2019 Porsche Cayenne Diesel First Drive
Time for a pop quiz. 26,942 persons applying for 877 job openings at Hyundai鈥檚 Alabama plant last May. Trick question, ja. All those things have already happened, and so has a diesel-powered Cayenne, which has been sold in Europe since 2009. Its appearance in America is thus no big surprise. For one thing, Porsche marketed a diesel here in the early 鈥?0s, although it was a farm tractor that didn鈥檛 catch on. Some five decades later, the company couldn鈥檛 resist another diesel, given such easy corporate access to the thing鈥攊t鈥檚 the turbocharged and intercooled 3.0-liter V-6 that 鈥墆ou鈥檒l find in Volkswagen鈥檚 Touareg and Audi鈥檚 Q7, and, soon, in Audi鈥檚 Q5. Which means it will likely appear in Porsche鈥檚 upcoming Macan, inasmuch as that SUV will be based on the Q5. The existing diesel architecture carries over intact, including the variable-geometry turbo and the 鈥渃ompacted graphite iron block,鈥?which saves a claimed 55 pounds over conventional cast iron. It produces 240 horsepower at 4000 rpm and 406 pound-feet of torque at a lowdown-and-dirty 1750 rpm. Speaking of dirty, tucked beneath the spare tire is a 5.5-gallon urea tank good for up to 10,000 miles of low-NOx motoring.
If the tank goes dry (after warnings with 1600 and 600 miles of range remaining), the engine will not re-start. Oil changes are mandated every 5000 miles, although Porsche is thinking about upping that interval to match the urea tank鈥檚. Audi assembles the engine and ships it to Porsche, 鈥渂ut all of鈥塼he software is unique to us,鈥?says Thomas Herold, manager of 鈥塖pecial Operations R&D. 6900 beyond the starter-kit model (a gasoline V-6 with a manual transmission). Porsche expects the diesel to eventually become its bestselling individual model. We drove this latest Porsche on a 55-degree day in Alaska鈥檚 Kenai Peninsula. Never once did we suffer any startup delay. 鈥?asserts Herold, 鈥渟o it鈥檚 similar to a gas start.鈥?There is no stop-start function offered. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a matter of lubricating the high-pressure fuel pumps,鈥?he adds. The diesel鈥檚 idle hovers around 650 rpm, and both the steering wheel and brake pedal transmit a mild shimmying that isn鈥檛 engendered by the gas engines. It鈥檚 never intrusive, however.
What鈥檚 more, there鈥檚 virtually no exhaust note, so passengers have no clue they鈥檙e aboard an oil-burner. Revs are somewhat slow to climb, and there鈥檚 some turbo lag, so it takes a little extra footwork to keep the V-6 stoked. To hustle this Cayenne, you鈥檒l be punching and poking at Porsche鈥檚 fussy Tiptronic shifter toggles. On the other hand, there鈥檚 enough oomph at step-off to spill everyone鈥檚 frappuccino, and passing power is satisfactory. Overall, the diesel鈥檚 reactions to inputs are somewhat leaden, except on the interstate, where it could easily be confused with any other Cayenne. Still, it will take us decades to get over a Porsche with a tachometer that is redlined at 4600 rpm. We estimate a 0-to-60 time of 7.2 seconds, making the diesel 0.3 second slower than a VW Touareg V-6 TDI and 1.1 seconds quicker than an Audi Q7 TDI鈥攏ot that diesel SUVs often engage in stoplight combat. Top speed is drag-limited to 135 mph, and it comes in the sixth of this Porsche鈥檚 eight gears. The permanent all-wheel-drive system features a self-locking center diff. Porsche is proud of the diesel鈥檚 reduced weight (4800 pounds鈥攐r about 450 pounds lighter than a Turbo, by our calculations) and that it is capable of towing 7716 pounds. Fuel-tank capacity is 26.4 gallons, so if this SUV achieves its combined EPA rating of 23 mpg, it will have a range of 607 miles. 鈥淚 think the Cayenne diesel is not made for driving hard,鈥?said a German employee who asked not to be named. 鈥淚t is made for cruising.鈥?In fairness, diesels in heavy SUVs make perfect sense. It鈥檚 just that, well, it鈥檚 a surpassingly unlikely event for a Porsche stalwart to extol passive cruising. As unlikely as Roger Penske having to dump two famous drivers for behavioral infractions in less than 12 months. Hey, wait a second. That already happened, too.
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