Our New Cayenne Has Arrived

Our Cayenne E-Hybrid (9YA) has finally joined the family. This wasn’t a press car or a loan from a friend—we’ve actually taken delivery of one of our very own.

W-well, would you believe it…? (*_*)

This turn of events came as a complete surprise. Until just last month, I never imagined it would happen.

We’d been looking for an SUV the whole family could enjoy, but our plan was to take our time rather than buy right away. We test-drove a GLS and a Cayenne Coupe, and took a ride in my brother’s Alphard. We were even talking about test-driving an X7 or a Range Rover. Then I reached the final weeks of my pregnancy and went to stay at my parents’ home with the children.

While I was away, my husband kept test-driving cars. He was weighing up whether to go for a standard Cayenne when he got the chance to drive a Cayenne E-Hybrid—and it was far better than he’d ever imagined. When he came to visit our parents’ home and meet our newborn son, he told me all about it:

I asked the dealer if I could try a Cayenne with conventional steel springs (*), and they had a Cayenne E-Hybrid with that setup, so I got to drive it. It was incredibly good.
A hybrid hadn’t even been on my radar, but the electric motor makes it pull away so smoothly—and put your foot down, and it’s quick! Honestly, I didn’t expect Porsche’s hybrids to be this well sorted. Amazing.
I’d read the E-Hybrid reports in the blog’s Owner Stories, so I knew they were good in theory, but it exceeded even my expectations. You really can’t understand a Porsche until you’ve driven one.
* “Steel-spring suspension” is used here to distinguish it from air suspension; it refers to a suspension system using conventional metal springs.

He was clearly excited as he recounted the whole experience.

If we were going to buy one, we didn’t want to waste money ordering a car built to our exact specification this time around. So we asked H, our Porsche sales advisor, to see if there were any promising cars in stock. He found a Cayenne E-Hybrid with air suspension and a great-looking spec.

Unfortunately, it sold soon afterward. H then searched again for a car with similar specifications and found another Cayenne E-Hybrid—this one with steel-spring suspension.

My husband was torn. “I’d originally been considering the steel-spring setup, so it should be fine. But after seeing an in-stock car with air suspension, I’d started picturing myself in one! Now I’m not sure…”

After another test drive in a steel-spring Cayenne, and a deep dive into reviews—from a Japanese TV program called Car Graphic TV to YouTube videos from around the world—he came to this conclusion:

The steel-spring setup should be absolutely fine. When I test-drove it, the stronger sense of connection with the road really appealed to us; it might even be more our style. This is a pretty much base-spec Cayenne, with hardly any special options, but it seems like great value and should be satisfying to own. And with fewer options, it may also lose less value when we sell it.

And just like that, the decision to buy was made.

We’re truly grateful to H for arranging so many test drives and giving us the time to make sure we were happy with our choice.

At First, We Were Looking Beyond Porsche

Readers who have followed the blog for a while may remember our SUV search and be thinking:

Wait—didn’t you say you were going to buy an SUV from a brand other than Porsche?

In fact, we’d been convinced that this would be the first time a non-Porsche joined our family. We wanted our family SUV to be the opposite of the sports cars we already own, such as the GT3 and Boxster: a luxurious, comfortable car for relaxed driving.

But the tide began to turn when we test-drove the GLS, our leading contender.

The GLS was a wonderful car, of course. Its safety features, cabin space, luxurious feel, and generous standard equipment all had us thinking, “That’s Mercedes-Benz for you!” It was easy to see why Mercedes-Benz SUVs are so popular.

Based on what we’d read beforehand, though, we’d expected the GLS to feel like an S-Class sedan with an SUV body. Once we got behind the wheel, we found ourselves thinking:

It feels more nimble to drive than I expected. If that’s the case, I prefer the Cayenne’s ride. It’s firmer, but it feels more planted and stable, with a reassuring sense of weight.

(It’s not a question of better or worse—it simply comes down to personal preference.)

A Rolls-Royce Cullinan or Bentley Bentayga was beyond our budget, so after all that, we circled back to the Cayenne: “When it comes to the way it drives, maybe the Cayenne really is the one.”

It’s true that the Cayenne doesn’t come with nearly as much equipment as the GLS. But the current-generation Cayenne rides more smoothly than the 971 Panamera we used to own, while comfortably seating five.

The E-Hybrid can run on electric power alone for local trips, yet it’s seriously quick when you put your foot down. On the highway, it delivers the stability, road feel, and acceleration you expect from a Porsche. It also has plenty of room for luggage and seemed versatile enough for just about anything. In the end, the Cayenne won us over.

We’d insisted that this time, we were definitely going to choose a non-Porsche… Yet the Porsche “rabbit hole” is deeper than we ever imagined. Even in a Cayenne, Porsche’s distinctive ride and handling are hard to walk away from once you’ve experienced them. (Laughs)