mReview: Porsche Cayenne Coupe - No Complaints

Porsche’s Cayenne has been the moneymaker for the company for quite some time now and with this latest version in a sleek Coupe body-style, I see record sales numbers in Porsche’s near future. 

Over the years, the Cayenne has also developed a distinctive look for itself that has seen the car mature from the questionable appearance of the original to what it is now. Especially in this updated Coupe guise, it’s a handsome vehicle with clean lines and a premium feel thanks to the Porsche badge adorning the bonnet. 

The Cayenne Coupe has Matrix LED headlights as standard and muscular haunches over the front wheels. Porsche says the Coupe’s design “takes up the iconic silhouette of the 911” which honestly is a bit of a reach and more marketing speak than anything but the Coupe is undeniably sleeker than the non-Coupe variant. 

The rear tailgate is where all of the aesthetic changes have been focused on. Where the Cayenne has a standard boxy SUV rear end with a conventional, vertical tailgate, the Cayenne Coupe has a sloping roofline and a more hatch-like tailgate. I prefer the Coupe’s look as the trimmed proportions have a slimming effect on the whole car making it look more compact than the non-Coupe.

The refreshed interior is as refined and polished as you might expect from a Porsche with all the major touch points finished in leather or metal. The Sport Chrono Package comes as standard as well which gives you the iconic analogue clock in the middle of the dash. As is standard fare with these new Porsches, the car is also fitted with the 12.65-inch curved digital gauge cluster dubbed the Porsche Driver Experience. 

Physical buttons on the steering wheel are so nice to have nowadays.

The digital gauge cluster is paired with the centre touchscreen display for the infotainment system and there is an optional 10.9-inch touchscreen display for the passenger available too a la Mercedes’ Hyperscreen. Through those screens, you can access the Cayenne Coupe’s infotainment system as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to blast your tunes through the standard Bose Surround Sound System which sounds an absolute treat. 

Lots of space in the back for passengers or child seats. Plenty of boot space too.

Though there are screens galore, unlike many new cars nowadays, the Cayenne Coupe has a good mix of physical buttons and touch buttons which make operating the car’s various functions much easier and much safer. The fit and finish of the interior also just make for a really comfortable, seamless, and simply nice experience for the users which is also something many new cars fail to achieve. 

As was the case when I drove the new Cayenne recently in Malaysia (which you can read about here), I am most thoroughly impressed with just how well put together the entire car is. If this car had a skeleton, there wouldn’t be a bad bone in it anywhere. 

The powertrain is incredibly refined, never getting out of sorts and never feeling brash or vulgar in any way. The twin-turbocharged 3-litre V6 makes 349hp and 500Nm of torque that sends the power to the ground through an 8-speed automatic ‘box. The straight-line performance is more than decent for an SUV too with 0-100km/h dispensed in just 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 248km/h. 

The gear lever has been replaced by this little nipple mounted next to the gauge cluster.

At high speed, driving the Cayenne Coupe is a doddle. The optional adaptive air suspension and super-light steering combined are an absolute weapon for soaking up road imperfections and turning every drive into a calm and composed affair. The chassis itself is unflappable and never feels out of its depth at any speed, filling you with confidence to drive the Cayenne Coupe to the limit. 

Turn the dial to change drive modes or press the button for some instant go.

The powertrain is just buttery smooth, delivering the power in a clean and linear fashion without any drama whatsoever. Even the auto start-stop is barely noticeable and second only in unobtrusiveness to the Suzuki Swift Sport (a funny comparison I know but you can read about it here). Should you want the Cayenne Coupe to be as garish as it can be, all you have to do is hit the Sport Response button on the steering wheel to get the full beans for up to 20 seconds at a time. 

Just as I was after the Malaysia drive, I am simply impressed at how much of a feat of engineering the Cayenne Coupe is. Even though the car on test was the base model, it’s still extremely well put together and a real insight into just how good cars can be. 

Should you be interested in picking up one of these, you’d be pretty spoilt for choice. There are no less than six distinct versions of the Cayenne Coupe with ever-increasing power figures and price tags to suit your taste and budget (unless of course, you’re a poor journalist like me in which case I can’t afford any of them). But after testing the Cayenne in both Coupe and non-Coupe trim, I say the base model would work for you just fine. 

Read More: mReview: Porsche Cayenne Coupé Platinum Edition - The Little SUV That Could

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