In production since 2002, the Porsche Cayenne is a five-seater mid-sized luxury crossover SUV with the distinction of being the first vehicle built by the German car manufacturer to use a V8 engine since 1995. While the Cayenne shares similarities in platform, doors, and body frame with the Volkswagen Touareg, all other design aspects, production, and tuning are handled by an in-house team from Porsche. The second-generation Cayenne was revealed in 2010 at the Geneva Motor Show. It also heralds the arrival of new SUV models from the Volkswagen Group, being the first of three to be launched. Following suit would be the new Volkswagen Touareg and the Audi Q7.

Pros

One of the most visible design efforts the German car manufacturer has on the Porsche Cayenne is the inclusion of distinctive headlight treatments. All Cayennes now will get smaller yet more aggressive headlights, with high-beam lamps positioned to the inside and daylight running lamps installed as standard.

And as a testament to Porsche’s success in building proper luxury interiors, you can see this clearly in the new Cayenne. There were problems in this department with the original Cayenne but now those have been addressed. While the same theme persists, the new Cayenne boasts of new components, like metal accents and fine leather. A good driving position is also to be expected because of the properly-located, superb-sized steering wheel. There’s also more than enough room at the back for three adults and, when needed, rear seats can be split, folded, and slid back and forth.

The highlight for the Cayenne range is the Turbo, with its twin-turbo 4.8-litre V8 engine delivering 500bhp. The Cayenne also has a good diesel engine though, clocking in 7.6 seconds to get from 0 to 62mph. There’s a bit of a rumble though as you would expect from any diesel engine but it’s got decent fuel economy at 39.2mpg and many will find that attractive.

Cons

If you’re expecting an all-new architecture for the Porsche Cayenne, you’ll be disappointed. At the most, it’s following a heavily modified version of its previous platform. However, instead of thinking that lacked innovation, understand that this is more of a matter of manufacturers realizing that they are at the height of what current materials are capable of. As such, given what they have, this is the best they can do.

And did you know the new Cayenne is longer by 48mm, wider by 11mm, and taller by 6mm? You wouldn’t realize this just by looking at the car because some tweaks around the corners and edges actually make the car look smaller than it is. This won’t sit well with you if you were looking forward to a bigger Cayenne. Sloping rear windows also help in reducing the bulk of the vehicle but it also meant cutting back on available boot space to make way for such a design.

Given that the Cayenne is a powerful vehicle, you’ll need brakes that can keep up with it. The one it has can, stopping the Cayenne dead in its tracks in no time, but it’s nothing finesse. It’ll stop the car just as needed but don’t expect to do so in comfort.

                In the year 2002, the German manufacturer of automobiles, Porsche, produced a five door sport utility vehicle or SUV that came to be called the Porsche Cayenne. This is a mid size crossover sport utility vehicle that has a front engine, four wheel drive. The Cayenne is related to the Audi Q7 and the Volkswagen Touareg in that it has a similar platform, which is the Volkswagen Group PL71 platform.

                The first generation Cayenne was produced in the years 2004 until 2010 and it has a six speed automatic and six speed manual transmissions. The second generation, on the other hand, began production in the year 2011 and has a six speed manual and six speed alsin tiptronic S automatic transmission.

                The second generation Porsche Cayenne was first seen at the Geneva Motor Show in 2010, but spy photographs of the car were first posted in as early as June 2008. This version’s main difference from the first generation Cayenne is its smaller external design and additional features such as a rearview camera, a memory system, and a keyless access and start among many others.

                The Cayenne is assembled in Leipzig, Germany and in Bratislava, Slovakia. Versions of the Cayenne include the Cayenne S, Cayenne GTS, Cayenne Transsyberia, Cayenne Turbo and Turbo S, Cayenne Diesel, and Cayenne GTS Porsche Design 3 in 2010.