Photo Gallery:
2013 Porsche Cayenne
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
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Unless you are one of the lucky few who own one, it is not everyday you get to drive a Porsche. And somehow even the Cayenne still has that special Porsche feeling, despite what many considered to be a travesty to the brand when they were first introduced. By now, we all know the story: The Cayenne is the bestselling Porsche by far and the vehicle that saved the legendary marque from potential bankruptcy.
But Porsche doesn’t just offer this premium SUV to the extremely rich and well off. The base price of the Cayenne is $56,600, which is by no means extravagant or unobtainable – especially when you price out many luxury and even mainstream SUVs to well equipped or fully loaded prices.
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But in typical Porsche fashion, prices can get out of hand rather quickly. If you want any electronic or ‘luxury’ features, they do not come standard and they do not come cheap. My tester is an even rarer six-speed manual Cayenne – how many manual luxury SUVs are there these days anyways… one?
My tester adds some pretty hefty option figures to that base model price. The 20-inch wheels are over $3,500, the dark-blue metallic paint an extra $910, the comfort lighting package $210 (shouldn’t interior accents be standard at this price range?), the Bose audio package over $2,800, rear heated seats (an option that is standard on some compact sedans) an extra $600 and the real whopper – the $8,170 premium package.
What does that premium package give you? Bi-xenon Headlamps including Porsche Dynamic Light System (PDLS), electrically operated tilt/slide moonroof, automatically dimming exterior and interior mirrors, PCM with Navigation Module Plus: Front and Rear Park Assist System, Power Steering Plus and 14-way power seats with memory. There are almost all features I’d expect for north of $50k, and they bring the total to over $70k… ouch. This no longer feels like a bargain.
MSRP as tested (including destination): $73,825
For more information on Porsche and the Cayenne visit Porsche Canada
For even more on this car FOLLOW James on Twitter
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
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The interior of the Cayenne is what makes it feel special – every switch, button and knob have excessive amounts of weight behind them. In fact, some buttons are just plain difficult to press; whether this is right or wrong I do not know but it brings a sense of occasion to the interior and makes it feel solid and well built.
For those with button phobia, though, the Cayenne is not someplace you should be. The centre console is littered with buttons for the HVAC, hill descent, centre differential lock, audio controls and more – add into the mix the onscreen buttons for navigation and other functions and the Cayenne could be a dream for some or a nightmare for others.
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For me though, everything seems laid out logically and conveniently – the cockpit-like feel of the raised centre stack and console are ergonomically perfect, although I will admit the shift lever seems a little on the high side, obviously designed to work best as an automatic transmission.
The Cayenne is a mid-size SUV, so it does only seat five and the backseats do offer a good amount of space as well as comfort, with some reclining adjustment. The rear cargo space is typical of a five seater of this size and the 60/40 split, nearly flat-folding seats offer the versatility you would expect in this class of vehicle.
The front seats are where it is at though, with sports car like seats that are supportive and yet comfortable for ingress and egress as well as long rides. Outboard and inboard handles offer plenty of space to brace yourself in the passenger seat if the driver gets a little over-exuberant and the steering wheel offers that signature Porsche feel.
Where the Cayenne really lets me down is visibility – forget seeing much in your blind spot, as the side mirrors are tiny and nearly useless, and despite the hefty price tag a backup camera is not standard.
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
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Despite some visibility issues, you forget about it all when you turn the key, select first gear and storm off down the road. Despite this being a base model V6 with only 300 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, it pulls with authority.
Also, despite this version of the Cayenne being just a “base” model it handles like no SUV should. My daily commute consists of a highway on ramp accessed from an 80-km/h B-road and I was able to toss the Cayenne onto the ramp with confidence at speeds higher than most cars.
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Steering and braking are engaging, more so than any other SUV and in line with what one would expect from Porsche. What does this mean? If you want your sports car fix but need an SUV, the Cayenne could be the answer that will allow you to have some legitimate thrills.
The engine note could use some tweaking, though; the noise is a little coarse and unrefined even if it does feel powerful. But the big deal here is highway cruising: in sixth gear at over 2,500 rpm the Cayenne is noisy when just trying to relax.
Perhaps a little too much sport has been injected into this SUV with shorter gears than I would expect – Porsche should put their seven-speed manual into the Cayenne to solve this.
Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
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Well, after a week in arguably the sportiest SUV on the market and I’m convinced – if you want or need an SUV but want to keep the ride on the sports car side the Cayenne is your machine. It was on my shopping list originally because of this very reason.
It didn’t make my final cut, though, due to reliability concerns and, more importantly, despite its rated towing capacity of 3,493 kg (7,700 lb.) – which is very respectable for a sporty SUV – I did not think it would be the best tow vehicle because of the shorter wheelbase, and in V6 trim it certainly would have a tough time.
What did impress me, like most vehicles these days, is the fuel consumption. I averaged 10.1 L/100 km this week – WHAT? Yeah, I’m a little bit surprised as well but the pumps and computers do not lie, the Cayenne is wonderfully fuel efficient for a sporty SUV and the manual transmission ensured that I didn’t spend the entire week with a light foot – in fact it was more the opposite that was true.
MSRP as tested (including destination): $73,825
For more information on Porsche and the Cayenne visit Porsche Canada
For even more on this car FOLLOW James on Twitter
