Barcelona, Spain - Some purists scoffed that Porsche sold its soul by entering the SUV market, but financially it was a master-stroke by the German sports-car brand with the Cayenne now its best-selling range.
Things might change when Bentley introduces its own luxury all-terrainer soon, but an SUV wearing a Porsche or Range Rover badge for now still tops the aspirational list of the well-heeled.
To keep it so, Porsche has given the five-seater Cayenne a mid-life update with a wave of the styling wand and some extra urge in the engine department.
Newly introduced to the range is a 3.6-litre biturbo petrol engine which replaces the old normally-aspirated 4.8 V8 in the Cayenne S. Having made its debut in Porsche’s recently-launched Macan mid-sized SUV, this V6 engine outguns the V8 both in power output and fuel consumption.
Power and torque are up from 294kW and 500Nm to 309kW/550Nm, and, just as importantly, that turbocharged shunt is available at all altitudes.
Its ability to whisk from rest to 100km/h in just 5.5 seconds (a half second improvement) and its claimed fuel thirst of 9.8 litres per 100km (better by 0.9 litres) is suitable compensation, perhaps, for the V6 turbo not having as emotive an engine note as its V8 forerunner.
If budget’s not an issue the range-topping Cayenne Turbo is the pick of the crop without a doubt. The raw pace of this 4.8 petrol turbo version (newly upgraded from 368kW/700Nm to 382kW/750Nm) is addictive, and it’s a special engine indeed that can sling a 2.2 ton behemoth such as this to 100 in just 4.5 seconds and on to a 279km/h top speed.
However, the new Cayenne S hardly left me with unsatisfied power cravings when I drove it at the international media launch in Spain last week. It generates pace in a most enthusiastic fashion up to its top speed of 259km/h, and makes a compelling package at a nearly 800 grand price saving over the Cayenne Turbo.
For a combination of price, pace and economy, it’s the Cayenne S diesel that probably makes the most sense in the range, however. Its slightly upgraded 4.2 turbodiesel V8 engine (up by 2kW to 283kW while torque stays the same at a mighty 850Nm) is claimed to sip diesel at the rate of just eight litres per 100km yet sprints to 100 in just 5.4 seconds. It makes a better sound than the petrol V6 as well.
The two most frugal models, the V6 diesel and the Hybrid, weren’t available to drive at the launch but have also received extra power with less thirst.
The 3.0 V6 diesel has been upped from 180kW/550Nm to 193kW/580Nm, for claimed figures of 0-100 in 7.3 seconds and 6.8 litres per 100km.
The petrol-electric Cayenne S E-Hybrid gets an electric motor doubled in output with a new plug-in system to top up batteries via wall socket. Key numbers are now 0-100 in 5.9 seconds and a quite remarkable 3.4 litres per 100km (claimed). All Cayenne engines are paired with an eight-speed tiptronic transmission which isn’t as quick or intuitive as Porsche’s brilliant PDK dual-clutch gearbox, but offers steering paddle shifters as an override.
Accompanying the engine upgrades in the Cayenne is a subtle range-wide facelift with a redesigned front end and flatter tail lights. Brake lights get the same “floating” four-point design as the daytime running lights.
Suspension tweaks have improved handling sharpness without affecting the ride quality of Porsche’s all-wheel-drive heavyweight, a claim I won’t dispute after experiencing the Cayennes on twisty Spanish tar as well as offroad. For such a heavy piece of hardware Porsche’s big SUV carves through curves with impressive agility, but rides bumpy roads with finesse.
As before the Cayenne has a choice of steel suspension, Porsche Active Suspension management with variable dampers for Comfort or Sport driving, or height-adjustable air suspension.
New standard features introduced to the range include an automatic tailgate and tyre-pressure monitoring and, if your pockets are deep, some of the newly available options include soft-close doors, park-assist with a bird’s-eye perspective of the car, adaptive cruise control, and a heated windscreen among others. - Star Motoring
The updated Cayenne range will be in South Africa by the end of November at the following prices:
Cayenne V6 Diesel - R921 000
Cayenne S Petrol - R986 000
Cayenne S Diesel - R1 151 000