Most fun you can have driving a family vehicle

Special to the Star-Telegram

The Porsche Cayenne, the SUV that drives like a sports car, entered its second generation last year, featuring not a drastic makeover, but some changes designed to improve an already great package.

For 2009, a new top model was added – the Turbo S – with a base price of $124,800 (plus $975 freight), along with a 550-horsepower, 4.8-liter V-8 engine that also has 553 foot-pounds of torque. That’s 50 more horsepower than the standard Cayenne Turbo ($98,700), which we tested for this report, and 37 more foot-pounds of torque.

But you don’t have to spend that kind of money to get a nice Cayenne. The very well-equipped base model with a 290-horsepower, 3.6-liter V-6 engine starts at $45,000, and offers just about every amenity a consumer actually would need in a vehicle of this type.

Even in the entry model, the Cayenne gives consumers the most fun you can have driving a family vehicle that can hold five people quite comfortably, along with their stuff.

Porsche, the little German sports-car maker, surprised the world with the launch of the original Cayenne in 2003, and as Porsche vehicles go, it has been quite successful, even though sales have been off somewhat the past year or so as the entire auto industry has been in a slump (and SUVs have taken a beating because of their poor fuel economy).

With the 2008 makeover came some stylish exterior changes, including new headlights and LED taillights; more interior comfort and conveniences; new safety features; and more performance – but increased fuel efficiency, too.

The entry-level model, called just the Cayenne, has 283 foot-pounds of torque, and can go from zero to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds. It has a top track speed of 141 mph.

And even the base Cayenne has a suspension tuned like that of a sports car, allowing the vehicle to hug the pavement quite well on the curves. The Cayenne has the feel of a low-slung sports car, something you won’t find on other SUVs.

EPA fuel-economy ratings for the V-6 model are 14 mpg city/20 highway, which puts this vehicle on par with most of the midsize SUVs and some of the newer crossovers, as well. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard, but a six-speed automatic is available. Mileage estimates are the same with either the manual or automatic.

Next up the line is the S model, which comes with a normally aspirated 4.8-liter V-8 engine producing 385 horsepower and 369 foot-pounds of torque. List price is $60,000. This one can go from zero to 60 in 6.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 155 mph. EPA ratings are 13 mpg city/19 highway with the standard six-speed automatic.

Also new is the GTS model ($71,600), which has a more-powerful version of the normally aspirated V-8 – 405 horsepower, but the same 369 foot-pounds of torque. This one comes with the six-speed manual, but the automatic is optional. EPA ratings are 11 city/17 highway with the manual, and 13/18 with the automatic.

The Cayenne Turbo model has a twin-turbo version of the 4.8-liter V-8 engine, rated at 500 horsepower and 516 foot-pounds of torque. EPA estimates are 12 city/19 highway -- quite respectable for this much power. It can reach 60 mph in just 4.9 seconds, and has a top speed of 171 mph.

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