Porsche Cayenne 2018 Regional Launch

When I first got the invite to the new Porsche Cayenne Media Launch event, I had several preconceived notions about the German SUV. First, I’ve always considered the Cayenne to be the furthest away in their line-up from what I consider “Porsche design language”. Moreover, I always thought of the Cayenne to be an option for a fast (really fast when you talk about the Cayenne Turbo) luxury SUV for the family. And lastly, its complicated interior designs with countless buttons.

Porsche managed during this event to prove those notions wrong, let me explain how over the course of this article.

The event was set to take place at the Fairmont Fujairah Beach Resort where we’ll be introduced to the car and the next day we’ll have the opportunity to drive it for a long journey into Oman to reach Six Senses Zighy Bay for lunch. All I kept thinking about were the winding roads I’ll be driving the new Cayenne on, in sports mode of course.

Porsche had a really nice setup to introduce us to the new car that night, where they took us for a walk on the promenade towards the hotel’s helipad and on the way, we strolled down memory lane where we saw what Porsche thinks is the first time they thought of going off-road with the 959 rally car standing there in all its glory and history.

Followed by the first-gen Porsche Cayenne which Deesch Papke, CEO of Porsche Middle East and Africa FZE, referred to as the ugly duckling (and I couldn’t agree more), but we have to remember that this first-gen Cayenne started the trend of sports luxury SUVs back in 2002, when it was first launched. And on we walked towards the 2nd gen Cayenne which was a much called for styling upgrade from its predecessor.

Once we reached the helipad there it was the brand-new Porsche Cayenne, which at first glance makes you feel how closely it resembles other Porsche models. With those curvy power lines moving across the body of the car to give it a muscular stance. A much lower bonnet and a sloping roofline that tries to mimic a 911 from the rear. Once you see the back, that’s where you really see a brand-new design with a great looking glass back covering the 3D Porsche insignia and a beautiful strip of red-light running across the rear of the car just like in the new Porsche Panamera. Simply put, it looked gorgeous from this angle.

The beautiful design continued inside the car, with expected use of high quality materials all around and a new center console with black piano glass taking most of the space where the countless buttons used to reside. Topping it off with a new infotainment system like the one we find in the new Panamera, which means a touch panel around the gear selector, a large 12.3-inch central screen and twin screens within the instrument cluster. At this point in time, I can’t wait to wake up the next morning and drive it!

The next day after a short briefing by Porsche, the journey begins. I start the drive in a Cayenne S, one of the three different models we’ll get this year, along with the standard Cayenne and the Cayenne Turbo. All models come with direct injection turbocharged petrol engines with what Porsche calls “Hot-V”, where the compressors are located on top of the engine within the V.

The base Cayenne is powered by a 3-litre V6 that produces 340hp, while the more powerful Cayenne S has a smaller capacity V6 (only a 2.9-litre) but still manages to push out 100hp more, giving it a total output of 440hp. The motor that powers the Cayenne Turbo is a V8 with a capacity of 4-litres, to help it produce its 550hp. Each of these upgrades shaves off a full second for acceleration time to 100 km/h. The Cayenne reaching it in 5.9 seconds, while the Cayenne S doing it in 4.9 seconds, and the Turbo managing it in a whopping 3.9 seconds.

The Porsche Cayenne 2018 is equipped with a conventional automatic gearbox instead of Porsche’s well known PDK dual clutch gearbox. When I asked for the reason of that in the briefing Q&A session, the answer was that Porsche wanted the Cayenne to be capable of towing 3.5tonnes, which simply wasn’t possible with the PDK.

Going back to the drive, the Cayenne S was all I expected from a sports SUV from Porsche, quick with precise handling and a responsive chassis that makes you forget you are driving a car of that size. But what I never expected, was that Porsche planned a route for us that was 70% off-road. Yes, after a quick drive across the border, we started a long journey between walls of mountains and on roads I never thought I’ll drive a Porsche on. But the Cayenne with its 4 different off-road drive modes was more than capable to make it through these rocky mountain roads and destroy the way I think of a Porsche Cayenne forever.

The journey off-road was long, but it was worth it when we reached our lunch destination “Sense on The Edge” that overlooks the bay down below.

On our way back, I started discovering more about the Cayenne. Like that it comes with some optional extras to add to the driving experience. Starting with rear wheel steering, that makes the car more agile and stable according to the speed you’re driving. It also has a new and much more responsive Electric Porsche dynamic chassis control unlike the hydraulic one fitted on previous models. It also comes fitted with a new air suspension system that uses 3 chambers instead of 2 to give you that dynamic range between the different modes of driving.

There are so many technological improvements to talk about in the New Cayenne. I can’t wait for Porsche Middle East to give it to us for a full review, I hope it’s the Cayenne Turbo by then.

To sum it up, I can say that after experiencing the new Porsche Cayenne at this event, this third generation of the car managed to capture the spirit of “Sportscar Together”. With its superb performance and handling capabilities, it managed to give us a true luxury SUV that combines the love of driving with unmatched versatility and comfort. Mabrook, Porsche!