2024 Cayenne S First Drive: Same Utility, More Sport
Highway Driving
Normally I would be bummed to test drive a Porsche in the pouring rain, but this is exactly what I wanted when driving the 2024 Cayenne S. If I were to get one of these, it would be to see duty in deplorable weather conditions. So, how does it cope? In a word, brilliantly. I can’t overstate the confidence that this SUV instills in you as you blast down the highway on a chilly and rainy day.
Travelling at slightly above highway speed (wink, wink) even in a downpour was a drama-free experience. I have my girlfriend riding shotgun for a portion of the day and she said, “wow you are going that fast? It doesn’t feel like it.” And she was right. The Cayenne was not bothered in the least.
The suspension was magical. It soaked up potholes and road irregularities with aplomb. I tested the SUV on roads that I have driven over hundreds of times before in dozens of different vehicles. And this 2024 Cayenne S felt more composed than just about anything else I have driven previously.
If I wanted to push hard, the Cayenne had plenty of power for that. But if I just wanted to get to my destination calmly, the Cayenne was up for that task as well. I swear I could feel my blood pressure lowering as I was driving.
‘Twisties’
Highway driving is fine, but this is a Porsche after all. It needs to be able to carve corners too. As I mentioned above this particular build does not have all the optional equipment that would further enhance the handling. But I have to be honest, after driving this version, I am not sure you need any of it.
As equipped this SUV hustles around corners better than any nearly 5,000-pound SUV has a right to. And the grip is always there. In Sport mode I would come to stop on a hill covered in wet leaves. I stand on the throttle and the SUV just shoots forward. No spinning wheels or anything. It just dug in and took off. Impressive.
In manual mode I didn’t shift until close to redline and the upshift is met with a satisfying pop from the quad exhaust tips. A sport exhaust would undoubtedly enhance the sound, but again, it is not really needed in this application. The stock sound is subdued but muscular. It is a body builder in a three piece suit.
Infotainment
I picked up the 2024 Cayenne S in my 1999 Boxster. Not a fair comparison to be sure. But the Cayenne felt like it was 50 years newer, rather than just 25. The digital instrument cluster is fabulous. Crisp, clear and highly configurable. My favorite setting is the five circular dials reminiscent of the classic 911 setup.
Previous Cayenne generations were festooned with rows and rows of buttons. For 2024 most of the buttons have been replaced with touchscreens with haptic feedback. It cleans up the interior, but Porsche wisely kept some physical buttons for commonly used controls. For example, there is still a knob for radio volume and toggle switches for climate control settings. This is a much better solution than the all-touchscreen approach found in other Volkswagen group products. I am looking at you Golf GTI.
That being said, I did find the center touchscreen to sometimes be a bit slow to react to my touch or I had to touch the screen multiple times to get the desired result. That could just be user error, and if I had more time with the vehicle, it may not be an issue, but it was a mild annoyance.
Other than that, I found that everything was easy to use.
Is it a Porsche?
It may have taken me twenty years to come around, but the 2024 Cayenne S deserves that iconic crest on the hood. The day after I drove this Cayenne, I got to drive the GT4 RS. Obviously, the Cayenne doesn’t have that level of performance. But the GT4 RS has a much narrower focus. The GT4 RS will beat the Cayenne around a track and attract a bigger crowd at a car show. But it doesn’t have the practicality, comfort, room, technology, or usefulness of the Cayenne. I could feel the Porsche DNA in both vehicles, even though they have very different missions in life.
Value
The 2024 Cayenne S is not what anyone would call inexpensive. But if you compare it to a Bentley Bentayga or an Aston Martin DBX, the Porsche is by far the better buy. The Cayenne S can be your one vehicle to do it all. You want a luxury cruiser; it can do that. You want something that handles like a sports car; it can do that. It is an impressive machine. It is so impressive that my non-Cayenne loving self has been spending a dangerous amount of time on the configurator trying to come up with my perfect spec. If the 2024 Cayenne S is good enough to convince me, then I am fairly sure it will be good enough to convince you.
Thanks again to Porsche Main Line for the opportunity to spend the day with this SUV.
Images: Joe Kucinski
