Like a frog turned into a prince, the Porsche Cayenne was once useful and dynamic but is now, in generation deux, useful, dynamic and handsome. The first-generation Cayenne’s 2007 facelift did it no favours, but one never heard an argument against the Cayenne’s shocking handling or wicked straightline performance. Now the 2011 Porsche Cayenne has added clean and classy looks to the mix. Performance, of course, was not left by the wayside.
This is the Porsche of SUVs, even if that does sound a bit too cliche. Yes, there are five doors, a roomy backseat, a lofty driving position, and an utter dearth of horizontally-opposed boxer engines. Apart from those very un-Porsche-like facts, the second-gen Cayenne makes Zuffenhausen rich and proud; not just rich.
Truthfully, the Porsche Cayenne’s repertoire of winning attributes doesn’t just relate to clean styling and gobsmacking down-the-road execution. Take a peek inside at Porsche’s contemporary dashboard design. Gain an appreciation for the benefits of an 8-speed automatic: improved fuel efficiency with quicker acceleration. Consider the copious P-centric abbreviations: PTV, PASM, PDCC, PSM, PDK. The 2011 Porsche Cayenne is more than just a fast and handsome SUV for the Porschephile.
Engines: 300 horsepower; 295 lb-ft of torque from a 3.6L V6 or 400 horsepower; 369 lb-ft of torque from a 4.8L V8 or 380 horsepower; 428 lb-ft of torque from a 3.0L V6/electric motor parallel hybrid
Base USD/CAD Price: $46,700 / $58,200
City Fuel Economy: 15-21 miles per gallon
Cargo Capacity: 23.7 cubic feet or 62.9 cubic feet with rear seats folded
Sales Stats: Although GoodCarBadCar.net excludes the Porsche Cayenne Turbo because it exceeds the $75,000 USD price barrier, the Cayenne’s overall sales total is certainly helped by the 500-horsepower Turbo. The arrival of the second-generation Porsche Cayenne is responsble for Porsche’s 141% U.S. SUV sales jump in October. Cayenne sales in Canada in October (103) were nearly triple that of the next-closest Porsche, the profoundly ugly Porsche Panamera.
Fiat 500 – Ford F-150 – Ford Mustang V6 – Infiniti G25
Jeep Wrangler – Nissan Juke – Porsche Boxster Spyder – Toyota Venza
I hate to say this, as I am not a Porsche fan, but the Cayenne is beautiful.
"Profoundly ugly Panamera"? Seems like the author is in dire need for some glasses…no, the Cayenne is not ugly, esp. when compared to this Infiniti monster ("FX" or whatever its called), but the Panamera definitely looks miles better than the Cayenne…and also the Panamera has at least some sportivness to it, while the Cayenne is probably best off with a Diesel – in a Porsche (obviously North Americans dont get this "choice", but for the Cayenne it is once the right one.