RE: Driven: Porsche Cayenne Diesel

RE: Driven: Porsche Cayenne Diesel

Tuesday 28th December 2010

Driven: Porsche Cayenne Diesel

Can a diesel SUV really wear the Porsche badge with pride?



'SUV', 'Porsche' and 'diesel' are three terms that, if used in conjunction, will make large sections of Porsche's more traditional fan base angry enough to want to break things. And that includes members of the PH office staff.

So we thought we'd get that most pilloried of Porsches - the Cayenne diesel - into PH Towers to see if it could win over some hearts and minds and prove itself a 'proper' Porsche.

We're not going to go into detail about all the economic reasons for the Cayenne's existence - whether the best-selling Porsche's undoubted position as financial backbone of the company justifies its existence is an entirely separate (and no doubt bloody long) debate. What we wanted to find out was whether the car itself felt like it could honourably be called a Porsche.


First impressions are positive. We're used to the slightly bulbous shape of the Cayenne by now, and the latest version actually manages to reconcile its SUV bulk with Porsche styling cues (Boxster-esque headlights and tail lamps, the curvy D-pillar). Styling is of course a deeply subjective point, but the general feel in the PH office is that, if not actually attractive, the Cayenne's styling is at least relatively easy on the eye.

From the driver's seat, the Cayenne definitely feels like a Porsche. There's a high-quality but no-nonsense feel to the materials, you feel cocooned just as you should be in a decent Porsche interior and, while there far more buttons than a clutter-phobe could cope with, it's all logically laid out and actually quite easy to use.


Things fall apart a little as soon as you switch on the ignition - waiting for an ignition coil light to disappear before start-off is hard to swallow in a Porsche. Likewise the diesel idle, however well muted it is (very), is hard to get used to. We're used to fast diesels now, but it has taken companies like BMW the best part of two decades to convince its fans of the merits of the performance turbodiesel - and that's a much more mainstream car company than Porsche.

On the move, the Audi-derived six-cylinder diesel is smooth and strong, and the eight-speed auto, despite its apparent surfeit of ratios, never feels as though it's hunting, and always seems to be in just the right ratio.


Having said that, although the 405lb ft of torque does a good job of masking the chunky 2100kg kerb weight, there's no getting away from the fact that the engine's 240bhp is only enough to take the Cayenne diesel to 62mph from rest in a leisurely 7.8secs. The power delivery just isn't quite right either; the best Porsches should be all about razor-sharp responses and the Cayenne diesel's drivetrain is, quite frankly, a bit blunt. Blunt like a lump hammer is, but blunt nevertheless.

The Cayenne acquits itself better on a B-road. For such a heavy, high car Porsche has worked wonders with the handling, endowing it with a sporting feel that only the BMW X5/X6 can remotely match. It corners flat and grips well, and is even pretty keen to change direction, while the brakes are as confidence-inspiring as you expect from a Porsche.


The only weird aspect of the Cayenne's handling - and no doubt a measure of how tough it is to make a car like this able to handle so well - is a curious lateral 'shimmy' from the suspension. It's as though the suspension takes just a moment to check the body, with the result that the Cayenne just gives the slightest of hip-wiggles as you turn into a corner. It's hardly a criticism, but it is perhaps physics just serving Porsche a reminder that, while its laws can be bent, they cannot be broken.

So the new Cayenne diesel makes a more-than-decent fist of being a large luxury SUV with a sporting edge, but does it cut it as a 'true' Porsche? That might just be stretching its abilities a little too far.

Author
Discussion

Fleckers

Original Poster:

2,851 posts

200 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
some moron will buy it

adz13091982

185 posts

167 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
TBH honest I always though it was odd they didn't do a diesel. The question should really be should they do a SUV (no from me)?

angusc43

11,435 posts

207 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
I can't really think of any constructive to say as "diesel" and "SUV" are two of my least favourite words. That and the fact that I don't have £50k+ to burn puts me miles outside the target demographic, anyway. Still gave it zero, though.

Having said that I bet they'll shift loads to company car types and to yummy mummies in London.

Meanwhile the uber-rich will just carry on buying S's and Turbos as they always have and always will.

dave_s13

13,813 posts

268 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
One of the most important points when discussing a derv is missing.

