Porsche Cayenne S Coupe

REPORT 4

£88,100 OTR/£113,484 as tested/£1,982 pcm

WHY IT’S HERE

Is Porsche’s big SUV still a game changer 20 years on?

DRIVER

Rowan Horncastle

THIS CAYENNE HAS GENUINE OFF-ROAD CHOPS. IT’S ROBUST, RELIABLE and blessed with all-wheel drive, a differential lock, various mud-plugging drive modes, a torquey turbocharged V8, plus plenty of ground clearance thanks to dual chamber air-spring suspension that can elevate you from 160mm to 239mm at the touch of a non-existent button.

With all this ability why wouldn’t you use it for expeditions? There’s no reason. So the plan was to embrace Scotland’s Inner Hebrides and a jewel of beauty and tranquillity – the enigmatic Isle of Jura. Fifteen hours, two ferries and 600-odd miles away this remote destination was the location for an upcoming feature. But it’s also where I needed the Cayenne to turn from ‘transport’ to ‘accommodation’ for two days.

First, I had to make it fit for purpose. I changed the wheels and tyres, losing an inch by opting for the standard 21in rim and then ditching the road-biased Pirelli P-Zeros for the squidgier mud and snow rated Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 SUV. Then we lobbed Porsche’s official £4,400 Tequipment pop-up two-man roof tent on top. There’s no need for roof rails (not possible with our pano roof) as it neatly secures into the door seals.

Given our overall consumption for the last few months has struggled to hit 20mpg, setting off I was intrigued (and a little scared) at what loading a boot full of Nemo camping equipment, invaluable Anker 767 Portable Power Station, camera gear, plus a 56kg roof tent-shaped brick on the roof would do to our fuel consumption. But the Cayenne settled into its 12-hour cruise up to Scotland with ease.

Noise in the cabin noticeably increases with a giant box on the roof, but having had some aerodynamic sympathy designed into it, there are no horrific whistles. But it can get caught in crosswinds. As Pete Rawlins found driving the Cayenne to Scotland last month, it swallows miles with ease and gets into a stride. But the new softer rubber and smaller wheel size did make it even simpler as there’s more compliance and comfort to the primary ride, where the Cayenne suffers.

Myself and Mark Riccioni arrived at Kennacraig for the ferry to Islay having averaged 55mph and 21.7mpg. Being the only people to board the open sided ferry to Jura, we quickly realised this is where the adventure would begin as the Cayenne would leave the realm of ‘transport solution’ and quickly become ‘life support’. Jura is wild, isolated, and untamed. Hammered by sideways rain, its mist-shrouded mountains meet windswept moors, craggy coastlines, and hefty, chocolate-coloured peat bogs. We had to conquer the lot, heading from the very south to the very north of the island, a place not even accessible to locals, let alone tarmac.

With an anti-clockwise twist of the steering wheel mounted drive mode knob, you get into the Cayenne’s off-road mode, changing the idle, gear shift response, traction management, torque distribution, anti-roll bars, rear-steering and diff settings. And given our car has the optional Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus package (£1,158) we get the benefit of a locking rear diff. Which gets off-road types very excited.

But you can then dive deeper, into further modes, unlocking more potential. For a gravel track or wet grass, there’s ‘Gravel’ mode. For muddy forest tracks or deeply rutted roads, you’ve got the ‘Mud’ setting. There are also modes for sand and a ‘Rock’ option. Annoyingly, they’re not immediately obvious. But once in them, you do get additional displays

for the steering angle, transverse gradient, and longitudinal incline, offering great visibility when paired with the Surround View cameras.

Hoiked up in the ‘Off-Road II’ mode, the Cayenne clambered over the sharp rocks, across deep mud and road gravel trails with ease. On big assents and descents, you just need to be mindful of its width and weight. Which I found out dropping a wheel into a ditch, leading us to having to get towed out by a farmer. Oops. But even with tame snow and mud tyres, I’d be interested to see where the Cayenne could go with chunkier tyres. Probably when it’s a bit older, less precious and valuable.

Reaching our destination we set up camp, transforming the rear of the Cayenne into a kitchen thanks to a fridge and induction hob all powered by the Anker battery. After some steaks, I retired to the roof tent. With a few clips to undo and a push of the hidden cantilevered ladder, it pops up and is simple to set up. It’s also very comfortable to sleep in with its built-in double mattress and completely blacked out water- and windproof shell.

The next morning, we woke to a glorious sunrise, bright blue skies and recharged to do a typically stupid feature you’ll find out about soon. But the drive home was as easy as the one there. The Cayenne surprises me more and more.