Under the skin of the new Porsche Cayenne

The Cayenne has been one of Porsche’s most successful models of all-time, and was key to the company’s rejuvenation following the release of the first-generation model back in 2002. Porsche sold 210,000 units of that original Cayenne, and since then the SUV has gone from strength to strength. Now, there’s a new one. Ahead of its arrival in the UK in April next year, we’ve been given a look at how this latest Cayenne works.

Body

The new Cayenne’s body is predominately crafted from alumiunum. Not only does this increase the car’s ridigity – it’s now 20 per cent more rigid than the outgoing car – but also lowers its weight to improve efficiency and acceleration. The aluminium roof is laser welded to the side panels, and the same lightweight material has been used on the doors, tailgate and bonnet.

An amazing 163.56 metres of adhesive feature in the make-up of the new Cayenne, along with 2,039 punch rivets and 631 flow drill screws. It’s also now 63mm longer than the older car, and this means an additional 100 litres has been added to the boot space.

Notice those ridges on the roof too? They’re not there for a mechanical reason, but have been created so that the entire shell doesn’t warp during thermal expansion which occurs when it’s heat treated.

Aerodynamics

The new Cayenne benefits from a variety of aerodynamic features that the previous car didn’t have. For instance, the adaptive radiator flaps and adaptive roof spoiler weren’t available on the older Cayenne. The latter, as well as providing better downforce, can be used to aid braking in an emergency situation, deploying in just 0.9 seconds.

Thomas Wolf, manager for aerodynamics for the Porsche Cayenne, said: “In the corners you want lots of lateral speed, but on the straights you want the least drag possible.” This adaptive spoiler is one way of achieving these goals.

Infotainment systems

You may recognise the interior of the new Cayenne – it borrows a huge amount of architecture from the current Panamera saloon. That’s no bad thing, as the touch-sensitive buttons work well, and give the interior a less cluttered appearance than before. It even now features voice recognition – you can say to the car “I’m cold” and it will increase the interior temperature.

It also features a new ‘Rim Protection’ system. This warns the driver if they’re about to hit a wheel against a curb – invaluable for drivers using the car in an urban environment.

Braking

Porsche is debuting an all-new braking system with the Cayenne. Called Porsche Surface Coated Brake (PSCB), it sits in between a traditional cast iron system and the high-performance carbon-ceramic brakes. Standard in the Turbo model, these new brakes benefit from a tungsten carbide layer, which reduces brake dust production by 90 per cent. Say farewell to dirty rims or grubby calipers.

The brakes are soon to be available across the Porsche range and, with frequent use, polish themselves to a mirror shine.

Under the bonnet

Of course, what is a modern Porsche without a decent engine? Thankfully, the latest Cayenne is available with three. There’s a turbocharged V6 in the base car, pushing out 335bhp, while a twin-turbocharged V6 with 434bhp features in the Cayenne S. The top-spec Cayenne Turbo, meanwhile, makes use of a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 with 540bhp capable of sending the SUV to 60mph in under four seconds. There’s a hybrid version in the works, though there’s no official statement on this yet.

Porsche is also aware of the Cayenne’s need to be a successful tow car. Because of this, it now gets a shorter first gear ratio, giving it better low-down pull – ideal for when pulling a trailer or caravan.

In the passenger seat

We were lucky enough to get a passenger ride in the new Cayenne, a fair few weeks ahead of the car’s first press reviews.

One of the first things you notice is the ride. Our test route was on a smooth test track, but despite this there were still very few intrusions into the ride quality. There was also very little road noise. The second most notable thing was the sheer lack of body roll. Porsche’s new 4D Chassis Control, along with its Dynamic Chassis Control which now uses electromechanical roll stabilisation instead of electro-hydraulic, means that the Cayenne corners incredibly flat, with next to no roll experienced even through faster corners.

The new Turbo – which we experienced – remains staggeringly rapid, just as the older model did. There’s still a hugely rear-biased element to it, one which our test driver exposed with plenty of throttle and an aggressive turn-in. Not many drivers will choose to, but the new Cayenne does actually go sideways should you want it to.

We were also taken off-road in the new Cayenne. Of course, the vast majority of premium SUV buyers are unlikely to tackle the muddy stuff, but there’s good reason to promote the four-wheel-drive technology as it provides better security in slippery conditions – much like the ones we frequently experience in the UK.

Despite wearing summer tyres on 21-inch alloy wheels, the Cayenne remained composed on a variety of difficult surfaces. Steep inclines were tackled with minimal fuss, while rocky and gravelled areas were swept aside thanks to the car’s adjustable ride height.

The new Cayenne will arrive in the UK next April. Given the sheer scale of changes made to this latest version of the previous-generation, it’s likely to be just as much of a success.