Back to the engines: The base Cayenne is powered by Porsche's 3.0-liter single-turbo V-6 that develops 340 hp and 332 lb-ft of torque, up 40 hp and 37 lb-ft on its predecessor's 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V-6. The Cayenne S gets the 440-hp, 405-lb-ft 2.9-liter twin-turbo V-6 originally developed by Audi. Power is up by 20 horses compared with the 3.6-liter twin-turbo V-6 of the outgoing Cayenne S, and peak torque is about the same. The Cayenne Turbo boasts Porsche's potent 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8鈥攖he all-new engine that made its debut last year in the Panamera鈥攗nder its hood. All engines drive all four wheels through a revised eight-speed automatic transmission rather than the Panamera's slick and quick new eight-speed PDK dual-clutch. Driver-selectable modes change the transmission's shift protocols to suit mud, gravel, sand, or rocks and also adjust settings for the suspension and differential locks to suit. Standard wheels on the Cayenne and Cayenne S are 19 inches; the Turbo gets 21s. And all get wider rims and wider tires at the rear to improve on-road handling.
Porsche claims the new MLB architecture has led to weight savings of up to 143 pounds, depending on model, despite the addition of more standard equipment across the range. The unibody is a combination of aluminum and steel, with the aluminum used for the body panels, floorpan assembly, and front structure. Adopting a lithium-ion polymer starter battery saved 22 pounds alone. The new Cayenne's exterior design is evolutionary rather than revolutionary, combining forms derived from the previous model with sporty themes from the Macan and luxury flourishes from the Panamera. The Turbo has been given a distinct identity to clearly separate it from its six-cylinder siblings, with a more aggressive front-end graphic, wider wheel arches, and unique quad tailpipes. The Turbo also gets active aerodynamics, courtesy of a movable rear wing integrated into the roof spoiler. The trailing edge of the wing automatically lifts 0.8 inch at speeds above 100 mph (or 1.6 inches if you select Sport Plus mode) to increase downforce on the rear axle. It lifts 2.4 inches if you have the panorama roof open to compensate for a less effective airflow over the roof and snaps up 3.2 inches under heavy braking.
Porsche claims the wing's airbrake effect helps cut up to 79 inches from the Cayenne Turbo's braking distance during a full commando stop from 155 mph. Inside, there's 15 percent more cargo room with the rear seats up and more technology and functionality at your fingertips, but in general terms the new Cayenne's interior execution is, like the exterior, also evolutionary. Signature Cayenne design elements such as the center-mounted grab handles sit adjacent to the stuff repurposed from the Panamera. It's all familiar but sharper, more focused. And that's exactly how the new Cayenne drives. We sampled all three variants on tight and twisting rough-and-tumble roads鈥攕ome of them gravel鈥攖hrough the rock-strewn mountains of Crete, the biggest of the Greek islands. Boasting the biggest increases in power and torque over its predecessor, the new base Cayenne is noticeably quicker on the road than the previous model, though throttle response of the 340-hp single-turbo V-6 is slightly doughy below 2,000 rpm.
More impressive, the new Cayenne is also quieter and more refined, with less tire noise and impact harshness even on the optional 21-inch wheels and tires fitted to our tester. That's the air suspension proving its worth. The 440-hp twin-turbo V-6 in the Cayenne S is crisper at low revs and zings happily to 6,600 rpm. It's a more vocal engine than the other V-6, growling purposefully when you bury your right foot, with a muted crackle from the exhaust on the overrun when Sport Plus mode is selected. Porsche claims the Cayenne S is a second quicker to 60 mph than the Cayenne (4.9 seconds versus 5.9 seconds), and that's easy to believe. Although we'd happily live with a Panamera 4S, any Cayenne but the Turbo is a compromise. Porsche's twin-turbo V-8 is a stormer of an engine, even in this鈥攊ts earliest and, most likely, least powerful iteration. It makes the Cayenne Turbo feel more effortlessly fast, more special than either of its six-cylinder siblings.
But the Turbo felt the more alert of the two on corner entry and punched harder away from the apex. Like the base Cayenne and the Cayenne S, the new Turbo is also quieter and more refined on the road than its predecessor. The new Cayenne drives like a Porsche SUV should drive yet more comfortable than you'd expect. But even with the optional active stabilizer bars, whose 48-volt motors are capable of producing up to 885 lb-ft of twisting force to counter roll through corners, there's simply no disguising the fact it is relatively tall and relatively heavy. Although the lower, lighter Panamera feels comfy and composed when hustled along a twisty two-lane with its air suspension in the standard setting, you'll want to select Sport mode in the Cayenne just to calm the body motions a fraction. So said Ferry Porsche in 1989, when the idea of a Porsche SUV seemed impossibly sacrilegious to the 911 purists. But more than three-quarters of a million Cayenne customers have since proven him right.
No comments:
Post a Comment