Porsche Cayenne 2018 Review

Stronger than before

It's been nearly eight years since Porsche introduced its second-generation Cayenne to Australia. Now, along comes its successor, the all-new third-generation 2018 Porsche Cayenne launched locally last week.

Like the earlier Cayenne, the new model is lighter and stronger than before. There's more power too, and the Cayenne will even head bush – as long as the bush isn't too challenging.

For the local launch, Aussie journalists drove the 2018 Porsche Cayenne over an off-road section to learn more. With the Cayenne's right rear wheel suspended about 30cm in the air, a Porsche executive ostentatiously opened the driver's door and the right/rear door – and then resecured both doors without any particular force. It was an impressive display of torsional rigidity… one which other prestige off-roaders could also reproduce, no doubt.

It's a blunt assessment, but the Cayenne's off-road ability is compromised by, for example, an inflatable space-saving spare tyre and a hill descent control system that can only be actuated once the car is already headed downhill. Other such systems from Land Rover or Jeep, for instance, can be made ready to go before the vehicle dives headfirst into the scrub.

The Cayenne is a capable machine for a 'softy' – and particularly in light of its very enjoyable on-road demeanour. It would lift wheels over uneven ruts and holes, and yet push on regardless.

Although the off-road section of the drive program was by no means the most demanding we've ever seen, it did illustrate the Cayenne's overall competence. On no occasion did the car exceed its approach, departure or break-over angles.

This really tells you all you need to know about the Cayenne. It's a family wagon offering a 3500kg braked towing capacity and some soft-road competence, but its Porsche DNA dictates a road/performance bias for a reason: There's a certain breed of SUV buyer who prefer track work over trail work. The Cayenne is for that type of buyer.

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Happy Valley

On the country roads between Adelaide and the Barossa Valley the Cayenne was in its happy place. The engine in the base model was refined and muscular, but lacked the aural charm of the twin-turbo Cayenne S, let alone the V8-engined Cayenne Turbo. While it was a perfectly acceptable engine, it just didn't sound as distinctively 'Porsche'.

Nevertheless, the engine was healthy enough to push the Cayenne up to speed quite rapidly, and that was when the Cayenne's ride and handling balance swam into focus. Fitted with steel springs, unlike the upmarket variants also tested, the base model was a little more prone to float over long, wavy bumps taken at speed. And there was a choppy quality on patchy bitumen. The steel springs also sent up a faintly audible harmonic vibration on poorly-surfaced stretches of country road.

All that said, however, the base Cayenne felt communicative, thanks in part to its 19-inch wheels. There was a sense (felt through the seat) of the car moving into a neutral stance when pitched into a corner, and the steering was responsive and tactile. So, even the 'cheap' Cayenne was an endearing drive, although the engine of the Cayenne S is just about worth the extra dosh.

The twin-turbo V6 in the Cayenne S offered plenty of performance with the accelerator flat to the floor and certainly delivered one of the better V6 soundtracks, but the V8 of the Cayenne Turbo was glorious, for lack of a better word. It's highly potent in terms of performance, and the engine note is magnificent – particularly at higher revs.

Fuel consumption figures posted by the trip computer were 16.3L/100km for the Cayenne S, reflecting the low-speed urban driving on the way out of Adelaide, and 10.6L/100km for the Cayenne Turbo, which was mostly confined to open-road touring and some infrequent occasions overtaking. The base Cayenne was handed a bit of a flogging the next day, to return a figure of 12.6L/100km on the run back to the airport.

All three engines drive through an eight-speed automatic transmission to a multi-plate clutch for transfer to all four wheels. The auto is smooth, but responsive, and learns what the driver wants very quickly. So stand on the accelerator and let the engine build revs briefly before backing off and the transmission will kick down to the right gear – but then also hold that gear on the overrun for effective engine braking. It's a very clever unit, second-guessing the driver's needs – and reading the situation right.

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Air versus steel

Running the same size of Pirelli P-Zeros (315/35 ZR21 at the rear and 285/40 at the front) the Cayenne S and Turbo rode somewhat differently on their three-chamber air suspension setup, in contrast with the steel-suspended base-grade Cayenne on 19-inch wheels. The V8 felt a little heavier through the tiller, which clearly wasn't due to the tyres alone. Set to Sport Chassis mode the two cars were impressively agile, given their actual bulk. Start to throw them around and both felt lively and responsive, with surgically-precise steering and plenty of grip.

Ride comfort for both the air-sprung cars was demonstrably better in the normal chassis mode than in the sport mode, although 'better' is a relative term. There's an underlying firmness at speed on rippled country bitumen, and ride quality is sharper still in the Sport mode, but that's the nature of a Porsche, even an SUV. Body control takes precedence over supple springing.

The brakes are powerful – and no wonder with calipers and rotors as big as they are – but the Cayenne would also come to a halt gently as well as surely. Pedal feel contributed to that ability to apply finely modulated pressure.

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Modern interface thinking

The Cayenne was quiet and refined, with a visually presentable interior, featuring a 12.3-inch infotainment display in the centre console. It's a simple system to use, and the screen displays options as soon as it detects a finger in the proximity of the screen, plus it has been neatly incorporated in the dash without overpowering the holistic style.

The instrument binnacle is a comprehensive unit with Porsche's exclusive take on ergonomics – a large tachometer in the centre flanked by the analogue speedo on the left and trip computer/infotainment functions on the right. Porsche engineers have also incorporated a digital speed readout in the tachometer for those who find the analogue speedo a little fussy to read and comprehend at a glance.

The front seats were generally fine, although I personally felt they were a little flat and firm. In the rear, the triple-split folding seat slides fore and aft in two (60:40) sections. This frees up an extra 100 litres of boot space, according to Porsche. The problem with that is you then sacrifice adult levels of legroom. Owners not needing quite so much luggage capacity can slide the seats back as far as they'll go for legroom to suit the oldies.

With a sunroof fitted the Cayenne is borderline for rear-seat headroom, but for passengers taller than 180cm it's possible to recline the squab to clear the sunroof. There are adjustable vents in the rear and USB charging ports for the rear-seat occupants.

But as appealing and comfortable as the interior design may be, the Cayenne's party trick is really its performance and its sparkling dynamics. Forget those nay-sayers who knock SUVs for unsafe behaviour, the Cayenne will run rings around your typical muscle car… while transporting the kids to school.

How much does the 2018 Porsche Cayenne cost?
Price: $116,300 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 250kW/450Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 209g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: TBA

How much does the 2018 Porsche Cayenne S cost?
Price: $155,100 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.9-litre six-cylinder twin-turbo-petrol
Output: 324kW/550Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 213g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: TBA

How much does the 2018 Porsche Cayenne Turbo cost?
Price: $239,400 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 4.0-litre eight-cylinder twin-turbo-petrol
Output: 404kW/770Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.9L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 272g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: TBA