It’s a bizarre feeling, this. Accelerating away from a stop in Porsche’s resurrected-for-2014 Cayenne Turbo S, we’re struck wondering whether there really are 550 horses under its smooth hood. Positioned as Porsche’s most obscene Cayenne, we expected the Turbo S to make our hairs stand on end—and then shave them—with its prodigious thrust. Our test equipment says it’s very nearly the quickest Cayenne we’ve ever tested, but warp speed is attained, dare we say it, with a distinct lack of flair. Smooth and Speedy Operator The 2014 Turbo S’s gestation likely was similarly drama-free, going, we imagine, something like this: “We already did a Turbo S with the first-gen Cayenne, right? Turbo is just too damned slow. Let’s fiddle with some stuff and get it done.” And so the S gets the same twin-turbocharged, 4.8-liter V-8 engine employed by the Turbo, but juiced for an extra 50 horsepower and an additional 37 lb-ft of torque.
Like other Cayennes (the expansive lineup also includes base, S, S hybrid, GTS, and diesel models), power is routed to the pavement via an eight-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel-drive system with torque-vectoring capability at the rear axle. Sixty mph arrives in 4.1 seconds, a time that’s four-tenths quicker than the most recent Turbo we tested and just plain mental for something that weighs 5237 pounds. The Turbo S more or less equaled its less powerful sibling in other measurables, registering the same 0.90 g on the skidpad, the same dismal 15 mpg in mixed driving, and nearly identical 70-0 braking. Cayenne—no matter how powerful—ever fully overcomes these obstacles. 111,375 base sticker for 50 extra horsepower and roughly similar performance exist outside the realm of rationality. But then the Turbo S caters to people who themselves exist outside the realm of rationality, the sort of crowd bent on spending the most money possible on a given car. 650 colored seat belts. And for the sake of time, we’ll skip the myriad personalization options that allow buyers to mix and match grab-handle and rearview mirror leathers, instrument- dial colors, and monogrammed doorsill plates—none of which are free. 235,000 on a Turbo S, you can. Parsing the fine differences between the Turbo S and the Turbo is pointless. That’s because neither model is the most delicious pepper in the Cayenne jar—that honor goes to the more visceral, 420-hp GTS. It remains our pick of the Porsche SUV litter, and, while it’s slower in a straight line, it clings to tarmac with more tenacity and responds to inputs more immediately than either Turbo.
In addition to meeting government standards, the technical safety aspects of the new C-Class also reflect in-house Mercedes-Benz accident research. The C-Class is designed for the greatest possible impact safety, based on Mercedes' own stringent passenger car guidelines which date all the way back to 1951, when the company patented its energy-absorbing car body with front and rear crumple zones. All five seating positions in the new-generation C-Class are fitted with three-point inertia-reel seat belts and electronically controlled belt tensioners. In a collision, the tensioners take up seat belt slack at lightning speed, anchoring occupants to their seats. As a result, they decelerate with the vehicle earlier, so forces are reduced. Then, as crash forces build, belt force limiters on the outer four seats relax the restraining action of the belt slightly, reducing the risk of chest and shoulder injuries. In the two front seats, adaptive belt force limiters allow belt forces to relax more, to take full advantage of the "ride-down" protection of the two front air bags.
Two-stage front air bags for driver and passenger deploy based on the severity of impact. If sensors detect a minor front-end impact, only one chamber of the gas generator is deployed, so the bag is not filled as fully or as quickly as it is in a severe front impact. In a more severe collision, the second chamber is deployed 5 to 15 milliseconds later. A sensor mat in the front passenger seat determines if someone is in the seat and classifies their weight, which helps determine how fast to deploy the front passenger air bag. If the seat is not occupied, the sensor will deactivate the front air bag, side air bag and the seatbelt tensioner (a measure designed to reduce accident repair costs). Signals from the seat belt latches help determine how many other passengers are in the car, and where they are sitting. Side Air Bags and Curtain Air Bags, Too Another Mercedes-Benz innovation is standard-equipment side curtain air bags.
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