Hybrid Q

[Stormy_Monday]

the missus is considering a new Cayenne e hybrid. Anyone have this? Experience with the electric side of the power train? Any data on battery life and replacement costs?

grazie

[blueline]

the missus is considering a new Cayenne e hybrid. Anyone have this? Experience with the electric side of the power train? Any data on battery life and replacement costs?

grazie

New Cayenne S here, so no help. I think WillyDaP's son Ryan has one. (Ryan is a long-time SA at Porsche dealer in NE.)

[RonaTD]

I took delivery of a S E-Hybrid in July. Since then I've put just over 2000 miles on it, probably 1500 of those on battery power alone. I'm retired, so most of my driving is errands and going to the marina to go sailing. I'm getting around 25mpg when just using the gas engine, and about 2 miles per kwh in electric mode.

People online have criticized the electric mode for its leisurely acceleration, but they are missing the point. In the circumstances where I'm in e-mode, I have _never_ thought "gee I wish this motor was stronger". When driving the Cayenne sedately around town, it is incredibly quiet and comfortable, and in my opinion has plenty of power just from the e-motor.

The only complaint I have is that the transmission and regen/brake programming makes for a bit of herky-jerky stops sometimes. Online reviews complain about the braking, but I think they're referring to the combination of braking, regeneration, and transmission. Porsche insists on prioritizing coasting over e-braking, and I think that contributes to this problem.

I charge the car in my garage on 110v, which makes for pretty pokey recharging, as I'm only getting 1200w. I can get about 50% of the battery charged while I'm sleeping. That hasn't been an issue for me so far. The biggest problem I've had with the charger is that it errors out when the garage door opens. I guess the short draw of power as the garage door motor starts up panics the charge controller. (They're on the same circuit.) So, I can't just leave it plugged in all day and have it keep charging, as I have to unplug and replug the wall unit every time my wife opens the garage door. Someday we'll get a dedicated 220v line in there. I'm trying to keep the battery between 20 and 80% to maximize ultimate lifespan.

Last week I did a highway trip, about 100 miles each way, mostly interstate with a bit of suburban roads. I did the trip in hybrid mode, letting the computer decide when to fire up the lovely gas motor. The battery was at about 80% at the start, and it was down close to zero when I got back. The computer reported about 45 mpg average, but that's not an "eMPG" equivalent, as it doesn't include the equivalent gas consumption of electrons. Still, I was kind of shocked by that because, as I said, I've been getting 25mpg (or less!) when blasting around the backroads in Sport mode. I have the sports exhaust and did not have it in sport mode for that trip. You can barely hear the engine start, and you don't feel it start or shut down. It is an _amazingly_ quiet and comfortable highway cruiser, when you need that sort of thing. It's worth mentioning, I suppose, that I also have air suspension and active roll bars. (Yes, I checked all of the performance option boxes.)

A lot of hate is directed at plug-in hybrids, claiming they're inefficient and carry wasted weight. I think those arguments are exactly backwards. The "data" on inefficiency comes from people who never plug theirs in. Well, duh. And the extra weight of the gas engine argument is just silly. How much does my 3.0 turbo v6 weigh compared to, say 300 miles worth of battery? I estimate the engine weighs half of what the extra battery would weigh. So, I have enough battery capacity for 80% of the driving I do, and for the other 20%, a) I'm carrying half of the additional weight, b) for 400 miles of range with a 3-minute refill time.

We'll see if I ever get to the point where I can answer the question about battery life and replacement cost . I'm hopeful that Porsche is smart enough to make it possible to, when the time comes, replace the battery with newer technology that's lighter/more efficient.

[blueline]

Excellent feedback - I haven't overheard many comments nor read much about first hand accounts regarding Cayenne hybrids, so your initial impressions and experiences were helpful to someone (me) who is curious.

Please keep us updated from time to time. What comes down the road is still largely a question mark for many.

[Stormy_Monday]

Excellent feedback - I haven't overheard many comments nor read much about first hand accounts regarding Cayenne hybrids, so your initial impressions and experiences were helpful to someone (me) who is curious.

Please keep us updated from time to time. What comes down the road is still largely a question mark for many.

ditto

[WillyDaP]

I have been blown away by son Ryan's Cayenne Hybrid as it pulls his 20 ATC enclosed trailer better than my Ram truck. The battery portion has the right amount of extra torque that it seldom downshifts and I can hardly wait to ride in his new Hybrid. I know he has a couple of track buddies who have also gotten Hybrids at Porsche of Omaha and I imagine he will suggest to more customers that this model should be heavily considered if pulling a boat, trailer, etc. I have been impressed enough that I know my wife and I will consider one when her Macan S is due to trade. I wouldn't mind using a Porsche Cayenne for my tow vehicle. I could trade in my truck also and save on garage space , ha.

