- 2 days ago
Mat’s got his hands on the all-new Porsche Cayenne Turbo Electric, and he’s about to see if the most powerful Porsche ever is truly deserving of so much power.
For starters, let’s check out the design…
From the front, it’s fair to say that the exterior design is an improvement over the old petrol-powered Cayenne! It has a real presence from the front, with aggressive air scoops on either side, while the Turbo edition has additional vents and air intakes across the bumper. Along the side, there are wider surrounds on the wheel arches, and the Turbo edition we’re reviewing has a grey satin effect on the roof bars and window surrounds. There are also blackened side skirts, which, in this case, have "Turbo" written on them. Along the back there’s an aggressive diffuser, and the Porsche badge is embossed into the full-length light bar.
On the inside, this new Cayenne has moved away from traditional Porsche interior designs of old, with the incorporation of more screens. There are dual screens in the centre console, a passenger screen, and a large, curved digital dial display. The dial display comes with lots of customisable options, and a lot of the functionality for the car is managed through the infotainment screen. Thankfully, though, there are physical buttons for the climate control. The seats are firm and figure-hugging, and there are soft-touch materials throughout most of the cabin - although you don’t have to search too hard to find some scratchy plastics!
The Cayenne Turbo Electric is powered by two electric motors, and these combine to produce an incredible 1,156hp and 1,500Nm! It may be heavy, tipping the scales at 2,645kg, but it still launches like a rocket ship! It’s equipped with a 113kWh battery pack, and it has a claimed range of 350 - 387 miles.
The Cayenne Electric range starts from £83,265 (as of August 2026), rising all the way up to £130,965 for the Turbo. But of course, it doesn’t stop there - the car we’re reviewing, with options, costs over £172,000! So is it worth it? And would you choose an electric Cayenne over an older, petrol-powered alternative? Let us know in the comments!
For starters, let’s check out the design…
From the front, it’s fair to say that the exterior design is an improvement over the old petrol-powered Cayenne! It has a real presence from the front, with aggressive air scoops on either side, while the Turbo edition has additional vents and air intakes across the bumper. Along the side, there are wider surrounds on the wheel arches, and the Turbo edition we’re reviewing has a grey satin effect on the roof bars and window surrounds. There are also blackened side skirts, which, in this case, have "Turbo" written on them. Along the back there’s an aggressive diffuser, and the Porsche badge is embossed into the full-length light bar.
On the inside, this new Cayenne has moved away from traditional Porsche interior designs of old, with the incorporation of more screens. There are dual screens in the centre console, a passenger screen, and a large, curved digital dial display. The dial display comes with lots of customisable options, and a lot of the functionality for the car is managed through the infotainment screen. Thankfully, though, there are physical buttons for the climate control. The seats are firm and figure-hugging, and there are soft-touch materials throughout most of the cabin - although you don’t have to search too hard to find some scratchy plastics!
The Cayenne Turbo Electric is powered by two electric motors, and these combine to produce an incredible 1,156hp and 1,500Nm! It may be heavy, tipping the scales at 2,645kg, but it still launches like a rocket ship! It’s equipped with a 113kWh battery pack, and it has a claimed range of 350 - 387 miles.
The Cayenne Electric range starts from £83,265 (as of August 2026), rising all the way up to £130,965 for the Turbo. But of course, it doesn’t stop there - the car we’re reviewing, with options, costs over £172,000! So is it worth it? And would you choose an electric Cayenne over an older, petrol-powered alternative? Let us know in the comments!
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MotorTranscript
00:00When you put the most powerful Porsche ever into launch mode, the spoiler pops up,
00:04then these extra fins extend from the rear, and then this happens.
00:15This is the new Porsche Cayenne EV, and it's a little bit like an asteroid,
00:20because it's big, it's heavy, so fast that it's unstoppable,
00:24but it also threatens to make dinosaur-powered cars extinct.
00:32This is the most powerful road-grain Porsche ever made.
00:35We've got two electric motors, a combined 1,156 horsepower and 1,500 newton-metres of torque.
00:41Let's time it from 0 to 60 and over the quarter-mile.
00:44Left foot on the brake, draw the throttle, launch control is activated.
00:47Three, two, one.
00:532.46 to 60? What's the quarter-mile going to be?
00:58This is wild.
01:00It's wild.
01:01What?
01:029.98?
01:03It's a sub-10-second car.
01:08That is wild.
