Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Electric First Drive Review

Following the spanking new Porsche Cayenne Electric SUV, the German sports carmaker introduces a rather dapper and dazzling coupe variant that is as every little bit exaggerated as what the spec sheet suggests.

This four-wheel drama - dubbed the Porsche Cayenne Coupe Electric - is a grandiose giant that is seemingly senseless, but yet it manages to tune things up emotionally for the driver all the time, every time.

The thrilling Turbo that's tested here is one of the three variants that will be coming to Singapore in the third quarter of this year. There's the base model, the 'S' and then there's this one right here that you see on this very lovely page of this very lovely website.

Despite its heft of over 3.2 tonnes, the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Electric manages to finish the 0-100km/h sprint in just 2.5 seconds

Nuff' of the website. Tell me more about it...

The Turbo that I tested may weigh over 3.2 tonnes, but it has the ability to hurtle through the entire autobahn and into the horizon should you choose to test its might.

See, at any given point in time, the Cayenne Turbo Coupe Electric has 630kW on tap. On overboost, though, the electric SUV will garner up all its strength and shoot out a massive 850kW and a mountain-moving 1,500Nm of twisting force. Here, the figures are sent to all four corners of the car, ensuring ample grip as you accelerate from nought to 100km/h in just 2.5 seconds on the straight.

Thus, you do not feel the car's heft at all. The beefcake of an SUV reacts according to every prod of the right foot. Floor the right pedal and car accelerates in a manner that's so swift your mind can hardly react quick enough to comprehend what's going on. One of the many reasons that allows the new Porsche to achieve such a magnificent behaviour and overwhelming figures is due to aerodynamic-enhancement features like movable cooling air flaps up front, an adaptive rear spoiler and active aeroblades that come standard for the Turbo model.

The new SUV's roofline is inspired by the 911 sports car

Plus, with the help of the car's sloping "flyline" silhouette roofline that's inspired by the 911 sports car, and a coupe-specific windscreen, the Cayenne Coupe Electric has an even lower drag coefficient of 0.23 compared to the regular Cayenne Electric SUV of 0.25.

All these features and changes do their part to allow a car this big and heavy to slice through air like hot knife through butter. Arguably, these also help with the range. During my time with the car when it had merely 30% battery state of charge, it still managed to last several hours of driving. Fully juice up the 113kWh battery, and the Turbo variant gets about 630km of range.

Aerodynamic enhancement features such as cooling fans (left) and active aeroblades help the Cayenne Coupe achieve a low drag coefficient of 0.23

More than just about speed

Just as capable of slicing through air is the way the new SUV cuts through corners.

With the help of the Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus - a system that uses an electronically-controlled rear differential lock for fully variable torque distribution - the Cayenne Coupe displays a clean, precise and balanced behaviour through the corners it encounters.

Add in the fact that the steering is hefty, responsive and talkative, and there's no denying just how astoundingly agile and remarkably stable the car is every time you chuck it around a proper stretch of road.

That said, I highly doubt drivers in Singapore will be man-handling this Porsche like I did. That's because once you're done being childishly amused with the car's manic acceleration, take it down a notch and the SUV displays high levels of space, luxury and tech that would be better suited and utilised by drivers and their families.

The sun shade comes with variable light control while the rest of the cabin is tech-savvy and luxurious

A proper family car, and then some...

For instance, Porsche has equipped the Cayenne Coupe Electric with a fully digital 14.25-inch instrument cluster and an impressive main infotainment curved OLED display in the centre for the driver to meddle with. The front passenger, on the hand, gets an optional 14.9-inch display that also offers access to several functions of the car. 

One such function is the sun shade that comes with variable light control. Here, thanks to an electrically switchable liquid crystal film, you can select the different styles of opacity settings of the sun shade to fit your needs and wants.

Space is the royal order of the day despite its sloping roofline

Then there is ample space for all five on board (unless you spec the car to be a strict four-seater, which is also possible). You do lose some boot capacity compared to the taller, squarer Cayenne Electric models, but it would still be hard to actually call this Cayenne Coupe impractical, as there's plenty of space for occupants (even with the slightly reduced headroom in the back). At 500 litres, it's safe to say the boot is still plenty big enough for most purposes.

Everywhere else, top notch materials fill the cabin with a solid fit and finish. Run your fingers through the cabin and you won't be able to find anything that's out of place or awkwardly protruding.

You can expect to see the Porsche Cayenne Coupe Electric in the third quarter of this year when it arrives on our shores

Does such a perfect car exist?

As such, it's hard to fault the all new Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe Electric. This is, apparently, still a family vehicle, but it's one that's built to also satisfy the driver's need for hysterical speed and hunger for good, proper handling. 

So, yes, this SUV is undoubtedly a grandiose giant that is seemingly senseless, but with its hysterical behaviour that manages to match the exaggerated spec sheet, it will tune things up emotionally for the driver all the time, every time.