When Porsche first introduced the Cayenne back in 2002, the SUV segment was just starting to grow in popularity. Despite some doubts whether Porsche could build a legitimate SUV competitor at first, the Cayenne was an instant success and proved to be the company’s best-selling vehicle at the time. Fast forward sixteen years to the third-gen 2019 Porsche Cayenne and not a lot has changed. The Cayenne is still at the top of the luxury SUV segment and a proven benchmark which all other manufacturers strive to beat. The 2019 Cayenne embodies Porsche’s philosophy through and through. It’s an evolution of the previous generation Cayenne taken that much closer to perfection.
Dress to Impress
Much like the 911, the Cayenne is all about understatement and elegance. It’s immediately recognizable as a Porsche without being too brash or excessive. New for 2019 is a revised rear end with taillights similar to that of the rest of the model lineup, and a slightly tweaked front fascia.
It’s basically the same luxurious SUV we’ve come to know and love in the past 16 years, just wrapped in a newer, much more modern package.
Class-leading Interior
The interior takes a lot of design cues from the current generation 911 as well. You won’t find any other SUV on the market which manages to blend in sportiness and luxury in quite the same way the Cayenne does. Because this is Porsche, everything you see and everything you touch feels premium too, and the build quality is second to none.
As for technology, the 2019 Cayenne comes standard with ParkAssist, a larger 12.3-inch HD touchscreen, Porsche Connect services, and a few other features which would take too long to list but you can find out by contacting us via phone or email.
Putting the Sport in SUV
The Cayenne has been widely praised as the sportiest of all SUVs since it made its public debut over a decade ago. Thanks to an all-aluminum body, the 2019 Cayenne is 55 kilograms lighter than the outgoing one, bringing the overall driving experience even closer to the legendary 911. To complement the more rigid aluminum body Porsche has substituted the double wishbone front suspension in favor of a multilink setup. The standard wheels are now 19-inch (instead of 18) with wider tracks both front and rear.
The base turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 which replaces the naturally-aspirated 3.6-litre unit develops a healthy 335 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. That’s 35 horsepower and 37 lb-ft of torque up from the outgoing motor. Meanwhile, the Cayenne S gets a 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 with 440 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. Naturally, the flagship Cayenne Turbo dominates the numbers game thanks to its 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 which produces a stout 550 horsepower and 567 lb-ft of torque. All models get a new ZF eight-speed auto transmission which sends power to all four wheels via Porsche’s clever AWD system.
The more things change the more they remain the same it seems. Every time we receive a Cayenne, it seems like the ultimate, and then somehow Porsche improves on it with the subsequent version. Guess that’s what happens when you’re on an unrelenting quest for perfection.
Date Posted: October 26, 2018