01:10Hopefully it can stop well.
01:11Let's do a quick brake test, find out.
01:13Let's get to 60 miles an hour.
01:14Around 35 metres is acceptable.
01:17Here we go.
01:17Coming into the braking zone now.
01:22We've got, what, 29 metres?
01:25It not only goes like stink, it stops like stink, which is mad when you consider it weighs 2.6
01:30tonnes.
01:30That's bonkers.
01:31But do the looks match the performance?
01:33In the argument of petrol versus electric power, in this case, electric power wins in terms of visuals because the
01:40Cayenne EV looks better than the internal combustion engine Cayenne.
01:43Don't you think?
01:44Got a really purposeful front.
01:46This being the turbo has these aggressive scoops in there, which do actually feed air over the wheels.
01:52Also, we have more aggressive scoops and vents down here as well.
01:56But even the lower models look really good.
01:59And this particular car is fitted with the optional smoked light covers.
02:03Moving down the side, all cars get these surrounds around the wheel arches.
02:07And we'll start at 20 inches, though these ones are 22s.
02:09And this is a statement of Porsche's intent for this particular turbo version.
02:14P0R tyres.
02:15Really aggressive, sporty tyres.
02:17All models get this side skirt treatment here, which looks good.
02:20But the turbo obviously has the turbo badging.
02:24Also, this one is fitted with the upgraded turbo night grey satin effect for the window surrounds and the roof
02:30bars.
02:31I like this feature.
02:31Unlike with the 911, they haven't cocked up the door handles on the outside.
02:34Proper door handles.
02:35And of course, being a posh car, soft close.
02:39Round the back, once again, good looking car at the rear.
02:42The turbo has this more aggressive rear diffuser, which probably doesn't do much diffusing.
02:47And on all models, you get the Porsche logo there.
02:50Look, you'll see it when you turn the lights on.
02:52That is cool.
02:53But is it cool on the inside?
02:55The interior of this K&EV feels very, very sporty.
02:58Classic Porsche.
02:59Although it doesn't look that classic apart from the dial design, which obviously is digital now.
03:04The steering wheel is classic Porsche, so very nice.
03:07Feels good as well.
03:08Obviously, being a modern SUV, you're going to have lots of screens.
03:11Well, there's two here, but it's a very unusual screen there.
03:14And then one for the passenger, which is optional.
03:15Absolutely pointless because passengers just go on their phones.
03:18In terms of interior quality, the materials are nice.
03:21Expensive feeling.
03:22The seats.
03:23Body hugging.
03:24Firm.
03:24Nick thinks they're too firm.
03:26I disagree.
03:27I think they're fine.
03:28What's less fine, and it's a problem I have in my own 911, is that some of it just feels
03:32a bit hollow and plasticky.
03:34Listen to that.
03:36Shame.
03:37Shame.
03:37Still, at least the car has physical buttons for the climate control, and they feel nice.
03:41Though a lot of things are controlled through the screen, and I do find Porsche's menu system a little bit
03:46on the confusing side.
03:47Yeah.
03:48The dials are very, very configurable with lots of different views.
03:51That is good.
03:52And storage is pretty decent as well.
03:54You've got this armrest here with this tray there where you can store some things secretly.
03:58Just hide things away.
03:58And then you have your USB-C's there.
04:02You have your wireless charging down there.
04:04More USB-C's in there as well.
04:06A glove box here, which is a decent size, with a controller in it.
04:11Why is that there?
04:13Obviously, this controller comes with the car.
04:14Look!
04:16Wireless controller.
04:18You can play games.
04:20This is what they look like.
04:22Let's move on to the door bins.
04:23Big bottle.
04:24Where's the big...
04:25Where's the bottleneck?
04:27While it's getting that, I can show you.
04:28Look, we've got a spoiler on the dash.
04:30And big air vents.
04:31Classic Cayenne.
04:32Look, actually, the air vents at the side.
04:33I must say, I do hate the drive select lever there on the dash.
04:37I wish they just had one on the steering column.
04:38Should we do the bottle bit now?
04:40That's not a big bottle.
04:42Anyway, while he's doing that bit, I can show you these features.
04:46Look, so what's really handy is that you have this shortcut button here to turn off the annoying speed limit
04:52warning.
04:52They make it easier for your Porsche.
04:54And then round the instrument binnacle, you can turn off the fake engine sound or the spooky kind of sci
05:00-fi acceleration sound.
