Review: 2017 Porsche Cayenne Platinum Edition
With a new trim line in the 2017 lineup, The Porsche Cayenne in the 3.6L VR6 configuration gives you great fuel economy with decent pep, but struggles on acceleration to their boisterous weight. The Platinum Edition gives you goodies for a relatively great price, offering value to your weekend getaway to the ice cream shoppe. For something this big, it’s best to check the V8 options to feel the real potential of this Stuttgart monster.
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So as you all may or may not know, my summer commute is a 1995 Rover Mini and it’s currently at the shop. Bored, I had an opportunity to take a 2017 Porsche Cayenne for the weekend. I went for the gusto and picked it up at the new Porsche Calgary dealership up in Deerfoot Meadows.
What I got was a delectable Jet Black Metallic 2017 Porsche Cayenne looking mighty intimidating in upgraded 21-inch wheels. Sporting 265 Michelin Latitude Sport rubber bands, it was definitely ready for the open highway.
As the monster SUV in the Porsche lineup, next to the baby-cute Macan, it had massive ground clearance and a very robust presence. It's not the prettiest product out of Porsche, but way better looking than the first-generation Cayenne. The selection of tyres will definitely not be suitable for off-road trails, but it’s good enough for range roads that are abundant in Alberta. For this special occasion, I took the family out to a random ice cream session from Calgary to Cochrane, where they have a popular ice cream shoppe called Mackay’s. It’s pretty good; check them out.
The Cayenne was mated with the 3.6 VR6, producing 300hp and 300lb/ft of torque. Fuel economy was great as I was getting 12L/100kms in the city, exploring Calgary’s downtown streets during the Stampede. On the highway, it’s a great cruiser but the engine selection shows limitations when you conquer uphill sections of a highway: the power becomes lackluster at 3-4000rpm then you feel the weight of the car take precedence. I think the V8 configuration would be a better fit for power and usability, while the VR6 is great for fuel economy. The 8-speed transmission embraces that fuel economy with 6-7-8th gears meant for highway usage. 3rd gear is the party gear.
Steering felt great because this trimline had speed-sensitive steering. Which means that it gives you more angles when you’re in slow speed for parking and not really sure what it does when you’re speeding, but it’s easy to speed in this. The steering wheel felt great (as all Porsche wheels do), and was thick for those twisties. The Cayenne handles twists with ease even with the high clearance, and I think it’s because it’s so wide. When you drive something like a Land Rover LR3, or the old Volvo XC90, you really feel the height. Brownie points for the Cayenne on that one.
Inside, the Cayenne was well-appointed with goodies; this was the Platinum Edition, remember. I love the new center-stacked console; reminds you of an airplane cockpit. It’s the subtle touches that makes a difference and Porsche loves it. The rotating compass with elevation? Sexy. Multimedia screen in the instrument cluster? Gorgeous. Although everyone is doing those nowadays.
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Originally Posted by Team_Mclaren
