2014 Porsche Cayenne

The Porsche Cayenne started out as a crossover counterpoint to a lineup of lean, focused sports cars; but it's long ago earned its place, and it's no longer the outlier in the lineup, especially with a compact Macan crossover on the way. Some Porsche purists will still begrudge the Cayenne, but most will also concede that this, the brand's top-seller, has acted as a sort of benefactor to the lineup--freeing up the budget for a generation of new Boxster and 911 models.
And you can't call the Cayenne anything but a success. It's a family vehicle, and a highly practical utility vehicle, that manages to incorporate much of the personality of the brand's leaner-and-lower models. And the list of family members in this model line keeps getting longer—last year, with addition of a diesel model, and now for 2014 with a new Cayenne Turbo S, making 50 hp more than the Turbo.

Wrap a rather sleek, modern utility-vehicle silhouette in with the rough approximation of the 911's curves, and you get the Cayenne—which is at odds with the more traditional SUV. There's very little rugged about this design—even though it's deft off-pavement. Inside, the Cayenne is even less typical, with a coupe-like cockpit up front, with curved surfaces, upscale materials, and even an analog clock.

There are now a seemingly dizzying seven different variants in the Cayenne range, including the base model, powered by a 300-horsepower 3.6-liter V-6 engine; the Cayenne Diesel, all-new for 2013, with a 245-horsepower 3.0-liter V-6 turbodiesel engine; the Cayenne S, rated at 400 horsepower from a 4.8-liter V-8; the Cayenne S Hybrid, good for 380 horsepower from its combination of electric motor and a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6; and the Cayenne Turbo, the speed demon of the group, rated at 500 horsepower from its twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter V-8. New for 2014 is the 550-hp Turbo S. 

For the new Turbo S, the key numbers are 0-60 mph in 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 176 mph; but even base Cayennes are relatively quick, getting to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds with the Tiptronic S automatic transmission, or 7.1 seconds with the six-speed manual. Base models remain the only ones offered with a six-speed manual gearbox; otherwise you're leaving the shifting to an eight-speed Tiptronic automatic (with