PORSCHE CAYENNE: CERTIFIED ROCK CRAWLER

THE 3rd GEN CAYENNE

We’re in Fujairah, about to put our 2018 Cayenne through a gruelling wadi exploration drive. But, looking at our Biscaya Blue model, we’re finding it hard to believe it can mount the pavement outside Choithrams, let alone tackle some rocky dirt roads. The latest Cayenne has been completely redeveloped and on first looks, it appears that Porsche is moving away from the original model’s Range Rover-chasing capabilities.

For starters, the alloy wheels are now 19-inches in diameter, with options stretching up to 21-inches. These are shod with 255/55 ZR 19s up front and wider 275/50 ZR 19s at the rear – not exactly the chunky, high-side walled tyres you see fitted to Jeep Wranglers. Porsche is also keen to point out the new engine options, with the big V8 of old making way for a pair of more efficient V6s, both mated to a new eight-speed Tiptronic S gearbox. Power wise, the entry-level, three-litre turbo engine delivers 40 hp more than the previous model, peaking at a meaty 340hp, with the twin turbo in the Cayenne S, producing 440 hp – an increase of 20 hp.

However, outright horsepower off-road is only for the Baja racers, as the rest of humanity needs usable torque to keep us moving at a gentle and consistent pace. Here the V6s produce 331 and 405lb ft respectively, with a nice flat torque curve from 1800 to 5500rpm.

From the off, the Porsche Cayenne was designed to happily venture off-piste

WE’RE OFF ROADING!

It’s a surreal sensation gazing down to see the Porsche badge on the steering wheel and then looking up and seeing nothing but dirt, dust and mountain. We’re in the middle of nowhere in a high performance luxury SUV but we’ve got some serious bits of tech helping us along that would have a Hilux owner frothing at the mouth.

To be fair, we’re not really trying very hard here; the Porsche is doing everything for us. All we’re doing is choosing between the five different drive and chassis modes; the computers are doing the rest. Obviously, the Porsche is configured for normal road use as standard, but we switched to ‘Gravel’ as soon as the road turned from black to brown. There’s also a ‘Mud’ setting for those post-rainy days in the desert when parts of the region turn to soggy, rutted roads. There’s an additional ‘Sand’ setting, with the ‘Rock’ option nothing to do with Bryan Adams, instead it allows the big SUV to negotiate hard and uneven surfaces found in rugged terrain.

There’s even an optional off-road package that displays additional information on the Cayenne’s steering angle, transverse gradient and longitudinal incline – a cool bit of kit that was originally seen in the J70 Toyota Land Cruiser.

The drive, chassis and deferential locks can also be selected to adapt to the relevant scenario, which would be extremely helpful if the Porsche found itself stuck in the desert. Plus, the intelligent, fully variable Porsche Traction Management (PTM) distributes the driving force between the drive axles.

For some of our tighter maneuvers, a reduced turning circle means less steering input, and the Cayenne is also lighter than its predecessor, using an intelligent combination of alloy and steel to slim down from 2040 to a 1985 kgs – even the innovative lithium-ion polymer starter battery saves 10kg over the old version.