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Porsche’s rich world consists of some iconic models like the 911, Boxter, Cayman, 918 Spyder, Macan, Panamera and the Cayenne. It’s a common perception that these cars are best taken on a race track and made to scream their hearts out. Their engines waste no time in generating enough power to set the tracks ablaze! But some of the Porsche models like the Macan and Cayenne SUVs are also known for their off-road capabilities.
Keeping this in mind, the Porsche India Delhi office invited a few journalists to test drive and experience their Big Boys on a specially made off-road track on the outskirts of Delhi. Sitting behind the wheels of an SUV that costs upwards of Rs 1 crore, I reminded myself that I needed to be very careful with this rich brute lest I carelessly damaged it as I went over the several hurdles. The short course consisted of the usual rumble strips to test out the NVH levels, uphill and downhill hurdles to test out the hill-hold and hill descend functions respectively, the deep pits full of water to test out its wading capabilities and different types of steep angle courses to test out the traction control and suspension of the vehicle. There was also a short strip for acceleration and sudden braking in order to test the ABS feature of the car.
On a personal front, I found the experience a cake walk. Having attempted similar challenges in both an artificial environment and in the real world (like the desert challenge in Rajasthan etc) in vehicles that cost a fraction of a Porsche car and fitted with below par mechanisms in terms of dependability, driving the Porsche Cayenne was like a walk in the park.
The 3 litre diesel engine Porsche Cayenne had some splendid features to boast of that made off-road driving a pleasure. It is no doubt a sports car with some well endowed off-road capabilities. As we moved on from the regular tarmac to the off-road track, all it needed was a tug of a button and air suspension ensured that the ride height increased accordingly. As for taking on the rough terrain, there is this Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) along with all-wheel drive that comes into play almost immediately.
The Porsche Cayenne is offered in India in several variants that include the Cayenne Diesel, Cayenne S Diesel, Cayenne S, Cayenne Turbo, Cayenne Turbo S and the Cayenne GTS. Porsche claims that the new Cayenne models have increased performance and torque coupled with a lower fuel consumption compared to its predecessors. Though we were not on a track to test the Cayenne’s speeding capabilities, it was the suspension that showed that was tested to the hilt. The outcome was obvious, the car’s performance was truly remarkable.
The Cayenne Diesel variant we drove was powered by a V6 TDI Common Rail Direct Fuel Injection engine that churned out 240bhp and a peak torque of 550 Nm. The Cayenne has a monocoque lightweight body in a combination of steel, aluminium and magnesium. The car sits on 255/55 R 18 tyres.
The Porsche Cayenne can handle uneven terrain with great ease. Even in extreme conditions when the vehicle has just one or two wheels on the ground and is tilted precariously, its intelligent suspensions management system provides the right amount of traction to the right wheels to pull the massive vehicle back on the ground. The car was also tested on tracks that had a side inclination of more than 30 degree angle. The heavily tilted car remained well planted on the ground as it drove along with considerable ease. So much for the Cayenne’s great off-road capabilities!
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