![]() Another console switch engages an off-road program with optimized suspension and drivetrain systems it can also engage the Cayenne’s locking center and rear differentials. The suspension can alter ride height by about 3.5 inches between its lowest and highest driving settings. Activate Sport Plus mode and the suspension eliminates body roll like no SUV ought to be able to do. The chassis shows hints of nose-heavy understeer, but a little extra throttle can draw the tail around to straighten you out. The steering has good feedback and sharp turn-in precision. Throw the Porsche Cayenne into a cloverleaf interchange and those Michelin tires grip the pavement like the car is half its weight. Like acceleration, handling goes well beyond the SUV norm. It’s all the more pervasive because at anything less than heavy throttle, the engine’s damn near silent. At most speeds, the Michelin Latitude Sport 3 P295/35R21 summer tires on our test car emitted a constant hum. And the suspension, though comfortable, is noisy, thwacking away at bumps in a manner unbecoming a $100,000-plus SUV. You can turn the system off, which you’ll want to do our editors found it a constant annoyance. An aggressive idle-shutoff function cuts engine power a moment before the SUV comes to a complete stop, divesting you of power-steering assist in the process. Still, even at its firmest setting the Cayenne is comfortable. ![]() Its three modes - Comfort, Sport and Sport Plus - are noticeably different, with Sport Plus adding some road feel over most bumps. (Lesser trims offer a steel suspension in fixed and adaptive setups.) Ride quality in the Turbo is on the soft side, keeping with the lux-SUV norm. Our Cayenne Turbo employed a three-mode adaptive air suspension, the most elaborate of three setups available in the Cayenne. Oh, and the Turbo S’ 570 hp brings a scorching 3.8-second zero-to-60-mph time. If you’re wondering what happened to the base, GTS and Turbo S variants, Porsche will bring them back for the 2016 model year. It’s entirely unnecessary, though, given the Cayenne S’ twin-turbocharged V-6 gets you there in just over 5 seconds - which is still quicker than any SUV needs to be. Porsche lists a zero-to-60-mph time of just over 4 seconds in the Cayenne Turbo, and there’s no reason to doubt it. Keep a lighter foot on the gas and the eight-speed can occasionally gear hunt, but Sport mode effectively eliminates that with decisive kickdowns. Interstate passing maneuvers have the standard eight-speed automatic kicking down as many as five gears at once to catapult the SUV in ways no SUV should be able to catapult. Mash the accelerator and the SUV launches to triple-digit speeds with a degree of ferocity that’s sure to alarm unsuspecting passengers. Curb weight is roughly the same, and fuel economy is not a concern. Its twin-turbo V-8, rated at 520 horsepower and 553 pounds-feet of torque for 2015, is up 20 hp and 37 pounds-feet versus last year’s eight-cylinder Porsche Cayenne Turbo. The sport-oriented Porsche Cayenne Turbo eats pavement like your dog would chow table scraps at a Brazilian steakhouse. Eighteen-inch alloys are standard, while optional rims run all the way to 21 inches. Aside from some modest ground effects, the biggest visual difference is the wheels. Unlike the 911, the Porsche Cayenne doesn’t have a ton of visual changes between base and high-level trims. The old lights look cartoonish by comparison this is a big improvement. ![]() The updates are easier to spot in back, where the redesigned taillights have a thinner appearance than last year’s more bulbous shapes. Porsche says the hood, bumper and fenders are new, but you’d have to put the 20 Cayenne side by side to see the differences. It’s a squared-off take on the same three-portal theme as before, and the changes are subtle. Compare the Cayenne trims here, or go here to stack up the 20 models.Ībout the same length but significantly wider than before, the Porsche Cayenne sports a reshaped lower grille with sculpted borders. All-wheel drive is standard across the board. We cover the hybrid separately in the Research section. The E-Hybrid pairs a supercharged V-6 with an electric motor. There’s also a turbo-diesel V-6 in the Cayenne Diesel, plus a Cayenne S E-Hybrid. Larger than it’s sedan sister the Panamera, and heavily revised for 2015, the five-seat SUV comes in twin-turbo V-6 (Cayenne S) and twin-turbo V-8 (Cayenne Turbo) drivetrains we drove the latter. On a winding road or racetrack, the 2015 Porsche Cayenne will go toe-to-toe with a lot of performance cars, but its annoyances as an SUV will test just how much you care about that. ![]()
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