[Stormy_Monday]

I took delivery of a S E-Hybrid in July. Since then I've put just over 2000 miles on it, probably 1500 of those on battery power alone. I'm retired, so most of my driving is errands and going to the marina to go sailing. I'm getting around 25mpg when just using the gas engine, and about 2 miles per kwh in electric mode.

People online have criticized the electric mode for its leisurely acceleration, but they are missing the point. In the circumstances where I'm in e-mode, I have _never_ thought "gee I wish this motor was stronger". When driving the Cayenne sedately around town, it is incredibly quiet and comfortable, and in my opinion has plenty of power just from the e-motor.

The only complaint I have is that the transmission and regen/brake programming makes for a bit of herky-jerky stops sometimes. Online reviews complain about the braking, but I think they're referring to the combination of braking, regeneration, and transmission. Porsche insists on prioritizing coasting over e-braking, and I think that contributes to this problem.

I charge the car in my garage on 110v, which makes for pretty pokey recharging, as I'm only getting 1200w. I can get about 50% of the battery charged while I'm sleeping. That hasn't been an issue for me so far. The biggest problem I've had with the charger is that it errors out when the garage door opens. I guess the short draw of power as the garage door motor starts up panics the charge controller. (They're on the same circuit.) So, I can't just leave it plugged in all day and have it keep charging, as I have to unplug and replug the wall unit every time my wife opens the garage door. Someday we'll get a dedicated 220v line in there. I'm trying to keep the battery between 20 and 80% to maximize ultimate lifespan.

Last week I did a highway trip, about 100 miles each way, mostly interstate with a bit of suburban roads. I did the trip in hybrid mode, letting the computer decide when to fire up the lovely gas motor. The battery was at about 80% at the start, and it was down close to zero when I got back. The computer reported about 45 mpg average, but that's not an "eMPG" equivalent, as it doesn't include the equivalent gas consumption of electrons. Still, I was kind of shocked by that because, as I said, I've been getting 25mpg (or less!) when blasting around the backroads in Sport mode. I have the sports exhaust and did not have it in sport mode for that trip. You can barely hear the engine start, and you don't feel it start or shut down. It is an _amazingly_ quiet and comfortable highway cruiser, when you need that sort of thing. It's worth mentioning, I suppose, that I also have air suspension and active roll bars. (Yes, I checked all of the performance option boxes.)

A lot of hate is directed at plug-in hybrids, claiming they're inefficient and carry wasted weight. I think those arguments are exactly backwards. The "data" on inefficiency comes from people who never plug theirs in. Well, duh. And the extra weight of the gas engine argument is just silly. How much does my 3.0 turbo v6 weigh compared to, say 300 miles worth of battery? I estimate the engine weighs half of what the extra battery would weigh. So, I have enough battery capacity for 80% of the driving I do, and for the other 20%, a) I'm carrying half of the additional weight, b) for 400 miles of range with a 3-minute refill time.

We'll see if I ever get to the point where I can answer the question about battery life and replacement cost . I'm hopeful that Porsche is smart enough to make it possible to, when the time comes, replace the battery with newer technology that's lighter/more efficient.

So, what kind of sailboat?

[RonaTD]

I mistyped the mpg on my road trip. Looking back on the data it was more like 33mpg, which I’m still very happy with. Early on in the return trip I was showing 45mpg after some surface roads and a bunch of traffic slowdowns on the freeway. The rest of the trip was 85mph+, so not exactly ideal for fuel efficiency

In a couple of weeks I will tow my Stuart Knockabout (4000 pounds, plus 1500 pounds of trailer) the 30 miles from Milwaukee to Port Washington. My Cayenne Diesel hardly seemed to notice that weight.

[blueline]

I mistyped the mpg on my road trip. Looking back on the data it was more like 33mpg, which I’m still very happy with. Early on in the return trip I was showing 45mpg after some surface roads and a bunch of traffic slowdowns on the freeway. The rest of the trip was 85mph+, so not exactly ideal for fuel efficiency

In a couple of weeks I will tow my Stuart Knockabout (4000 pounds, plus 1500 pounds of trailer) the 30 miles from Milwaukee to Port Washington. My Cayenne Diesel hardly seemed to notice that weight.

Stuart Knockabout - I had to look that one up. Nice!!

[WillyDaP]

I had to look that up also , but what a great name for the sailboat!