Overview
What is it?
The grandchild of the original Cayenne, which famously transformed Porsche’s fortunes when it elbowed into showrooms in 2002.
It’s taken some people that long to get used to the idea of a Porsche SUV, but like it or not, after 700,000+ sales it’s still going strong (that number would be higher if it hadn’t spawned the Macan). This all-new, third-generation car is the fastest and lightest of the lot, which says something about the amount of engineering effort they’ve heaped into it.
If only they’d tried so hard with the styling. You’d have to own a substantial, Porsche-branded anorak to spot the differences, but they are there. It’s longer, lower and broader than before. It has a wider gob, muscle-fit bodywork and a full-width LED lightbar between the rear lights, which also houses 3D-effect Porsche lettering. The updates are smart enough, but if you didn’t think the last one was a looker, there’s not much to win you over here.
Engines are down on size but up on power. You have three choices for now, all petrols, starting with a 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 with 335bhp, followed by a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 with 434bhp and ending with the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 with 542bhp, otherwise known as the Turbo. All come with an eight-speed auto – Tiptronic rather than double-clutch PDK – and all are available with the new tech, either as options or as standard as you move up the range.
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