Porsche Cayenne vs Range Rover Sport vs Volvo XC90
Land Rover, Porsche and Volvo all offer plug-in hybrid luxury SUVS that promise to be cheaper to run than diesel equivalents and just as good to drive. Let’s see which one impresses most
We’re comparing the plug-in hybrid versions of these luxury SUVS to see if they offer more than just lower tax
WAY BACK AT the genesis of the horseless carriage – or the motorcar, as we refer to it today – a debate raged about what should power it. Some said stick with the tried and tested means of steam; others championed a newish fuel, petrol. But the real progressives wanted new-fangled electricity to lead the charge. That’s right: just a few years after Thomas Edison’s literal light-bulb moment of 1879, a chap called Thomas Parker was already plugging in the first production electric car.
Anyway, there endeth the history lesson. The point, however, is that by now you’d think we’d all be scooting about in electric vehicles, yet the pure electric car is only just coming of age in terms of range. For a truly allpurpose vehicle, you still need to pair electricity with a traditional combustion engine, hence the
hybrid. With interest in hybrids almost matching that of SUVS, this might just be our most electrifying test yet.
First up is the Volvo XC90 T8. Like the other two contenders, it’s a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). A PHEV gives you a battery large enough for a relatively short electric-only range, sufficient for a typical school run or short commute to work. Once the battery has been depleted, the car seamlessly swaps to the regular engine, which in this case is a pokey turbocharged and supercharged 2.0-litre petrol unit.
That’s the same size as the petrol engine in the Range Rover Sport P400e, although here it’s just turbocharged. This is the facelifted Sport, which, along with a more powerful electric motor and software updates to better integrate it, gets the infotainment system from the sleeker Velar.
Third up is the brand new Porsche Cayenne E-hybrid. It’s bigger than the outgoing Cayenne and bursting with more technology than ever before. It also has the biggest and most powerful engine of the three: a turbocharged 3.0-litre petrol V6.
DRIVING Performance, ride, handling, re nement
The first test of a hybrid’s performance is range: how far, on a full charge, will it travel on battery power alone? In our tests on a variety of roads, the Sport managed the longest distance of 18.4 miles. There’s a caveat, though: this figure was artificially augmented (slightly) by the fact that its petrol engine couldn’t be prevented from kicking in up the steeper inclines on our route. The other two had enough oomph from their electric motors to get them up unaided, so the Cayenne’s 17.4 miles and XC90’S 17.6 miles are more representative.
On electric power alone, the performance of all three is reasonably sprightly and they can each do more than 70mph, but for their ultimate pace you need to cross the streams and work their electric motors and petrol engines in tandem. We’ve already mentioned that the Cayenne has the biggest engine, so you probably know where this is heading: it’s easily the quickest. in fact, the Cayenne has the kind of flat-out acceleration to worry the most powerful of hot hatches.
The XC90 can’t match that, but it’ll still outpace the Sport, whether you’re pulling away from the lights or putting your foot down to overtake. That said, even
‘The brake pedal is horribly inconsistent in its response, so it’s hard to slow down smoothly’
‘Range Rover has the noisiest engine but the most feel some steering’
‘XC90 is the most peaceful, both around town and on the motorway’
the Sport is pretty nippy when you extract all it has to give.
You can’t fault how smoothly all three manage the transition between electrical and petrol power; you rarely feel it happen. Progress tends to be the jerkiest in the Sport, but that’s its gearbox occasionally shunting between ratios. And while its engine is noisier under acceleration than the XC90’S, it’s far from harsh. However, there’s no doubt that the Cayenne’s creamy V6 has the most alluring tone.
The brakes on many hybrids can be inconsistent and grabby, due to their energy recuperation systems. However, the XC90’S brakes are pretty smooth, and the Sport’s, too, are far from unmanageable. Sadly, the Cayenne’s brakes are like a switch. Press the pedal lightly and nothing happens; a tiny bit harder and you’re almost garrotted by the seatbelt. It’s hugely annoying and isn’t easy to drive around, even with practice.
