2024 Porsche Cayenne: Unveiling the Ultimate Luxury SUV Experience

2024 Porsche Cayenne
Starting at $80.850

Highs Punchy engine options, handles like a sports sedan, burly maximum towing capacity.
Lows Adding luxury items drives the price way up, big wheels create a flinty ride, touchy brakes.
Verdict Over the years, the Cayenne has turned from a Porsche enthusiast's nightmare—incorrectly symbolizing the end of brand's sports-car era—to a respected performance SUV.

Overview

Leaning on its decades-long legacy of sports car manufacturing, Porsche imbues each of its vehicles—including SUVs like the 2024 Cayenne—with a fun-to-drive nature that's hard for rivals to match. Although the Cayenne is a mid-size SUV, it feels light on its feet in corners thanks to an expertly tuned chassis. It's also quick, especially with one of its high-output powertrains that include an available plug-in hybrid and a twin-turbo V-8. Porsche's largest SUV is also luxurious, with a refined ride, a quiet cabin, and plenty of tech and convenience features. While it may not outperform a 911 Turbo, the Cayenne offers plenty of athleticism to satisfy its driver while also providing ample space for people and cargo.

What's New for 2024?

The Cayenne receives a styling refresh this year, albeit a mild one. Tweaks to the exterior require a keen eye but inside, the Cayenne gets a new dashboard design with more digital real estate, a new steering wheel on loan from the 911 sports car, and a new toggle-type shift lever mounted on the dashboard. Porsche has upped the ante on its performance across the board, too. The base model gets 13 more horsepower than before, while the E-Hybrid gains 9 hp. The S trim gets the biggest boost, as it drops its twin-turbo 2.9-liter V-6 for a 468-hp twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8.
Pricing and Which One to Buy
Cayenne: $80,850
Cayenne E-Hybrid: $93,350
Cayenne S: $97,350

Engine, Transmission, and Performance
Porsche will let you spec the Cayenne in several ways, starting with a turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 that makes 348 horsepower. The plug-in hybrid (called the E-Hybrid) marries an electric motor and a turbocharged V-6 for a combined 463 horsepower. The Cayenne S boasts a 468-hp twin-turbo V-8 with a great-sounding exhaust note and breathtaking acceleration. We expect a range-topping GTS trim with even more power, but Porsche hasn't confirmed that model just yet. All engines pair with an astute eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive. While making anything that weighs more than two tons move gracefully is challenging, the engineers in Stuttgart were successful with the Cayenne. When we were able to sample a Cayenne S and found it just as athletic and refined as last year's model. Adaptive dampers are now standard across the Cayenne lineup, and most trims will have additional performance options that include an adjustable air suspension, four-wheel steering for improved maneuverability, and active anti-roll bars for flatter cornering.

Interior, Comfort, and Cargo
Inside, the 2024 Cayenne gets a new dashboard design with more screens and a look that's inspired by the Taycan EV sedan. The SUV's steering wheel has been replaced by one borrowed from the 911 sports car, and the gauge cluster is now fully digital. A toggle shifter is mounted on the dashboard, freeing up space on the center console for a storage nook. Porsche essentially provides a blank canvas inside the Cayenne for customers to personalize as they see fit. Everything from the interior trim to the seatbelt colors and the surface materials can be individually selected, almost always with a stiff additional cost. In addition to traditional options—heated and ventilated front and rear seats, for instance—the Cayenne offers desirable upgrades such as more supportive seats, massaging front seats, and four-zone climate control.

Buy now: https://amzn.to/3Z9nINm