December 16, 2003

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First Drive:
2004 Porsche Cayenne V6
by Richard Russel

The Cayenne, or at least the concept of a Porsche SUV, got a pretty cool reception from the purist media at its introduction one year ago in the sunny south of Spain. Perhaps that explains why the company chose such a dull and very cold place to unveil the new base model.

The Finnish Capital of Lapland, just above the Arctic Circle, provided a variety of opportunities to sample not only the new six-cylinder Cayenne, but the V8 Cayenne S equipped with a newly-developed six-speed manual gearbox. The Arctic Driving Centre near here, with a huge variety of facilities and surfaces including slow and high speed skid pads and tortuous offroad courses, provided ample opportunity to probe the Cayenne's impressive ability to cope with poor traction and surface conditions. Despite only four hours of daylight, there was also an opportunity to drive on real world roads in the surrounding area.

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The first-ever Porsche V6 comes from Volkswagen: the same 3.2 litre, narrow-angle VR6 appears in the Audi TT 3.2 and the Cayenne's sibling, the Touareg. Originally appearing in the VW Corrado a decade ago, this unique engine features a 15-degree angle between cylinder banks compared to the more conventional 60 or 90-degree arrangement. The result is an extremely narrow block that fits the same space as a four. The design also allows a single head, with two camshafts and four valves per cylinder to span both cylinder banks. A proven and highly robust engine, the VR6 has continuous camshaft adjustment on both intake and exhaust sides. Now displacing 3.2 litres, it can be found in the 2004 VW Touareg, Audi TT and Porsche Cayenne.

Porsche claims to have heavily modified intake and exhaust systems to create a broad torque band and characteristic Porsche sound. The engine produces 250 horsepower in both the Porsche and Audi applications and 220 for Volkswagen. The Touareg version has 225-lb. ft. of torque, the TT 235-lb. ft. and the Cayenne 221-lb. ft. - spread all the way from 2,500 to 5,500 rpm. The Cayenne easily wins the exhaust battle, emitting one of the truly great six cylinder exhaust sounds in the world.

Porsche, in co-operation with ZF, has developed a new six-speed manual gearbox for the Cayenne and Cayenne S. But it will not be available in North America for the 2004 model year. The only transmission available here, in all three Cayenne models, is the six-speed TipTronic.

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Due to the slippery winter surfaces and weather conditions we were unable to put a stopwatch on the Cayenne. Porsche is quoting 0-100 km/hr times of less than 10 seconds and a top speed of 214 km/h (133 mph). Porsche's in-house numbers have traditionally been accurate, backing up the seat-of-the-pants impression that the Cayenne six is reasonably quick for a 5,000-pound vehicle!

While the Cayenne is the base model, it is far from a stripper. It can be visually identified by the badge on the decklid and black brake rotors instead of red. On the inside bright silver surrounds accentuate the circular instruments. The chassis and suspension are absolutely identical to the Cayenne S with the exception of the wheels, brakes and tires. The standard wheel-tire package is 17-inches in diameter with 18, 19 and 20 inches available wrapped in specialized summer, winter and offroad rubber.

The Cayenne comes with a full compliment of standard equipment and the same primary and secondary safety features as the other models. It has remote central locking, leather seating, an alarm system, air conditioning, power seats, windows and mirrors. A rolling acronym, the Cayenne also boasts PTM, PSM and optionally PCM, PDOA and AOTP.

PTM - Porsche Traction Management is the four-wheel-drive system that normally distributes 68% of the power to the rear wheels and 32 to the fronts. But, based on input from a variety of sensors it can anticipate imminent loss of grip at either axle, intervening before a wheel starts to slip, increasing the locking effect to re-distribute power, up to 100% of it to either front or rear axles.

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PSM - Porsche Stability Management keeps the Cayenne pointed in the right direction should either under or over-steer conditions be encountered. This system is much less intrusive than those used on other German vehicles, allowing a small degree of slip angle and driver enjoyment before intruding and even then, coming into play much more subtly.

PCM - Porsche Communication Management comprises a double-tuner, CD player and navigation system.

PDOA - Porsche Drive-Off Assist, a Subaru-like system developed for the manual transmission to prevent rolling backward while trying to get underway on a hill.

AOTP - Although it is doubtful any Cayenne buyer will ever venture further offroad than the soft shoulder, the optional Advanced Offroad Technology Package provides a special side sill protection, steel plates under the floor and radiator, a rear axle differential lock with up to 100% control and trick self-detaching antiroll bars, allowing considerably more suspension travel and vastly improved ride quality in severe offroad conditions.

If all these electronic aids and Porsche's renowned handling and braking don't prevent a nasty situation, the Cayenne has a full compliment of secondary safety features to provide protection after a crash, including eight airbags - two each of front, side and side curtain bags.

Although a far cry from the traditional six-cylinder Porsche, the Cayenne is quicker and more capable than expected from a 5,000-pound light truck.

More First Drives....

Richard Russell is technical editor for Carguide magazine, a regular contributor to the Halifax Herald and Globe and Mail newspapers, owner of Advanced Driving Concepts driver training school, and a founding member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada.