Porsche Cayenne Coupe Review & Prices

The Porsche Cayenne Coupe is basically a regular Cayenne SUV, but with a slice taken out of the rear bodywork which makes it look slightly lower, slightly sleeker, and you could say slightly less intimidating. It’s a bit like taking Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and putting him in Spanx, just to tuck everything in a little tighter…

Under the skin, the Cayenne Coupe not only shares its structure and engines with the regular Cayenne SUV, but also with a whole host of other Volkswagen Group products, from the Bentley Bentayga to the Lamborghini Urus to… er… the Volkswagen Touareg. Maybe don’t shout that last one too loud.

As with the Cayenne SUV, the Cayenne Coupe has been given some updates which don’t quite make it an entirely new model, but which do generally upgrade everything. The styling on the outside has been subtly tweaked — new Matrix LED headlights, new bumpers, that kind of thing — while the cabin has been given new digital instruments and a new infotainment touchscreen.

You do lose some boot capacity compared to the taller, squarer Cayenne SUV models, but it would still be hard to actually call this Cayenne Coupe impractical, as there’s plenty of space for four adults (even with the slightly reduced headroom in the back) and the boot is still plenty big enough for most purposes.

Of course, this being a Porsche it’s performance and handling which will be the biggest concerns. There is a basic V6 petrol-engined Cayenne Coupe with 353hp, but that seems like hardly enough. That steps up quickly with plug-in hybrid models, and V8 engine options, until suddenly you’ve ticked all the boxes for a Turbo E-Hybrid with GT package that’s packing 739hp and can get to 62mph in just 3.6 seconds. Phew.

For all that power, the Cayenne Coupe can be saintly too, with plug-in hybrid models seeing their CO2 emissions drop as low as 31g/km, and offering close to 50 miles of electric-only range. Most models come with air suspensions which can be better both for comfort and handling, depending on which buttons you press in the cabin. Generally, all Cayenne Coupes hit the bumps a little harder than alternatives from BMW or Mercedes, but the upside to that is sharper steering and more fun on a twisty road.

Just beware the options list. Porsche has always been a master at dipping into wallets when it comes to extras, and it’s not hard to spend the price of a well-specced luxury saloon just on the options when buying a Cayenne Coupe.

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No Porsche is what you’d call cheap, but the Cayenne Coupe isn’t exactly over-priced either. In its most basic form, it’s around £5,000 pricier than an equivalent BMW X6 or Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, and a little more expensive than an Audi Q8. Obviously, all of those cars will be better-equipped as standard than the Porsche, but then you’re also getting the Porsche badge and such things still count.

There’s no plug-in hybrid version of the BMW X6, incidentally, so you can’t directly compare the Cayenne Coupe E-Hybrid models there, but in terms of comparable rivals, you’d have to upgrade to an Audi SQ8 to match the power output of, say, the Cayenne Coupe S E-Hybrid, and the Audi doesn’t include plug-in hybrid tech for the same price. Mercedes’ GLE Coupe AMG models are all in and around the same price as the Cayenne Coupe, but again don’t offer plug-in tech with AMG performance. Equally, the Cayenne Coupe is an absolute bargain if you start comparing it to a Lamborghini Urus, and better looking by far too.

Seriously sharp handling for an SUV, but the suspension is on the firm side

In town

The Cayenne Coupe is a big car, but doesn’t feel too massive when you’re driving it in town — the sharp steering actually helps here, as it makes the Cayenne Coupe feel more manoeuvrable. The cut-down rear bodywork does mean that the rear windscreen is rather shallower than that of the taller Cayenne SUV and that does mean that the view out is less expansive, so you’ll have to dive into the options list (remember our warning about Porsche options?) to get a proper 360-degree parking camera setup which really does help.

Another option that’s a big help is rear-wheel steering, which can allow the Cayenne Coupe to turn rather more tightly and which is great in crowded car parks or when trying to tackle a mini-roundabout.

The Cayenne Coupe E-Hybrid models come into their own in town, as they can manage as much as 48 miles of all-electric driving on a full battery charge. In fact, Porsche claims that at urban speeds, the Cayenne Coupe E-Hybrids can stretch their batteries to more than 50 miles, which should make in-town commuting a rather quieter and more eco-friendly experience.

