Gawd it’s excessive. Everything about it. Porsche’s all-electric Cayenne Turbo could’ve arrived with a level of restraint, but that’s not really the ‘Porsche Turbo way’, is it? Go the full Hail Mary. Deliver the numbers that simply don’t make sense.
I’ve engaged launch control. Brake and accelerator to the floor, I come off the left pedal and surge is immediate, crushing and utterly surreal. I go dizzy as blood shifts from the front to the rear of my brain, and it feels like the bulk of my innards have shifted to the back of my rib cage.
At 2.5 seconds to 100km/h, this (for now) ultimate Cayenne Electric is Porsche’s most powerful and joint-quickest accelerating production car ever, along with the new 911 Turbo S.
For a company steeped in high performance, weight-stripped two-door specials, the fact the title is now held by a 2645kg large SUV EV that can tow 3500kg and offer solid off-road skills is as bonkers as its on-paper numbers.
A twin electric motor setup offers up to 850kW and 1500Nm with Launch Control; 200km/h is seen in 7.4 seconds, battery is a mega and weighty 108kWh (usable) unit, and we’re promised, if you find an ultra-fast charger, it’ll go from 10 to 80 per cent full in a coffee break-like 16 minutes with its 390kW DC charging ability.
Do you need such performance from a large SUV? Of course not. Porsche may suggest Cayenne Turbo Electric owners will hit the track (and 420mm/370mm brake rotors will help), but let’s not kid ourselves. It’s no GT3 RS, and as with 911 Turbo S buyers, owning one is often just about the flex of having the one with the most brag-worthy numbers.
Cayenne (base) and Cayenne S Electrics are also offered, and frankly are more than spritely enough. Hitting 4.8s and 3.8s to 100km/h respectively, these have 542km and 571km EV range, while our flagship Turbo manages 537km. Prices are from $167,800 the base, $193,100 the S and then a mighty leap to our $259,900 Turbo, all before on-roads.
Coupe body style versions of each add another few grand.
You’ll no doubt be aware of the muddle Porsche has got itself into in ditching petrol for EV-only offerings – Exhibit A: the Macan – so the current combustion Cayennes will continue alongside these new electrics. By 2029, we believe, all-new petrol/plug-ins Cayennes will arrive.
How does the Cayenne Turbo Electric drive?
But back to the new EV. I won’t bury the headline: Porsche has created a superb large SUV here. Performance is otherworldly, but it’s backed by impressive ride comfort and quiet, then the handling clout as best can be expected of something so hefty. It’s simply an extremely special car to be in and to pilot.
Adaptive air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management comes as standard, and all our test Turbos had additional (madly expensive at $17,480) Active Ride, which uses the SUV’s 800-volt electrical system to “actively push or pull on each individual wheel, to completely eliminate body roll, pitch and dive.”
Suggesting it “completely eliminates” such things feels a bit far-fetched, but on twisty, tight Adelaide Hills roads I was struggling to find anything other that mystifyingly flat handling, allied with excellent steering feel and bitingly-strong brakes.
But this was at legal road speeds; I’ll jealously leave it to others to find out its corner-scything behaviour and body control around the Nürburgring.
I can tell you that if you put this Turbo EV into Sport Plus mode for road driving, the throttle response is so immediate and the acceleration so pinning that you can get into a lot of trouble very quickly indeed.
It never stops being impressive, but seriously, for daily road use, it’s just way too much. Leave it in Comfort and sling the simulated exhaust note to max and it’s the best blend.
Speaking of noise, you can have it in whisper quiet mode (although there’s a bit of rumble from the 22-inch Michelins), but toggle the menu and you can select the Sport Plus sound. There’s a lush rumble to it, feeling so genuinely V8 you soon forget it’s a manufactured sound. The noise intensifies if you press the “push to pass” button (really), giving you 10sec of even more boost.
The wheels somehow grab traction, it’s a raucous note, but good grief three figures comes up in licence-losing speed.
In town or on highway the ride is expectedly settled, and in Comfort mode things can be kept smooth on a gentle throttle. If you like your Porsches comfortable and rich in luxe, the Cayenne Turbo has you covered here too.
Exterior design? Subjective, of course, but to my eyes the EV’s front end is too soft, stubby and almost fish-like with its lack of proper front grille.
The wagon-back version, however, looks superb and muscular in profile on its lowest suspension setting, while the Coupe’s rear end looks decidedly sporty. Overall not as pretty as the Macan EV, but kudos to Porsche for making its largest offering not appear too cumbersome.
What is the Cayenne Turbo Electric’s interior and tech like?
The cabin’s a standout. Centrepiece is a 14.2-inch curved touchscreen, which is just about easy enough to use thanks to a padded hand rest. Smartly, knurled metal toggles sit at the screen’s base to quickly operate temperature and fan speed.
There’s a digital driver display too, and although this combo takes some learning, customisation is excellent, the user experience and graphics delightful and cameras as crystal as you’d expect for this money.
Rich leather seats have all levels of adjustability, heating and cooling (no massage, stingily), while the steering wheel could be mistaken for a 911’s. Subtly stitched, small in the hands, chunky in the right places, and with minimal, clicky controls. A drive mode selector dial by your right thumb remains one of Porsche’s finest design innovations of recent times.
Interior presentation, build quality and style all overflow, although I will pick on the overly-thin plastickiness of the centre console’s sliding cover. Old-school “Turbo” font on the centre armrest, however, harking back to Porsche 930 days, stole my heart.
Other touches of class include a fixed panoramic roof, four-zone climate control, carbon interior trim, Bose surround sound, and the most wonderful ($1750 option) grab handles I’ve ever felt – padded and coated in Race-Tex suede. And in the Turbo, these will be in regular use.
Rear seat space is good for headroom (even in the Coupe), and leg room’s fine, although you’re presented with hard plastic seat backs ahead. There are electric window blinds (I can see kids breaking these), seat comfort and touchpoints are excellent, although the rear seat base doesn’t slide.
The boot’s also not the biggest: 747L in the wagon, just 500L for the Coupe, although both benefit from a 90L frunk, ideal for charge cables. Alas, no spare wheel, which could prove problematic if you plan adventuring.
Although we didn’t have the opportunity, reports are this Cayenne EV is an accomplished off-roader, and with that 3.5-tonne towing ability, it’s intriguing to imagine what some well-heeled Cayenne Turbo EV owners will get up to.
Picking from the options list will be their first task. And it’s here some things get laughable.
Plucking out a few, try $9630 for Burmester 3D audio, $5020 for augmented reality head-up display, $4970 leather inner door sill guards, $750 illuminated seat belt buckles, $7250 orange cabin stitching, $21,240 ceramic brakes, $3570 rear axle steering and a $4010 off-road package.
When paying over a quarter-mil, you’d be forgiven for expecting some of the above to be chucked in. But go easy on the options, and considering the performance here, this Turbo can be seen as a bargain hypercar in practical five-seat large SUV form.
If picking, the 537km range doesn’t push the Cayenne into the “luxury of rarely charging” set such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz are now offering, but our 21.6kWh use on test (with some rapid launches) shows Porsche’s range promise to be about trustworthy.
The honest verdict
This electric Cayenne Turbo is an overall triumph, no question. The ultimate iteration of a luxurious, brilliant-to-drive EV with the expected Porsche masterclass of performance, ride quality and cabin specialness.
If you have the funds and must own the King, the Turbo is all yours. But “lesser” Cayenne EVs have all the performance and class most mortals require, and appear the smarter pick.
Gloss over that, and there are no wrong choices here. Unless, of course, you fancy waiting for the new petrol V8 ones…
