Battery size: 108 kWh
E-Rating™: B
Max charge rate: 400kW
Range: 383 - 406 miles (WLTP)
Introduction - 2026 Porsche Cayenne Electric
The Cayenne launched in 2002, and while initially it split opinion, it also went on to be a big seller – and a big profit maker for the company. Fast forward to now, and the shift to electric power is the logical step.
The new Cayenne Electric sits at the top of Porsche’s SUV line-up, effectively replacing combustion models over time, and taking on rivals like the Lotus Eletre, Audi Q6 e-tron, Polestar 3, Volvo EX90 and the forthcoming new BMW iX5.
There’s a full range of models, from a fairly sensible 436bhp entry-level model – simply called the Cayenne Electric, and then there’s the mid-range Cayenne S Electric with its 666hp, and at the top of the range is the overindulgence that is the Cayenne Electric Turbo – which Nic drove out in Spain, and absolutely loved, by the way!
The new Cayenne is based on the same platform as the Audi Q6 e-tron, and is not a small car. It’s nearly 5.0-metres long, and every Cayenne Electric model gets active four-wheel drive and adaptive air suspension to cope with a hefty kerbweight of around 2.6-tonnes. For all its mass, the marine-mammal face and attention to aerodynamics (including fancy active wings at the back that pop out at motorway speeds) means that the Cayenne has a drag coefficient of just 0.25. That’s better than a VW ID.3, by the way. Figure that one out?!
Range, battery and charging
The Cayenne Electric gets a 108kWh usable battery (113kWh total capacity), with newer cell chemistry aimed at improving energy density and efficiency.
Official WLTP range sits at up to 399 miles for the Cayenne Electric, but peculiarly the the mid-range Cayenne S manages 405 miles. The Turbo sees WLTP range drop to 383 miles, which is a very small sacrifice for three times the power, isn’t it? Just goes to show what electric motors can do, I guess.
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That range is very competitive with the Audi Q6, BMW iX and Polestar 3, and real-world range is likely to be pretty good if you don’t drive like Nicola does. In normal, every day use I’d estimate that real-world range will be around 280 to 350 miles depending on the conditions and how you’re driving.
Charging speeds are seriously impressive. With a peak rate of 400kW, Porsche claims a 10-80% top-up in just 26 minutes. That’s properly quick, and makes this one of the fastest charging electric cars you can buy. You can also set up the Porsche Charging Service, which means that you can register your account with the car, and then it will automatically connect and take payment when you charge – so you don’t have to faff about with apps or tap-and-go payments. Just plug in and walk away (provided it’s one of the circa 1m stations that Porsche’s system works with).
The Porsche Cayenne will also be the first car in the world to get wireless charging. You can pay to have a plate fitted permanently in your driveway or garage, and you just drive over the plate and park up when the car tells you it’s positioned correctly, and that’s it. The battery automatically charges up with no cables – just like your phone does when you put it on a wireless charging pad.
This system can wirelessly charge the Cayenne at up to 11kW, but in almost all UK homes that’d be limited to 7kW due to the electrical system.
Practicality and boot space
Let’s not forget – this is still a Cayenne. Which means it’s a proper family SUV, despite the luxury and performance focus.
Boot space is a hefty 782 litres if you have the electrically sliding seats as far forwards as they’ll go, which is pretty impressive, although the 506 litre boot space that you get with the seats slid back is just a car of this size, really! It’s on a par with most of those rivals we’ve mentioned. There’s also underfloor cable storage, and a 90-litre frunk that you can open with a press of the touchscreen.
Slide into those back seats and you’ve got masses of space. It’s verging on a limo back there. You get climate control and centre rear armrest with cupholders as standard, and you can pay extra for heated rear seats. Adding the optional panoramic sunroof that offers phased opacity and can also be opened (this is the first glass opacity-changing roof that you can open, apparently) makes the rear seats feel even more luxurious and filled with light. It really is a properly sumptuous place to travel – although you’ll be a bit upset if you get the middle seat, which is very firm and narrow.
The rear seats slide and recline electrically, which is very posh. You can even add electrically opening doors to the Cayenne, if you wish, so that you can get into the back and then just press a button to make the door swing shut and soft-close electrically. It’s like an actual Rolls-Royce, isn’t it?!
Towing capacity is an impressive 3.5 tonnes, which makes the Cayenne one of the best electric cars in the world for towing capacity.
Interior, design/styling and technology
This is classic modern Porsche inside – clean, solid, and just a bit understated.
The new, curved central ‘flow display’ touchscreen is the real highlight. The graphics are super-sharp, and I particularly like the clever padded wrist rest that makes it so much easier to prod the screen accurately when you’re on the move. Climate controls are fixed on-screen (thankfully), and overall usability is good, although I did sometimes find it tricky to find the setting I was after.
You get all the expected tech too, including smartphone connectivity (wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), wireless phone charging, AI-controlled voice command, and a sat-nav system that will intelligently plan your route and tell you where’s best to charge.
