In two decades, the Porsche Cayenne has gone from outrageous premium-brand disruptor to something of a quiet achiever – pretty much the benchmark for sports/luxury SUVs.
The 2002 original produced gasps of awe and horror as the world’s best sports car maker dared to make a massive SUV, but with the 2023 model the only reason you might give it a second look is to try and figure out whether this really is the new one. Times really have changed.
But Cayenne product line vice president Michal Schatzle is on record as saying this is “one of the most extensive product upgrades in the history of Porsche”. And yes, this is an incredibly thorough revamp, once you look a bit longer and harder.
We’ve just spent a couple of days in the entry-level Cayenne V6, but that’s just the start of a four-tier launch lineup that includes a new E-Hybrid plug-in with up to 90km electric range and two new V8s: the S (a model that was previously a V6) and the very fast-and-focused Turbo GT, which is no longer available in Europe thanks to ever-tougher emissions regulations. There’s a choice of SUV or coupe body styles, with the exception of the Turbo GT – that’s coupe only, as per the previous model.
It’s all a very deliberate and very thoughtful blend of the all-new and entirely familiar.
There will be more Cayennes to come, of course, including (we assume) the obligatory GTS and Turbo models. It’s well-known that the all-new 2025 Macan will be pure electric and sold alongside the current petrol lineup; the Cayenne will make the same move in 2026, in a new generation that will likely look much like this one but ride on a different platform.
Park new and old Cayennes alongside each other and it’s clear this is a sharper, more planted-looking model, with more prominent front guards. It’s all about the lights on the outside: Matrix LED headlights are now standard (HD versions with 32,000 pixels per lamp, as fitted to our test car, are a $5340 option) and there are new 3D-design tail lamps.
You can configure the instruments any way you like, from traditional Porsche circular dial with the revcounter in the middle, to more digital-focused themes.
Porsche has made much of the Porsche Driver Experience digital cockpit, as introduced in the Taycan EV, making its way into the Cayenne. Indeed it has, although it’s executed in a typically Porsche-understated way. First time behind the wheel and I was wondering where the Taycan’s distinctive curved instrument pod was; in fact it’s there right in front of you, but the top of the steering wheel hides the elegant, exposed shape of the glass panel.
You can configure the display any way you like, from traditional Porsche circular instruments with a large revcounter in the middle, to a more digital-focused theme where other functions dominate the screen.
The 12.3in infotainment screen is in the centre – again, a similar look to the previous Cayenne, but incorporating new native apps like Apple Music and Spotify. The expansive gloss-black panel that stretches across the passenger’s side is both a Porsche design signature and a place for the new, optional 10.9in passenger display, which can show the front occupant performance data (could be trouble) or give individual control to infotainment functions. The driver can’t see it, of course.
Love the small shortcut button to the self-parking function, a permanent fixture just to the left of the main infotainment screen. No messing about with menus when you’re crawling along towards the space, just one immediately accessible touch-control and you’re away.
It’s all a very deliberate and very thoughtful blend of the all-new and familiar, or “the right balance between digital and analogue elements” in Porsche-speak. Note the physical buttons for climate and audio-volume control. You might also note those alpine-shaped grab-handles, a Cayenne signature that’s left delightfully prominent in this all-new cabin.
On the road, the Cayenne is still indecently precise and sporting for a large, luxury-oriented SUV. The V6 might be the entry point, but it’s still so accomplished: this engine has been thoroughly reworked and now makes an extra 10kW/50Nm, for totals of 260kW/500Nm (also used for the E-Hybrid).
This is still designed to be the Cayenne with the broadest appeal. The new model is incredibly quiet and refined in urban driving or on the motorway – docile and so easy to drive. The V6 still gets a drive-mode dial on the steering wheel like a 911, and when you wind it up the powertrain is definitely lively and very responsive. But still not overly aggressive.
The same is true of the chassis, with the qualifier that our test vehicle had a fair bit of help among its near-$40k package of options, with the new adaptive air suspension system ($4430, standard on S and above) that gives much greater differentiation between drive modes.
So our car rode beautifully in town even on its enormous 21in RS Spyder wheels (again, a $7130 option), yet felt taut and impressively sporting on backroads in Sport mode. The body control at speed is impressive but what really gets you is the steering: really precise and well-weighted, meaning this big SUV simply shrinks around you on winding roads.
If the V6 contains the base ingredients, you can see how the potential is there for some stunning courses to come. Cayenne arguably invented the sporting SUV genre, and despite a multitude of rivals from premium brands, you could equally argue it’s still the benchmark.
PORSCHE CAYENNE
ENGINES: 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 (with plug-in 25.9kWh battery and electric motor in E-Hybrid), 4.0-litre biturbo-petrol V8
POWER: 260kW/500Nm (V6), 346kW/650Nm (E-Hybrid), 349kW/600Nm (V8), 485kW/850Nm (V8 GT)
GEARBOX: 8-speed automatic, AWD
CONSUMPTION: 1.5-13.4l/100km (WLTP not including GT coupe), E-Hybrid EV range 77-90km
PRICES: $165,200 (V6) to $369,900 (Turbo GT coupe)