It will always be a bumpy experience. Even on the air suspension (again, an option…) the Cayenne Coupe has a stiff suspension setup, so city bumps and village humps are all felt, every last one of them.

On the motorway

Porsche doesn’t offer a Cayenne Coupe with a diesel engine anymore, and even though the old one was hardly all that noisy, the new V6 and V8 petrol and plug-in hybrid engines are noticeably quieter, and all settle down to near-enough silence at motorway cruising speeds. Mind you, the big, low-profile tyres will kick up a bit of roar on concrete motorway sections.

On multi-lane roads, the Cayenne Coupe’s suspension settles down nicely, and it rides with much better comfort than it does around town, although if you’re looking for the ultimate in long-haul comfort, try a Range Rover or Range Rover Sport.

On a twisty road

Aha, here’s where the Cayenne Coupe starts to rule, although oddly it’s better on the standard steel springs than on the air suspension. That’s because traditional — ahem — British B-road surfaces can catch the Cayenne Coupe’s air springs out, and make them thump and heave in unexpected ways. For our roads, the standard springs and dampers are actually better, which is bad news if you fancy a Cayenne Coupe E-Hybrid, as all of those come on the air suspension.

Still, the Cayenne Coupe’s steering — in any model — is hefty and responsive, and makes this big two-tonne-plus SUV feel remarkably agile and chuckable on a proper stretch of road. Obviously, the big-hitting 739hp Turbo E-Hybrid version will leave more than a few supposed supercars choking on its tyre smoke, but to be honest even the basic V6 353hp version isn’t disgraced. The sweet spot is probably the 500hp V8 engined GTS model, which has plenty of performance but which does without the weight and complexity of the hybrid system.

And off-road? Yes, you can buy off-road packages for the Cayenne Coupe, which include extra under-body protection and knobbly tyres. Seriously, though — who’s buying one of these to go chasing Land Rover Defenders over ditches?

Surprisingly practical for a ‘coupe’ but the hybrids have small boots

The Cayenne Coupe gets awesome front seats, with lots of electric adjustment so everyone should be able to get comfortable. The steering wheel gets lots of adjustment too. It’s not the most practical car in the front, though. There is a wireless phone charging pad, some cupholders, and some storage space under the front seat armrest, but the storage space at the base of the centre console is uncovered, so anything you put in there — keys, wallet etc — are going to be on show to all once you’ve parked up.

Space in the back seats

It’s time to talk about the Porsche options list again… That’s because depending on which boxes have been ticked, the Cayenne Coupe can have either two or three seats in the back. In fact, as standard, the Cayenne Coupe comes with two sculpted sports seats in the back, separated by a shallow storage tray and a fold-away armrest. It’s only if the options box for the ‘2+1’ rear seat has been ticked that there’s a centre rear seat and seatbelt. To be honest, it’s probably not truly worth specifying the Cayenne Coupe with the extra seat — after all, if the idea is to buy a Porsche that’s still practical, then the Cayenne SUV is the logical choice. Equally, the centre rear seat is pretty narrow anyway, so not really of much use most of the time. The outer two rear seats are comfortable, though. There’s plenty of legroom and although headroom is reduced compared to the SUV model, it’s not too bad.

Boot space

Normally, when it comes to ‘Coupe-SUVs’, practicality only really takes a hit when it comes to comparing the boot’s seats-down luggage space. Not so here in the Cayenne Coupe, where significant compromises have been made thanks to that swoopier rear bodywork. Compared to the standard Cayenne SUV, which boasts a whopping 698 litre boot (up to the luggage cover), the most that the Cayenne Coupe can muster is 554 litres. That’s for a version that’s not an E-Hybrid. If it’s the E-Hybrid with which we’re dealing, then the Cayenne Coupe has just 404 litres of luggage space, up to the cover. That’s less than a Vauxhall Astra hatchback.

The seats-down space is also affected. Fold the seats flat in the Cayenne Coupe and it will open up 1,502 litres of luggage space, or 1,344 litres for one of the E-Hybrid models. A Cayenne SUV will swallow 1,708 litres with its back seats folded. At least the rear seats do fold in 40:20:40 formation, which is useful, although they don’t fold fully flat, leaving a bit of a slope up to the backs of the front seats.