There’s also an optional passenger display, because apparently everyone needs a screen these days. I don’t really get the passenger display trend. Is it really so bad to look out of the window, rather than at a screen? Gosh, I am old aren’t I?! But hey – the passenger screen is too much screen for me, but it’s optional so that’s okay.
You can also tailor the driver assistance systems easily, and even save your chosen settings to each drive mode.
Material quality around the cabin is excellent, with that dense, precision-built feel Porsche does so well. It’s not flashy, but it feels expensive in a way that really matters. You can also choose to have a vegan interior, should you wish. In fact, Porsche offers personalisation to a pretty extreme level, so you could probably have your family crest embossed into your vegan leather headrests, if you want. And don’t forget to put some money aside for the Cayenne-specific Porsche watch that you can have made for you in Switzerland, to colour-match your car.
Motors, performance and handling
Let’s start by talking about the entry-level Porsche Cayenne Electric, which I drove out in Spain on some gorgeous roads. This car is a true zen master. It is so quiet on the motorway, and that standard adaptive air suspension makes it feel really cushy. It can also still do 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds, which is hardly slow, is it? In fact, the Cayenne Electric feels just right, to me. Muscular and direct in the way it accelerates and steers, and with enough pace to still feel like a Porsche. It definitely feels like a proper sports SUV when you put it in Sport or Sport+ - and I like the V8-ish noise that you get in those modes, too. But mostly it just feels really comfy and luxurious, and there’s nothing wrong with that, is there?
It does lean quite a bit in corners, though, so you’re aware of how big and heavy the car is. Still, it’s an amazingly easy think to whirr about in, the Cayenne Electric. Everything feels very natural yet ‘just so’ in the way that Porsche always seems to do.
Brake regen’ is so mild that it doesn’t feel like brake regen at all in the everyday modes, but it gets a bit heavier in Sport Plus. There’s also an adaptive mode that you can select, which lets the car coast freely when there’s no traffic, or brakes for you when there’s other cars, a change in speed limit or even a tight corner.
As for the Cayenne Turbo? Well, blimey. It is a bit much, isn’t it? 1,156hp? Launch control feels quite unsettling. You know when you’re actually kind of excited and scared and that makes you involuntarily laugh – like on the top of a rollercoaster when it pauses before letting gravity do its thing? That. That moment is what you get in the Cayenne Turbo when you unleash launch control. It doesn’t accelerate, it detonates.
To be honest, this sort of drag-strip worthy performance isn’t new in EVs, and while it’s still kind of fun in a vulgar, unnecessary way, the most impressive thing about the Turbo is the way it handles. The optional Porsche Active Ride - which is only available on the Turbo – swaps out the air suspension for a clever hydraulic system. It also gets a diff on the rear axle, all of which combines to make this a noticeably more entertaining thing to drive than the standard Cayenne Electric. It’s so good! There’s tonnes of grip, of course, but you can also feel the four-wheel drive working, the steering offers decent feedback, the brake pedal is easy to modulate. With all the trick stuff on the Turbo, it just gels so well and suddenly feels like that SUV with sports car handling that you want of a Cayenne. It’s awesome.
So, don’t worry about the power – that’s just the party trick. The real news is that the Turbo is just epic to drive, whether you’re crossing continents or tackling a great road.
You can also off-road in the Cayenne; it’s surprisingly good! And you can tow up to 3.5-tonnes, so get ready to see these appearing on a horse yard near you.
Running costs and pricing
The new Cayenne Electric is not a cheap car, of course. But given the prestige and the performance you could also argue that it’s good value. It’s better value than a Bentley Bentayga, for instance. Even the Turbo, given the supercar performance and luxury finish, maybe it’s actually not bad value? You’ll pay that much for a Porsche 911 with this performance – and that’s barely got four seats.
Anyway, if you can afford it, the Cayenne Electric will be way cheaper to fuel than an equivalent petrol, hybrid or diesel SUV. Even without an off-peak home charging tariff, you’ll be paying under 10p per mile compared with well over 20p per mile for a petrol performance SUV. But it is also still a hugely powerful luxury SUV, and it will cost a lot to run. Tyres? A lot. Insurance? A lot. Servicing? A lot. Electric or not, the Cayenne will have luxury running costs to go with the luxury badge.
Verdict
The electric Porsche Cayenne is a remarkably refined and sumptuous beast that is also surprisingly tidy and fun on a good road. The Cayenne Turbo is built of shock and awe. It’s an extravagance of a machine. Too much extravagance, in terms of the performance. But just weirdly addictive and utterly remarkable.
Is that range a tiny bit… whelming? Maybe. I think it’d give me pause knowing that there were posh electric SUVs out there with a WLTP range of over 500 miles, if I were considering parting with £90k or more for an SUV that does 400 miles. But the Cayenne is very competitive with the other cars in its class, on that front and on all others. It’s one of the best, as well.
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