Andy E.

Last night, I had the opportunity to attend the extravagant unveiling of the new 2011 Cayenne at Lauzon Porsche here in Montreal. Joe Lawrence, president & CEO of Porsche Cars Canada was present to deliver a keynote speech at the event describing all the new features of the 2011 Pepper.

Everything was "Cayenne Inspired". From glass vases on every table containing actual whole cayenne peppers, fire-breathing and juggling circus acts in the parking area to the beautiful models dressed in "cayenne pepper red" gowns circulating within the crowd (Pictures to follow), the event was far from a traditional new car unveiling.

The new Cayenne is truly starting to grow on me. At first glance, I was not too impressed with the exterior styling however after last night's closer look, I've "warmed up" to her. I don't know if it was the close proximity of the real cayenne peppers or the gorgeous models prancing about but emotions got stirred. Here are a few of the new design cues that I picked up on last night.

Interior
Truly aircraft-inspired and Panamera-related, the interior beats the pre-2011 models by miles. The switches are neatly grouped together and easily identified by the aircraft style of white lettering on black buttons. The oversized tachometer mounted front & center is reminiscent of the early 911 and Porsche's race history. The console-mounted grab handles look nice but are a bit bulky and slightly outward-projecting for this newly-refined interior (as was also noted by a fellow rennlister elsewhere in this forum).

Engine Bay
The engine bay hasn't changed much as compared to the pre-2011 models with the difference that the plastic cowling is less evident and the engine designation badging is much smaller. Personally, I prefer the "older" generation look of the engine bay.

Exterior
The exterior is, let's just say, different. When the '03 Cayenne was launched years back, most of us (including myself) were appalled with the design. Who would ever think that years later, I'd actually own one? True, the GTS brought back memories from my teen-years back in the muscle-car era, however, an SUV is still an SUV, right?

From far, the new 2011 Cayenne looks like any Cayenne. There's no mistaking the fact that it is a Cayenne. Porsche chief of design Michael Mauer held on to Porsche's tradition of maintaining a basic shape of any model in their lineup for years to come.

The rear view of the new Cayenne does not tickle my fancy one bit. It IS, without a doubt IMHO, Asian-inspired. Driving home last night after the event, I was following the new Hyundai Tucson which I definitely mistook for a new Cayenne. The elongated and curved 'eye-like' taillights are horrid. I really wouldn't be surprised if the dealers end up displaying the Cayennes with their butt backed up against the showroom wall. Again, my $0.02

The front view with the bulging hood looks awesome. Rounded curves show off a bit of femininity but with muscular tones pronounced by the tough-looking hood and inward curving door panels. The headlight design is fresh and not carried-over from the early 911; as was the case with the first generation Cayenne.

The fender flares on the model that we viewed were not painted in body color and looked like something that was purchased from an off-road 4X4 supply shop and hastily stuck on. Definitely Harbor Freight-like cheap plastic here. Word of advice to anybody who purchases an '11 Cayenne? Have the dealer paint these flares to match the body paint.

The door-mounted mirrors take some getting used to as I've never quite seen them mounted on an SUV before. It almost makes the truck look "car-like" from far.

One thing that I saw last night was disappointing and inexcusable for a company like Porsche. It is definitely an engineering design issue and makes the part look as if it was mfd in a Hong Kong basement factory. The rear tailgate stamping shows the 'drawing' marks where the sheet metal was 'drawn' or 'formed' within the machine's die. Let me explain myself more clearly. The trailing edge of the tailgate along the bottom and sides have the 'stretch' marks showing where the metal was fatigued as it was formed from sheet steel to a finished part. The subsequent paint & clear coat application only magnifies this part as a definite weak-point of the truck's tailgate. This, IMHO, needs to be fixed now.

Overall, I like the truck. Would I buy one? The GTS is slated for arrival on our shores next year. If the design remotely resembles what I drive now, I may actually bite the bullet but not before arming myself with black mylar sheets or my teenager's taillight black-out spray paint to disguise those hideous rear red 'cat eyes'.

sws1

I'm about to get out of my 08 V6 lease and go into '11 S lease, so I'm interested in all the impressions I can get.

