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AUTO REVIEW

2025 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid

By Stephen Schutz, MD

The every-new-vehicle-sold-by-2035-must-be-electric fever has The original Porsche non-sports car, the Cayenne SUV, was intro-
broken, and Porsche, along with most other automotive manufactur- duced in 2002 and was derided by most Porsche aficionados, including
ers, has gotten the memo. Porsche recently announced that they will me, as a sacrilege. Once it became clear that the Cayenne, and later the
be investing $1 billion into internal combustion engines (ICE), and Panamera and Macan, would earn the profits that enabled the compa-
they’re no longer pledging that 80% of the vehicles they sell in 2030 ny to continue to manufacture special sports cars like the 2016 911R,
will be all-electric (BEV). Thank you, Porsche. I want lower carbon 2018 911 GT2 RS, and 2024 911 S/T, all was forgiven.
emissions as much as anybody else, but I don’t think BEVs will be the The Cayenne was comprehensively updated in 2024, and while the
answer until battery technology improves significantly. newest Cayenne looks a lot like prior models, the interior is better.
With that in mind, I was curious to drive the new 2025 Porsche Exterior-wise, the Cayenne looks like a Porsche, or at least it
Cayenne plug-in hybrid luxury SUV with a 26kWh battery that looks like what people familiar with the famous 911 would imagine
allows around 30 miles of all-electric driving. It’s great for commut- a Porsche SUV would look like. Roughly the size and shape of a Ford
ing or running errands in town yet provides an internal combustion Explorer, the Cayenne uses premium-looking lighting and chiseled
engine to augment performance and charge the batteries when they exterior design elements to stand out from the crowd, but, honestly, it
run low. doesn’t stand out that much.
An aside: Porsche, a sports car maker that only about 25 years ago On the other hand, the new Cayenne’s interior has been upgraded
began producing non-sports cars, is a highly successful company. What noticeably. For starters, a new 12.6-inch curved digital instrument
most observers probably don’t appreciate is that, despite the presence display sits behind the steering wheel alongside the 12.3-inch central
of some very expensive sports cars in their lineup, it’s the SUVs that touchscreen that controls the updated PCM 6.0 infotainment
make the lion’s share of the company’s profits. system.