The Cayenne is one of the most important cars for Porsche today.
Instead of a low sports car, it's a high SUV.
Meanwhile, the third generation of the successful car has been presented,
and for that third generation, they've used the MLB-platform, like many other cars use in the Volkswagen Group.
We've already seen it in the Audi Q7, but also in the Bentley Bentayga.
That's why the base of the Cayenne is exactly the same at the front...
and in the middle part as the one in the Q7.
The rear however, is different. That's because the Q7 is longer, or the Cayenne is shorter.
Anyway, there's a gap of 10 centimetres in the wheelbase.
Just in case you were curious about how these cars compare to each other, we've put a new Cayenne next to a Q7.
A SQ7 to be exact, because the performance figures are pretty similar to the Cayenne S.
The way those performance figures are produced, are pretty different.
Porsche uses a 2.9-litre V6, whilst Audi uses a 4.0-litre V8.
I can hear you thinking, 'what does it matter?' Well, it matters a lot,
because the Audi is powered by diesel, whilst the Porsche is a petrol-powered car.
Moreover, the Q7 is only available with diesel engines, and the Cayenne is only available with petrol engines.
It's still a mystery whether or not the Cayenne will receive diesel engines.
The V6 in the Cayenne S, actually is the same 440 horsepower engine...
we already know from the Panamera S. It's also the same engine found in the Audi RS5, albeit with a small power difference.
It's a fine machine. Throttle response is very good,
more than enough power to get almost 2000 kg of car to move around quickly,
and keep it going when necessary.
It's fitted with two huge turbochargers, but they need very little time to wind up,
so you don't really notice it's turbocharged. It feels incredibly natural.
The V6 is connected to a conventional automatic gearbox, so no double clutch PDK-gearbox like in the Panamera.
Instead, it's a ZF-gearbox with a torque converter.
The latter being the most important part as well.
After all, it's a SUV. It has to be able to go off-road and deal with tricky situations.
A torque converter is a tad more durable than a gearbox with simple clutch plates.
Also, it produces additional torque. That's handy if you have to pull a trailer out of a muddy surface.
Those are choices, and Porsche made the right ones.
You could say you drive a Cayenne, but that doesn't mean a lot if I'm honest.
You should say what kind of Cayenne you're driving.
What kind of chassis do you have? Is it a standard chassis?
Do you have air suspension with three chambers? Do you have rear-axle steering?
Or do you have active roll-bars?
Well, in this case we only have air suspension.
It's got three settings. Normally, you'd be driving it in Comfort-mode.
That isn't bad at all. There's a little movement in the car, but it isn't annoying or anything.
If you put it in Sport, or even Sport Plus,
it's a nice and even chassis, which lets you drive very fast.
The used materials are very good as well. It all feels good, looks good...
A lot of leather and, in this case, a lot of piano finishing.
It all fits in the black panels on the middle console.
The panel actually is one big tip-button. It sounds easy, but in reality it isn't really great.
A big multimedia system might be easier, because you'll often find yourself looking for the right button.
You can't physically feel what you're touching, and that's too bad.
They should've thought that through.
Right, it's a small detail. Ergonomically, it's all good in here.
The seating position is fine. The front and the back offer enough room.
If you want to take some luggage with you, you've got enough space for 770 litres.
Perfectly fine if you ask me.
Beneath the floor of the luggage space, we don't find a tire repair kit, but a full-grown spare wheel.
You still have to inflate it, but there's a compressor in there as well.
Incredibly handy, other manufacturers could learn from this.
Porsche offers a very big pricelist when it comes to additional features.
I'm not just talking about chassis or drivetrain-features. Driving assists are available as well.
It's not like Porsche is incredibly advanced when it comes to electronic systems.
If you want stuff like that, you should consider another manufacturer from Stuttgart.
The V8 in the SQ7 is in principle the same engine used in the Bentley Bentayga.
It produces 435 horsepower and 900 Nm, which can pull down trees.
Also, it's already available at 1.000 RPM.
That's pretty impressive, and the great thing is,
the engine is fitted with an electrical compressor.
Besides the regular turbo, it's got an electrical windmill which goes whenever you put your foot down.
That gives this car a personality, which you wouldn't expect from a diesel car.
Of course, the way the sound is isolated plays a big role as well. If you didn't know you had to put diesel in the tank,
because otherwise you'd think it was petrol-powered.
That's partly because of the seemless collaboration with the gearbox, which is an 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox as well.
It's a very pleasant combination, and I don't have anything to complain about if I'm honest.
In contrast to the Porsche, the Audi only has one Sport-mode.
Do you miss another Sport-mode? Not really.
The car is very stable on the road, and that's mostly because of the active roll-bars.
It makes sure the car remains neutral and flat in the corners. Not a lot of heaving about.
Also, the steering offers a tad more feedback than in the Porsche, and that makes this Q7 a very pleasant car to drive.
It feels very nimble. If you consider this car weighs about 250 kg more,
you'll think 'alright', but when you start driving it, you don't notice it a bit.
They've really done a good job at Audi.
In the interior, Audi uses beautiful materials just like Porsche.
Beautiful leather, and the finishing is incredible.
You can recognize it as Audi as well, and that means you've got a fully customizable, digtial instrumentarium.
I had some remarks about the buttons on the middle console in the Porsche, or rather the big tip-button on there.
Audi however just uses a multimedia button, which lets you control the multimedia system very easily.
There aren't a lot of other buttons to press around it. Sure, there's a touchpad, but that works very intuitive.
Audi absolutely nailed it.
Just like in the Cayenne, there's plenty of room in the front of the Q7.
Even if you're a tad longer than most people. I myself almost measure 2 metres in length,
and I can move about easily without getting stuck anywhere.
The same goes for the back seat. The seating is just fine there.
Also, for an additional price, you can get a third seating row in this car.
If you don't use that third row, you've got a luggage space of more than 800 litres.
That's very royal.
Not only the performance is very similar, but the prices of these two cars follow the same route as well.
Both cars are available at around €130.000. Of course, those are the entry prices,
but you can make them as luxurious as you want.
Both are true quality, sporty SUV's.
On paper, you might think the Porsche is a tad lighter, and it's got a more dynamic petrol engine,
so it could be the car you want. In reality however, Audi has found a way to hide the extra weight,
and because that diesel engine impresses us so much... The SQ7 is the winner today.