05:01And then on the other side, you've got your suspension button.
05:04So you can have the car in like Sport Plus and then still have the comfort suspension.
05:08You can up and down the air suspension.
05:09There's the button for look.
05:10Brings up your parking cameras.
05:12The surround view cameras there.
05:14Because we've got the door open, you can't actually do it properly.
05:17Cameras are pretty good.
05:18And now we should have a big bottle.
05:19After all that, you can see it fits.
05:22Now, this car has a nice race text headlining.
05:25And the classic Cayenne.
05:28Double sun visor.
05:30Oh, yeah.
05:31And vanity mirrors on both driver and passenger with lights.
05:36Because if you're driving a Porsche, you're vain.
05:39There's plenty of room here in the back of the Cayenne.
05:42So knee room is good.
05:44Headroom is good.
05:45Also got a comfy pillow there.
05:47That's lovely.
05:48What's odd is that there's a bit of a lump in the floor.
05:51Normally with electric cars, you have a completely flat floor.
05:53Here you have footwells.
05:54But that does mean that your feet are quite low down in the car.
05:58So you're not sitting like that.
06:00Like you do many other EVs when they just have a flat floor with just batteries underneath your feet.
06:04So this is very comfy and you can slide your feet underneath the seat in front.
06:09Also, it's very easy to fit a baby seat in here.
06:11The IceFix hang on points are easy to get to.
06:13The doors are nice and wide and there's plenty of space, even for a bulky rear-facing seat.
06:16It's also good for carrying three people in the back at once.
06:19Though if you are in the middle seat, you do feel that this part, the seat belt buckle, digs in
06:24your bottom.
06:24Now look, what I can do with these seats, I can alter the angle of the backrest and slide the
06:33bench forward for more boot space.
06:34How far will it go?
06:38It's quite far forward.
06:40Let's put the back.
06:41Now you have your armrest here, unfortunately with exposed cup holders, so that's not that comfy.
06:47But you do have, look, through-loading there, which is good.
06:53A little bit of netage on the seat backs for storing things.
06:57You have decent-sized rear door bins, which just about fit a big bottle.
07:02You've got your USB-C's here and this one's got the full rear climate control with ventilated seats and heated
07:08seats.
07:08And then there's this feature, look.
07:11Ah, it's not that the windows go not down anywhere near far enough.
07:15That's terrible.
07:16It's this.
07:17How's this for over-engineering?
07:23Why not just have one so you pull it yourself and clip?
07:25They're less likely to go wrong.
07:26And there's more over-engineering in the boot too.
07:28If I press this button here, I can drop the car down on its air suspension to make it easier
07:33to load.
07:38The fact there's no load lip helps too.
07:41Then, if I press these buttons here, I can put the seats back up.
07:49Now, I'm going to get the load cover from out of here.
07:52I think it fits neatly beneath there.
07:59Now, I have 500 litres of space, but the seats are in their most rearward position.
08:05That capacity is better than most of its competitors anyway.
08:07But if you need more space, you can move the seats forward and then you have 780 litres of space.
08:11But what does it mean in terms of actual carrying capacity?
08:14Well, let's see how many suitcases we can fit in the boot.
08:24That's not right.
08:36I'm a professional car journalist.
08:48I made that look way harder than it actually is.
08:51Right, let's go.
09:00I'm just going to do something.
09:02Come with me.
09:07Come here.
09:12Yeah, it's still well comfy.
09:17Hmm.
09:37That's nine.
09:42Ten.
09:43However, it's not all good news.
09:45Here's some annoying things about this car.
09:46While this new curved infotainment screen may look cool, as it's used, it's a bit of a faff
09:52because your hand sometimes covers up some of these smaller icons.
09:55Oh, and look at this.
09:56When you turn it off, it's just filthy.
10:00Depending on which way you're travelling, you have terrible reflections in the dash.
10:03Look at this.
10:04Watch it change as I drive around.
10:18Why have Porsche put the cup holders way down there?
10:21Often when you're trying to get your coffee out, you end up just lifting the lid off.
10:25And then this isn't very good either.
10:27Having the door mirror controls all down by your knee.
10:30And finally, what's up with these door handles?
10:33Why can't we just have normal door handles?
10:36Ah!
10:36This car is fitted with £42,000 worth of options.
10:40You can buy these other EVs for that.
