2015 Porsche Cayenne S Review

The 2011 pre-facelift Cayenne S had that kind of “you’ll have to put up with my defects” personality, trading a bit too much comfort for the dynamic experience it offered. Still, its coziness shortcomings were the subtle type that required long-term testing in order to surface.

We love it when a certain car sweeps us off our feet, which is what the 2011 Cayenne did. Nevertheless, after we published the review, we figured it must have some hidden drawbacks, so we decided to live with one for much longer than a few days.

We admit, we never quite complained, until we got our wives and children inside the car. Having family members in the back made us realize that, for instance, the seats and the suspension were too much on the firm side. And when instead of hitting the open road you’re idling in stop and go traffic, taking your loved ones to the park in the center of the city, you suddenly realize the 4.8-liter V8 up front is a bit thirsty.

Well, the 2015 mid-cycle revamp addresses the points mentioned above with Porsche accuracy. Nonetheless, with the naturally-aspirated V8 being replaced by a twin-turbo V6, we had to review it in order to see if it’s actually a better car.

On paper, facelift things look absurdly positive. The Cayenne S and GTS have both switched to twin-turbo power, offering superior performance and asking for less fuel in return. As for those Cayennes that have kept the V8, they’re even more serious about it. For one thing, the 2016 Cayenne Turbo S is the first production SUV to lap the Nürburgring in under 8 seconds.

At the other end of the efficiency scale, the electric side of the hybrid model has been beefed-up following the 2014 Panamera revamp recipe, so we now have a plug-in called S E-Hybrid. Even the entry-level Cayenne Diesel received a more capable turbocharger that raises output by 17 hp and 30 Nm (22 lb-ft) to 262 hp and 580 Nm (428 lb-ft). Still, this remains a VW Touareg-powered Porsche.

The same can be said about the 300 hp petrol-powered 2015 Cayenne, which also keeps its natural aspiration. In the same efficiency pursuit context, the atmospheric V6 engine is a bit ironic. Just like the Cayenne S received the Macan Turbo’s 3.6-liter forced induction V6, the base Cayenne could’ve welcomed the 3.0-liter V6 twin-turbo of the Macan S, but building a business case for this would’ve been difficult.

In the real world, the 2015 Porsche Cayenne’s subtle exterior tweaks highlight the car’s added performance. Up front, you’ll have to remember the side air intakes of the reworked apron, which hide the new intercoolers. At the same time, the central air intake now uses active flaps to reduce drag.

The headlights and taillights have been redone and while the first bring the Cayenne closer to the Macan, the later addresses criticism stating the second-generation Cayenne’s rear lights simply weren’t up to the design job.

You see, these are not the kind of changes that would immediately set the Cayenne facelift apart from the car it replaces, simply because Zuffenhausen doesn’t want that. The Germans actually aim for the car to look sharper, so that people simply update their mental image of the Cayenne. Period.

Climbing aboard, we’re thrilled to notice the main changes target the driver, as well as the rear passengers. The one behind the wheel literally gets a hands-on approach on the extra equipment offered by the facelift. Sure, you may not notice the tire pressure monitoring system or the audio interface at first, but the steering wheel will grab your attention.

Porsche says “918 Spyder-inspired,” which you should read that as “the awful gearshift buttons nobody could cope with are gone, having been replaced by shift paddles.” For years, Porsche has tried to convince itself we’re all racing drivers and can remember the two-way functions of the buttons. But we’re not, so we’re happy with the paddles.

As for the change in the rear area, we are talking about softer padding for the seats. The change is more than welcome - trust us, having comfortable seats is much more important than racing pedigree stuff when you’re not the one doing the driving.

The rest of the cabin leaves the same general impression as before. For those approaching a Cayenne for the first time, we’ll offer a few examples. This means a decent amount of space for the class. It also means Porsche’s “one-button-for-each-function” ergonomics, which we adore.

Head over to the luggage compartment though and you’ll notice a new button. If you’ve gifted your Cayenne with air suspension, this button lowers the car by 2.05 inches (52 mm) when the tailgate is open. Your back will thank the engineers for this one.

The list of options now includes goodies such as soft close doors and a heated windscreen. Some may point out that Porsche is late to both parties, but Zuffenhausen has a reason to delay the adoption of new technologies sometimes.

Having a Cayenne with a Head-Up display, for instance, would mean 911 customers could want one too. And that would add weight, which is exactly what Porsche doesn’t want to do in the face of the increasing average line-up emission constraints. At least not until the new turbocharged engines also take over Porsche’s sportscars later this year.

Porsche does understand that not all its customers spent time on the track though. For instance, the suspension of the Cayenne now copes better with road imperfections. You don’t need to reach a speed bump in order to notice this. A crack in the road will be enough and we all know there’s always one lying around the corner.

The Cayenne has always been surprisingly maneuverable around town and now the added tolerance allows you to exploit the car's resources even more.

