Even The Base Cayenne's Are Quicker
2015's Sport SUV list is rather explosive. We couldn鈥檛 ask for a more powerful pack than the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7, Range Rover Sport, and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. 2015's Sport SUV list is rather explosive. We couldn鈥檛 ask for a more powerful pack than the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7, Range Rover Sport, and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. We'll begin with the Cayenne. 49,600, this luxury crossover SUV is equipped with a V-6 that maintains 14 MPG City / 29 MPG Hwy and 5 passenger capacity. The Cayenne鈥檚 success can be accounted for in several different ways. The Cayenne Model has, as of 2014, produced a Cayenne Diesel and a Cayenne Turbo S, which provides 50 more horsepower than the Cayenne Turbo. The Turbo S accelerates from 0 to 60 in 4.3 seconds and has a top speed of 176 mph. Even the base Cayenne's are quicker, with the Tiptronic S automatic transmission getting to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds (7.1 seconds with the six-speed manual). The only models offering a six-speed manual gearbox are the base models.
All other Cayenne models have the eight-speed Tiptronic automatic with manual control. The Audi Q7 may be the most ideal alternative to the Porsche Cayenne. It is larger inside, has an available third-row seat and Audi-authentic luxury style, making it most appealing to those of us with families. In addition to a passenger capacity of 7, Audi鈥檚 supercharged V-6 engine is also stronger compared to the Cayenne's base V-6. 47,700, this luxury SUV gets 16 MPG City / 28 MPG Hwy from its Quattro 4-Door 3.0 L Turbo inter-cooled Supercharged V-6. Audi Q7鈥檚 luxury doesn鈥檛 feel 鈥榓dded-on鈥?but instead is through and through - which may off-set its wheelbase off-road limitations. The Audi does have impeccable towing capabilities with lots of useful interior technologies and impressive performance. The extra wheelbase improves ride quality and composure while maintaining nimbleness. The all-wheel drive Quattro system aids stability and provides superior traction. The attractive and elegant Q7 is one of the best in this class compared with the top luxury vehicles on the market. The TDI model wields a 19 city /28 highway mpg and is just as quick as the 3.0 L Supercharged V-6 (0-60 in 7.7 seconds). Tow ratings of 6,600 pounds are available. The Range Rover Sport isn鈥檛 much different than the Cayenne in terms of on-road and off-road performance; however, it falls short with interior space and modern design. 62,600, the Intercooled Supercharged V-6 340 horsepower 3.0 L provides 14 MPG City / 23 MPG Hwy. A very capable alternative to the three listed above is the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. 3.6 L Pentastar V-6, 290 hp rated up to 25 mpg highway. HEMI V-8 makes 360 hp, gets 21 mpg. Ecodiesel 3.0L V-6 with an estimated 30 mpg highway has the best-in-class towing capacity of 7,400 pounds. The 470-hp HEMI accomplishes 0-60 mph in about 4.8 seconds, has launch control and a sporty 70% rear-wheel torque split in Track mode. Your Car. Your Price.
That said, this particular 鈥檅ox was not the worst one we鈥檝e ever tried. Doesn鈥檛 really matter, anyway, because the six-speed 鈥檅ox in the Porsche is pretty much the behavioural opposite to the HSV鈥檚. Want one gear, two gears or even three for overtaking? No problem - just squish the noise pedal the intuitive amount and that鈥檚 what you鈥檒l get. For full manual override, there鈥檚 always the tiptronic mode. But just to prove that having a gear ratio for every on-road situation isn鈥檛 necessarily the end of any discussion, the HSV managed to roger the Cayenne at the drag strip. Avalanche was a 15.1sec standing 400m at 152.7km/h, which isn鈥檛 blindingly quick but ain鈥檛 too bad considering the HSV weighs two tonnes. Neither is 7.11sec for the 0-100 dash too shabby. Much has been made of the Avalanche鈥檚 stoppers, too, considering that a whole new design was called for to clear the bigger front hubs of the all-wheel drive system. And while HSV claims it performs up to the same standard as its Premium package, we managed to make the pedal go hard after half a dozen drag-strip stops.
Speaking of that four-wheel drive thing, neither car was identifiably driven from both ends in normal going. There was the odd 鈥榮pradaaaannnggg鈥?and 鈥榖oinggg鈥?from the front end of the HSV, but neither showed any sign of driveline stress or ill-effects through having both axles driven. Unless, that is, you include the level of understeer you鈥檒l get when you shove either car hard into a tight corner. The HSV is the worst offender, and while backing off the throttle will pull the nose in a little, we just couldn鈥檛 make the Avalanche oversteer. Try the same thing with the Cayenne, however, and you鈥檒l get less plough in the first place, along with a decent swipe of oversteer if you get off the power sharpish. But unlike the HSV, the Porsche will actually answer commands from the tiller, even when you鈥檙e well and truly committed. In the HSV, you commit the car and then hope you鈥檝e got it right.