Price tag aside, revamp of sporty SUV is easy to fall for
Source: Market Watch
DAMASCUS, Md. (MarketWatch) — Porsche’s Cayenne got a thorough going over for model year 2011. Not that the average person would notice.
The big changes to the came inside, where you’re faced with a center console that may leave you wondering if you’re driving a sport utility vehicle or piloting a small plane. That’s because of the 32 buttons on the center console, plus nine more overhead, and the four levers behind the steering wheel.Those who have driven similar luxury sport utes in recent years should be able to decipher all those buttons rather quickly. However, if the love of your driving life has been a Porsche 911 that’s 8 or 10 years old, then the new console will present a challenge at first.
But fire up the V8 in our test Porsche /quotes/comstock/11i!poahy (POAHY 9.42, +0.11, +1.18%) /quotes/comstock/11e!fpah3 (DE:PAH3 69.56, +1.46, +2.14%) this week (the key start is on the left) and let’s head out and enjoy the engineering that went into this second-generation Cayenne.
It’s easy to fall in love with the 400 horsepower V8 that’s standard with the S model. Torque comes to 369 lb-ft at 3,500 so this rather hefty SUV gets up and goes.
From a standing start, 60 mph is achieved in 5.6 seconds according to the maker and it’s incredibly easy to exceed the speed limit set for any U.S. highway thanks to the quiet cabin, and refined powertrain. Going 80 mph feels little different from 60, and the 8-speed Tiptronic transmission goes about its business so smoothly you probably won’t notice that you have that many gears to choose from. The whole ball of wax tops out at 160 mph, which must be somethin’ else on the autobahns.
If it matters to anyone with the cash to buy one of these, it’s rated at 16-22 mpg by the EPA, and I rang in at 18.2 mpg with mostly interstate and back-county road driving.
For winter-time operation, the heated front seats were more than welcome, and the test vehicle wasn’t disturbed at all by the 8 ½ inches of snow that fell during the test period. It just plowed right through it.
Well-above-average handling has long been a hallmark at Porsche, and that hasn’t changed in the Cayenne. Slip it into the sport setting and you’ll be surprised at how well an SUV can adapt to twisty back roads. Yet the ride on the daily commute is very comfortable in either the normal or sport settings.
The paddle gearshifts worked quickly and came readily to hand, but a rework of their location is needed. Either the paddles or the thick steering wheel obscure the four levers behind that run the windshield wipers (with 9 adjustments,) cruise control, and directional signals. The ignition switch is blocked most of the time, and it in turn blocks the driver’s view of the headlight switch with its various settings. At the end of the day, it’s perfectly fine for the driver to wonder whether virtually every setting needs 4 to 10 options.
The 14-way power seats were comfortable and invite the owner to take long trips in them. Fortunately, there’s a memory that will retain that “just right” seat setting once it’s found. I do think the right place for the door lock switch is on the door, and not on the center console. There is fair storage up front and in the console, and glove box.The driver and his partner up front have lots of room, and enough to the rear for two adults and two only. But those in front might want to discreetly move their seats forward a little to help out.
Total interior storage capacity comes to 62.9 cubic feet with the second-row seats folded, and that’s a bit under the capacity of some of the competition. Towing ability vehicle came to 7,716 pounds, Porsche says.
You can even do some gentle off-roading with the Cayenne, but do you think many people will?
For the way it blends long-distance traveling, easy around-town errand running, quick acceleration with great brakes, luxury with almost sports car handling on back roads, the Porsche Cayenne adds up to one heck of a vehicle. Our well-optioned test Cayenne would go out the door for $92,935, lacking only a rear-view camera among its amenities. Porsche does offer one, it should be noted.
One odd-ball thing happened. Crossing under an interstate bridge frequently caused the radio to turn itself on. Can’t imagine why. Is it part of the $4,200 convenience package?
In short, for the well-heeled, the Cayenne is hard to beat.
Hubcaps
Maserati says thanks to the introduction of the sleek GranTurismo Convertible, sales rose 49 percent in 2010 compared to the previous year. And the convertible accounted for one-third of the maker’s North American sales last year.
Auto Writer Scott Burgess of the Detroit News has some great inside detail on January auto sales. Burgess and Autodata say demand is huge for crossover and small sport utilities, especially the Honda CR-V. And hang on, Mom, demand is on the rise for minivans. Overall minivan sales were up 65 percent in January. The redesigned Honda van will reviewed here shortly.
Vehicles tested in this column are on loan from the auto companies through local distributors.
Ron Amadon writes about cars for MarketWatch from Washington.
