C5 Pete

Does it have to be plugged in?

For example, drive 30 miles to work… Does the car drive on battery only until a certain point, then the engine kicks in?

I've read the engine will charge the battery pack. Is this correct?

The car will sit for a week at work with no option to plug in, will the pre-heat/pre-cool still work fine after sitting that long?

Also, while this may seem dumb, do you have to ever plug it in? Not that I wouldn’t, but how much of the car depends on the battery pack?

Thanks for any assist.

My wife and I have been pondering a new Cayenne for about a year, and are on the fence between the S and the E-Hybrid.

daveo4porsche

the car works just fine not being plugged in - but you may end up running around on "zero battery" which reduces the benefits of the hybrid (both power and effciency) - but the car works just fine as a pure ICE vehicle.

I've not done a lot of pre-conditioning so I can't answer your question about pre-conditioning - but I'm going to guess if battery is "empty" no preconditioning

when starting the car it will always default to EV-mode - EV power only - you can toggle to hybrid-auto/sport mode and you'll get ICE engine- you can also "invoke" the ICE motor with heavy press on the accelerator or pressing the sports button on the "mode wheel"

in normal driving you'll be in pure-EV mode until the battery is empty then the vehicle will add the ICE motor to the mix (and switch you into Hybrid-auto mode and ePower will no longer be an "option" on the drive mode switch - until the battery is sufficiently charged)

energy is constantly being harvested from both deceleration and engine power generation - there is also a "charge mode" where the battery is charged by the motor explicitly…

you do not "have" to plug it in - the car will work just fine - the zero percent battery you see on the dash is really not zero percent - if the hybrid battery was allowed to drain to zero percent the vehicle would not function - there is no alternator - so the car manages the battery "for you" - the EV motor is also the "starter" - so the car keeps the battery charged to a minimum level so it always has "juice" to run the ICE motor and recharge itself. There is also constant charging opportunities from the inertia/kenitics of normal driving - I'm amazed sometimes how often the ICE motors drops offline even when I"m at zero percent battery because Porsche's software is so good at finding "harvesting opportunities" to gain a little power for the battery or run the EV motor…

don't "overthink" it - if you want to the car "just works" and you don't have to know or even manage that it's a hybrid.

daveo4porsche

there are four "modes" of a Cayenne eHybrid

ePower - EV motor only unless you push the accelerator past the "knock down notch"
Hybrid-auto - EV "mostly" but the ICE motor kicks in fairly often
eHold - run the ICE motor, and keep the battery at it's currrent state
eCharge - ICE motor runs always and proves charging to the battery (about 45-90 minutes of running in this mode gets you back to 80% battery from zero percent in highway driving based on my experience)

the "rough" break down of the mix of ICE/EV motor is as follows for the 4 modes:

ePower - 97% EV motor only - 3% ICE motor if you have "high power demand"
Hybrid Auto - about 50% EV 50% ICE motor, until the battery is empty
eHold - ICE motor always on - limited EV "boost" to keep battery at current levels
eCharge - ICE motor "always on" - and runing a little harder to charge the battery

in addition to the 4 hybrid modes you also have Porsche's Sport/Sports-Plus settings - Sport and Sports plus move the ICE motor to "always on" and effectively moves the EV motor to "boost only" - i.e. they use the EV motor to boost power delivery…

from 32,xxx miles on my 2021 TurboS eHybrid I've learned that heavy acceleration _ALWAYS_ "adds" the EV motor into the mix for maximum power delivery even in eCharge mode…

Porsche software is "brilliant" at mixing/matching/blending/invoking/harvesting power wtih/from the two motors - really honestly - just drive the car and ignore the fact that it's a hybird - you'll be fine and pleasantly suprised…

my favorite feature of the car is gliding down hill on Hwy 17 in Northern California and having the car just hug the curves and glide downhill at extra-legal speeds with the ICE motor completely offline (cause we're going down hill) and yet the power steering, air conditioning, and all other aspects of the car are "functional" even though I'm at "zero battery" indicated on the dash…when I run out of down hill or encounter a slight uphill section the ICE motor seamless cuts back in and provides the necessary power, and then goes away again when it's no longer needed…

porsche manages the battery for you so you don't have to - just drive and you'll be fine.

