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First drive: 2023 Porsche Cayenne S. Image by Porsche.

First drive: 2023 Porsche Cayenne S
The Cayenne S has been given a thumping V8 as part of the latest update, but does that make it the Porsche SUV dreams are made of?

   



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2023 Porsche Cayenne S

5 5 5 5 5

Whether you love it or hate it, you can't help but respect the Porsche Cayenne. Not only did it allow Porsche to become a profitable SUV manufacturer, as well as a sports car builder, but it also managed to take some of Porsche's sporting DNA and inject it into an all-terrain vehicle. As a result, Porsche has sold more than 1,250,000 since the car's introduction in 2002.

Now, though, there's a new model, offering fresh design, more technology and a new engine range. For most models, it's a fairly light refresh, but the S version is a little different. Gone is the old V6, replaced with a rip-roaring V8, but does the heart transplant make the S the most desirable model in the Cayenne range?

Test Car Specifications

Model: 2023 Porsche Cayenne S
Price: Cayenne from £67,400, S from £80,800
Engine: 4.0-litre turbocharged V8 petrol
Transmission: eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 474hp
Torque: 600Nm
Emissions: 282-303g/km
Economy: 21.0-22.7mpg
0-62mph: 4.7 seconds (with Sport Chrono Pack)
Top speed: 170mph
Boot space: 698 litres

Styling

Porsche hasn't made huge changes to the Cayenne's exterior design, but then it clearly didn't need to. More than 300,000 examples of the outgoing car have been sold since it was introduced in 2017, so the brand was clearly doing something right. Nevertheless, tweaks have been made, including new bumpers, a new bonnet and some fresh headlights with LED Matrix technology as standard. There are new front wings, too, and customers can choose from a new range of paint and alloy wheel options.

Interior

Porsche may not have rocked the boat much with the Cayenne’s exterior, but the cabin has been subjected to a more comprehensive upgrade. Without sacrificing any of Porsche’s trademark quality – everything inside the Cayenne feels premium and classy, as well as beautifully made – the company has managed to upgrade the car with some fresh technology.

Chief among the additions is the new digital instrument display, which is effectively lifted straight from the Taycan electric saloon. Losing the old ‘hybrid’ combination of digital and analogue displays feels like a bit of a shame, but the new screen is sharp and easy to configure, and it works well with the optional head-up display.

The new screen also comes with a repositioned engine start switch and gear lever, which have both moved to the dashboard. In turn, that has freed up space on the centre console, where there’s a new climate control system with buttons integrated into a panel of glossy black plastic. It’s a magnet for fingerprints, but it looks good when it’s clean.

Naturally, Porsche has also included a touchscreen infotainment system, but it’s essentially the same system used previously. Not that we’re complaining – the screen is sharp and intuitive – but it’s nothing to write home about. Unlike the optional passenger display, which is available across the Cayenne range and adds a third screen to the dashboard. It wasn’t fitted to our test car, but we sampled it in other variants, where it proved a bit of a gimmick. What’s more, the dashboard design looked more appealing without the screen in situ.

Practicality

While Porsche may have modified the Cayenne’s cabin quite heavily, the company has made few changes to the basic dimensions, and that means the big SUV is just as spacious as before. There’s a huge 698-litre boot – an improvement of around 150 litres over the E-Hybrid model – and that expands to more than 1,700 litres if you fold down the back seats. Not that many customers will want to do that too often, because 700 litres of boot space will be more than enough for most occasions. And with ample head- and legroom, the Cayenne’s cabin is easily capable of carrying four adults in comfort.

Performance

Key among the upgrades for the S model is the new V8 engine, which was previously reserved for the more powerful GTS and Turbo models. In the new S, though, it replaces the old V6, providing 474hp and a meaty 600Nm of torque. As with every other Cayenne in the range, that goes to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

That power output means the S is only 4hp up on the V6-powered E-Hybrid, and it has 50Nm less torque, but it is a bit lighter, at 2.1 tonnes. As a result, there’s little difference in the 0-62mph times – both manage it in around five seconds – but the S goes faster with the addition of the Sport Chrono package, and therefore launch control. Even so, the 4.7-second dash to 62mph is only two-tenths faster than that of the E-Hybrid.

But the real appeal of the S model is not so much the performance as the burble of that V8 engine. It rumbles away at idle, and the noise rises to a deep snarl as the engine revolutions build. More to the point, it feels chunky and substantial in a way the V6 versions just can’t quite muster. It’s fabulous.

It’s thirsty with it, though. The official figures suggest you’ll manage about 22mpg, but we suspect around 20mpg is a little more likely in the real world. Less if you like to use the power regularly. But all that said, the S is only slightly less economical than the basic 3.0-litre Cayenne, which has 120hp fewer. The effortlessness of the engine clearly counts for something when it comes to cruising economy.

Ride & Handling

The old Cayenne’s appeal came largely from the way it drove. Comfortable yet agile, and smooth yet savage, it had the uncanny knack of being all things to all drivers. So Porsche hasn’t tried to change too much with this new model, instead preferring to make relatively small tweaks to the suspension in search of even more comfort.

They have worked to an extent – the Cayenne is silky smooth in its most comfortable setting – but the difference isn’t huge, and we should caveat our driving impressions by saying the test took place on famously unbroken Austrian asphalt. Nevertheless, the Cayenne could only tackle the surface under it, and it did so with ease. Particularly at motorway speed, where it seemed to glide over the surface.

Yet despite the comfort, it’s still impressively agile and stable in the Sport and Sport Plus settings. Porsche says it targeted zero body roll in Sport Plus mode, and though it probably hasn’t quite managed that, the Cayenne gets remarkably close. Something this big and heavy just shouldn’t be capable of cornering like that. Add in gorgeous steering and positive brakes, and you’ve got an SUV that’s a driver’s dream.

Value

Cayenne S prices start at £80,800, making the S exactly £4,000 more expensive than the E-Hybrid. That's £1,000 for every extra horsepower, and that doesn't look like especially good value. But as a proportion of the overall price, that difference is chicken feed. Especially when you consider standard equipment is reasonable, but you're going to want some optional extras. To get the Cayenne S you want, you're probably looking at between £90,000 and £100,000. Certainly, when we specified our ideal S, it came out with a six-figure price tag.

Verdict

Were running costs no problem, we'd have no problem recommending the S as the best Cayenne launched so far. It's great to drive, it's fast and it's comfortable, while the V8 gives it more character than the V6 versions. But if we're really honest, the E-Hybrid is going to make a lot more sense for a lot more people. Nevertheless, the V8 S is the one you want...



James Fossdyke - 18 May 2023



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2024 Porsche Cayenne S. Image by Porsche.2024 Porsche Cayenne S. Image by Porsche.2024 Porsche Cayenne S. Image by Porsche.2024 Porsche Cayenne S. Image by Porsche.2024 Porsche Cayenne S. Image by Porsche.








 

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