Porsche have broken one of their own greatest taboos, they now produce a diesel car. Having made tractors many, many years ago Porsche eshewed from diesel technology implying it lacked the performance and desirability required for engines in their performance cars. All that has now changed..... The new diesel Cayenne uses a 3 litre V6 turbocharged engine producing a reasonable 240PS and 550Nm of torque. These figures are not overly impressive although the do translate into sprightly (yet not stunning) performance at lower speeds. As the speeds increase the burden placed on the (relatively) small engine becomes clear and acceleration tails off drastically as 90-100mph is reached.
The diesel Cayenne is a breakthrough for Porsche, it will (hopefully) encourage the comapny to embrace heavy oil technology more and for that reason alone this Cayenne should be praised. As a diesel SUV the Cayenne falls a little short, offering lower levels of performance compared to competitors from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and even Volkswagen.
Those looking for a more frugal Cayenne will find the diesel model offers a reasonable alternative, it could be a little better though.
