The Cayenne facelift is big, brings a new face, more power, an optimized chassis and a completely new cockpit in the style of the Taycan

(Motorsport-Total.com/Motor1) – Yes, come on, the third generation of the Porsche Cayenne (buy a used Porsche Cayenne now) has been on the market for almost six years now. How did that happen please? New model? Takes a little bit more time. 2025 or 2026, but then purely electric. What follows? Sure, facelift. Very big facelift in this case.
Exterior

Porsche itself speaks of “one of the most extensive product upgrades in the history of Porsche”. You can see that quite well just by looking the Cayenne in the eye. The new headlights look a bit more like the Taycan, are more angular and stand steeper than before.

It’s getting interesting inside, because in addition to the standard Matrix LED headlights, there are now also new HD Matrix LED lights with more than 32,000 pixels per headlight (in two modules). Each of these pixels can be controlled individually. A separate graphics card takes over the part. The brightness of the modules can be regulated in more than 1,000 levels. 600 meters wide is illuminated.

There are newly formed air intakes in the apron and the bonnet and fenders have also been remodeled. At the back, not only the coupé, but also the SUV now has the license plate at the bottom of the bumper. There is also a new rear light strip for both. Doesn’t look all that different from a distance. But take a closer look – aha, no more glass, but a 3D feeling. At second glance it’s quite a big difference. What else happened? Ah yes, new larger circumference wheels. 20 inches is now standard, up to 22 inches are possible ex works.

That brings us to the chassis, where a lot has also been done for a product upgrade (PA, as the Porscheian says). As is so usual, the spread between comfort and performance should of course be increased. First of all, however, the steel version without the adaptive damper has been completely eliminated.

There is now only the regulated steel chassis and the regulated air suspension. A new air spring has been designed for the latter. Both chassis get a new damper with two valves instead of one. Here rebound and compression can now be controlled separately and more damping force can be developed.

 

The advantage: more sensitive damping to calm the structure. If it is quieter, the chassis has to change its forces less often and the driving behavior becomes smoother. New tires that run with less air pressure also help. The tires have also been tuned to increase grip levels on the front axle.

In turn, more grip means I can tweak systems such as all-wheel drive and roll stabilization to achieve better performance. The steering was then also taken along. The latter should now go more in the direction of the “old” Turbo GT, which was the sportiest model in the series (it will no longer be available in Europe in the future).

Grandiose transition to the topic “motors”. And here too – you guessed it – a lot is new. The revised Cayenne is making its debut in Europe with three different engines. As before, the basis is a three-liter V6 turbo. It now delivers 353 hp and 500 Nm, 13 hp and 50 Nm more than before.

The new Cayenne S is a huge surprise. Porsche is probably the only manufacturer in the world that is still actively upsizing. Customers want more V8s, and now they’re getting them. Goodbye 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6, hello 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. The “Zwoneuner” was maxed out in terms of performance with 450 hp, they say. But with a Porsche facelift, more power is a must. The “extensive further development” of the eight-cylinder results in 474 hp and 600 Nm. 34 hp and 50 Nm more than in the old S. 0-100 km/h now takes 4.7 seconds, the top speed is 273 km/h.

 

Third in the group is the Cayenne E-Hybrid. The basis is the V6. The electric motor now delivers 176 instead of 136 hp, the system performance increases to 470 hp. In addition, the battery capacity has been increased from 17.9 to 25.9 kWh. Porsche promises an electric range of up to 90 kilometers according to WLTP. There is also a larger 11 kW onboard charger. Despite the larger battery, the charging time is reduced to 2.5 hours.

 

Other model variants will follow. The end of the turbo was announced behind closed doors. A more powerful GTS will take over its role in the future. Its V8 was almost identical to that of the Turbo anyway. Now he should swell from 480 to well over 500 hp. There will also be two more plug-in hybrids. The top model Turbo S E-Hybrid will probably grow to more than 750 hp. After all, you have to do something to counteract the new BMW XM Label Red.

 

The performance king and Nordschleife SUV record holder Cayenne Turbo GT will mainly be available in the USA. Its power increases from 640 to 660 hp.

That leaves the interior, which probably made the biggest leap with the facelift. We showed you the new Cayenne cockpit in detail a few weeks ago. The dashboard and the top third of the doors are completely new. Everything in here is screaming “Taycan” pretty loud now. For example, the automatic selector lever, which has moved to the dashboard to the right of the steering wheel. Brings more space on the center console, where the revised climate control, a cup holder and a now air-conditioned compartment with inductive mobile phone charging station are located. The latter already the smartphone and speeds up charging.

Of course, the new display triple is also a real Taycan. It includes a 12.6-inch digital instrument display, a 12.3-inch instrument screen and, brand new, a 10.9-inch screen for the front passenger. He now has a lot to do, can look at performance data, access the operation of the infotainment system and – pretty cool – stream video content while driving.

 

Initially via the provider Streamhits TV. Disney Plus is already available, among other things. Deals with the usual suspects are nearing completion. A special foil ensures that the driver cannot see this display. He can also watch videos on the central screen, but only when the vehicle is stationary. A head-up display is of course also available. It has been revised.

The new assistance systems include an active speed limit assistant, an avoidance assistant, a turning assistant and the improved Porsche InnoDrive as part of the adaptive cruise control.

Still missing the prices. They start in Germany at 89,097 euros (Coupé from 93,143 euros) for the basic Cayenne. The Cayenne E-Hybrid costs from 103,344 euros (Coupé from 106,352 euros) and the Cayenne S from 107,542 euros (Coupé from 112,778 euros). The facelift models are available to order now. Deliveries will start in July 2023.