WHEN I first hopped into the cockpit of a £167,000 Porsche Cayenne, I didn’t spare a single thought for its headlights.
My brain was brimming with delighted thoughts about its racy zero-to-60 speed and the very posh Arctic Grey exterior. Not headlights.
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So imagine my surprise when sitting down to write this tech showcase on Porsche’s gargantuan SUV, all I can think about is its headlights.
I spent a week with the Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid Coupé (souped up with the GT Package).
It’s a gorgeous and sporty motor that’ll whisk you to 62mph in 3.6 seconds flat. Not bad for a 2.5-tonne beast.
And it’s absolutely brimming with tech – but first, I desperately need to talk about the headlights.
LIGHT OF MY LIFE
Back in the day, driving in the dark meant constantly flicking your headlights up and down to avoid blinding oncoming vehicles.
Then automakers start fitting cars with sensors that could automatically dip your headlights for you. Clever, but not quite perfect.
Now Porsche has taken this idea to its absolute maximum with its tinted HD-Matrix LED headlights.
Yes, quite the mouthful – but bear with me.
These headlights are made up of tens of thousands of LEDs that work in zones.
So if a car is coming up towards you, the headlights will automatically adjust to illuminate everything but the vehicle ahead.
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That means you won’t blind the car in front, but you can (very helpfully) still see where you’re going.
This doesn’t just work on cars either: the Cayenne’s headlights know to avoid overly illuminating traffic signs too – instead keeping them at the perfect brightness.
They’ll also very slightly highlight the lane that you’re in (great for spotting potholes), even if it’s bending away from you.
And if you’re due to merge onto another lane, it’ll highlight that transition for you too. Unless you haven’t signalled, of course. Naughty.
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Bizarrely, Porsche says that its light projection is so dense and precise that you could actually use it to play movies on a screen.
Of course that would be terribly dangerous while driving, so they didn’t add a Harry Potter marathon mode into the headlights in the end. Phew.
Watching all of this happen while driving is truly a treat.
You can see sections of the road where a car is coming towards you blocked out – like someone has stuck their thumb partway in front of a bulb.
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It’s incredibly quick and accurate. Far more efficient than I could ever be. So that’s a plus point for safety.
Even if you think you don’t need these hi-tech headlights, think about this: other people on the road have headlights too.
Some of those people will be terrible drivers, and you’re sharing the road with them.
This headlight feature, once common, will stop those people from blinding you. We need to get this stuff everywhere, and fast.
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MOTORING ON
Of course this Cayenne is about much more than its headlights.
It’s powered primarily by a four-litre V8 petrol engine.
But this is the hybrid model, so it’s also backed up by an electric motor, allowing for a formidable 950Nm of torque – and about 730 horsepower.
It’ll hit a top speed of 190mph, if you ever find yourself somewhere where that’s legal.
That’s impressive given the massive size of this vehicle, which is about as comfortable as a car can be.
This comfort was aided by eight-way electric seats, which were also heated (as was the steering wheel). Perfect, as I was testing the car in winter and I’m a big wimp that runs very cold.
My wife is not a wimp, so she benefitted from the two-zone climate control that meant she could set her own temperature to something more normal.
She also had her own passenger display, so this car is great for helping couples to avoid marital meltdown.
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To avoid jealousy, the driver gets bonus visuals that the passenger can’t see – in the form of a Heads-Up Display.
This projects forward on the windscreen, showing you metrics about your journey, like your speed.
And once that speed comes down to zero, you can sit back and enjoy some more of the in-car goodness.
You’ve got a special smartphone compartment with 15W wireless charging.
PORSCHE CAYENNE TURBO E-HYBRID COUPÉ – THE KEY SPECS
Here are the key details…
- Top speed: 190mph
- 0 to 62mph: 3.6 seconds
- Engine: 4-litre V8 petrol with electric motor
- Power: ~730 horsepower
- Torque: 950Nm
- Transmission: 8-speed automatic gearbox
- Electric range (combined): 44 miles
- Electric range (city): 49 miles
- Charge time (11kW): 2.2 hours
- Length: 4.93 metres
- Width without mirrors folded: 2.19 metres
- Height: 1.65 metres
- Wheelbase: 2.9 metres
- Luggage compartment volume: 434 litres
- Luggage volume with seats folded: 1,344 litres
- Fuel tank: 70 litres
Picture Credit: Porsche
And there are even USB-C ports, which is an absolute joy.
USB-C is the type of newer port that you’ll find on the latest iPhones.
And it’s now very common on consumer gadgets, from Android phones to headphone chargers and tablets too.
It’s the port of the future, so I’m delighted every time I see USB-C sockets fitted anywhere.
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There’s a parking support mode that simulates a bird’s eye view of your car, with full 360-degree camera coverage.
And this special mode will help you squeeze into those tight spaces that would normally drive you bonkers.
On top of all that, Porsche has fitted the Cayenne with Apple CarPlay, which links to your iPhone to give you an Apple-style display on your infotainment system.
It means you have access to all of your apps, contacts, and music in a familiar interface.
I’m convinced that every car should offer this, just because it’s so convenient.
And it also means you can very easily blast your tunes through the thumping Bose Surround Sound System fitted to the Cayenne.
It’s a real beast, and fills the cavernous interior with thick, delicious servings of audio.
All this gadgetry serves to make the Porsche Cayenne Turbo an absolute tech treat – but it’s also a very spacious, comfortable, and flash motor, if you can afford one.
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The Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybride Coupé with GT Package costs £154,000. The version we tested had a total price of £167,082.