10:42Be expected with Porsches because certain things that you want, you do know how to charge extra for.
10:47That roof, about £4,500.
10:48If you want the rear axle steering, which makes the car turn in a tighter circle, that is £1,500.
10:54If you want clever suspension, which does away the anti-roll bars and use the suspension to prop up the
10:59car in the corners for improved handling, that's £7,000.
11:02And if you want the carbon ceramic brakes, £8,000.
11:05It's the Porsche tax.
11:06But then there's a couple of things that are just stupid options.
11:08For instance, rear seat heating, that's over £300.
11:11Just make it standard because someone will forget to select it.
11:14And this, Isofix on the front passenger seat, it's £50.
11:17£50!
11:17It's not even worth the effort of ticking the box.
11:20It's not all bad though.
11:21Here's some cool things about the new KNEV.
11:23The optional heads-up display has augmented reality so it can show things like lane-keeping assist, other cars and
11:29all sorts of information right before your eyes.
11:32To prevent you from opening the door into cars approaching from behind, you get this warning in the door.
11:37When you turn this knob here to put the car into Sport Plus mode, it opens the air vents at
11:42the front and raises the spoiler at the back.
11:44This is strangely satisfying.
11:49And so is this.
12:00Oh, actually this car can tow up to three and a half tonnes, which is very good for anything.
12:05For the sunroof, you don't have a blind, you have special glass.
12:09So you press that to make it go matte, press that to make it go semi, and that to do
12:15another pattern.
12:17As well as a hands-free boot, there's also a hands-free fruit.
12:25It's 90 litres.
12:26Couldn't resist it.
12:27And the KNEV starts from £80,000 for the entry-level car.
12:32For the S, it's £100,000.
12:33And for this turbo, it's from £130,000.
12:36Obviously, this one of the options I've already mentioned is £170,000, which is nuts, isn't it?
12:41Do you know what?
12:42For the price of the options on this car, you could have this 50,000-mile KNEV hybrid through CarWay.
12:49Now, obviously, if you're buying a used car, you need to do a history check on it to make sure
12:53it doesn't have a dodgy pass.
12:54And I recommend you use CarVertical, because here's an example of a KNEV that has been involved in an accident.
13:00And if you didn't get this CarVertical history check, you may never know.
13:04So if you're thinking about buying a used car, head to CarVertical using the link in the description and use
13:08the code CARWOW for 20% off.
13:11Now, though, let's find out what this car is like to drive.
13:14This is a big car, and so hopefully it's not too tricky to navigate around tight streets.
13:22Yeah, I'm definitely allergic to it.
13:25So much for the pollen filter.
13:28Anyway, hopefully it's not too difficult to thread through tiny village streets, because this is the kind of car that
13:34is going to be used on school runs.
13:36Oh, I'll tell you what's good straight away.
13:37You need to brake suddenly then.
13:39Very progressive braking, not suddenly jerky braking like you get with some EVs.
13:42Porsche know how to calibrate their controls.
13:45Throttle, it's not too sensitive when you just want to trickle along.
13:49Steering, solid but light enough.
13:52Suspension, so good.
13:55This air suspension is very, very cushioning.
13:58It has a on-its-toes feel, like you expect from a Porsche.
14:01It's sporty, but it's so yielding.
14:04It's very comfy.
14:05Even in sports mode, in the stiffest setting, it still is comfy.
14:09Very clever.
14:09The only slight downside is the visibility at the back window and the rear three-quarters when you're looking over
14:15your shoulder pulling out.
14:17Other than that, and this fat pillar, visibility is pretty good.
14:20I'm confident driving this around here.
14:22Don't think it's a problem.
14:23But how manoeuvrable is it?
14:25Because this car is fitted with the rear axle steering, the turning circle is 11 metres.
14:29Without it, it's 12.7 metres.
14:32So, if you do a lot of town driving, definitely fit it.
14:35Now, let's check out the manoeuvrability for real.
14:39Hit the button there to bring up the surround view cameras.
14:40Going to need them.
14:41Fortunately, there's not many cars coming the other way.
14:44What I don't want to do is hit the curb and curb my very expensive Porsche wheels.
14:49Camera's helping me, but look at that.
14:51No problem.
14:52That was too easy!
14:53This is definitely a car that you can just bumble about in confidently.
14:57Also, being a Porsche, it's got presence, but at the same time, it goes under the radar a bit.