daveo4porsche

when doing road trips - is a perfect example of not being plugged in - since I don't typically charge my Hybrid while road tripping - we'll go days with out plugging it while traveling - and the car will just be an ICE vehicle during these trips - it still is a hybrid and Porsche's excellent energy management will still "find" battery power from deceleration and some some excess ICE power and it will still toggle between ICE motor on/off - but the car does not require you to plug it in.

during these road trips you spend most of your time bouncing off "zero" percent battery with the car never really getting the battery power all that high in terms of charge - but it doesn't matter - when I know I'm going to be steady state for a while (120 miles straight road at 70 mph in eastern Oregon I'll toggle to eCharge and bring the battery up to 80/90 %) this is great for when you finish the 120 mile segment and end up in Bend Oregon tooling around town in eMode quiet, and stealth like with the ICE motor "off" since you charged the battery from the previous non-stop highway segment.

it "just works" and you can ignore the fact that it's a hybrid.

C5 Pete

Wow… what a thoroughly excellent explanation of the eHybrid and how it works. I really appreciate it and how quickly you responded. Thanks!

I like the idea of a hybrid - always have. My wife is a bit on the fence about it.

cometguy

The ICE will go off at times in "e-hold" mode if you're coasting (esp. downhill) or at a stop.

I personally don't think that it makes a lot of sense to buy a PHEV unless you're going to take advantage of its plusses, which means actively controlling when to drive in all-electric and when not to, and means plugging in "daily" to a full charge ("daily" here means as often as you're driving the car).
They're extra-complicated (sizeable battery pack plus ICE) and can be nightmares outside of warranty as a result.
That said, the E-Hybrids usually have more power/torque than do the more-expensive ICE-only "S"-level vehicles in the same Porsche-vehicle line-up.

But when used properly, PHEVs can be amazing with great practicality. My wife and I both have PHEVs right now, and we do the vast majority of "around-town" daily driving/commuting in electric-only driving, but we also do long road trips frequently (once every couple of months on average), and there it's nice to not have to worry about plugging in and dealing with the crappy public-charging infrastructure in the US.
My rule-of-thumb is to drive a PHEV in all-electric mode whenever < 45 mph, and in "Hybrid Hold" mode whenever > 45 mph (at least 99% of the time, not counting spirited driving for fun, and not counting "e-charging" the traction battery on long road trips).
So having the dial on the steering wheel to toggle between the different modes is great in a PHEV (and really necessary); it's too bad that you have to dive into sub-menus on the infotainment screen to get the "e-charge" mode going...

daveo4porsche

with PCM 5 in my 2021 eHybrid I typically have car play on screen - which is not "full screen" unless you've hacked it - so the right side of the screen is limited to Porsche PCM controls - I have the "hybrid" controls _always shown_ next to carplay - so while it's a software button - it's always on screen to switch to eCharge ;-)

it's so useful even my wife does it when she's not with me in the car - she normally just "ignores" any attempts to optmize driving a car - but she's embraced some limited "hybrid" management as long as I make it easy for her

I agree 100% with your comments - but for me a Hybrid is just a "waiting" game for an eventually Cayenne full-EV - when I bought the 2021 Cayenne there was no 'good EV SUV' available - and I didn't want to get another Model X - so the Cayenne was the only choice that had some EV benefitis - choices are better in 2024 and the future - so I'm hoping to be back into a full EV by end of 2027…

C5 Pete

Neither my wife, nor I, have typical 9-5 jobs. As such, our vehicles may sit for several days at home without being driven. Or, and an out location for 7 days without being driven. Typically, when we are both home and go somewhere, we take my Sierra, as I prefer it to her RX350. Somehow, I believe once we get Cayenne, that will become the vehicle of choice for going anywhere…

daveo4porsche

good news on the wife front!

she doesn't need to know or care - just get in the car and 'drive'…if she wants to have a bit more Ommmph - just 1 click clockwise on the "drive mode" dial and the car will be mostly an ICE vehicle but still be super efficient…

