After the V8's melodious grunt and charge, my favourite aspect of the Cayenne is its phenomenal brakes. The massive 14” pizza-sized discs are crushed to within an inch of their lives by six-piston front and four-piston rear monoblock aluminum calipers. From high speeds, their tenacity is reassuring. My initial romp in California with a Cayenne through the mountains made me a believer then and I still believe today.
Steering, throttle and braking responses systematically make you feel invincible. I'm now back in my evil screw-the-world mode. Surfing highways and byways is so effortless in the Cayenne that I quickly became frustrated with all others on the road. It's just that the Cayenne S is superior to 99% of everything else that I wished I had my own dedicated lane... And with a tiny push or pull on the self-levelling air suspension toggle, I could easily drive over anyone hampering my progress.
But I'm OK now. I stepped out of the Cayenne into a Rondo the following week and have been much better since.
The 8-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission (standard on all save for the base truck) is a stellar performer. What's best about it, other than the way it works, is where its controller is located. The Cayenne's expensive-looking cabin is divided by the Panamera-inspired centre console. Here, Porsche had made accessible all manners of climate, drive, suspension and ride height controls. A work of automotive art this is and furthermore, it is quite functional.
Seats do good in all instances and once installed, the driver faces the typical array of Porsche gauges (although digitally enhanced for some here) and a steering wheel that no one should ever let go.
The new Cayenne is exactly that, on the inside as well as out. Most everyone can make up their own mind as to how they view the truck physically. In my S' case, painted Sand White and rollin' on the optional $6,750, 21” 911 Turbo II wheels, I could not help yelping the word “HOT!” every few minutes as though I was struck with automotive Tourette's.
Yes, at the wheel of the Cayenne, the world is your oyster; you can pretty much tackle anything. All you need is a little coinage. Base price for the S is $72,700 and with the array of options that my tester came with, the total as tested price was $102,230.
Steering, throttle and braking responses systematically make you feel invincible. I'm now back in my evil screw-the-world mode. Surfing highways and byways is so effortless in the Cayenne that I quickly became frustrated with all others on the road. It's just that the Cayenne S is superior to 99% of everything else that I wished I had my own dedicated lane... And with a tiny push or pull on the self-levelling air suspension toggle, I could easily drive over anyone hampering my progress.
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| The Cayenne's expensive-looking cabin is divided by the Panamera-inspired centre console. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
But I'm OK now. I stepped out of the Cayenne into a Rondo the following week and have been much better since.
The 8-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission (standard on all save for the base truck) is a stellar performer. What's best about it, other than the way it works, is where its controller is located. The Cayenne's expensive-looking cabin is divided by the Panamera-inspired centre console. Here, Porsche had made accessible all manners of climate, drive, suspension and ride height controls. A work of automotive art this is and furthermore, it is quite functional.
Seats do good in all instances and once installed, the driver faces the typical array of Porsche gauges (although digitally enhanced for some here) and a steering wheel that no one should ever let go.
The new Cayenne is exactly that, on the inside as well as out. Most everyone can make up their own mind as to how they view the truck physically. In my S' case, painted Sand White and rollin' on the optional $6,750, 21” 911 Turbo II wheels, I could not help yelping the word “HOT!” every few minutes as though I was struck with automotive Tourette's.
Yes, at the wheel of the Cayenne, the world is your oyster; you can pretty much tackle anything. All you need is a little coinage. Base price for the S is $72,700 and with the array of options that my tester came with, the total as tested price was $102,230.
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