Video: 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid S

Now, if you think a hybrid version of a Porsche is a bad idea, well, let me tell you, I thought a Porsche SUV was a bad idea. Ended up being their best selling model. I also thought putting a Volkswagen six cylinder into the thing was a bad idea. It ended up being their second best seller out of four trim levels. So, what do I think about this one? Great idea. So what do you get? EPA estimated 20 miles per gallon city, 24 highway, which is an improvement of about four miles per gallon city, and 2 highway over the regular Cayenne S. It's also roughly the same advantage you get over the V6 version, which is a bit of an underachiever. So what do you give up? Well, for one thing you give up $3,300 over the cost of the regular Cayenne S. You also give up about 230 pounds of payload capacity, but the towing capacity, which is pretty generous, stays the same. Now there's also another bit of a shortcoming to this one. You give up about 3.2 cubic feet of cargo volume, which is about 13 1/2%, not too bad. And for what it's worth for a hybrid, because it's a hatchback, you can still fold the seats down, you get a ton of room. It's not much of a drawback. Otherwise because the high voltage battery is in the back, there is no change to the interior dimensions to the front seat or the back. There are pros and cons to the driving experience. 0 to 60 comes in about six seconds. Which is about a half second quicker than the regular Cayenne S and a second and a half faster than the 6 cylinder. Then there are some downsides. On the whole, the driving experience is better than the average hybrid. There's an 8 speed automatic transmission. So it feels a lot more natural. Most of the time when the engine turns on and off, or it connects or disconnects to the drive line, it feels natural, but not always. Also there's some droning sounds to the engine at times, and the braking isn't super linear, especially when you come to that last bit of your stop. It can get a little bit grabby. As for the handling, you feel the extra 385 pounds in this model versus the regular Cayenne S. Appears in body roll even if you have the suspension set to the sports setting, the firmest one. That makes it feel a little bit less like a Porsche, frankly. I'm sure this hybrid will appeal to people who want the better mileage and the political cover that comes from driving a hybrid. But as for the Porsche faithful, the people who want the driving experience, I don't think this model overcomes its hybridness. <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog kickingtires.net.