Porsche Cayenne V6 (September 2007)

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Launched: Porsche Cayenne V6

Wheels Magazine
August, 2007

Earlier this year, at the local Porsche launch of the revised Cayenne line-up, the conspiracy theorists had taken a break from talking into their collars about grassy knolls and faked moon landings, and turned their attention instead to a potential conspiracy of far greater significance to mankind: where the hell was the base V6? This crucial new entry-level 3.6 variant - much needed to bolster the SUV's sagging local sales - was nowhere to be seen.

"There are none in the country, and besides, it's a 'top-down' launch," said the PR spin. "Ah, that must mean the V6 is slower than the director's cut of Goodbye, Mr Chips," murmured the conspiracy theorists, as they mentally composed their 'Meet the Porsche that can't keep up with a Commodore!' headlines.

Now we've driven it, we can expose the truth: the base Cayenne is no mobile chicane incapable of getting out of its own way. The outputs of its VW-sourced 3.6-litre V6 are usefully higher than those when this engine is fitted to VW's own Touareg, and it's appreciably more torque-rich than the 3.0-litre petrol six (200kW/315Nm) offered in BMW's X5.

When a keenly-flexed right foot meets the well-judged gearing, you honestly don't find yourself yawning and waiting for something to happen. Traffic-light pole-hunters will establish that 0-60km/h is peeled off in just over 4.0sec (comparable to the big-grunting diesel SUVs on page 90); 0-100km/h in 8.4sec is actually faster than the oilers.

So far, no apologies necessary. What will raise an eyebrow, though, is the change in character of this engine in the Porsche application. Gone is the polished, oily feel it imparts in the Touareg; here it's a gravelly, vocal slogger that sounds distinctly working-class in the mid-range before clearing its throat and punching on heartily up top.

Fortunately the chassis DNA remains very clearly Porsche, not that of platform sister VW Touareg. Aside from a slight lack of immediacy just off centre, the steering carries nice weight and useful feel, instilling plenty of confidence and passing on enough feedback to help the exterior bulk shrink around you. Small wheels (by SUV standards) mean generous tyre sidewalls, contributing to a ride that rounds off most evil stuff, as well as delivering comparatively low noise levels on coarse-chip bitumen.

A pity, then, that the lightly freshened interior feels about as special as the Lowes polyester department. Nothing wrong with the instrument layout, but the dash plastics carry a crook coarse grain, the small, unsupportive seats feel mean-spirited, and storage-space lids wobble due to a sweep of the bean-counter's wand.

Which brings us to the value issue - and this is where things get more unsteady. At just under $95K, base boy here is still $20K dearer than the 3.6-litre FSI Touareg. Yes, the Cayenne has its dynamic measure, but it's still tough to reconcile. Editor Bulmer reckons he'd take a Territory Turbo and pocket the change, but that sounds a lot like some applied North Queensland pragmatism - something rarely found in the large luxo-SUV segment.

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