Category: Sporting 4x4s 
Price Range: £36,801 to £75,137
Astonishing on-road performance for a 4x4, handling to match, yet very capable off-road. Well made from expensive materials, the V6 looks affordable
Ride is too firm, and it's hard to come to terms with a Porsche-badged 4x4
The most controversial Porsche ever brings two worlds into collision, but without destroying either of them.
This is an involving, invigorating drive if you want it to be, but the Cayenne is undemending if you just want to relax and cruise. You have the commanding viewpoint typical of an SUV, but seen from a properly car-like driving position. Big mirrors help the view aft and parking sensors are optional. Off road, the Cayenne bounds across chasms with ease, and is designed neither to slip back on an uphill slope nor slither downhill. The steering remains jerk-free over big bumps, but the bonnet blocks your view over crests more in the Cayenne than in most SUVs because it is higher relative to the driver. One small snag is that it's easy to change gear inadvertently if you rest your fingers on the steering wheel's spokes, wherein lie the Tiptronic gearshift buttons. The trade-off for the unresilient ride is astonishingly flat, stable cornering and the sort of crisp, well-weighted steering response more usual in a well-sorted sports saloon. This is a truly inertia-defying car, able to flick through S-bends, indulge in a little power oversteer on a bend's exit (normally more power is sent to the rear wheels than to the fronts) and slow tirelessly from high speeds thanks to its huge brakes. No 4x4 has sharper reflexes. Combine that with the towering performance and the encouraging soundtrack, and the best view of the road you'll get in a car this fast, and a good time is guaranteed. It's equally entertaining off-road. Seeing a Cayenne clamber through deep, alternating holes with the diff lock engaged and maybe two diagonally-opposite wheels at a time pawing the air, while their opposite numbers haul the Porsche ever onwards, is a remarkable sight. The body structure is almost entirely free of creaks and groans, too, while suffering this torsional punishment.
It weighs over two tons, but the Cayenne is a mighty quick SUV when either of its V8 engines is selected, although the V6 struggles. The normally aspirated engine in the S has to rev quite freely to give its best, which means the six-speed automatic gearbox is shifting up and down frequently, but it still moves the Cayenne along smartly with a free-breathing V8 beat overlaying the smoothness of the power delivery. There is also a smooth and direct-shifting manual six-speed gearbox option which helps to get the most out of the S's V8 and the V6. But the Turbo is something else. Even though its automatic-only, the 0-60mph time drops from 7.0 seconds to an astonishing 5.5, accompanied by a deeper, gruffer but quieter soundtrack and even less of an impression that there's weight to shift. There's almost no noticeable response lag from the twin turbochargers, such is the torque on tap even before the boost builds, and here the gearbox doesn't have to change down so far - typically one gear instead of two - if you need sudden acceleration. The shift is very smooth, and if you change to manual Tiptronic mode it's responsive too. Not that you need Tiptronic for a satisfying drive: the transmission is brilliant at always being in the right gear as it analyses cornering forces, braking effort and driving style. At the other end of the scale, the V6 engine delivers a relatively slothful 0-62mph in 9.1 seconds and a top speed of 133mph. The manual gearbox also gains Porsche Drive Off Assistance (PDOA), which holds the car on a gradient until the clutch is engaged.
