Porsche Cayenne: Spicy!

We found an interesting article about the success of the Porsche Cayenne: 'cause it's spicy!

Porsche now sells more Cayennes than the Boxster and 911 combined. With its speed and utility it's easy to see why.

For 2008, each of the Cayenne models get substantial power boosts, thanks to the incorporation of direct injection across the line of engines, but it's in real-world driving with the V-6 that this difference is most dramatic. With a larger, 3.6-liter narrow-angle V-6 engine making 290 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque, up 43 hp and 44 lb-ft from the 2006 model, the base Cayenne can reach 60 mph in 7.9 seconds with the automatic, more than a second shorter than before.The V-6 isn't scorching off the line, but it can fairly be called quite sprightly rather than just adequate, with a much meatier, useful mid-range that cuts down on the need for downshifts and makes overall drivability much better.

What makes this package even more attractive is that the base V-6 is still quite affordably priced, starting at $43,400. That's $2200 less than the Boxster and competitive with the Acura MDX, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz ML350, and Infiniti FX35, among others.

Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Porsche Cayenne

Source: Business Week, picture by Porsche

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