The Cayenne Coupé’s engine range is broad enough to meet almost any requirement, save perhaps for those few customers who might still prefer a fast diesel. The pure-petrol V8s are torquey and mellifluous and can be ostentatious and vocal at high revs when working hard in range-topping models – and they always feel potent. The V6 PHEVs are slick, quiet, smooth and quite refined, and should meet the needs of those looking for a tax-efficient luxury SUV almost as well as any competitor. And if you’re simply looking for the model that’ll do it all and be refined and luxurious as well, a fairly stock Cayenne S is probably the way to go.
Then there’s the top-of-the-range Turbo E-Hybrid PHEV, which really does do it all. Porsche claims that the Sport Chrono-equipped version, complete with GT Package, will crack 60mph from a standstill in 3.4sec. On the road, it feels blisteringly – almost antisocially – fast. Peak torque is still at a monstrously high 590lb ft and available anywhere between 2000rpm and 4500rpm, which is just where you need it for devastating point-to-point pace. In combination with the slick eight-speed automatic gearbox, which has an uncanny ability to second-guess your needs, the car makes mincemeat of the straights between corners, and very short work of overtaking any cars that happen to be in your way.
Thankfully, you needn’t spend all of the money or make it all the way up the showroom ladder to the top-of-the-line model to enjoy the best of what this car offers. The Cayenne’s V8 engine is magnificent in any model it powers. It’s potent, flexible and effusive – bombastic even, with the sports exhaust bellowing away. Yes, it has served in numerous Volkswagen Group products, but in the Cayenne S it seems to deal out its 443lb ft of torque like a croupier at the Casino de Monte Carlo.
The E-Hybrid is powered by a 3.0-litre V6. On paper, this version looks just as fast as the V8 S, but unless you need to reduce your benefit-in-kind tax bills, it’s not the one to go for if you’re a really keen driver. It transitions from petrol to electric smoothly and its integration with the gearbox is sublime. When it’s at full chat, the 176bhp electric motor decadently covers the torque gaps of the combustion engine, and it feels like it’s doing a good enough impression of a V8. The problem is that the torque delivery is just not as broad as the V8’s – so, at times, that feeling of strength under your toe isn’t all that it could be.
