Volvo XC60 / XC90 hybrid test drives

[Wing Commander]

Thanks, Luke.

[Nuclear Nick]

Agree with your comment re Luke's English Simon. Indeed, his written English is better than some of the Brits on here!

[Wing Commander]

[Deleted User 1874]

Luke, I read that the Mission E should be available from late 2019. Is your feeling that the early ones will go to the usual Porsche VIP suspects, that is those who seem to get the GT cars? So that maybe 'normal' customers will have a much longer wait...?

Not sure the car will be available in 2019 and delivered to customers. My expectations based on rumors and what I heard from my local OPC (I'm on the waiting list) is that the unveil will be in Frankfurt September 2019 and then the order books are opened at the same time. First deliveries will probably not be prior to 2020.

Porsche has officially stated 20.000 Mission-E annually. This figure will for sure not be reached in 2020 and I truly believe that the sales figures first half of 2020 will be rather modest.

Time will tell

Yes, Autocar was reporting much the same in their latest magazine i.e. early 2020 for first deliveries. They were also talking about having various performance levels governed by software, over-the-air software updates and autonomous driving features. Sound familiar?

Also of interest were comments from the Porsche Technical Director about making their first EV a 4 seat 911/Panamera cross rather than an all-out sportscar because of the weight and placement of batteries. In the same vain they were considering a compromise in range to keep the weight sensible and relying on an ultra-fast charging infrastructure for long haul driving. Looks like they won't consider an electric 911 until significantly lighter batteries become available, but they are already happy with the compromise on larger vehicles.