Page 34 - Motor Trend (January 2020)

SUVOTY

Finalists

PRO Great all around • Fun to drive • Up to 13 miles EV range CON Questionable value • Evolutionary styling • Doesn’t check all boxes

2019 Porsche Cayenne

former SUV of the Year “wants to be when it grows up. our off-road testing as well as any
winner and the vehicle The handoff from gas to electric is other contender, fording deep
r
c
A edited with putting imperceptible every time, and you sand, enveloping washboard
Porsche back in the black, the can damn sure feel the power.” surfaces, accomplishing steep hill
Cayenne arrived at this year’s That covers our engineering ascents and descents with ease,
competition in hybrid guise. excellence criterion with ease. and literally idling through our
Although we knocked it for How efficient is it? The EPA only “frame twister,” which diagonally
its merely evolutionary exterior supplies combined estimates for hoists two wheels in the air.
design, it’s what’s inside that PHEVs, and by that measure, the The Cayenne also allowed
counts. The Cayenne’s new elec- 2019 Porsche Cayenne e-Hybrid some hooligan antics, sliding
tric motor generates more than should earn 46 mpg-e or 22 mpg around sandy bends like a rally
43 percent more power (134 hp on gas alone. On a low battery, car. I searched “fun” in judges’
and 295 lb-ft) than the previous our in-house EQUA Real mpg notes and found seven results. seats with more than eight
motor did. Plus, the battery team found it to earn 24/27/26 No other contender or finalist can ways of adjustment? $1,680. A
capacity increases by about 30 mpg city /highway/combined. match it in this regard. Porsche’s panoramic roof? Hands-free
percent (to 14.1 kW-hr) without It appears to be as efficient as performance of intended func- keyless access? Adaptive cruise
increasing in physical size. promised. tion? Nailed it. control? Ambient lighting?
With a full charge, the Despite the Cayenne’s Value, however, is also some- Heated front seats? All extra.”
Cayenne e-Hybrid will travel up to green-ish mission, this is still a thing we judge. With a starting Earning finalist status in the
13 miles on electricity alone and Porsche through and through. price of $80,950 and an as-tested MotorTrend SUV of the Year
up to a speed of 83 mph before With its turbo V-6 and electric price of $96,790, the Cayenne contest is an achievement in
waking the 335-hp, 332-lb-ft motor combined output reaching e-Hybrid was definitely near the itself. That a plug-in hybrid
internal combustion engine. 455 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of top rung of this year’s group in version of a Porsche SUV did so
“In Hybrid Auto, the car smartly torque, this Cayenne raced from 0 terms of price. Most of the stan- might surprise some. Not us. That
charges, coasts, downshifts, and to 60 mph in just 4.2 seconds, the dard advanced tech found on the Porsche can supply the kind of
more to drive in the most efficient third-quickest SUV in the field. other luxury entries is optional on experience one expects from a
and most engaging possible But it’s not just rapid. “What a the Porsche. vehicle wearing that prestigious
manner,” Seabaugh said. “I wish stupendous chassis,” Evans said. Zach Gale was pointed in his badge while also pushing the
all PHEVs were this well tuned and “It really hunkers down and drives criticism: “Oh, did you want a full boundaries of hybridization is a
integrated.” like a tall Panamera when you ask leather interior in your $80,000 very positive omen for the brand
According to Evans, this is it to. The responses are perfect.” Porsche SUV? That’ll be at least and for SUVs as a whole.
what the Lincoln Aviator hybrid Not only that, but it also took to $3,750 more. How about memory Chris Walton

SPECS 2019 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid (PHEV)
Base Price/As Tested $80,950/$96,790
Power (SAE net) 335 hp @ 5,300 rpm + 134 hp @ 2,800 rpm (elec); 455 hp comb
Torque (SAE net) 332 lb-ft @ 1,340 rpm + 295 lb-ft @ 100 rpm (elec); 516 lb-ft comb
Accel, 0-60 mph 4.2 sec
Quarter Mile 12.7 sec @ 110.2 mph
Braking, 60-0 mph 113 ft
Lateral Acceleration 0.87 g (avg)
MT Figure Eight 25.4 sec @ 0.78 g (avg)
EPA City/Hwy/Comb 13 mi EV, 22 mpg (gas)/46 mpg-e (comb)

Vehicle Layout Front-engine, AWD, 5-pass, 4-door SUV Engine/Transmission 3.0L turbo DOHC 24-valve V-6 plus elec motor Curb Weight (F/R Dist)
5,325 lb (53/47%) Wheelbase 113.9 in Length x Width x Height 193.6 x 78.0 x 64.4-68.0 in Energy Consumption, City/Hwy 153 kW-hr/100 miles (comb)
CO2 Emissions, Comb 0.88 lb/mile

34 MOTORTREND.COM JANUARY 2020