Competitors is heating up within the luxurious SUV house with Porsche’s new Cayenne Electrical. It’s the corporate’s second high-riding mannequin to eschew the combustion engine, following the Macan Electrical’s launch final 12 months. Its greater brother arrives after the BMW iX M70 and forward of a rumored electrical X5 M allegedly coming round 2028.
Trying immediately acquainted, the Cayenne Electrical doesn’t stray removed from its gasoline-fueled counterpart. Since there’s no V8 below the hood requiring heavy cooling, Porsche closes off the grille however provides air flaps within the nostril. These movable cooling slats are a part of a broader lively aero package that additionally consists of an adaptive roof spoiler. Step as much as the range-topping Turbo, and aero blades lengthen from the rear bumper’s corners.
Extra aero-friendly tweaks over a conventionally powered Cayenne embrace bespoke wheels and a redesigned rear diffuser. The electrical SUV’s underbody is sort of utterly enclosed to cut back drag, whereas the entrance incorporates air curtains beneath the acquainted headlights.
Porsche made the EV barely greater than its ICE counterpart: 196.2 inches (4985 millimeters) lengthy, 78 in (1980 mm) broad, and 65.9 in (1674 mm) tall. It’s a tad longer, wider, and decrease than the BMW iX M70. On the similar time, the large wheelbase, spanning 119 in (3,023 mm), ever so barely exceeds that of Bavaria’s M Efficiency electrical SUV.
However whereas the outside doesn’t stray too removed from a daily Cayenne, it’s a unique story inside. Porsche embraces the supersized-screen craze with a curved 12.25-inch OLED panel dominating the dashboard. To its left sits a 14.25-inch digital instrument cluster, whereas to the precise is an non-compulsory 14.9-inch passenger display. Aspect observe: It received’t be lengthy till BMW additionally crams an additional show in for the entrance passenger.
At launch, the Cayenne Electrical can be provided as a base mannequin and a warmer Turbo. The latter packs a ridiculous 1,140 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet (1,500 Newton-meters) of torque, making it essentially the most potent Porsche manufacturing automobile in historical past. Despite the fact that it’s a big and heavy electrical SUV, it delivers supercar-beating acceleration, hitting 62 mph (100 km/h) in simply two and a half seconds. It wants solely 7.4 seconds to go from a standstill to 124 mph (200 km/h) earlier than reaching a high velocity electronically capped at 162 mph (260 km/h).
Nevertheless, these output figures include an asterisk. The total punch is out there briefly and solely with Launch Management lively. In regular driving, the twin motors ship a mixed 845 horsepower. On the contact of a button, a 10-second push-to-pass perform provides 174 hp into the combination.
Follow the bottom Cayenne Electrical and also you’ll must make do with 402 hp, or 436 hp for those who activate Launch Management. Even the entry-level trim does the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) dash in a good 4.8 seconds on its technique to 143 mph (230 km/h). For reference, the BMW iX M70 maxes out at 650 hp and 1,015 Nm (749 lb-ft), sufficient to finish the dash in 3.8 seconds and attain 155 mph (250 km/h).
Circling again to the Porsche Cayenne Electrical, each the bottom and Turbo fashions share a 113-kWh battery, barely greater than the BMW’s 108.9-kWh pack. The cheaper of the 2 Cayenne EVs goes 399 miles (642 kilometers) on a single cost within the WLTP cycle, whereas the stronger variant stops after 387 miles (623 km). By comparability, the iX M70’s WLTP vary varies from 318 to 373 miles (521 to 600 km).