And to speak of a different type of resources (read: financial), the fuel efficiency equation is simple. The downsizing hasn’t magically turned this two-ton SUV into a Prius. Nevertheless, the twin-turbo V6 means that, if the traffic and your right foot allow it, you’ll definitely notice the fuel efficiency improvement. Official EPA ratings place the 2015 Cayenne S at 17/24 mpg (13.8 l/100 km / 9.8 l /100 km) city/highway, while the old V8 model came with 16/22 mpg (14.7 l/100 km / 10.7 l/100 km).

The new model’s 4,597 lbs (2,085 kg) mean a part of the weight advantage of the new engine is offset by the richer standard equipment - the difference between this and its V8 predecessor sits at about 120 lbs (50 kg).

Still, the extra 20 hp and 37 lb-ft (50 Nm) are not to be ignored. The 420 hp and 550 Nm make the Cayenne sensibly quicker than before. In fact, the level of performance displayed here is almost identical to what the first Cayenne Turbo had to offer.

Since they upgraded the hardware, the engineers also thought they should make the most out of it. Thus, Porsche’s teleport-me-to-the-track Sport Plus button is now available on the Cayenne.

With this change, Porsche has worked to better differentiate the driving modes. Truth be told, you do feel the Cayenne’s personality has broadened a bit as if it visited a few foreign countries in the facelift process.

The Sport Crono package cuts 0.1 seconds off any Cayenne’s 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) time, which, in this case, means you’ll go from 4.2 to 4.1 seconds. So yes, the 2015 Cayenne S is 0.4 seconds quicker to a hundred kph. Nonetheless, before you play the Q.E.D. (quod erat demonstrandum) card and call it a day, we have to talk about how the downsizing changes the car’s character.

The 8-speed Tiptronic automatic does a very good job, as ever. While the company has been constantly updating the box, things outside Porsche have evolved too. It all feels like Porsche’s Tiptronic has lost its edge on the competition.

We’ll remind you we also spent some time inside a 2015 Cayenne Turbo. Out task was to see just how efficient the twin-turbo 4.8-liter V8 can be, especially after the revamp pushed the engine 20 hp to 520 hp. After a day of hypermiling against the clock, we got 11.9 liters per 100 km (19.8 mpg). Not only was the value extremely close to the official 11.5 l/100 km (20.5 mpg), but given the traffic and the timed course, it was truly pleasing.

We only allowed ourselves to floor it for about two seconds once the mpg marathon was over, with the supercar-like feeling that’s always accompanied Cayenne Turbo sprints returning.

Back into our Cayenne S tester, it’s time to talk about the retouched suspension. The engineers had their hands elbow-deep into this, from the dampers to the bearings and bushings. As always, you can have three levels of technical complexity - passive dampers, PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management) and PASM with air springs.

The air springs calibration obviously differs from the S to the Turbo, but even the V6 model knows how the use cheat codes through the bends. You still feel you’re in an SUV, but most of the drawbacks you’ve learned to associate with the notion are not present.

As we said, we were used to the Cayenne’s ability to hold on tight through the corners - those handles on the center console aren’t there for the show. Nevertheless, the suspension now is noticeably more compliant without any trade-offs. This applies to both serious asphalt issues, as well as to the small imperfections.

Off the road, the tires are the only element that keeps the Cayenne from being able to follow rugged off-roading machines. This Porsche is not only capable of showing responsive behavior on rugged terrain, but also doesn’t seem to break a sweat while doing it.

The same relaxed attitude helps the Cayenne earn serious safety points in our book. While the Turbo’s exhaust note alone is enough to make one indulge in throttle pleasures, the more restrained voice of the Cayenne S means you won’t be lured into childish actions. This means you end up with a car that’s always capable of following your emergency commands.

With the Porsche 911’s turbocharged line-up revolution just around the corner, you can’t look at the 2015 Cayenne facelift through anything else than maturity glasses. And yes, this means ignoring the fact that the V8 pleasures are no more.

The revised model is faster, which is something you’d expect for a Porsche. In fact, the level of performance displayed by the 2015 Cayenne S is almost identical to what the first Cayenne Turbo had to offer.

In the traditional Porsche style, mechanical tweaks hidden from the naked eye have made this a better family car.

Of course, if family and coziness are your top priorities, the Range Rover family is the one you should be part of. In fact, if you’re going to place your eggs in at least two baskets, owning a Range Rover and a go-fast sedan or coupe is what we recommend.

If, however, you wish to mix all the aspects in your life and place the essence inside a single recipient, the Porsche Cayenne has just the right shape.

The first-generation of the Cayenne managed to convince 276,000 customers while the second has grabbed 300,000 so far. This means that what used to be regarded as a sacrilege for Zuffenhausen now accounts for around half the company’s sales.

As for the pricing, the 2015 Cayenne S starts at $74,800, plus a $995 destination charge. However, you should be prepared to inject over $25,000 in options for a moderate approach. Over in Europe, the facelifted Cayenne S has a starting price of EUR81,016, including 19 percent VAT (German market).

At first, Porsche considered that making the quickest, most engaging SUV in the world was enough. Now they’ve accepted the fact that such a car must truly embrace its occupants.