Porsche Cayenne Diesel

Porsche Cayenne Diesel
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Full 2014 Porsche Cayenne Review

What's New for 2014

The Porsche Cayenne family welcomes the 550-horsepower Turbo S and Platinum Edition variants into the fold for 2014.

Introduction

If there's one thing the 2014 Porsche Cayenne needed, it was more power; after all, the best last year's Cayenne could do was 500 hp in Turbo guise. Clearly, we jest. On the list of thoughts you're likely to have behind the wheel of a Cayenne Turbo, "needs more power" ranks well behind "Whose deranged idea was this frightening machine?" But Porsche had to do something, so what the hey, why not give the Turbo a 10 percent horsepower boost and call this new creation the Cayenne Turbo S?

So it was that the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S became the big news for 2014, effectively replacing last year's optional "power kit" for the Turbo. In addition to its 550-hp V8, the Turbo S builds on the Turbo's standard air suspension and electronically adjustable dampers (PASM in Porsche-speak) by adding active antiroll technology (which Porsche calls Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control or PDCC) and side-to-side torque-vectoring with an electronically controlled rear differential lock (PTV Plus). That's all pretty neat, but to be honest, you can get the same basic setup on the regular Turbo by tacking on PDCC and PTV Plus as options. In other words, the Turbo S is mainly about extracting a little more power from the Turbo's engine, along with a little more green from your wallet.

This year also brings the Platinum Edition trims as stylish upgrades to the base Cayenne and Cayenne Turbo. Otherwise, the 2014 Porsche Cayenne is essentially unchanged from the previous year, and that's just fine by us. It's still one of the best-driving luxury SUVs on the block, and there's an incredible variety of engines to choose from, including an efficient turbodiesel V6 and a few different versions of Porsche's stellar 4.8-liter V8. You can even get a quirky hybrid variant that boasts 380 horses of its own. Off-road ability is diminished relative to the original Cayenne, but this second-generation model is considerably lighter, so it provides a better real-world mix of agility and all-weather traction. Its interior is a home run, too, ranking with the best in terms of materials quality, style and attention to detail.