The Cayenne Coupe looks and feels luxurious and high-tech, but you have to spend extra for it to look its best.

Porsche has given the Cayenne Coupe a massive digital update this time around, with the addition of a huge new 12.6-inch curved digital instrument panel behind the sporty, three-spoke steering wheel, and another screen — this one 12.3-inches — for the main infotainment screen. There’s even the option of an extra screen for the front seat passenger (but wouldn’t they just be using their own phone or tablet anyway?). Ah well, at least Porsche has been smart enough to ensure that the optional passenger screen isn’t visible to the driver.

The main touchscreen is pretty impressive, with sharp responses and a generally sensible menu layout, although as ever BMW does this slightly better with its click-wheel based iDrive, which is easier and less confusing to use when you’re driving. Kudos to Porsche, though, for keeping proper physical buttons for the heating and air conditioning, which means you’re much less reliant on the screen when on the move. The digital instruments also look great, and are adjustable and customisable.

The gear selector — all Cayennes are now automatic-only — has moved to a small toggle switch behind the steering wheel, but that hasn’t, as noted above, made for all that much extra space on the centre console. The steering wheel is properly round, not flattened at the top or bottom, and comes with a tactile little driving mode selector switch nestled under the right-hand spoke. A shame that the cruise control selection stalk looks and feels so old fashioned, but at least it’s intuitive to use.

One thing that’s not so impressive about the Cayenne Coupe’s cabin is the overall material quality, at least in basic form. In fact, some of the plastics on top of the dashboard look downright cheap, but this can be improved by — you’ve guessed it — dipping into the options list and spending extra on nicer leather and fake suede.

It would be fair to say that the Cayenne Coupe kind of covers all bases when it comes to fuel economy. The plug-in hybrid E-Hybrid models can be spectacularly economical, if you charge up their batteries as often as possible and minimise use of the petrol V6 or V8 engines. The official 188mpg figure of the most frugal Cayenne Coupe E-Hybrid model will probably be impossible to hit in real-world driving, but with lots of charging and few long journeys, you might hit 100mpg on average. Longer journeys in those E-Hybrids will prove thirsty, unless you make regular stops to top up the 22kWh (useable) battery, which only charges at 11kW on AC power, unlike Land Rover and Mercedes models which can fast-charge from DC chargers at 50kW. 

Without hybrid power, there’s really not much of a chance of any Cayenne Coupe being anything but pretty thirsty. Figure on 20-25mpg for a V8 model in real-world conditions, and 25-30mpg for a V6. 

Not surprisingly, it’s the plug-in E-Hybrid models which have the lowest emissions — as little as 33g/km — and therefore the best company car BIK rates — as little as £105 per month, compared to the £650+ for a V8 GTS. VED tax rates work out at £410 for the hybrids, once you’ve factored in the £40,000+ list price levy, while a V6 will set you back £1,090 and a V8 will cost £3,155.

The big SUV version of the Cayenne did well on the Euro NCAP crash test when it was covered back in 2017, scoring 95 per cent for adult occupant protection. The test has become more stringent since then, however, which means that the Cayenne Coupe wouldn’t necessarily repeat that feat if it were tested now (although given that Porsche has kept pace in terms of electronic driver aids, it likely would still score a maximum five-stars).

All Cayenne Coupes come with an alarm and immobiliser, and there’s an optional built-in dash-cam. It’s well worth considering a tracking device too, for such a desirable vehicle.

It’s worth keeping your Cayenne Coupe serviced with a Porsche main dealer, even though that can be a pricey prospect? Why? Because Porsche keeps track of such things, and a bit of customer loyalty works both ways if, for instance, you harbour hopes of some day snapping up a 911 GT3 RS… The old Cayenne and Coupe had a good few recalls for various faults and maladies, but in general these cars are robustly built and the mechanical bits have all seen long service in various VW, Audi, and Bentley models so are well-proven.

Porsche’s standard warranty covers you for three years, and servicing is supposed to be done every two years or 20,000 miles. Dip into the options list — again — and for more cash you can push that warranty out to a massive 15 years and unlimited mileage…