2024 Porsche Cayenne review

Newt Gingrich is an odd person with whom to open a review of a Porsche Cayenne.

As far as I know, he never owned one but the Republican former speaker of the House was a man who popularised the language of polarisation in American politics, ushering in a bitterly partisan era.

Under Gingrich, an insufficiently conservative Republican became a RINO (Republican in name only). I wonder, having just stepped out of the entry-level Cayenne, if I've just driven a PINO.

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It's easy to figure out why you may lean towards thinking this is a 'Porsche in name only'. The base Cayenne is driven by a 3.0-litre single-turbo V6 that you'd also find in the Audi Q7.

With this 2023 update of the third-gen Cayenne, that engine now develops an additional 10kW, helping Porsche create a measure of differentiation between the 260kW Cayenne and the 250kW Q7. We'll talk more about that engine later on, but never, ever drive a V8 Cayenne if your budget only extends this far.

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JUMP AHEAD

• How much is it and what do you get?
• How do rivals compare on value?
• What's the Porsche Cayenne like inside?
• What is it like to drive?
• How is it on fuel?
• How safe is it?
• How long is the warranty and what are the running costs like?
• Would you recommend it?

How much is it and what do you get?

Excluding on-road costs, Porsche asks $140,200 for the base Cayenne (or $148,300 if you'd rather have the Coupe body) and that's about $41K less than the cheapest model with a bent-eight under its bonnet, the $181K Cayenne S.

Standard equipment now includes excellent LED matrix headlights which blend speed, camera and navigation data feeds to ensure ideal illumination.

The 11-point matrix of the main beam area does the usual trick of not dazzling oncoming drivers and the system seems to work extremely well. Once you've sampled headlights like these, it's very hard to regress to a vehicle that's not fitted with them.

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The cabin also feels a good deal more upmarket than the previous model, having adopted the look and feel of the Taycan with the broad dual-screen dash.

It's a classy look and the infotainment system works well. Buyers may well find the standard 20-inch alloy wheels a little meek in their style and they look rather lost in the wheelarches.

Perhaps the fact that they're fitted with blimp-like 55-series tyres up front creates the rather dorky look, and it's an additional $5130 to spec a 21-inch wheel of which the cheapest is the very tasty RS Spyder Design rim.

Our test car was fitted with roof bars and finished in $5000 worth of Carmine Red paint which also did little for the overall aesthetic. Black and white are the only two non-cost paint finishes offered. Porsche offers a limited palette of crashingly dull metallics for $2420.

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How do rivals compare on value?

Pricing is more or less lineball with the 250kW/450Nm six-cylinder BMW X5 xDrive40i M Sport ($138,900) and a significant stack of cash more than the $128,372 Mercedes-Benz GLE450, a vehicle that also utilises a turbocharged six-pot powerplant (in this case, good for 270kW and 500Nm).

Should you really want to exercise a power advantage, a Range Rover Velar R-Dynamic HSE is priced at $138,800 and uses a plug-in hybrid four-cylinder engine to develop 297kW and 640Nm. You will have to forgo some cabin space with this option as the otherwise comparably-sized Range Rover Sport edges out of the price bracket.

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The value pick? That might well be the $126K Lexus RX500h F Sport.

With 273kW and 551Nm, this 2.4-litre turbo hybrid four has the chops to keep pace with the Porsche and most of the options list has already been shoehorned in as standard.

In terms of pure value, the base Cayenne doesn't acquit itself too badly, but you may well find that you need to start ticking boxes if you want it to feel special. It does get 14-way adjustable seats, a 150W, 10-speaker stereo and a head-up display as standard.

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What's the Porsche Cayenne like inside?

The Cayenne feels smart but it also feels very much the base model in the range.

For $140K, there are a few features you might expect such as ventilated seats or roof rails but overall it's a well-judged specification that, while not loading the car with luxuries, enables you to drive a base-spec version without feeling like you've completely missed out.

The 'Porsche Driver Experience' features a curved digital instrument cluster, a redesigned centre console and a 911-style gear selector that's now mounted on the dash just behind your left knuckle. The engine start button sits to the right of the steering wheel.

A set of digital clocks is housed in the main instrument binnacle beside a 12.3-inch centre touchscreen and the option of a 10.9-inch passenger display at $2860.

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A special coating ensures this isn't visible from the driver's seat and front-seat passengers can stream content to this display.

There's a sea of piano black on the centre console, which houses controls for things such as the heated seats and, when these haptic feedback switches are pressed, the whole panel flexes in a way that's not immediately reassuring.

You get used to it, but the first time it happens you wonder if something's come unclipped in the dash. No, they all do that.

Likewise, on our test car, the footrest would slide up and down by a few millimetres which was moderately irritating.

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The main display is multi-configurable, with a wall-to-wall map if required and there's also a considerable amount of customisation that can be applied to the bright and clear head-up display.

