The top 3 things you need to know about the Porsche Cayenne
The Cayenne may have run contrary to Porsche’s traditional brand values when it first appeared, but this large, off-road-capable, 5-door SUV did exactly what its manufacturer wanted: it raked in a lot of cash. This money could then be spent on developing new sports cars, and in the end helped make the Porsche brand sustainable in a changing world. Now into its third generation, the Cayenne is still a leader in its market segment. Here are the top 3 things you need to know about this big bruiser.
Most traditional Porsche customers were bitterly unhappy when the first Porsche Cayenne appeared, shortly after the turn of the century. Their ire was understandable, though: at no point in this storied car manufacturer’s history have they ever offered a passenger car with 5 doors, let alone a behemoth that weighed more than two tons.
This different kind of Porsche didn’t sit well with their traditional customer base, but it was exactly what the market wanted. It didn’t hurt that the Cayenne shared quite a lot with sibling products in the Volkswagen Group, though – doing so kept development costs down and boosted this pricey product’s profit margin to the point where the Cayenne soon became Porsche’s largest money-maker.
Related: Porsche Cayenne test drive – be sure to check out these features!
1. You can have it as a normal SUV or with a coupé roofline
Starting with the third (current) generation, Porsche has expanded the Cayenne range to offer two distinct body styles. The first one is the familiar SUV shape, which is still clearly descended from the earlier generations, and the new one has a sloping, coupé-like roofline. The latter is meant to cater for those buyers who want to portray a sportier image, but can’t fit their families into an actual Porsche sports car. Every drivetrain option can be had with either body type.
The sleeker body style does demand some compromises, however. In spite of its sporty shape, the Cayenne coupé is actually almost 50 kg heavier than the normal Cayenne SUV, which is bad for performance and handling. The other downside to the “coupé” body style is that it is less practical: that arched roofline eats into headroom all around the cabin, and the lower, truncated tail also means less luggage space (down from a massive 770 litres to a still-commodious 625 litres with the rear seats in use).
Related: We reviewed the latest Porsche Cayenne S, and found it to be clinically competent but not exactly bursting with character.
2. Petrol or hybrid power, but no diesel
Unlike the first two generations of Cayenne, the latest model has no diesel engine option. This shift was prompted by the infamous VW “dieselgate” emissions scandal from a few years ago, which led Porsche to drop diesel power altogether. In its place, there’s a wide selection of petrol-based power plants, along with two plug-in hybrid alternatives instead of fuel-sipping diesels.
But, in true Porsche style, even these more-environmentally friendly versions have a strong slant towards performance. The lower-output Cayenne e-hybrid combines a single-turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol with electric assistance, to deliver 340 kW and 700 Nm for a 0 – 100 km/h dash in only 5.0 seconds (5.1 seconds for the coupé).
The high-output Cayenne e-hybrid gets a “turbo S” prefix to its name, and combines the VW Group’s corporate twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 with electric drive for total system outputs of 500 kW and 900 Nm. Performance is, as expected, blistering: the 0 – 100 km/h sprint is dispatched in 3.8 seconds (in both body styles), with a top speed of 295 km/h. That’s deeply impressive for a vehicle that weighs at least 2 490 kg.
Related: Reviewing the 2020 Porsche Cayenne GTS, we loved the V8’s authentic soundtrack, which added a shot of rolling theatre.
3. It’s loaded with under-the-skin gadgets
Keeping this kind of performance (combined with such a hefty kerb weight) under control requires plenty of technical trickery. As a result, the Porsche Cayenne is positively brimming with computer control for literally every aspect of its dynamic behaviour. Add to this an integrated chassis management system to coordinate all these systems and optional rear-wheel steering, and the latest Cayenne becomes capable of the serious cornering and braking demanded by its scorching performance.
In the top-line Cayenne turbo S e-hybrid, these tricks include (among many others) 3-chamber adaptive air suspension, adaptive damping, anti-roll bars with 48 V actuators to eliminate any body roll up to 0.8g lateral acceleration, and gigantic carbon-ceramic brakes (440 m diameter in front and 410 mm diameter at the rear). Don’t discount the very advanced traction management system, either. Known as PTV Plus (Porsche Torque Vectoring), this system distributes the power to the individual wheels with the aim of ultimate precision and agility, by way of electronically-controlled clutches.
Related: Five extras you should fit to a new Porsche Cayenne.
