Porsche Cayenne Coupe Review 2024

The Porsche Cayenne Coupe is a desirable alternative to cars like the BMW X6 and Audi Q8. It’s incredible to drive with its V6 and V8 petrol engines offering a fantastic turn of pace, while plug-in hybrid variants mean it doesn’t have to cost the earth to run. You lose a bit of practicality compared to the standard Porsche Cayenne, but the interior is incredibly well finished and will be spacious enough for most families. The list price will make you wince - especially by the time you’ve added a few options - but it’s arguably worth every penny.

While there’s nothing more en vogue than a premium SUV, cars like the Porsche Cayenne, Range Rover and BMW X5 are now a little too popular for their own good. To really stand out these days, you need a more stylish (and less practical) version of last year’s must-have SUV.

That’s precisely what the Porsche Cayenne Coupe is. It’s not a ‘proper’ coupe like those that were popular in the ‘90s (remember the Ford Probe?), it’s simply a more rakish version of the Cayenne - just like the BMW X6 is a BMW X5 with a more sloping roofline.

It’s almost as practical as the Cayenne, save for a bit of headroom in the rear and a slightly smaller boot. But there’s still room for all the family and their belongings, plus it can still tow a caravan. Or a pony trailer.

And it's utterly fabulous inside. You won’t find any shortcuts here - everything’s extremely well finished and designed to make you feel good about blowing the best part of £100,000 on an SUV. Even the technology’s wonderful - a slick 12.3-inch digital display is standard across the Cayenne Coupe range, with fast responses and the feel of an expensive tablet.

The Cayenne Coupe’s engine line-up mirrors the standard car’s. That means you get a choice of V6 and V8 petrol engines, as well as plug-in hybrid derivatives. There are no diesels here - the devil’s juice just isn’t very Porsche.

It does mean that no Porsche Cayenne Coupe is particularly cheap to run, although the hybrid models can now cover more than 40 miles under electric power alone when fully charged. You'll notice the extra weight of the batteries in the bends, but the E-Hybrid models still drive as well as you'd expect for a Porsche SUV.

All models are fast - even the standard car with its turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 engine, which takes the Cayenne Coupe to 62mph in six seconds flat. Go for a V8 for maximum punch - as well as an epic soundtrack to match, particularly with the optional sports exhaust.

That’s the thing about the Cayenne Coupe. It just feels special. Sure, a Lamborghini Urus or Aston Martin DBX will turn more heads, but they’re significantly more expensive. The Porsche Cayenne Coupe is priced closer to the BMW X6 and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, yet will put a smile on your face more than either.

There’s no hiding the fact that the Cayenne Coupe is a big car, so it’s not going to wind itself down a twisty road as well as a 911 (or even the smaller Macan SUV). That said, it does shrink around you to an extent, and it remains incredibly flat and composed during fast cornering. The plug-in hybrid models feel a little more lumbering - it’s around 2500kg, after all, thanks to the weight of the batteries.

The optional rear-wheel steering helps with agility (even around town), while the air suspension (standard on Turbo and Turbo S E-Hybrid models) allows you to prioritise comfort or performance.

With the optional air suspension, the Cayenne Coupe rides fairly well, although it can only do so much to counter the car’s bulky weight and unforgivingly large alloy wheels. Without it, the Cayenne Coupe does tend to thump over speed bumps and broken road surfaces. 

There isn’t a single Cayenne Coupe which is going to disappoint on the performance front. Even the standard car uses a turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 to cover 0-62mph in less than six seconds, but we’d recommend upgrading to the Cayenne S Coupe if it’s within budget. Until 2024, this used a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 and could accelerate to 62mph a second quicker. This was replaced by a 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine in 2024 with similar performance but a much burblier engine note.

You can’t buy a Cayenne Coupe with a diesel engine. Instead, the eco version is a plug-in hybrid badged the E-Hybrid. This combines the standard car’s 3.0-litre V6 with an electric motor, helping it cover the 0-62mph sprint in 4.9 seconds (with the Sport Chrono Package fitted). There's also a Cayenne S E-hybrid Coupe, which uses a similar setup but with a boost in power output - taking it to 62mph in 4.7 seconds.

For those who want something really fast, there are a myriad options. The (now discontinued) Cayenne GTS Coupe pretends to provide a comfortable middle ground between the sensible models and the bonkers variants, but in reality it’s all the Cayenne Coupe most buyers would need. It’s powered by a 460PS V8 engine (which sounds terrific), covering 0-62mph in 4.5 seconds and can reach a top speed of 168mph.

