Introduction
What Car? says...
A decade and a half on, it's hard to imagine just what a hullabaloo was caused in 2002 by the arrival of the first Porsche Cayenne, but this was a car that soon inspired something of a paradigm shift among certain traditional automotive brands.
You see, in the present day, no one bats an eyelid when a manufacturer of sports cars produces an SUV, whether that’s Jaguar, Maserati or even Lamborghini. And it’s not just sporty SUVs, because Bentley and Roll-Royce have now moved into the luxury SUV market, too.
FAQs
The Porsche Cayenne didn’t feature in our 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey but Porsche as a brand placed towards the middle of that table, in joint 19th out of 32 manufacturers. That’s lower than Volvo and BMW but above many other rival brands. Read more here
There is no electric car version of the Porsche Cayenne but you can get a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version, called the E-Hybrid. The E-Hybrid is powered by a 3.0-litre petrol V6 engine and an electric motor. It can officially drive up to 27 miles using electric power alone and returns up to 91.1mpg (although you’re unlikely to reach those figures in the real world). Read more here
We recommend the Porsche Cayenne S because it’s the sweet spot in the range. Its 434bhp turbocharged V6 petrol engine gives you plenty of grunt for the fast lane of the motorway, but without the eye-watering price tag of the GTS or Turbo models. The S is also lighter than the Turbo, making it more agile and fun to drive. Read more here
If the Porsche Cayenne S isn’t spicy enough for you, the faster and more expensive Cayenne GTS is worth a look. The GTS has a turbocharged 454bhp 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine, and feels explosively fast in a straight line. The GTS also has larger 21in wheels and sportier styling, plus heated front and rear seats. Still, we find the extra cost hard to justify when the S is as hot as it is already. Read more here
The Porsche Cayenne was awarded the maximum five-star safety rating by the independent experts at Euro NCAP when it was tested in 2017. That was under a less stringent testing regime than is used today though. Read more here.
Most versions of the Porsche Cayenne have a boot volume of 770 litres. The plug-in hybrid Cayenne E-Hybrid loses about 100 litres of capacity because of its batteries, but we were still able to fit seven carry-on suitcases in the boot of one. In other words, the Cayenne is unlikely to let you down when doing a big shop or going on a family holiday. Read more here
| RRP price range | £66,120 - £134,265 |
|---|---|
| Number of trims (see all) | 7 |
| Number of engines (see all) | 6 |
| Available fuel types (which is best for you?) | petrol, hybrid |
| MPG range across all versions | 20.9 - 91.1 |
| Available doors options | 5 |
| Warranty | 3 years / No mileage cap |
| Company car tax at 20% (min/max) | £3,487 / £8,318 |
| Company car tax at 40% (min/max) | £6,973 / £16,635 |
| Available colours |
