Road test: Porsche Cayenne
When Porsche first launched the Cayenne in 2002, it’s fair to say that the model was unpopular at both ends of the spectrum that featured petrolheads at one end and the green-hued, anti-car lobby at the other. For the petrolheads, it was heresy for Porsche, the doyens of the sports car world and creators of the classic 911, to build a big, lumbering SUV. For the eco-warriors, there was the view that the world definitely did not need another gas-guzzling 4×4 behemoth, especially one that was likely to be more of a status symbol than genuine working mud-plugger. Eight years later Porsche must feel vindicated in taking a left turn into the SUV segment, as the Cayenne has become the marque’s best-selling model. And now there’s a new iteration, which includes a hybrid version for the first time.
There are five engines on offer with the new Cayenne – a diesel, three petrols and a petrol/electric hybrid. The diesel is a 2,967cc V6 unit that produces 236bhp at 4,000-4,400rpm and 406lb-ft of torque at 2,000-2,250rpm. It’s the same unit that was used in the previous iteration, which is understandable when you consider it’s only been around a couple of years. Performance is therefore largely unchanged, but loss of around 140kg in weight means that there is slightly more urge. The 0-62mph time of 7.8 seconds (half a second better than the previous generation) is very decent for a car this size – it’s a full second faster than the comparable Range Rover Sport, for example – as is the top speed of 135mph. The base petrol engine is a 296bhp 3.6-litre V6 is a decent unit that would be highly impressive in any model that didn’t suffer from comparison with the mighty V8 that Porsche has at its disposal. The 0-62mph sprint is achieved in 7.5 seconds with the six-speed manual gearbox, or 7.8 seconds with the eight-speed Tiptronic. It maxes out at 143mph. The remaining two petrol-engined Cayenne models are fitted with a 4.8-litre V8: the Cayenne S pumps out 394bhp at 6,500rpm and astonishes with its pace (0-62mph comes up in just 5.9 seconds and top speed is 160mph). It feels incredibly fast, belying the 2,065kg weight of the car, but then it’s trumped by the Cayenne Turbo, which, as the name suggest adds a turbocharger to the V8 to coax 493bhp from the powerplant. Acceleration is head-spinningly rapid, with the 0-62mph sprint dispatched in a supercar-baiting 4.7 seconds – which puts it on a par with the 911 Carrera. For the first time in the Cayenne, Porsche has fitted a hybrid engine, which comprises a 3.0-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine and an electric motor. Together, the two drive units provide a maximum output of 375bhp and peak torque of 428lb-ft of torque as low down as 1,000 rpm, so 0-62mph is achieved in a tasty (and pretty un-environmental) 6.5 seconds. Apart from the base V6 petrol-powered variant, all engines are mated to a new eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission that provides smooth shifts and can also be controlled manually via paddleshifts mounted on the steering column.
Read the full Porsche Cayenne road test
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