Paul Murrell tests the 2018 Porsche Cayenne range with pricing, specs, ride and handling, safety, verdict and everything the over-50 driver needs to know.
In brief: The Porsche Cayenne started the move towards large luxury SUVs. The latest version is trimmer, tauter and, if you like this kind of vehicle, even more terrific.
2018 Porsche Cayenne
Pricing: From $116,300 (Cayenne, plus on-road costs); $155,100 (Cayenne S, plus on-road costs); $239,400 (Cayenne Turbo, plus on-road costs) (higher than the outgoing model but offers more specification and technology)
Warranty: Three-years, unlimited km
Safety: not ANCAP tested, 5-star EuroNCAP
Engine: V6 turbo (Cayenne), V6 bi-turbo (Cayenne S), V8 bi-turbo (Cayenne Turbo)
Power: 250kW @ 5300-6400rpm (Cayenne), 324kW @ 5700-6600rpm (Cayenne S), 404kW @ 5750-6000pm (Cayenne Turbo) (there’s no rational reason to buy the Turbo, but it sounds divine)
Torque: 450Nm @ 1340-5300rpm (Cayenne), 550Nm @ 1800-5500rpm (Cayenne S), 770Nm @ 1960-4500rpm (Cayenne Turbo) (hitch up a caravan and you can almost forget it’s there)
Transmission: Eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic
Drive: all-wheel drive
Body: 4918mm (long); 1983mm (wide); 1696mm (high) (check the size of your garage)
Turning circle: 12.1m (11.5m with rear axle steering)
Weight: 1985kg-2020kg (it’s no lightweight, despite a 65kg weight loss)
Towing: 3500kg (braked), 750kg (unbraked)
Maximum towball download: 140kg
Spare: space saver with inflation kit (not ideal away from town, and the wheel and flat tyre you’ve just removed won’t fit in the wheel well)
Fuel Tank: 75 litres (Cayenne, Cayenne S, optional 90 litre tank), 90 litres (Cayenne Turbo)
Thirst: 9.0-11.7/100km (combined)
Fuel type: 98 RON
seniordriver consumption: not yet tested (but it won’t be anywhere near the official figures)
[review]
THE PORSCHE CAYENNE can arguably be held responsible for the plethora of large, heavy, luxury SUVs that infest our roads. Almost single-handed, it created the performance SUV market niche, and has been emulated by almost every luxury automotive brand since.
Launched in 2002 it has, in typical Porsche style, changed its appearance only minimally. The latest version is the third-generation, and all have been an unrivalled success for the company that was once staunchly “sports-car-only”. The first generation moved 250,000 units; generation two doubled that. And in the US, the Cayenne outsells all the Porsche sports models combined.
Better looking, as well as wider, longer and lower.
Stand the new Cayenne next to its predecessor and you can see that it’s a better-looking car – leaner and less pudgy. The new one is lower (by 9mm), longer (by 63mm) and, incredibly, even wider (at 1983mm, or 2194mm including the mirrors) by 23mm.
It’s a good-looking vehicle with a touch of aggression in its stance. This is partly down to the larger wheels and tyres and, in a first for the Cayenne, wider wheels and tyres at the rear than up front.
The front end still looks a little unresolved for those of us more used to clearly defined grilles, but that’s a matter of opinion. The rear, by contrast, has benefited from a well-crafted rethink, with a distinctive strip light linking the rear tail light clusters. Overall, we had a sneaky impression that the new Cayenne had been back-designed to more closely align with the Macan and Panamera. Just saying …
The new Cayenne may be larger all round, but it has shed some weight. While 65kg may not sound much in the context of the hefty overall weight, it’s about the equivalent of offloading a passenger.
Porsche-level prices, but real value can be found.
Porsche has long been in the enviable position of being able to pretty much charge whatever it likes for its products, especially in Australia. Demand is strong, and Porsche makes no secret that it will charge what the market will bear. And as one executive confided to me, the company strategy is to bring in one less car than buyers want to buy, ensuring demand always outstrips supply.
Cashed-up buyers aren’t deterred by the premium price.
The Cayenne range kicks off from $116,300 (plus on-road costs). That seems like a more-than-reasonable price for such an accomplished vehicle. However, few, if any, Cayennes will leave the showroom floor at that price. There’s a bewildering range of options and packs that will quickly push the price upwards. It’s more than the outgoing model, but that isn’t a fair comparison since so much has been changed, and it’s difficult (if not impossible) to make a side-by-side, model-by-model evaluation.
