2008 Porsche Cayenne S Road Test 1

Hot peppers play a key role in international cuisine. If you're a chili pepperaficionado, chances are they find their way into almost everything you eat. The rush of endorphins most of us get from biting down on something intensely spicy keep us coming back for more, despite our better judgment. Cayenne pepper is a popular choice, probably because it ranks somewhere in the middle of the pepper heat continuum, providing a nice tingling on the tongue and on occasion the desire to seek out a glass of something cold. Perhaps that's why Porsche selected the name for its line of SUV's five years ago. There are varying degrees of heat in the Cayenne lineup, so to speak, the base V6 being mild and the Turbo model off the charts. In the case of this road test, we sampled something in the middle of the spicy model range, the Cayenne S. It's not as tame as the V6, and of course not as manic as the mighty Turbo. However, opting for the Cayenne S gets you a silver appliqu proclaiming so on the tailgate, along with a potent 4.5-liter V8 churning out 385 horsepower. That's up 35 ponies over its platform-engineered cousins, the Volkswagen Touareg and the Audi Q7, and well into spicy territory.

 

since as the Cayenne accounts for a large chunk of Porsche'sinternational sales, when it came time to refresh it for meansl 2008 the mark's loom to altering its looks were watchful at best. That said, we think that the Cayenne looks better than it ever did before, major itself as an individual invention in the visitors's lineup very than difficult to assure each that it's a 911 on stilts. Front and rear fascias are curved and treated to astute looking LED treatments. It's enough of a clynche that before generation Cayenne owners were plainly craning their necks to get a good look.

As we touched on during our road test with the V6 variant, the Cayenne is a vehicle that evokes robust emotions by all who confeaturer it. There are those who affection its pure, thick appearance and miracle at its off road capability, while others deprovoke and cast diseleganceful looks. It all depends on private elegance and perspective. Some of those those are Porsche purists who uphold that a visitors that is in the selling of shop sports cars has no right shop an SUV. Sales records notwithstanding, we think those those should redirect their anger away, as the Cayenne has helped to propup Porsche and make it the most profitable sedanmaker in survival on a per-item beginning, not to reference that such profit has tolerable it to emit sphere cars like the Carrera GT.

The way I see it, the Cayenne might not take the form of a sports car, but it's a sports car nonetheless. It might weigh close to 5,000 pounds, but what other sedan manufacturer can make something this energetic export, provoke and accelerate as well as it does. On the converse, it makes us speculate what the Cayenne would be like if Porsche had alert only on its road conduct, something more along the shape of what we estimated when we first heard Porsche was released to develop a sport 'ute. We should feature out that both on and off the road the Cayenne's conduct is very competent and polished, which we will confer promote in a record.

 

As we referenceed prior, the Cayenne shares a platform with the VW Touareg and the Audi Q7. If you have ever tired time behind the veer of also of these vehicles, you'll find the infeature of the Porsche personal. It's avague feeling of personality, however, because in the Cayenne's case it's got its own character doomed to reserve it from its corporate cousins. The console gauges have the classic Porsche font on their faces, and the explosion is on the left feature of the steering veer just like its sportier stalemates. different some of its rivals, there's nothing showy about the Cayenne's cottage, it's all about functionality - only the glut of buttons on the heart stack will necessitate the specs to see what's what. The nav practice machinery well enough once you get the lynch of it, and the Bose stereo will play your preferred tracks with impressive clarity and tome. We actually like the robust grab exports that grow out of the heart console, something those who have full the Cayenne out in the forcible back country no mistrust appreciate as well.

Those owners who do venture off the beaten conduit will be able to negotiate some cute formidable landscape. Porsche engineers worked tirelessly to guarantee that their SUV would be superior off road. broad development took place in such apart locales as the frosty ring and the Sahara Desert. An very competent four-veer direct practice coupled to an later suspension means that there's very little that will csmooth the Cayenne. Even more off-road expertise is released if buyers trial the selection box that selects the Offroad Technology envelope which includes underbody protection and a rear locking differential, as well as the pice de rsistance

air suspension with PASM. Ground clearance can be adjusted on a whim, depending on the landscape.

former we alluded to the Cayenne's efficient on-road conduct, and it's even more impressive when you confeaturer how competent the thing is off-road. Porsche accomplished what so many sedanmotive manufacturershave tried to do, having inwards at the sharpen compromise between provoke and conduct. We should stress that were chatting about this in a sport value framework; you won't confound it with any other Porsche when the road starts to encircle. Still, whether the road is arranged and easy or wavy and rutted it never puts a veer amiss. It's extremely impressive when you are able to make a vehicle like the Cayenne (with its status and substance) negotiate corners with smooth even lacking the spin-hostile air suspension and active frame.

foster serving the Cayenne convey an unparalleled energetic experience is its six-swiftness sedanmatic transmission. It'll thump thforcible the gears with stiffness and clout when in Sport or Tiptronic means, and will melt from one gear to the next when you're emission thforcible transfer. The Cayenne is also so dense and peaceful, generous the impression the total thing was cast from one dense portion of steel.

assist is the best word to depict how the Cayenne goes downthe road. With 385 horserule under your right bottom, acceleration is far more effortless than with the base V6. When it grass the line it treats occupants to a well V8 soundtrack that incrsmooths in urgency as the tach shouldle swings towards redline. It makes more rule than many of its rivals, most specifically the BMW X5 and the series rambler Sport HSE, and virtually as greatly as LR's top of the line Supercharged meansl. There's profusion of off the line grumble better by a robust rush of rule at the top end. Thankfully, the Cayenne repayment from legendary Porsche brakes; csmoothping was never an subject, and the brakes were forever remarkably ruleful and lighten released, albeit a bit sensitive. Over the course of our time with the Cayenne we visited the gas location more regularly than we would have liked, but no mistrust we could have prolonged those visits had we been more attentive with the suffocate. Still, it's a voracious vehicle.

To put a Cayenne in your directway you'll should two gear. First of all, you should to appreciate the work that Porsche's engineers poured into this vehicle. Not only to differentiate it from its platform engineered cousins, but also to give an uncompromisingly good energetic experience for those who direct it. You'll also should some soul of home remedy in commerce with what's usually known as sign shock. Our Cayenne S rang in at around $68,000, not precisely a careful price tag. That appear can grow greatly better as you add selections. Confeaturer that if you want to have painted Porsche crests favor the heart of your veers it's released to price you 185 dollars (more than the price to upgrade to the 18-crawl Turbo-fashion veers, which sets you back 150 dollars.) For those that suffer these criteria, such subjects are simply minutiae. certainly, if you are looking for an SUV that excels on and off the road and exudes fashion and esteem, the Cayenne S satisfies thoforciblely.

 

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