Review: Porsche Cayenne S 2018

At first sight, the Mk 3 Cayenne suggests that the rate of development of Porsche’s SUV could reasonably be described as fairly glacial. It looks a lot like the Mk 2 Cayenne, which wasn’t that dissimilar to the Mk 1.

You could understand Porsche’s wariness at over-twiddling a winning recipe. After all, they’ve sold 770,000 Cayennes since 2002, and keeping the speed of change gradual has worked well for the 911 too.

In fact, this new Cayenne is built on a version of the MLB platform that Bentley uses in its Bentayga. It has a raft of driver-focused chassis tech, with the option of rear-wheel steering, an electromechanical anti-roll system, which was first tried on the Audi SQ7, and reworked air suspension. Then there are new engines and completely refreshed interiors. So, what looks like ‘no change’ from a distance is actually anything but.

The Cayenne is something of a Marmite car, so if you're not a lover of Porsche’s biggest SUV, you probably won't be reconsidering it now. And that would be a shame because this is, by any standards, a tremendous vehicle.

Let’s start with the new interior. In terms of luxury feel, this is as good as the Panamera – and that is very good indeed. The cabin is sumptuously and stylishly crafted from lovely materials and features beautifully integrated technology that few cars of £100,000 and more could trump. It’s exemplary, with the bonus of an extra 100 litres of boot space.

The S’s 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 with eight-speed automatic gearbox will seem familiar to Audi RS5 owners, despite having slightly less power at 434bhp. Its wide spread of torque – 405lb ft between 1800 and 5500rpm – actually feels more comfortable in the two-tonne Porsche SUV than it does in the M3-rivalling 2-door Audi. We didn’t hit the claimed top speed of 164mph on our short drive, but got strong indications that it would reach that with some ease. Lag is minimal lag and the automatic gearbox is fast and decisive. Not many owners will lust for more performance.

There’s no quibbling about the dynamic poise of this new Cayenne but in order to maximise it you need to option it carefully. Our test Cayenne S had adaptive air suspension, rear axle steering, 21in wheels and carbon ceramic brakes that are arguably overkill for many SUV buyers. Standard cars run with steel springs, smaller wheels and iron brakes, and they don't have four-wheel steering. That’s a very different setup, so a definitive judgement on a generic Cayenne S is tough to make.

It’s not hard to notice the weight of performance, though. Lighter than both the Bentley Bentayga and the Audi Q7, the Porsche drives more directly and more responsively than either of them. It has a large hatchback feel, arrowing into bends in a neutral manner and powering out of them with rear-driven certainty.

With this model, the Cayenne reasserts itself as the enthusiast’s clear choice in this SUV sector (remembering the point about option selection). On top of that you’re getting more practicality and noticeably more luxury than before.

Some of the opposition can equal the Cayenne in individual aspects, but none can top it in all-round ability. £68,330 isn't bargain basement money, but when you consider that that amount won’t buy a Discovery First Edition diesel, the value of the Cayenne suddenly seems rather reasonable. The advances made by Porsche in this iteration make this the SUV to watch.

Porsche Cayenne S 2018