If your superannuation has been kind, you’ve talked up a generous package or you left your company with a substantial golden handshake, you’ll start looking further up the model range. The Cayenne S starts from $155,100 (plus on-road costs. That’s a fair hike for the extra 74kW of power and 100Nm of torque, but once you drive it, you’ll start looking for excuses to spend the extra money. The S really is, for our money, the pick of the bunch.
Topping the line-up is the Turbo. This one can only be described as a self-indulgence. For your $239,400 (plus on-road costs), you get a surfeit of power, torque and performance that would put many pure sports cars to shame. The bi-turbo V8 is hard to justify on any rational grounds, but if people bought cars rationally, motoring writers would be unemployed. By any measure, 404kW and 770Nm are excessive, particularly on our over-regulated and under-maintained roads with their ludicrously low speed limits. A zero to 100km/h time of 4.1 seconds (3.9 with the optional Sport Chrono package) might be great for bragging rights, but where in the real world is such performance usable? The same applies to the top speed of 286km/h. For what it’s worth, the S reaches 100km/h in 5.2 seconds (4.9 with Sport Chrono) and the Cayenne in 6.2 (5.9 with Sport Chrono).
The important numbers when it comes to performance and how quickly you can accelerate from 80km/h to 110km/h – the precise range where you need plenty of get-up-and-go for overtaking. seniordriver quizzed Porsche and they come up with figures for 80-120km/h (what they call “overtaking time”): the Cayenne does it in 4.1 seconds, the Cayenne S in 3.5 seconds and the Turbo in a scarcely credible 2.7 seconds. The less time you spend on the wrong side of the road, the safer you will be. Are you listening, relevant authorities? This is a perfect example of power and performance making us safer, not putting us at more risk.
With the Sport Chrono package, you also get a nifty Sport Response button in the centre of the drive mode switch for even quicker overtaking (operational for up to 20 seconds, with a countdown timer telling you how long it has left to run). This package also gets the fairly pointless (for everyday use) Performance Start (or launch control) for optimum acceleration from standstill.
Can you park it?
Like many large SUVs, the Cayenne can be a bit of a handful to park, even with its standard cameras and parking sensors. While rear vision on a screen tends to reduce the amount of head swivelling required, it still pays to use your own eyes to check out the surroundings (as many on-screen devices will tell you). However, parking spaces are apparently getting smaller, and the number of large utes and SUVs around mean that on occasion you’ll find yourself having to squeeze into a tight space.
You may also want to measure the dimensions of your garage before making your final decision.
Taking it off-road.
It’s something of a puzzle that so many off-road vehicles rarely, if ever, see anything other than bitumen.
The Cayenne, in any variant, will handle modestly challenging off-road conditions, but keep in mind that a flat tyre in the boonies will be a problem since the Cayenne is equipped with a space-saver spare wheel and inflation kit. Get a flat tyre somewhere remote and you’ll be limping home on a temporary spare wheel, and if you’re carrying a full complement of luggage, it’s worth noting the wheel and tyre you’ve just removed won’t fit in the wheel well. Also, that impressive width will make some tracks too narrow for comfortable crossing, especially if you want to keep the superb paintwork in pristine condition.
On the other side of the equation, the torsional rigidity is exemplary, and even with one rear wheel dangling in mid-air, doors can be opened and closed without trouble.
Ground clearance is 240mm, ramp angle is more than 21 degrees and fording depth is 525mm. There’s an optional Offroad Package with additional protection for vital components and some dress-up bits.
Hitch up a caravan up to 3500kg.
There are few better alternatives if your plans are to use a Cayenne for towing. Although how this squares away with the sportscar label, we aren’t sure!
All Cayennes are rated to tow up to 3500kg (braked) and 750kg unbraked. Towbar download is 140kg. You can also load up to 100kg on the roof racks.
There’s plenty of space inside for additional luggage, to, with 700 litres up to 1710 litres with the seats folded. As always with such vehicles, load height is high and you’ll have to contort yourself to get luggage into the far recesses of the space. Knee and hip replacements and joints less supple than they once were make getting into and out of the luggage space even more challenging.
On road, it’s still a Porsche.
Country roads are the Cayenne’s natural environment. Out of the suburbs, its size and weight are less of an issue. The base V6 engine is more than up to the task but lacks the aural appeal of the other two engines. The advantages of air suspension (as fitted to the Turbo and optional on the other two models) are inescapable, but most drivers will never get close to the limits required to justify the additional expense. Fitted with either the air suspension of more traditional steel springs, the Cayenne simply sits on the road and devours long sweeping bends. With the steel spring suspension, it is possible to get a little float over certain undulating roads and broken bitumen can occasionally send an un-Porsche-like thump into the cabin. In these circumstances, the air suspension shows its worth. Where it does outshine the steel-sprung set-up is in ride comfort, although it’s a matter of degree; the Cayenne is definitely set up for handling over ultimate comfort.
