Driving the 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, 2010 Cayenne 3.0 TDI

Green Car Advisor in Chief John O'Dell had a chance to drive the 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid and a European-spec 2010 Porsche Cayenne 3.0 TDI back to back in Southern California last week. It was a revealing experience, as the Cayenne Hybrid is actually the quicker of these two, with a claimed 0-to-60-mph time of 6.5 seconds. It's also more fuel-efficient with an estimated 27-mpg combined fuel economy rating. To review, the hybrid Cayenne uses a 333-hp 3.0-liter supercharged V6 adapted from the Audi S4, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and a 288-volt Ni-MH battery pack powering a 38-kW electric motor. John says the hybrid system feels like a more powerful, and smarter, version of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) system. The downside is that the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid will probably cost about $70K when it arrives in the U.S. next spring. A diesel Cayenne would be much cheaper, John notes, but Porsche still hasn't made a decision to import it here. Naturally, that would necessitate a whole bunch of added emissions equipment. The Cayenne 3.0 TDI is also slower (8.5 seconds to 60) and less efficient (24 mpg), but it would be John's pick of these two, given the projected $15K savings. Green Car Advisor: Porsche's Green Peppers: Diesel and Hybrid Cayenne Models Spice Things Up

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Driving the 2011 Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, 2010 Cayenne 3.0 TDI