Saw it in person yesterday. Interior is MUCH better than current model. Exterior is not quite as new in person as the photos make it look. Love the front, but the back seems almost the same.

I could get a '10 GTS for the lease price as an '11 S. What to do?

rome

Nice review...I agree with all of what you've said, except the back is starting to grow on me... The darker and lower the car is, the better it looks IMO...

Not sure if you drove it at the event, but that is really where the treat is... The 8 speed transmission is nothing short of amazing. In sport mode, you touch the gas, and the RPM needle snaps to 4000K (rght on the big dial in front of you) and it instantly has so much torque... it is wicked... This design was quite purposeful, with the 4K mark dead center at the top of the dial...

In some ways, it reminds me of my 993 in the sense that when the tach is at 4k rpm or higher it just turns into a beast...and feels like when you step on it you are being projectiled by a giant spring...

7 and 8th gears are purely for economy driving at high speed...the top speed gear is 6.

Targa Tim

coming from the owner of an 08 CTT, the only reason for me to trade-in will be the excellent interior; otherwise, nothing else about the new Cayenne interests me at all.

Slow Guy

The deal killer for me is the fact the rear seats don't fold flat, not even close. I carry my dogs with me in the Pepper, that rear seat arrangement just won't work. I agree they needed to make the rear seat easier to use but this arrangement is a complete failure for me. I realize for many this is not an issue but for me it is.

It would take me a month to figure out what all those buttons did.

However, the dealer did have a nice '09 GTS w/ 19k mi. in Marine Blue on the lot.....

Andy E.

Bill, are you sure of this? I distintively remember Joe Lawrence remarking to all in his speech how great the new rear seats are when folding down as they don't require removal of the rear headrests to lie flat. Why would he lie about something like that?

One thing that I'm embarrassed to admit was that in all the "hoopla", I never had a chance to check this out properly. I did actually sit in one of the rear seats and it felt as if there was more room than in my GTS. False perception?

BSL

The seats DO fold down and now do so without having to remove the headrest. Unfortunately as Bill said, they don't fold down flat.

Also, there is more legroom in the new Cayenne versus the old.

Slow Guy

Yes, I am sure. They do fold much easier but they're nowhere close to flat. I spent about 10 min. w/ one of the salesmen checking this out as he wasn't sure off the top of his head.

Slow Guy

More importantly, why didn't you post more (close up) photos of the girls in the red dresses? Were they hostesses? If so, I need to talk to my dealer.....

Andy E.

LOL! You're the umpteenth person that mentioned this.

Put it this way, I was trying very hard to be a gentleman....

EnigmaWmn

Test drove a CTT for about 10-15 miles over the weekend. Loved the power (duh) and that's about all. Felt a little cramped in (and no, the gut you're looking at in the avatar isn't an issue over here ) & japanese(y) all throughout (maybe the lexus-like shifter & bunch of buttons?) The derriere still not growing on me. Didn't walk away with a burning desire to have it. Panamera is next, and while I realize that interiors are similar, I think the exterior is sexy as hell.

ltc

Have you looked at the Panamera from the rear? It makes the new P!g look sexy.

And, please, NO more pictures of Rosie O'Donnell

EnigmaWmn

No way. PanAm looks like the Chrysler Crossfire from the back. Better that, than a Hyundai or Infinity

No problem. It's either Rosie or the Speedo-Clad-ManBoobs

ltc

I MIGHT consider the Panamera once the proposed 2 door variant comes out and they fix the rear roof line.....of course I will never cast a shadow in a Porsche showroom again, so it's a bit of a moot point I suppose.


I'll take what's behind curtain # 3 then .... it can't be worse than either of those choices above.....no wait a minute, this is a trap isn't it?

EnigmaWmn

Of course it can be. Anything to rattle the oh, so fragile minds of the certain P!Gpen inhabitants