The Turbo simply does everything the other two do, only better, and to the tune of a superb soundtrack.
Fuel consumption figures quoted by Porsche range from a worst of 16.4L/100km for the Turbo on the urban cycle to a best of 7.9L/100km for the Cayenne on the extra-urban cycle, and you’ll need to pay for super-premium (and super-premium price) 98 RON fuel. These numbers don’t seem as fantastic (in the real sense of the word) as with some other claims. We saw under 10L/100km in the base Cayenne over a combination of urban and country hills roads. In fairly heavy traffic, the Cayenne S trip computer was showing mid-teen consumption while the Turbo figures should be ignored because they included some spirited driving and a number of full noise runs up a hillclimb circuit. Yes, despite being a large and heavy SUV, the Cayenne acquitted itself superbly on a tight, twisting and narrow track – not something you’d expect from many of its SUV competitors.
Not only goes, also stops.
The brakes on the Cayenne inspire even more confidence than its other attributes. First for the marque is what Porsche calls a Surface Coated Brake system. Of course, they’re huge, 415mm up front and 365mm at the rear. The tungsten carbide coating puts it somewhere between standard iron rotors and the hugely expensive carbon ceramic type.
For a bit more gee-whizz factor, the Turbo also gets an active rear roof spoiler that automatically deploys above 160km/h (so will never be activated on Australian public roads) to wipe two metres off the braking distance in a full panic stop from 250km/h.
An interior closely related to the Panamera.
The relationship between the Cayenne and the Panamera is clear, with its wide, comprehensive console, large (12.3-inch) central touchscreen and the layout of the instruments. The positioning of the console has been designed to provide the shortest and most ergonomic path form steering wheel to all the important functions.
Connection is also comprehensive, with Amazon music, smart phone home app Nest and Radio Plus, online navigation, LTE telephone module with integrated SIM card, Bluetooth, online voice control, WiFi hotspot, four USB ports, new Porsche Connect services with up to two years membership included and Apple CarPlay and Android .
Unless you are tech-savvy, a lot of this will be meaningless and/or difficult to set up, but arrange with your dealer to have it organised when you take delivery, and ask for a detailed explanation. You’ll almost certainly need to come back again a few weeks later for a refresher course. There’s absolutely no point in having all this technology if you can’t or won’t use it.
Porsche claims you “sit low in the vehicle”, but again, it’s relative, and for many buyers of large SUVs, the elevated driving position is a bonus.
There’s lots of leather and shiny surfaces and ambient lighting. There’s even an optional ioniser. Seats are superbly comfortable and supportive in every model, and the top-of-the-range seats as fitted to the Turbo are available as an option in the other models. Optional privacy glass and sunblinds are also on offer.
The instrument cluster follows Porsche principles, with a central tachometer flanked by two seven-inch displays. Get used to tapping and swiping through seemingly endless menus to select your preferences, such as your favourite radio station (including an integrated Internet radio function), navigation destination, most-used phone numbers and to activate the sports exhaust system. And don’t try it on the move. There’s a useful digital speedo readout in the tachometer which is much easier to read than the tiny increments in the analogue speedometer.
Not ANCAP tested, but scored well in EuroNCAP.
As you’d expect, the Cayenne puts a high premium on safety, but like many luxury vehicles, doesn’t go through the expensive and often parallel testing for ANCAP. Reassuringly, it scored five stars in EuroNCAP testing.
Running costs.
It’s a Porsche, so servicing costs aren’t going to be bargain basement, but consider proper dealer servicing as an investment – a used Porsche with a full dealer service history always sells at a premium.
Despite this, from what we could glean by surfing the dealer websites, annual services are for all Cayennes have always been $695 and there’s no reason why that should change. Intermediate services are somewhere around the $1000 mark and major services still comfortably below $2000. That is not significantly higher than you’d expect to pay for some brands with considerably lower prestige.
Summary.
The Porsche Cayenne wants to be all things to all people: a sports car, a family mover, and a luxury SUV. The simple fact is that these things are, with the best will in the world, sometimes mutually exclusive. However, the Cayenne makes a better job of it than almost anything else on the market. The purists will never be satisfied, but for the rest of us (at least, those of us with the resources to pay the substantial entry price), the Cayenne continues to set the benchmark.