we barrelled along a test loop at the VW Group’s Slovakia manufacturing plant, where the SUV has recently started production. With the synthetic engine sound switched on for added effect, I could tell the driver was in his element giving us unsuspecting passengers the rides of their life. The front seat occupant yelped and gasped for air as we took off from a rolling start and sped up along the straight.
Glancing at the speedo, we hit 225kph (around 140mph) with a prod of the ‘push-to-pass’ boost button, without any fuss and not a million miles short of the 162mph top speed. Braking was just as aggressive too, with enormous discs and callipers stopping the Porsche Cayenne Turbo swiftly.
The battery is built for speed too. The 113kWh pack can be charged at speeds up to 390kW via an 800-volt charging system, or enough to go from 10 to 80 percent in 16 minutes. Powertrain recuperation of up to 600kW also helps supplement energy levels on the go.
An inductive home charging system promises extra convenience. This involves installing a large pad on the floor of your garage or driveway; then you can charge at up to 11kW without having to fuss about with plugs or cables.
Driving the Porsche Cayenne rapidly will likely munch through that capacity quickly – let’s not forget this bulky SUV weighs over 2,600kg – but Porsche designers have used a raft of modern production techniques to lessen the load. It results in a claimed 387 miles of range, only slightly down from the base Cayenne’s 398. The low-slung battery pack is also an integral part of the floorpan, which helps lower the centre of gravity.
Air suspension and Porsche’s Active Ride tech mean this upright SUV seems to get around corners just as well as it goes in a straight line. We went so fast around a bend at the test track, albeit banked, that it reminded me of the neck-snapping time I took a passenger ride in a Red Bull air race aircraft. The corner also induced more shrieks from the front seat occupant.
How would kids handle this sort of power from a boisterous, show-off parent I wondered as the driver dialled it back down and we returned to our starting point. The Porsche Cayenne Turbo is an electric dream and I’m really looking forward to driving it for myself. Whether or not I’d throw it around quite like the test track driver did seems unlikely. Besides, where realistically, is it feasible and safe to exploit the power of this mighty SUV? Germany’s autobahn is an obvious place, but I don’t live in Germany. Maybe it’s time to move…
The electric Porsche Cayenne Turbo will cost £130,900 and those order books are open now.
- Related: Tesla ends production of the Model S and Model X, here are three EVs you should buy instead