Then there’s the 739PS Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe, which is V8-powered and covered 0-62mph in a supercar-baiting 3.7 seconds.

The standard Cayenne achieved the full five stars when it was crash tested by Euro NCAP in 2017 - and that rating also applies to the Coupe version. It’s an extremely safe car for carrying your family, with standard equipment including automatic emergency braking and a reversing camera.

The Porsche Cayenne Coupe can tow a braked trailer up to 3500kg (depending on specification). That’s quite a hefty amount - as you’d expect from a powerful SUV of this size. A big caravan shouldn’t be an issue, or a trailer containing your race car.

There’s loads of room in the front of the Cayenne Coupe, with plenty of storage areas for your odds and ends. Even tall drivers will get comfortable, while there’s plenty of space between you and your front seat passenger.

Of course, the Cayenne Coupe’s sloping roofline means it’s not quite as spacious in the back as the standard Cayenne. The seats are mounted slightly lower in an attempt to counter this, but it’s still not the most spacious SUV in terms of rear headroom. Children will be happy, though, and fitting a child seat is a breeze thanks to the large rear doors.

The boot, although not as cavernous as the standard Cayenne’s, is still pretty massive. There’s room for 625-litres of luggage, which should easily be enough for the weekly Waitrose shop. Hybrid models aren’t quite as practical, though - they lose 100 litres of space because of the batteries under the floor.

The Porsche Cayenne Coupe feels every bit as premium as you’d expect from the brand. Poke and prod to your heart’s content - you simply won’t find a flimsy bit of plastic here. Much of the interior is leather-lined, while any plastics used are soft to touch. 

Even the switchgear feels extremely classy, with a satisfying robustness to their operation. Splash the cash and you can make your Cayenne Coupe feel even more opulent - things like the interior trim package with decorative stitching in contrasting colour and extended leather are desirable options.

With high-res graphics and a logical layout, the Cayenne Coupe’s huge 12.3-inch media system is a pleasure to use. It looks and feels like a high-end tablet, with ultra-fast responses as well as acoustic and haptic feedback in response to the most delicate of finger jabs.

A desirable option from 2024 is the new 10.9-inch digital display for the passenger side of the dashboard. It's a bit of a gimmick but lets your passenger monitor performance stats or, more realistically, browse their own entertainment on the move. It's not distracting, either, as it uses a special filter so that it can't be seen by the driver's eye.

As you'd expect, there’s a full Porsche Connect suite of services fitted as standard. The system is fully customisable - with up to six profiles - while a 4G modem and wifi hotspot are also included.

You’re making a statement by buying a Porsche Cayenne Coupe. And it’s not one you’re going to make on a budget. The cheapest model starts from more than £73,000 - but that soon gets bumped up by the time you’ve added a few desirable options (metallic paint is an extra £899, adaptive air suspension is more than £1750).

The Cayenne E-Hybrid Coupe starts from around £82,000, while the Cayenne S Coupe will set you back more than £88,000. If you want a top-of-the-range Cayenne Coupe, you better have deep pockets - prices for the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupe start from more than £132,000. Still, if you start comparing it to a Lamborghini Urus, it looks a bit of a bargain...

Don’t be fooled by the impressive official fuel economy of the plug-in hybrid models (the Cayenne E-Hybrid Coupe officially returns up to 188.3mpg), a Porsche Cayenne Coupe is going to cost you a fair bit to run. For a start, the E-Hybrids need regular charging to get the best out of them in terms of economy. Without frequent top-ups of electricity, they’re big petrol-powered SUVs.

According to official WLTP fuel economy tests, the standard Cayenne Coupe will return up to 25.9mpg, while the Cayenne S Coupe is good for 22.6mpg.

Then there’s the tax. All Cayenne Coupes are well over the £40,000 mark, meaning you’ll pay £570 a year in VED for the first five years (after the initial year’s tax). The Hybrid models get a generous £10 discount on that. Porsche servicing isn’t cheap, either.

All models come with 20-inch alloy wheels, Park Assist at the front and rear including reversing camera, Porsche Active Suspension Management adjustable dampers, and the Sport Chrono Package that includes launch control and a stopwatch on the centre of the dashboard. 

From there you need to choose whether to go for the standard Cayenne Coupe, the E-Hybrid, the S, S E-Hybrid or Turbo E-Hybrid model. Adding equipment is simply a matter of going on the options list where you can select everything from larger wheels (up to 22-inches in size) to rear-wheel steering and powerful carbon-ceramic disc brakes.