The Porsche Cayenne has gone from one of the weirdest looking vehicles on the planet that made you wonder why the German manufacturer had bothered with such a monstrosity, to an exquisitely designed SUV which has taken the world by storm.
I have owned one, the dreadfully disappointing original V6 which was overweight and underpowered, and driven most of the generations that followed and Porsche have proved that those who thought they had lost the plot, me included, were wrong because the Cayenne has developed into a truly iconic vehicle, and is now one of, if not THE best looking SUV on the road.
And just when I thought I had experienced everything this gorgeous vehicle has to offer along comes the new Cayenne Turbo S and, frankly, none of its predecessors comes close to this snarling beauty which combines mind blowing performance with ultimate comfort and prestige. Of course, the Turbo S has always been the quickest of the Cayenne stable but this one is even hotter with a mouth watering 570bhp and 800nm of torque, which gives it more grunt than its predecessor.
It might not look very different to its stablemates, apart from the Turbo S written on the back, but as soon as you climb into the driver’s seat and turn the ignition you know you are about to experience something more than a little tasty.
Luxurious: The inside of the car.
This car doesn’t just start, it erupts into life as the 4.8-litre V8 turbo awakens with a guttural bark and because this Cayenne has a sports exhaust system it really does make an astonishing noise as you blast through the eight-gears on the exceptionally smooth automatic gearbox on an adrenaline filled journey that will take you from 0-100kmh in a very satisfying 4.1 seconds – that is seriously fast for a vehicle that weighs in at 2,235kgs. At this juncture I am going to have to deviate just for a moment, and it’s all because of the noise this engine makes.
Let me explain… I put this Cayenne through its paces during a trip to Jebel Hafeet with my wife and her mother in the back and my father-in-law enjoying the experience in the front passenger seat. I selected the Sport Plus mode which puts the vehicle in its most potent settings and the exhaust note is at its magnificent loudest.
Just as I was savouring the sound of a Porsche V8 in full cry, my mother-in-law and my wife, in between screaming as we negotiated the bends of Jebel Hafeet at reasonable speeds, both asked this extraordinary question…wait for it: “Is this a diesel?” I have to admit I almost choked on the sharp intake of breath this induced. What! A diesel!!? OMG!
Car’s side.
Anyway, I digress, pleading ignorance, they accepted that indeed it was not the noise of a diesel engine producing enough horse power to produce a fully-fledged sequel to the Charge of the Light Brigade, and we continued on our way. What everyone did agree on was that the interior of this car is absolutely stunning with a plethora of finest heavy-stitched leather, and carbon fibre trim.
The layout is typically Porsche with the signature centre console housing the gear lever and all the buttons for controlling the driving modes, aircon etc rising up to the touch-screen which by today’s standards is a little small but nevertheless adequate.
The carbon fibre and leather steering wheel which thankfully is mostly devoid of annoying multi-function buttons is straight out of the Porsche 918 hybrid supercar and the instrument cluster, dominated by the rev counter, is again typical of the marque.
It is extremely comfortable, even at the astonishing speeds this machine produces with no body roll whatsoever, even going into the twistys at speed. This is down to the superb Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, self-levelling air suspension with ride height control, and the continuous shock absorber adjustments.
Car’s trunk.
Whatever you throw at this amazing vehicle it handles with assured ease and astonishing agility, with exceptional grip provided by the four-wheel drive system. It is equipped to be taken offroad and it probably handles tough terrain as impressively as it does on the road but I just wouldn’t risk damaging those beautiful 21-inch turbo wheels or anything else on a vehicle which is far more at home blasting along the highway.
It is, by a country mile, the best Cayenne I have ever driven, delivering monstrous power and, in Sport Plus mode, handling more like a large sports coupe.
You can drive it at high speed or just cruise along in Comfort mode and enjoy the prestige of one of Porsche’s finest vehicles. It ain’t cheap with a starting price of Dh692,800 and with the extras on our test vehicle costing an additional Dh68,910 it becomes very pricey but you tend to get what you pay for in this world which in this case is one magnificent SUV.
