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| Porsche Cayenne - Cayenne 'em all! |
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| Let Porsche sort em' out. We drove the V6 version of the moster |
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By : Bijoy Kumar Y | Published : October 10, 2004 | Photos : Jiten Suchede |
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This is a very civilised Porsche and you get the first inkling of it when you turn the key. The V6 whispers to life – no supercar bark, throb or cacophony here. Slot the auto box to D and the car glides out of the driveway into traffic. The ParcAssist system was a bit of nuisance in Delhi traffic (it kept on beeping even for pedestrians who came close to the car) and I really wanted to switch it off. As the traffic cleared, I could floor the throttle and get the two-tonne beast moving at a pace that suits a Porsche. On the move, the feedback from the wheels was detailed and direct, which somewhat compensated (in a strange way) for the lack of turbo grunt. The Cayenne’s power steering with a variable ratio ensures that driver inputs are transmitted to the road with an eagerness that even 911 drivers would appreciate. Servotronic speed sensitive steering is an option for all Cayenne models.
After blasting across a newly constructed fly-way in the outskirts of New Delhi at strictly illegal speeds, we came across a bit of terrain where I could test the intelligent four-wheel drive system. The Porsche Traction Management system ensures that all the available torque is distributed from the engine to whichever wheels that need it most. Essentially, this is a four-wheel drive system with a lockable centre differential that ensures a 38 to 62 front-rear standard torque split. PTM also incorporates a two speed transfer box with low-range and an automatic brake differential (ABD) to optimise traction, and anti-slip regulation (ASR) for great stability under acceleration. Phew, to test all that hardware, I need a couple of attempts at the Paris-Dakar, but my makeshift off-road circuit proved how nimble and agile the Cayenne can get when driven in a provoked fashion. All three versions of the Cayenne also benefit from a stability management system that has enough brains to cut engine power if braking isn’t enough to maintain control of the car!
The car we were having a ball of a time with also came with the optional Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) that lets you change the damper settings to ensure optimum ride quality on different terrain. PASM comes only in conjunction with the optional air-suspension system though. Actually the PASM can do a lot more but I am really running out of space...
In short, the Cayenne was a revelation even with the ‘basic’ powerpack. It is sportier than the similarly equipped BMW X5 and has more super-SUV appeal. And it is surprisingly capable on and off-road, thanks to all the technology I’ve talked about.
BMW might be a better known badge in our country (raise your hands, those amongst you who remember the Porsche 959) and Porsche purists may not accept this as a genuine crest-bearer, but the fact remains that it is a brilliantly engineered automobile. Porsche have confirmed their position as the world’s best automotive engineers...damn those plasto-aluminium bits, though!
As for Ferdinand Porsche’s quote that I opened the story with, I really don’t think he was talking about an SUV when he said that. What do you think?
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