Porsche Cayenne facelift review, test drive

Porsche is the world’s premier sportscar maker. No one has a more successful model lineup. And for purity of purpose, the German marquee is really right up there. Yet, its most successful car isn’t the iconic 911, the one with the big flat-six engine hung out the back. It’s this one, the hulking Cayenne SUV. 

 

Now understandably, this comes as a bit of a surprise. But think about it for a minute and it’s clear. As against a sportscar that appeals to a relatively small group, a sporty SUV with a well-built interior and luxury trimmings appeals to almost everybody. And the badge helps too. “I drive a Porsche” does have a nice ring to it.

 

The real reason for the Cayenne’s blockbuster success, however, is that it walks the talk: it looks and drives like a pukka Porsche. This was true of the first-generation car in 2002 (the E1), and is true of the newer-generation E2 which, if anything, drives even better. Question is, is this facelifted and updated E2 II better still? 

 

So what’s new here? The most obvious is the nose. What you notice right away are those 918-like four-point daytime running lights. The bonnet is now wider, the grille is flanked by two additional inlets with ‘airblades’ that shape the airflow into the inter-cooler and there are new flush-mounted tail lights at the rear too. Unlike the first generation, however, it is no longer possible to identify the engine variants just by looking at the grille. The difference lies in the tail pipes –the Cayenne S gets double-barrel round ones, whereas the turbo gets twin D-shaped ones; take a look.