At motorway speeds, each of our trio will ensconce you in a bubble of relative calm. All three generate just a soft flutter of wind noise, but the Sport has the most ‘slap’ from its tyres over expansion joints and harsher road roar than the Cayenne. The XC90 is the quietest, but this isn’t usually a strength of Volvo’s largest SUV; it’s either a result of the hybrid’s packaging, or the particular wheel and tyre combination fitted to our test car.
In terms of ride, the XC90 is the most softly sprung, so it’s the most comfortable over larger road undulations and at high speeds. But it also sways from side to side the most, and if you hit a particularly sharp intrusion, you feel a shimmy through the body.
Under the same conditions, the Sport displays a similar but shorter-lived reverberation. Being firmer, it also sends fiercer impacts pulsing through the seat. However, neither is uncomfortable.
The Cayenne is, on balance, the best-riding car, though. For starters, its body feels more rigid, so there’s none of that shimmying. Like any tall SUV, its body still rocks about a bit, but less so than the XC90’S, and while it’s nearer to the firmness of the Sport, there’s more compliance over big bumps.
The Cayenne handles far better than its rivals, too. Considering that all these cars are carrying more weight than the regular versions, due to those batteries and motors, the Cayenne’s dexterity in corners impresses. You can really hustle it along and derive satisfaction from the grip and poise it displays and the sense of connection you get through its hefty, accurate steering. That
said, the steering is unnecessarily heavy at town speeds.
The Sport has the best-judged steering overall; it’s accurate and feelsome enough at higher speeds but light enough in town. However, the Sport is the heaviest car here and, as a consequence, its tyres struggle to keep it glued to the road. It runs out of grip alarmingly early through bends and leaves you with the impression that the only thing sporty about the car is its badge.
The XC90 makes no pretence at sportiness. Its body leans considerably through corners, and the steering seems almost rubber-jointed, so limited is the feel provided in corners. However, the steering is the easiest to twirl in town, and the XC90 has more grip than the Sport, so it can carry more speed through corners.
BEHIND THE WHEEL Driving position, visibility, build quality
All three cars provide a fine driver environment, at least in terms of the relationship between their seats, pedals and steering wheels. That means you feel at ease on long trips. In most ways, the XC90’S seat is the best, with contours that seem to fit perfectly and an extendable seat squab to aid those long in the leg. It does have the least side support through corners, though.
All three come with electric seat adjustment – including for lumbar support in the Sport and XC90. In the Cayenne, you have to upgrade to 14-way seats with memory (£1137) to get lumbar adjustment.
For the most commanding view of the road, look to the Sport. While it cocoons you with its large centre console and highset dashboard, it also has you towering over nearly everything without a Scania badge. The XC90 has the most airy, open feel inside and is pretty lofty, too, while the lower-riding Cayenne might disappoint if you are prone to a bit of traffic jam voyeurism.
It’s the toughest to see out the back of, too, with the most restrictive over-the-shoulder view and no reversing camera as standard. The XC90 is easier to see out the back of – unless the thirdrow seats are in use – while the Sport’s thinner rear pillars make seeing out easier still. You get a reversing camera in both, too. All three have the benefit of standard front and rear parking sensors.
The Cayenne has the most frustrating dashboard layout. Take the stalk for its cruise control, for instance: it’s tucked behind the steering wheel and is a real faff
to use. The shallow angle of the central switch panel makes it hard to see, too, and the haptic switches are fiddly to use.
Then there’s its small steering wheel. It might seem sporty, but it chops off what’s displayed in the outer reaches of its instrument panel. This, by the way, employs a mix of digital and analogue dials, while both its rivals have fully digital instruments as standard.
You do at least get physical switches for adjusting the temperature in the Cayenne; in the XC90, these controls are on the touchscreen. This can be distracting when you’re on the move, forcing you to divert your gaze from the road.
In fact, the Sport’s dashboard is the easiest to operate. True, some of the climate controls are also on a touchscreen (below the infotainment screen), but it’s angled so you can see it clearly, and it has some physical dials and buttons that are easy to operate while driving.
The XC90’S elegant mix of wood, chrome and soft leathers, plus its crystal gear selector, help to create a classy look. But while it feels solid inside, there are a few iffy panel gaps. The Cayenne looks a little dour by comparison, but it’s harder to fault the fit and finish, despite the presence of a few cheap-looking plastics, such as the chrome fittings on the steering wheel. That leaves the Sport to edge it (just) by offering the most wholesome blend of material quality, sturdiness and plushness.
