Progress report: 2023 Porsche Cayenne E-Hybrid vs 2005 Porsche Cayenne S

You have. The Porsche Cayenne recently celebrated its 20^th birthday and a gathering at a trackday would have been plain silly, however much chassis technology has gathered under its bodywork in the passing years. A minor adventure through the County Durham countryside feels much more appropriate.

In isolation the Cayenne, old or new, is a likeable and deeply impressive car. But does its oft-quoted status as ‘the saviour of Porsche sports cars’ – thanks to its fat profit margins – justify the swathes of imitators now filling our cities? It’s a debate that might never solve itself, especially now even Ferrari and potentially McLaren have done an about-turn on the matter. If you’ve an ounce of petrol in your veins you’ll tie yourself in knots trying to pick an appropriate standpoint on swift SUVs.

Do so and there’s plenty that charms. I’ll be the first to admit that the original ‘E1’ Cayenne still doesn’t look especially beautiful. Its tacked-on 911 design features upset plenty of harder cored enthusiasts when it launched in 2002; parking it alongside its modern-day successor only demonstrates that Porsche’s design department truly got the hang of SUVs a little further down the line. This overland makeover is cute, though – knobbly tyres, spotlights and a roof rack lean into the more brutalist styling of the original Cayenne rather than trying to cloak it. We’re kinda sold.

Absolutely, and a short peruse of Instagram reveals many people have, one of the more inspired overland Cayennes hosting both sleeping quarters and a paintjob nicked from the Porsche 917 ‘Pink Pig’ racecar. Boxsters and 924s are no longer the bargain shortcut to Porsche ownership, with dozens of higher-mileage early Cayennes starting comfortably below £5,000. At that price, what’ve you got to lose by off-roading?

Alright, fair point. We’ll stick to green lanes, even if this particular overlander is the work of Porsche Classic in the UK and has been done very thoroughly. A more immaculate window into the E1’s soul you’ll struggle to find. Here it’s in Cayenne S spec, which means a 340bhp 4.5-litre V8 that’s good for 0-62mph in 7.2secs and around 19mpg.

It’s a mixed bag. The ginormous wheel and sky-high seating position give away how early this sits on the Cayenne timeline. The decades since have seen Porsche sportify the car more and more, unafraid to drop its ride height and seating position further back towards convention. There’s a chunkier, more utilitarian air to this E1, though all things are relative. A delightful sounding V8 and a transmission that favours the rear axle combine to ensure there’s more than a hint of performance car energy here. The V8 was bespoke to the Cayenne and Porsche’s first 8cyl engine since the 928 coupe. That’s a car we’ve long since craved a modern-day remake of, but the Cayenne fulfils its old four-seater grand tourer brief while wearing a body more folk actually want to buy.

To a degree, yes, but it feels like a different product line entirely to a contemporary Boxster or 911, whereas the Cayenne has incrementally become more a part of the regular Porsche range – even echoing the 911’s hierarchy to the point we now have a motorsport department GT model. But this more roly-poly iteration, whose naturally aspirated engine provides less bombastic power delivery than buyers now demand, is a charmer chiefly because of its lower limits and rougher edges. It feels more comfortable in its own skin than a lot of pumped-up SUVs packed full of systems to mitigate their centre of gravity. This early Cayenne didn’t adopt any active anti-roll, rear-wheel steering or ceramic braking technology – it embraced body positivity.

We could have chosen numerous Cayennes to line up here, but we’ve gone for the latest E3 generation in big selling E-Hybrid form, its Platinum Edition trim only adding to the celebratory air. Its 3.0-litre V6 matches its ancestor’s peak output, only here an additional 134bhp electric motor both slices the 0-62mph time (to 5.0secs) while neatly flipping the claimed fuel economy figure (to 91mpg).

It’s much quieter (thank its electrification) and more refined (credit to its gearbox). Noise insulation is closer to that of the Bentley sharing this same platform. Though in truth there’s not actually a huge chasm between Cayennes old and new from the driving seat, just the kind of natural but very tangible evolution that 20 years of progress brings. Their interiors utilise the same five-dial layout, only the rev counter is now your only analogue display while the archaic foot-operated handbrake has been ditched.

Amazingly, the two cars weigh roughly the same – for every new battery and motor there’s been a breakthrough in material use – but the newer car simply feels in complete control of its mass, with the helping hand of numerous initialisms. Thundering down a quaint British lane it’s an unwavering force of nature, one capable of the same cross-country pace as its lower Panamera sibling. It’s only under braking that you really have to take proper stock of its size and weight. Pushing a performance SUV has all the nuance of downing Jaegerbombs and it’s an equally guilty pleasure. Mind, popping this one into its Electric or Hybrid modes might help that guilt fade. And its limits are so high that its everyday swagger borders on the aloof.

The Turbo GT and Turbo S E-Hybrid iterations of Cayenne are astounding achievements, demonic powerhouses both of which adopt some comical angles in wetter, grimier corners. The bestselling V6 hybrid is more pragmatic, but these two are totems to what the engineers can do while being wholly bonkers when you really pass them under the microscope. They don’t solve any debates about whether we should be celebrating the Cayenne’s birthday, but they certainly make the party a whole lot of fun.