2010 Porsche Cayenne Diesel
DETROIT -- When Porsche's first SUV arrived in 2003, it did something many thought impossible -- it rapidly became the company's best-selling vehicle and, by extension, its bread-and-butter ride.
Go figure -- a company that earned its name in the sports-car business became almost as famous for its hulking SUV. And so to the next phase of the Cayenne's development story. In Europe, almost half the drivers have given up on gasoline, preferring instead to cash in on the economy of the lowly diesel engine. But therein lies the rub. Far too many people on this side of the pond still equate diesels with the stinky, smoke-spewing, chattering old dump truck engines of yore.
Those days are dead, buried and unequivocally gone. The modern diesel is as clean as just about anything offered in any automobile. The fact it is also far more economical underscores its recent surge.
Porsche is, at long last, embracing the modern diesel torque monster. In this case, the Cayenne's 3.0-litre V-6 Turbo Diesel Injection churns out a respectable 240 horsepower. The key to its impending success is the tremendous torque it puts to the pavement. I say impending because the company is still unsure about its potential in North America and so tends to waffle when asked if it will eventually come to this continent. Build it and they will buy it, to steal a phrase. Torque rules when it comes to the sensation of speed in the low and mid-ranges.
To put the Cayenne Diesel into perspective, it helps to look at the other models. The Cayenne S and its 4.8-litre V-8, a delightful engine in its own right, puts 369 foot-pounds of torque at the driver's disposal at 3,500 r.p.m. In fact, the diesel only has to take a back seat to the all-conquering Cayenne Turbo S and its 4.8-litre twin-turbo, which twists out 553 ft.-lbs. of torque at 2,250 r.p.m. The diesel manages to churn out a tire-shredding 405 ft.-lbs. at just 2,000 r.p.m.! This is enough to motivate around 2,500 kilograms of leather-lined sport-ute to hit 100 kilometres an hour in 8.3 seconds. Now, that's two-tenths of a second faster than the gasoline-powered 3.6-litre, V-6 found in the base Cayenne.
This, however, only tells a very small part of the overall story. When it comes to fuel economy, the diesel can be driven more than 1,000 km on one tank of fuel. In the European test cycle, it averaged 9.3 litres per 100 km. Its gasoline-powered counterpart? The V-6, which produces 290 hp and 273 ft.-lbs. of torque at 3,000 r.p.m., consumes 12.9 L/100 km.
The secret to the diesel's work ethic boils down to the technologies incorporated in the engine's design. The use of direct fuel injection, piezo fuel injectors and Porsche's variable turbine geometry (VTG) turbocharger combine to keep the engine running at its operational best.
The Cayenne Diesel really is superlative. The engine is smooth and remarkably hushed, the torque is plentiful and the performance is everything one expects from Porsche. Of course, the fact it is 28 per cent more fuel-efficient than the gas-powered V-6 Cayenne is the bonus that seals the deal.
Not much more to add, other than bring it on!
-- Canwest News Service
