Unveiling the Power and Performance of the 2024 Porsche Cayenne S V8: A Luxury SUV Experience

2024 Porsche Cayenne First Drive: The Excellent One-Car Solution
No surprise, Porsche continues to find ways to improve its already great Cayenne SUV.

Maybe it's the parking situation, maybe it's finances, or maybe you're just practical. Whatever the reason, plenty of folks are looking for one car that can do everything, and it's hard to find a better one-car solution than the 2024 Porsche Cayenne.

Of course, we already knew the refreshed Cayenne was going to be good. We drove a late-stage prototype nine months ago that may as well have been the finished product but for the light camouflage livery it carried. Indeed, little has changed since then.

Play It Again, Stephan

Everything we experienced behind the wheel of the production version of the 2024 Porsche Cayenne SUV validated our initial impressions of the prototypes. Porsche engineers refined the Cayenne's purpose and personality to a singular essence that permeates every trim level and powertrain. Every version of this extensively refreshed model drives the same, even with some getting more power and others getting better fuel economy. But they are otherwise identical in character.

Provided to us for this review were two of the most interesting powertrains available at launch, the revamped Cayenne E-Hybrid plug-in hybrid (PHEV) V-6 and the once again V-8-powered Cayenne S (now with twin turbos). Both were equipped with optional air springs and rear-wheel steering along with the standard electronically adjustable shock absorbers. Somewhat unusually, these two 2024 Porsche Cayenne models make about the same power—463 hp for the PHEV and 468 hp for the V-8-and illustrate exactly what we're talking about.

Forget about differences in curb weights and what's under the hood. What we wrote five months ago about those prototypes is just as true today. "It's in the movements," we said, "in the way these 2024 Porsche Cayennes react when you first turn into a corner and the way the weight transfers and the body rolls. It's all very deliberately and highly controlled, like a dancer—the manner in which the weight settles on the outside wheels and the suspension crouches, takes a set, and eventually releases as you exit the turn. Each Cayenne does it the same way, so much so that the driver of a base model can easily keep up with the driver of a Turbo GT who isn't using enough throttle."

The only real difference we detected between the prototypes and the finished Cayennes was in the rear-steering tuning. Back in January, we wrote the system was practically invisible but it's a bit more noticeable now in the tightest corners when you're really pushing the car hard. There's a slight sensation of the rear end moving in an abnormal way, almost like a hint of oversteer when you fling the Cayenne into a corner like it's a tall 911. It never actually gets loose (at either end), but it certainly makes the car feel livelier than you'd expect of an SUV.

What's on the Inside Counts

Far more than the new engine and nose job, customers are going to have thoughts about the interior. If they've spent time in a Porsche Taycan, they'll recognize it, but otherwise it's going to be a whole new experience. Nearly everything you look at and touch is new, save the twin grab-handles on the center console.

The shifter is the one that gets people. Now a chunky toggle switch and push-button combo on the dashboard, it hides easily behind the smaller 911-inspired steering wheel. You'll forget where it is at least one time, maybe more, during your test drive.

Moving it there opened up lots of space on the center console, though we're not sold on how that space is used. The new climate-control panel takes up a good chunk of the area and features a mix of mechanical and touch controls that seem more like a triumph of design than of great function. The small bins ahead of and behind it seem more like empty spaces than purposefully designed ones, but at least the forward one has a wireless phone charger.

The proliferation of screens on the dashboard itself will read as either tech-forward or tech for tech's sake, depending on the buyer. The digital instrument cluster is crisp and bright despite being unshaded, and it has many different screens that are a bit confusing to scroll through and also disappointingly lacking when it comes to customizing the content shown on them. Same goes for the head-up display.