A Proper Porsche, And One You'll Pay For 鈥?Gear Patrol
The Cayenne is Porsche鈥檚 larger mid-size luxury SUV. The Good: Porsche designed it. Quick for an SUV. Excellent balance and low center of gravity. Responsive steering. Intuitive transmission. Notably comfortable front seats. Who It鈥檚 For: Affluent SUV buyers who want Porsche cachet and performance. Perhaps a one-car Porsche enthusiast whose kids have outgrown the 911鈥檚 rear seat. Watch Out For: Engine noise underwhelms. Standard suspension feels tight. The option tree gets pricey and borderline exploitative. Review: The thing about driving a Porsche around Napa for a day is you can鈥檛 describe it as work. Social mores mandate at least a knowing smirk when you say that. We all know why. Porsche means premium, precisely engineered, and damn near perfect. Porsche made the Cayenne more athletic. The SUV has gotten lighter (down 120lbs) from the last generation. 35hp) and torque (37lb-ft) than the last model. Getting lighter, more powerful, and having the driving dynamics improved makes it faster.
Every iteration of the Cayenne will do 0-60mph in under six seconds. Porsche wants the Cayenne to look more like a Porsche. Truth be told, it looks similar to Gen 2. But, Porsche wants the wide shoulders to remind you of the 911鈥檚 characteristic, much fawned over back end. The new Cayenne also incorporates a number of performance features from other Porsches. It has staggered front and rear wheels, replacing the predecessor鈥檚 square alignment. It can be fitted with rear axle steering and launch control. The Cayenne will be the first Porsche fitted with proprietary Porsche Surface Coated Brakes (PSCB). These deliver most of the benefits of ceramics, cost much less, and leave a boss mirror finish. Upping the Porsche quotient (surprise, surprise) produces an engaging SUV to drive. The Cayenne is quick. It is well-balanced. The steering is responsive. It has a low center of gravity and an impressive amount of grip.
The transmission intuits what the driver wants seamlessly. It鈥檚 a keen corner taker. It behaves when bottled up behind a Subaru on a two-line highway. About the only criticism is the engine note which was either too mild or too mild to puncture the noise canceling glass. Rest assured. Porsche did not go full-on 鈥淪AV鈥?here. The Cayenne is still an SUV. The grab bag of Porsche sports car features available did not include the PDK transmission, because Porsche believes its 8-Speed Tiptronic is better for off-roading and towing. The Cayenne has multiple off-road terrain settings. The closest we got to testing them was ducking into a scenic roadside lookout for pictures. The Adaptive Air Suspension is worth the expense. The standard one felt very tight and unforgiving on our morning tester with 21-inch wheels. The air suspension gives a smoother and more composed ride. Even when the car is being pushed, the copilot can settle into a notably comfy front seat for a post-lunch snooze.
I would lean toward taking the PSCB brakes as well. I found them too touchy starting out at slow speed. I missed how easily they stopped the car when I didn鈥檛 have them. The standard brakes are adequate. The PCSBs, as they should be for the cost, are better and look cool. I didn鈥檛 futz with the infotainment system too much. The Cayenne has dual customizable 7-inch displays behind the wheel and a 12.3-inch tablet screen in the center. The design was clean. Menu progression was natural. I wish the big screen had been angled toward the driver slightly more. Where the Cayenne offers the truest Porsche experience is when you reach for the checkbook. Porsche makes nearly everything, including many features most luxury cars would make standard, options. Those options get expensive in a hurry. Embark with me on a quick configurator journey. 950) on your kid transporter. 1900) and heat up during the winter?
This stuff only scratches the surface of the customization options. 80,000 for what, reminder, is the third best engine you can have in a Cayenne. That price tag factors into the perception. The Cayenne provides a great drive for an SUV. It鈥檚 an all-around, capable, and fun car. It鈥檚 recognizable as a Porsche. It鈥檚 more than a profitable placeholder in the Porsche lineup. 80,000-plus or more car should have some outstanding quality that makes that expenditure feel justified. However improved or formidable, the Cayenne in the base trim doesn鈥檛. The Cayenne will be more than enough SUV for most buyers. Porsche will sell a number of them. The cachet from that Porsche emblem alone will keep many Cayenne customers happy. It better, because they are paying a steep premium for it. Verdict: The Cayenne is a proper Porsche. It鈥檚 top notch engineering. It performs just about every task well. It will be more than enough for most buyers. 90,000 car, SUV or no, should give you the giggles. It should have one exceptional quality that excites you about spending that much money. 鈥?鈥淚t took Porsche 53 years to sell a million 911s. Porsche has sold 770,000 Cayennes in the 15 years since it was launched in 2002, and the millionth will probably be built in about three years.