Porsche Cayenne Estate

Cayenne Estate Summary

If we asked you what the current best-selling Porsche was you’d probably reply with the 911, but you’d be wrong. The answer is in fact the Cayenne SUV, a model developed in conjunction with parent Volkswagen that owes more to the Touareg than the Weissach brand’s sports cars.

That’s not to say this über SUV feels like anything else but a Porsche – from first glance there is no doubt what brand it has come from. There are 911-esque headlights and a deep grille up front, along with typical Porsche alloy wheels and detailing towards the rear.

The theme continues inside, with materials and a design that will be familiar to all current Porsche owners – the rising centre console and three-cowled instrument dials classic Porsche touches. Quality of the switchgear, materials and detailing is second to none and while it’s not as roomy as say a Land Rover Discovery, the Cayenne remains the most practical Porsche on sale.

You can accommodate five occupants across the leather seats and 670 litres of suitcase in the boot, but the key to the Cayenne’s appeal is the way it drives, not the way it carries things. There’s a huge range of engines to choose from, including a diesel and 493bhp Turbo version, and all offer impressive to truly mind-blowing performance – the latter sprinting from 0-62mph in only 4.7 seconds.

And despite their weight and obviously high centre of gravity none fall apart at the first sight of a corner either. The way the Cayenne changes direction is certainly more supercar than SUV; there’s very little roll and though you can feel the weight it’s more nimble that you’d expect. Of course it’s not the cheapest model on the market, and running costs are typically Porsche-like, but for most customers that matters not.

So if you need a fast car, that still has a semblance of off-road ability (and the Cayenne does have this) then it’s hard to think of anything more suitable than the Porsche Cayenne.