I have to say the EV only mode will impress NO ONE in terms of performance - I realized the other day chugging up hill out of watsonville on Hwy 1 north - it's a bit like driving a Nissan leaf in terms of performance in EV only mode - which is not a good thing - but the ICE motor is easily tapped and brought online and you're back in your Porsche

both the wife and LOVE only filling it up about every two months since we charge at home when ever it's in the garage - for daily errands around town at 45 mph or less (thank you @cometguy ) and lots of stop and go - it's brillant and the ICE is simply baggage - but once you need a "bit more" it's got a ton to give and it will "just work".

a few Lessons about how to force teh ICE motor to kick in and the car will be great - minor tweaks to learn how to over ride the defaults.

I've had to teach the wife to embrace the "sports button" for short-merge-on-ramps when in EV only power mode- she's a conservative driver but needed to understand sometimes you need to embrace the power to safely merge with 65 mph Hwy 1 traffice around santa cruz when you're coming onto Hyw 1 south on a merge lane less than 1/10th of mile long…it why one own's a Porsche - you don't need to suffer with a lack of power.

C5 Pete

When we first drove the base Cayenne, she thought is similar in performance to her RX350, but with better handling and ride quality…. Then we got in the S, and her eyes got wide, and a huge grin came across her face…. I knew I was in trouble…

But, I’m a lifelong performance junkie. (I have a 1500hp Corvette drag car)

I want the S too, for all the typical reasons. However, as I mentioned, the hybrid is intriguing to me. All this info you guys have provided really pushes me toward the hybrid.

The upside is, can’t go wrong either way..

MaxLTV

By the way, the manual says that when using Porsche navigation, the car would automatically save the charge for parts of the route where it's most beneficial. I did not have a chance to test it because my North American car did not have Euro maps in it, so not sure how well it works. It may be for Innodrive-equipped cars only.

Peter Shirley

Okay, I have about 3000 miles on my 24 Hybrid S. Most of this is in the mountains of Colorado, but here is what I have learned.

Don't trust the PCM computer to know when it's best to flip between electric and motor. On trips greater that 45 miles (about the range here in the mountains), I flip between Epower and Hybrid Charge depending on battery percentage and terrain. For example as I head up a mountain pass I put it on hybrid charge to build up my miles, and then flip to epower coming down the pass which also regenerates power by braking. Off highways or on flat I go epower. I have had numerous 80-160 mile days trips up here at 7500 feet where I can get to 50+ mpg.

Last week I drove from Avon up vail pass, then up to Eisenhower tunner, then down to Idaho springs, and up to 14140 foot mount blue sky and back. that entire trip which had the most vertical of any drive still got 38 mpg.

end point is - play the adjustments yourself, you will get very good mpg.

i386_64

E-hold and E-charge modes are mostly gimmick and serve for only particular purposes. Normally, for short city trips, E-power should be fine. For longer trips, Hybrid Auto is the way to go.

E-hold makes sense if you're getting close to heavy traffic or customs/border control point, so you can preserve your energy to do lots of stop & go's without harrassing the engine and lower the fuel consumption.

E-charge is similar to the previous scenario, but using your drivetrain to preserve energy in exchange of dramatically high fuel consumption.

Some European cities may require you to drive in electric mode in the city centres, otherwise you'll pay. Meh. Doesn't work in the UK, they'll charge you if your vehicle is not fully electric.

Hybrid variants also tend to stop the engine in the motorway, helping to reduce fuel consumption by balancing the A/C load and electronics on the heavy voltage battery. In expense of extra weight.

Hybrid AC charging can trickle charge the battery. It's been five years on mine with 60k kms on the clock, (low voltage) battery is still fine. Four homes, four EV charger installations.

Pre-cool and pre-heat are huge advantage.

30k kms since I bought it, 12k kms of EV usage. I think it should help maintenance costs too, since you're not using ICE.

C5 Pete

Lots of good info here. I appreciate the insight.

daveo4porsche

1st EV/PHEV?

are you setup for charging at home in your garage?