Porsche Cayenne

Widely updated Cayenne gets an impressive interior revamp and, even in bottom-rung form, doesn’t want for relative driver appeal Where does the line between a heavy facelift and an all-new model start? In Stuttgart they can argue it both ways. Strictly speaking, the latest Porsche Cayenne is an updated version of the existing third generation (the ‘E3’) of what we all now regard as the original sporting SUV, est 2002. However, the scope of the changes is on par with what Porsche has, in the past, undertaken for full-generational model renewals.It means that while the engine line-up still consists of V6 and V8 layouts, these units have been meaningfully overhauled, as has the suspension and, most noticeably, the interior, which takes its cues from the all-electric Porsche Taycan saloon. This is rather a different car from the Cayenne launched in 2018, so don’t be fooled by the subtle revisions to the exterior design. Those more squared-off intakes and sharper creases in the body are the least of it.Why has Porsche gone so heavy on the updates without deeming this to be an all-new model?It comes down to awkward timing. The Cayenne remains the firm’s best-seller yet its future trajectory as an old-school, combustion-engined SUV with mechanically connected four-wheel drive is uncertain. An all-electric Macan is already upon us and an electric Cayenne is due in 2027, at the same time as an ambitious electric model codenamed K1, with off-road capability and seven-seat capacity, in a niche above the Cayenne. These cars are Porsche’s future.Even so, four years from now, the German company still expects to be selling plenty of petrol-engined Cayennes around the world. They will sit in showrooms alongside the new EVs. But will it sell enough to justify the expense of an all-new generation?In readying the E3 Cayenne for the long haul, Porsche’s implicit answer is ‘probably not’. It means we are perhaps looking at the final version of this divisive, desirable car as we’ve always known it. So does it go out on a high note?The range at a glanceModelsPowerFromCayenne348bhp£70,400E-Hybrid464bhp£79,800S468bhp£84,400S E-Hybrid512bhp£87,100Turbo E-Hybrid729bhp£130,200The Cayenne range isn’t anything like as diverse as the 911’s but there’s still plenty of choice, with surely further derivatives to be added in the coming years.All models have four-wheel drive, and both the V6 and V8 engines can be had with plug-in electrification. The Porsche Cayenne Coupé range is a mirror image, except that the Turbo E-Hybrid comes with the GT Package (titanium exhaust, aggressive aero addenda etc).North American buyers will also have access to the 650bhp Turbo GT, which costs $196,300 (around £155,500) and is the Cayenne’s answer to the 911 GT3 but doesn’t meet EU emissions standards.