SPACE AND PRACTICALITY Front space, rear space, seating exibility, boot
You’d really need to have slept in Growmore to have issues with
space in the front of any of these cars. Yes, the XC90 has the most leg room, while the Cayenne – by dint of being the only one without a sunroof – has the most head room, but the fact is, they’re all fine for even very tall occupants.
They afford you plenty of width to spread sideways, too, so you won’t be knocking elbows with your co-driver. Meanwhile, storage space is plentiful, with each offering places to secrete everything from cups to hair clips in various cubbies and crevices.
Jump a row back and, again, none is cramped, but the Sport has the least head and leg room. Both the Cayenne and XC90 offer several centimetres more room to stretch out in all directions, including more space for your feet under their front seats. The Cayenne just edges it for leg room, while the XC90 just pips it for head room, despite the spacelimiting panoramic roof.
Only the Sport has a flat floor, though, so a middle passenger doesn’t have to straddle a central tunnel. They have to in the other two, although the Cayenne and XC90 offer more shoulder room for carrying three abreast.
All the cars have reclining rear seats to let your passengers kick back, but the Cayenne’s and XC90’S seats also slide back and forth, allowing you to increase boot capacity when required. Then there’s the XC90’S trump card: it’s the only one with seven seats. The two fold-out rear seats can be a faff to get into, because the middlerow seats are awkward to move to gain access, but they’re big enough for kids or average-sized adults.
Compared with their regular equivalents, all three have reduced boot volumes; those batteries have to go somewhere, you know. But the XC90’S boot remains vast, with enough room to swallow 10 carry-on suitcases, while both its rivals can take just seven. The rear seats in the Cayenne and XC90 split 40/20/40 (the Sport’s are 60/40), but all offer you a nearly flat extended load floor.
BUYING AND OWNING Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
Porsche doesn’t do discounts. Even so, the Cayenne has the lowest list price, meaning that it’s more than £5000 cheaper than the Sport even after haggling, while the XC90, despite enormous discounts, is cheaper by only about £800.
The Cayenne also has incredibly slow predicted depreciation. That’s reflected in its PCP finance costs; on a 36-month deal, with a £7000 deposit and a limit of 10,000
miles per year, you’ll pay £120 per month less than you will for the Sport and £93 less than for the XC90. Mind you, the XC90 is the cheapest to lease.
On our test route, the XC90 proved the most economical once its battery had been depleted and was the only car to manage more than 30mpg. Even so, if you add up all costs over three years (we had to estimate insurance for the Cayenne, because its insurance group hasn’t yet been released), the Cayenne is likely to work out the cheapest by a sizeable margin.
The Cayenne hasn’t yet been through the Government’s new WLTP fuel economy test, so there are no official fuel consumption or CO2 figures yet. The XC90 and Sport have been tested, but unless the Cayenne’s CO2 emissions prove disastrous by comparison, it’s likely to be the cheapest to run as a company car, with the Sport being the most expensive. All three hybrids attract much less benefit-in-kind tax than a diesel equivalent, though.
Each car comes with a three-pin plug charging cable, but you’ll need to buy a Type 2 cable in order to use a 7kw home charging point. This cable costs £50 for the XC90 and allows you to recharge the battery from empty in two and a half hours. It’s £229 for the Sport (with a recharging time of 2.75 hours) and £506 for the Cayenne (2.2 hours). Using the three-pin lead takes much, much longer.
You get the most toys on the XC90, although the Sport has enough equipment to keep you entertained. The Cayenne is rather poorly equipped by comparison.
The Sport hasn’t been crash tested by Euro NCAP, so we can’t give it top marks for safety. Both the Cayenne and XC90 have been tested, and while both gained five stars overall, the XC90’S marks are more impressive. All three come with automatic emergency braking, but only the Sport and XC90 have lane-keeping assistance as standard, while blindspot monitoring is just one of the many safety options available on each.
None of these brands has a great reliability record. In our 2018 survey, Volvo came equal 20th out of 31 manufacturers, while Porsche was 23rd and Land Rover 30th.