What's it do to the gallon?

Edited by dave_s13 on Tuesday 28th December 09:22

WAFWOTTBI

338 posts

166 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Porshe.....WHY WHY WHY??????????????????????????????

WAFWOTTBI

338 posts

166 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
P.S yes i can't spell Porsche,it's early....

sjmoore

1,893 posts

203 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
I'm ambivalent about the Cayenne. A Porsche SUV is just plain wrong..but if it helps them build the GT3 RS then perhaps it is worthwhile. My main problem with the Cayenne is how can it be so much uglier than the VW Toureg? Trying to make it look a bit like a 911 it just a mistake. It should have its own identity. The same applies for the panamera. Porsche makes great cars but apart from the 911 none of them look good. Even with the 911 they did their best to screw it up with the 996.

pikey

7,698 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
To me it's immaterial whether it's "worthy" or "deserving" of a Porsche badge, compared back to back to the RRS, I preferred it.. so bought it. It's great

pikey

7,698 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
dave_s13 said:
What's it do to the gallon?
I often get 700-ish to a tank. Lowest I've had is 520, highest 812.

Garlick

40,601 posts

239 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
pikey said:
To me it's immaterial whether it's "worthy" or "deserving" of a Porsche badge, compared back to back to the RRS, I preferred it.. so bought it. It's great
It is a very good car (taken for what it is). If you're in the market for a car like you need to try it, if you're not you should still be thankful that it's actually a decent car. IMO of course (I took it to Yorkshire and got the snowy pictures).

Glosphil

4,337 posts

233 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
pikey said:
dave_s13 said:
What's it do to the gallon?
I often get 700-ish to a tank. Lowest I've had is 520, highest 812.
As I haven't a clue as to the capacity of the tank that tells me nothing. To give you a useless comparision I achieve 450 miles to the tankful in my car. So the Porsche has a better fuel consumption than a 1.25 ton 2-litre petrol hatchback?

pikey

7,698 posts

283 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Tank is 100 ltrs

MondeoMan1981

2,352 posts

182 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Fleckers said:
some footballer or drug dealer will buy it
EFA

carnut360

127 posts

173 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
As i live on a farm, drive at least 3 times ayear to the alps over snowy roads, the old Cayenne v6 petrol was great, but so thirst 16mpg when towing a trailer!, we tried the Audi a5 and the ride was so hard it would give you back pain, then we tried the porsche again, the deisel, what a revelation, very quick around 7.5 seconds 0-60, looks so much better outside, elegant springs to mind, and the interior is in another league for quality, also fuel consumtion of govt 38 mpg sounds fantastic, we ordered one and will pick it up on jan 1st, so will let you guys know what the actual consumption is, mind you anything north of 30mpg will be pretty good..certainly would recomend anyone to try a test drive..other than the turbo S 911 recon its the best car porsche actualy make...well done!

British Beef

2,191 posts

164 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Horrible thing, buy a Range Rover Diesel if you want 4x4 diesel plus touch of class. Buy one of these if you are a Chelsea nonce / footballers wife wanting the status to go with a Soverign Ring.

With this you are buying a rebadged, rebodied and over priced VW - what heritage! On a practical side it has a small boot.

Sits in the same useless camp of cars as the BMW X6!

Wills2

22,669 posts

174 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all

Good looking, comfortable, nippy(for a diesel SUV), 30+ mpg and it handles well. What's not to like?

£ for £ it has has to be the best car of its type.

The only niggle is the Audi sourced diesels ouput as they could have at least got a few more horses from it, but that's easily solved.


collateral

7,238 posts

217 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Over two tonnes!

Manee

5,265 posts

192 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
are those pics near clitheroe a59?

Wills2

22,669 posts

174 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
[quote=Manee]are those pics near clitheroe a59?[/quote

My guess was the Wharfe valley...

paul0843

1,914 posts

206 months

Tuesday 28th December 2010
quotequote all
Had the pleasure of driving all cayannes courtesy of Porsche at silverstone a few months back.
The diesel impressed me the most..the hybrid the least..
A quality product and will definitely consider when wives rrs needs changing..