Porsche Cayenne revamped

25 February 2010

Lighter and more powerful
Emission down – fuel economy up
Hybrid version introduced

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This is Porsche's next-generation Cayenne, which combines more power with improved efficiency.

The Cayenne is Porsche's luxury, and lucrative, 4x4 – it accounts for 50% of the company's profits – which is now lighter, more powerful, but also a good deal more efficient, too.

It goes on sale on May 29, and the range will include a hybrid with a V6 petrol engine for the first time.

Weight loss
Much of the car's improved efficiency is thanks to a revised transmission system, which uses a new Tiptronic S eight-speed automatic gearbox with a wider spread of gear ratios.

There's also an engine stop-start system to help boost economy and cut emissions. Efficiency – and handling – is also enhanced by the 180kg that Porsche engineers have shaved off the car's overall weight.

Entry-level Cayenne
The entry-level model – known simply as Cayenne – gets a 296bhp 3.6-litre engine with a claimed average economy of 28.5mpg – up from 21.0mpg on the previous version. There's also a 240bhp 3.0-litre diesel, which averages 38.2mpg – up from 30.4mpg.

Hybrid version
The new Porsche Hybrid is where the most impressive gains in efficiency can be found, however.

Its 328bhp 3.0-litre supercharged petrol engine is combined with an electric motor – that's housed between the engine and gearbox – which together produce a maximum output of 375bhp. The hybrid set-up stretches the Cayenne's average fuel consumption to an impressive 34.4mpg and cuts its CO2 emissions to 193g/km.

The hybrid version also has a feature called 'sailing-mode', which allows the car to cruise at speeds of up to 97mph with the engine off and disconnected from the transmission.

S and Turbo
Both of these versions use a 4.8-litre engine, with 395bhp for the S and 493bhp in the Turbo. Average fuel consumption is 26.9mpg for the S – an improvement of 23% over the previous version – and 27.6mpg for the Turbo – also an improvement of 23%.