Physical buttons for the air-con mean you won't have to go digging in the main screen to change the temperature and the air-con system itself has become very clever indeed, with a GPS-linked function.

This means that as soon as you enter a tunnel, the Cayenne will recognise it from the nav and instantly switch to air recirculation so you're not sucking fumes into the cabin.

It also actively monitors particulate content in the air and switches on recirc if air quality drops.

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What is it like to drive?

It's fine. No, really. It's acceptably quick, reaching 100km/h from rest in 6.0 seconds, the ride quality is adequate for a vehicle on steel springs and the control weights are decent.

And therein lies the problem. Porsche didn't build its reputation on cars that are fine. Its name is predicated on vehicles that are excellent. And the base Cayenne isn't excellent.

The engine needs a good shove to give its best and can feel lethargic when pulling away despite attaining peak torque at just 1450rpm. The 1985kg kerb weight means that this Cayenne has much the same power-to-weight ratio (about 130kW/tonne) as an entry-level Mazda MX-5. So it's no fireball.

Body control is okay, with some head toss evident and the Hankook Ventus S1 Evo Z tyres are a decent compromise choice, if not the last word in precision feedback.

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We did notice that on poorer surfaces there were quite a few squeaks and rattles in the cabin, which isn't something that you'd expect if you're handing over $140K.

There are three drive modes on offer: Normal, Sport and Offroad, with Sport killing the idle-stop system and activating the Porsche Active Suspension Management for a more dynamic ride.

Were I spending my hard-earned on a base Cayenne, the second box I'd tick after the bigger alloys would be $4750 worth of adaptive air suspension. Third would be the $2480 Bose surround sound system.

The eight-speed automatic transmission is a quality box of cogs and the Cayenne is fitted with shift paddles should you wish to marshal it yourself. The pre-set calibrations in Normal and Sport are pretty hard to catch out though, so aside from doing it out of road tester's curiosity, I left things to the robot instead.

Strong and faithful iron brakes are standard, with none of the weird pedal feel you occasionally get on cold carbon ceramics. The pedal box and driving position are similarly excellent, with a huge amount of adjustment for both seat and wheel.

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How is it on fuel?

Not bad, actually. In mixed driving that included 50 per cent challenging hill routes and 50 per cent suburban schlepping (respectively using Sport and Normal modes), the Cayenne averaged 10.3L/100km – a tenth better than the official combined figure.

As a frame of reference, the same exercise yielded 12.8L/100km in a V8 Cayenne S, a hefty 24 per cent worse.

The idle-stop system is impeccably smooth on the Cayenne thanks to its 48-volt electrics, which means that you won't feel tempted to switch it off in city traffic, unlike some cars whose systems are about as slick as the discount rail in Tarocash.

With its hefty 90-litre fuel capacity, the Cayenne can travel for 900km on a cruise but it does require 98 RON fuel, which means a tankful can easily top $200.

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How safe is it?

The Cayenne may well have undergone “one of the most extensive product upgrades in the history of Porsche” but that product upgrade was clearly not significant enough to warrant retesting by EuroNCAP, so the Cayenne carries over its five-star safety rating from the previous model.

There's a space-saver tyre under the boot floor as well as a fairly comprehensive tool kit, so you're unlikely to be left stranded by a puncture.

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How long is the warranty and what are the running costs like?

The warranty for the Cayenne is three years with unlimited kilometres.

While three years might seem a bit mean given that much of the new car market has moved to five-year warranties, there's still a bit of lag at the top end of town. The likes of Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lotus, and Maserati all offer a similar three-year deal.

Main service intervals are at 15,000km or 12 months, there's a three-year paint warranty and a 12-year anti-rust warranty.

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Would you recommend it?

I feel a little conflicted about recommending the base Cayenne. Porsche won't care, largely because it's extremely good at understanding the requirements of its customers.

For those who just want the cheapest way into Porsche Cayenne ownership and are not particularly fussed about dynamics, it's unlikely you'll be disappointed. The Cayenne rides well, looks good, is adequately equipped, is both safe and comfortable and, if you clog the accelerator pedal, can lift its skirts. It's a decent car.

What it doesn't feel like is a 'proper' Porsche. It's too meek. It has no attitude. Were you to put somebody who'd never experienced a Porsche before in it, they'd wonder what all the fuss around the marque was about.

It sounds harsh, but it's both a good SUV and a wholly unexceptional Porsche. Its maker will – rightly – counter that there's a healthy market for that.

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The problem, as I see it, is that this ought to be a car that excites you, that makes you feel as if you're stepping into the Porsche brand and experiencing a taste of its values. But you're not.

You're buying that badge equity, you're getting a decent SUV and that's okay as long as you're okay entering into that compact.

It'd be harsh to write this vehicle off as a 'Porsche in name only'. It has a lot of admirable attributes but it needs something else, some edge, some steel to its backbone, some glimpse into the depth of engineering and focus that has always distinguished the best Porsches.

When you create those lofty standards, they can, just occasionally, prove a little hard to live up to.

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