15:02It's not all showy and shouty like a Lamborghini.
15:04But what is it like on a cruise?
15:06Not that kind of cruise, like a cruise around the motorway.
15:08Now, if you need to overtake something or get up to speed, just in comfort mode, it's brutally quick.
15:14But let's say you suddenly need to overtake a 911 Turbo S, for instance.
15:18Then there's a little button to help you out.
15:19So, if you're in comfort, the throttle response is dialed back, and it seems like the total power is as
15:24well.
15:24However, if you go into passing mode, you get full Sport Plus setting for a moment.
15:28So, press that.
15:29Watch this.
15:30From 40 to 70.
15:33That's it.
15:34Wow.
15:34That is insane, isn't it?
15:36And then when you're cruising along, hardly any wind noise at all.
15:39All you notice, classic with all Porsches, because they've got such big, fat tyres.
15:43Just a little bit of tyre noise just coming in there.
15:45However, I can still hear the blooming fan over most stuff.
15:48Even though I'm on the lowest setting.
15:50This is definitely a good car to do long distances in.
15:53But how far can you actually go?
15:54Well, this particular Turbo is supposed to have a 350 mile range.
15:58I'm averaging 2.4 miles per kilowatt hour.
16:01When you multiply that out by the size of the battery, that's 250 miles of range.
16:05So, not great.
16:07Though I have been driving it rather hard, because I've been in to test it.
16:13And on a twisty road, this thing is wild.
16:16I don't know how Porsche's engineers have done this, but they have created something that is just truly insane.
16:23First of all, the acceleration in Sport Plus.
16:25The throttle response, it's nauseating.
16:27Then, there's the grip and handling.
16:30How?
16:31How does it go round corners like that?
16:33It's nuts!
16:34It just grips and goes round.
16:36It doesn't lean at all, because of this car's clever special dampers, which stop it just leaning in the bends.
16:41But it's not like it doesn't have any feel. There's feel through the steering.
16:45You can tell how much grip you've got underneath you.
16:47You can feel the rear wheels, the diff working and providing traction.
16:50It's genuinely alarming, what it can do.
16:53And it's not a blunt instrument. It actually has some finesse to it.
16:57Oh!
16:57But it's so powerful and so bonkers.
17:00Do you know what?
17:01Because of the way you feel like you're sitting on top of this car, and it's so heavy, and it's
17:04so powerful, and it's so agile at the same time,
17:07it's a little bit like it's a crazy raging ball that somehow or other you put a spell on,
17:13and you can just make it do whatever you want it to do.
17:16So you can sit on it and ride it around and just go absolutely berserk.
17:19However, at the same time, you've got to think of the road as being a bit like a China shop,
17:23with lots of delicate things around and speed limits which are easily approached,
17:28and obviously a license that can be very fragile and easily lost.
17:32And then you realise the problem with this Cayenne Turbo.
17:35Just like a bull in a China shop, you can't fully let it off the leash very often.
17:40And that in some ways is a bit frustrating and a bit pointless.
17:44So that's got me thinking, do you really need this turbo version of the Cayenne?
17:48No. The entry-level Cayenne is quick enough, capable enough, comfy enough.
17:52It's all you need.
17:53So who the heck is going to buy this turbo?
17:56Well, there's one type of person.
17:57It's someone who just likes the top spec of everything.
18:01It's the kind of person who just wants to flex.
18:04And the kind of person who wants to make their passengers feel sick by going...
18:12That actually hurt my head.
18:14So then, what's my final verdict on the new Porsche Cayenne EV?
18:17Should you avoid it, consider it, shortlist it, or just go right ahead and buy it?
18:21Well, overall, it's a very lovely thing.
18:22It drives great, and it's practical.
18:24It's just rather expensive, and the range isn't amazing.
18:28So for the normal car, I would say shortlist it.
18:32However, if you want the most powerful, quickest electric SUV, get the turbo.
18:37It'll blow your mind.
18:38It'll probably give you a migraine.
18:40Thing is, though, do you really need to spend this much money to have a high-performance SUV?
18:45Because if you watch that video there, you will see what you can get from China for less than half
18:50the price.
18:51It's madness!
18:53Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the video.
18:54If you did, give it a like.
18:55If you haven't done so already, subscribe because we've got some more cool reviews coming out.
18:59Let me know what you think of my verdict in the comments below.
19:02And thanks for watching.
19:03I'll see you next time.
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