Bartron

UPDATE: I've renamed the thread to keep things simple, maybe lets try and keep SEH discussion in this thread. Makes it easy to keep it together for those interested.

Hey guys,

I'm looking at a e-hybrid for my wife. She currently has a MB GL diesel. Her list of requirements is pretty simple. Bluetooth, heated seats and steering wheel and enough get up and go to get out of it's own way. Since it's -40C here in the winter, she hates getting gas so over 1000km per tank would be fantastic (as in the diesel).

We would be going with the new upcoming cayenne in the e-hybrid which apparently will have a larger battery.

so my question to you guys is what is the car like in REGULAR use. Not trying to maximize mileage, not charging it all the time. Just using it as a NON-plug-in hybrid with an occasional charge here and there if I remember to do it.

Tried searching and reading through about 40 pages of threads but it's a bit of a niche topic.

Thanks!

thescratt

-40! Are you parking inside or out? I'd be very interested to hear if it will start in all electric mode in those conditions, how long before you can use the battery, and how reduced your range is.

We live in Iceland, and this will be our first winter with a hybrid. But it only gets down to about -16 or -18 here.

I am having the pre-heat / pre-cool timer put in, and my plan is to use the battery to warm the car in the mornings and then see what I get out of the battery after that.

The only anecdotal info I can give you is that it is like any other Cayenne when the battery is flat. Round town it guzzles gas and on the open road it's a bit more frugal. With just 4 or 5km of range in the battery it's pretty good at keeping itself topped up if you lift and coast, or brake early to charge the battery. And then 1000 km out of a tank is very much doable round town or on the open road. But this is summer and autumn driving, and I keep it charged as much as I can... Once you start using heaters and things I suspect your range will be affected.. just like air-con on when running on battery alone is a bit of a power sink.

It also just occurred to me that the reason I got this one (basically new) is because a guy here bought a maxed out one for his wife... She didn't like it. Hence me getting a good deal on a basically brand new car.

Driving a hybrid and getting any kind of efficiency out of it does require learning a new driving style. I am very much into engine breaking. That is not something you can do with a hybrid. And efficient braking which will regenerate energy requires having a very smooth forward looking driving style, or you just throw all the energy away as heat on the brakes.
I personally love it. But I am into interesting driving experiences. A lot of people just don't find the thought of all this worth it. And then you have a pretty heavy, pretty inefficient car... Definitely have a test drive and learn how it works before committing to one IMHO. =)

Bartron

Thanks for the info! What's the preheat/precool timer? We park in a heated garage so it wouldn't be parked overnight outside in super cold temps. At least not frequently.

thescratt

This crazy expensive software code...

http://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU958AUXCOOL.html

thescratt

One other thing..

Get Sport Plus. =)

When you crank it all up it is a beast.
And even in all electric you can use the Sport Plus suspension setting and it's like a very large electric go-kart. =)
All the other suspension settings are pretty soft by comparison.

Bartron

isn't that the same as the e-mobility app that the car supposedly comes with? Was it not available before?

thescratt

Whether you get the Car Connect thing depends on if your region supports it.
But it does AFAIK offer pre-heat / pre-cool.

This opens that option up both in the in car menus and for the app..

The niggling thing is it is literally a software code. Install time is 30 minutes, and it's just done via PIWIS and uses the existing systems in the car.

For me, in Iceland, where we do not have Car Connect yet, this as a default option in the in-car menus would be a nice compromise.. but Porsche...

If you ever find a dealer willing to do a deal on this I would be interested, as it can be delivered digitally as a code.

jhbrennan

Any more info on this?

thescratt

I think it is fair to assume, and I may have even read it somewhere, that the next Cayenne hybrid will follow the spec of the new Panamera Hybrid, which has a larger battery and higher horse power electric motor.

I assume at least the battery size will be upped. But I also think that won't be until the 2018 model. The 2017 is the same at the 2016, except for PCM.

Bartron

So I have the dealer demo for a few days. Their average mileage is 11.5 l/100 km. I don't think the car gets charged much though. I got it with a flat battery. The electrical fill-in for the initial get-go and engine start-stop is very seamless.

thescratt

Yeah.. Mileage is pretty depressing without the battery. And you also don't have the option to use the battery to boost performance..

Local running will tend to eat the battery slowly.. But then you can just top up at home overnight.
Long runs are less of a problem as "sailing" tends to keep it bubbling along quite nicely.

I am not a huge fan of e-charge, as it's a false economy.. But if the battery is low on a long run and I am cruising and I know I want to drive a bit more energetically later on I'll use it then sometimes..

Dealers really don't seem to get how to explain these cars, or show them off in their best light.
Picking one up with a dead battery is kind of the worst case scenario if you want to impress someone.

The integration of the two power units is amazing tho. Transitions are typically very smooth.
It has some interesting quirks also.. I have been doing electric only runs and tried to engine brake.. and even in all electric if it thinks you are getting into a rev range that is bad for the ICE, like hitting 1st or 2nd gear to slow down it will bring the ICE in anyway to protect from potential over-rev situations. Which is neat, but shocking the first time it does it.

How do you find the breaking and the regeneration gauge to use?

thescratt

btw : My next car will be another of these, or a 911 hybrid (if they make one in that time frame).
So I am sold on this tech, and the evolution it is following.

Bartron

to me the business case is interesting for one of these cars. As a direct comparison the S Diesel seems like an interesting alternative. I know it's apples and oranges but at the same time, the diesel gets great economy and i wonder if the S has less turbo lag. The turbo lag with our GL is a bit annoying. Given that 85% of driving would be in the city, it seems compelling. Just driving in regular mode, it keeps about two bars in the battery and no range.

I'm surprised how little there is on RL about this vehicle. Wonder if most of the discussion is on the Panamera side?

jhbrennan

The e-hybrid S is not a turbo but a Audi supercharged 3.0 V6 - no lag

Bartron

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I was referring to lag with the S diesel. Now that i look closer, neither the regular diesel nor S diesel is available in Canada right now.