I ordered mine not long ago, but the wait is LOOOOONG !
I did do an extensive testdrive though if you are interested in that ... ?
Yes, would love to get your perspective. I will be picking mine up at noon tomorrow... but would love to hear your thoughts. I am actually only going to have it for an hour of so and then dropping it off for XPEL installation and tint and then getting it back Friday morning.
Well, ok, here goes the unstructured brain dump of the SeH testdrive.
First off, my mindset to approach the buying process and this testdrive. I allready have another car for sportyness and weekend fun, so this time we're looking for comfort, ease
of use, versatility, quality and safety for our daily driver.
Arriving at the dealership a metallic silver SeH greeted us on 19" wheels, winter tires, air suspension and 14-way comfort memory seats. Battery was fully charged, fresh off the Porsche wallbox.
My wife took the lead and started the car. Which is a funny sensation. Just some humming sounds, with the parking brake being louder than the rest of the car itself.
She drove off in near perfect silence. Impressive ! In city traffic, the silence of the car had a real relaxing effect on us. Enhanced by the
higher driving position than we're used to, the comfort of the seats and the filtering of the suspension. General feeling was indeed a very comfortable gliding/floating
sensation without the feeling of being disconnected from the car, the road or the world. Perfect blend for a daily driver. This is a car in which we didn't feel the need
to floor it. It can be enjoyed at low speeds and city traffic, a safe cocooned feeling.
I think my wife drove some 10-15 km in city traffic and small roads. Never ever did the petrol engine engage. Plenty of power and torque in the electrics to let her drive her
drive without her needing to rethink the driving she normally does. It seemed to work flawless for her, and automatic. No worries about giving it too much throttle, no
worries about choosing different driving modes. She just started the car and drove off without hassle nor worries. It seemed the perfect symbiosis between my wife and
the SeH. Also when I was watching her, I could tell she was happy, she felt comfortable, at ease and in command, she felt safe. And those are the things you want for the
person you love I thought to myself. So I quickly felt this was THE car for her. After some time she even flat out told me so.
Now we had to figure out if I could live with it, because we testdrove Lexus hybrid in the past, and those were a definite no go for me. So When she was done, it was my time
to take the wheel. About 50% battery charge left. But not a chance in hell it
was going to keep driving in electric mode at first. My natural driving style is not aimed at conserving energy. So I had to consciously reprogram myself to get into the
hybrid mood. But then the highway came up. Couldn't resist flooring it. And damn, this fat pork hauls *** at full chat ! And damn, it sure is thirsty when you have a
heavy right foot. Afterwards, on the backroads, I willed myself to take it easy and really enjoyed the car, even in a city traffic jam. But every now and again it caught me
out and fired up the petrol engine. Realistically, the 100% EV mode is not for me, but that doesn't mean the hybrid mode isn't.
I think in real life you'd be looking at an average consumption of 8 liter per 100km if you really are in a hybrid treehugging energy saving mood, but easily 10 liter if you drive
in a more normal but still very conservative fashion. If you drive it like a 400 bhp sportscar, which it obviously is not, you'll pay at the pump !
I have no comments on the GPS or the audio since we both don't care about electronic gadgets. The car had no leather interior. Perfectly fine. Didn't even notice it until it
was pointed out to me. I have no comments about handling, as we didn't evaluate that. Bear in mind our intended use
and the 2400 kg kerbweight, it's pretty moot. It's a Porsche, I'm sure it handles fine for a 2400 kg tank :-)
Oh yeah, space in the back, backseats, was HUGE. Boot is BIG. I'm European, so you US guys will probably laugh now, my huge and big are probably rather average for you guys ;-)
It's a perfect car to take some friends or clients in the back to a restaurant or to the golfclub.
All in all the Cayenne SeH looks like a perfect car for my SO, and one which I can easily live with. Driving position, comfort of seats and suspension, feeling of well
being and safety, relative silence in the car, all these things combined put you in a relaxed, take it easy mood.
Hopefully this all will be confirmed if we start using the car on a daily basis.
EDIT: Forgot to mention two things that were very apparent. It took aaaaaaaages for the heater to blow warm air ! The seat heating is hot, even in the lowest setting !
EDIT 2: Something that I hadn't expected struck me on the testdrive. The gearbox could be quite rough at times. At least I think it was the gearbox. Could off course be the interaction of said gearbox with combustion engine and electric motor combo. Offcourse I have no reference, as it was my first time driving a car with an oldschool automatic. MT are much much smoother, as is the PDK ! But it wasn't often enough, nor obtrusive enough to put me off the car.
Now we wait for Robotpedlr's first impression and pics after pickup !
I'm currently trying to figure out charging options with the wallbox and Porsche Universal Charger. We have 220v, but maybe I can get 380v heavy industrial current at the office ...
Thanks for the write up... looking forward to seeing first hand (in a couple of hours) how I like mine. Drove by the dealership late last night to confirm it arrived... and it did. Here is a rough night shot.
Thanks for the write up... looking forward to seeing first hand (in a couple of hours) how I like mine. Drove by the dealership late last night to confirm it arrived... and it did. Here is a rough night shot.
They left it outside? <jk>
Looks nice. Can't wait to see some photos and your thoughts on the car!
<jk>
