I have to revise my impressions with the test car a little bit, after an even longer test drive today.

- Fuel (Diesel) consumption dropped further (I did a reset, so I had completely fresh values), around 10 liters / 100 km in the city and during slower driving (up to 150 kph) and never more than 12 Liters / 100 km on the Autobahn, driving at full throttle and speeds up to 240 kph (winter tires, there was a lot left...). Quite impressive for such a heavy truck and probably the reason why Diesel cars are so popular in Germany. So basically, you get a 800-900 km range with one fuel tank (100 l), which is amazing.

- Chassis is top notch, amazing. At higher speeds (I did 230-240 kph in narrow Autobahn curves on the winter tires), the truck feels rock solid, barely side roll, very calm and in my opinion better planted than the Macan Turbo at those speeds. Amazing ride, a true Porsche.

- Most pleasant cruising(!) speed is around 210 kph. No kidding. Truck feels perfectly planted, calm, very low noise from engine and/or tires/wind and it is just relaxing. Very nice vehicle for longer rides.

- Brake System shows no weakness, feels very firm. It also lacks that "soft" feel the Macan has in specific situations.

- Acceleration from standstill(!) is a disappointment. While the Macan Turbo jumps forward like a rocket when you fully press the throttle from standstill, the S Diesel takes a second of inactivity (and I really mean ONE SECOND) before it picks up acceleration. You won't win any drag races or red light races with this truck I'm afraid. I tried Sport, Sport Plus and even that trick where I don't fully press the throttle but use more of a linear fast paddle usage approach. No success, that second is there if the car starts from standstill and there is nothing you can do about it. Maybe Porsche wants to protect the drivetrain from too much torque stress but it is a very very annoying setup and it would be one reason why personally, I would not get the S Diesel if I had a choice. This setup actually ruins a bit the S Diesel driving experience in my opinion  but my wife says she can live with it, especially after she realized how much less the S Diesel consumes in comparison to her Macan Turbo.

Overall, I envy Whoopsy that he has a Turbo S, it is so much better and faster than the S Diesel. However, everything else, is really fantastic. The Cayenne has reached a quality and driving experience level which is unique in this segment. I wonder how Porsche will make the next generation better because the current generation is already impressive.


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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Audi R8 V10 Plus (2017), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)