The Porsche Cayenne Platinum Edition: Full Review, Specs, and Driving Impressions
This review might make me seem biased but I’m generally willing to lay my take on it and lay before the firing range in every sense of the word. Now that we have gotten that out of the way let me just note that it has truly been a while since I drove a car that brought me a sheer smile from ear to ear since collecting it for my test – and the Porsche Cayenne Platinum Edition truly did not disappoint in that regard.
The setting for this drive took place in Clarens, most notable for its twists and turns through the Maluti mountain regions and I believed that it would be one of the best places to put the Cayenne out through its paces; little did I know that mother nature would throw in a spanner in the works in confirming what I already felt.
If you have driven the R712 between Harrismith and Clarens, you would know how unpredictable, dark and lonely the stretch of road can be through the Golden Gate Highlands National Park and the last thing you would want is to be travelling that road late in the evening, with the rain pouring down as it did on Friday evening. The daunting through of trusting your driving while dodging the occasional pothole wrapped together with a bit of prayer you did at your last petrol stop in the hopes that you arrive safely to your destination ever so floating over your head with every minute.
Now that we have set the scene, let me break it down; the Porsche Cayenne Platinum Edition is not marketed as a performance SUV by any counts, but rather focuses on more styling in its offering; so you won’t get a growling sound as you barrel down the road in the 3.0L V6 that sits snug in this car. The Platinum Edition generally includes modern exclusive details over the ‘normal’ Cayenne, with details such as inlays in the intake grills, contoured sports seats in the front that provide an great balance of Sportiness and comfort, the Porsche emblem embedded nicely in the head rests, a well-laid out center console that generally becomes your main control center in the front between the drive and the passenger along with finishes on the flooring of the door panels on all sides – one way to note that it’s not the “normal one” by any accounts.
The interior feels like it’s Porsche standards with leather laid out between the dash, seats and door panels and feels soft to the touch and the piano black that wrapped around the gear lever along with all the buttons that one would require to control either the climate or drive controls, if you don’t resort to using the clearly assigned ones on the steering wheel that is. It didn’t feel like one would get worried about the finishes in the car, no matter how long they wanted to keep it.
I mentioned how the Platinum Edition is not really marketed as a performance SUV but holds its fair weight on the road – as I was equally shocked when I drove through a puddle of water that I did not see in the dead of night, through the heavy rains and I was shook at how the stability control of the car kept me safe through the drive. The Porsche Stability Management(PSM) System is noted as being one of the best through the 911 models and I was oddly surprised that this DNA had made its way through the SUV segments, helping in avoiding a possible hydroplane scenario that could have easily played out that night – then again, what do I expect when piloting a easily powerful 3.0L V6 that manages its power quiet well through all four-wheels.
As an advanced electronic system, the PSM system can detect wheel slip within milliseconds and is known to react faster than any human could ever while maintaining the intended path without me, as the driver, feeling like I am fighting a bull through the incident.
The only issue that I had with the car was notably the slight lag when putting your foot down to do quick overtakes, but I managed to mitigate this by switching the car into “Sport” mode – weirdly I did not see the need to drive in “Sport Plus” though this would have allowed me to drive at maximum performance at a full 250kW & 450Nm of torque, with a stiffer suspension, more direct steering and throttle response.
The other surprising thing is the economy of the Cayenne’s – I managed a very sane 13.6L/100KM through the week, which did not feel like it(considering that a full tank gave me an average of 660KM’s), impressive considering that it does not have a standard mild-hybrid system in place.
Barring the slight power lag when driving on “normal” mode, I do think that the Porsche Cayenne Platinum Edition is well equipped for anyone looking for a performance SUV that would potentially leaving you grinning ear-to-ear and is well built in quality from the bottom up. The car is laid out comfortable and you tend to feel small in respect to how ‘roomy’ the inside feel, with ample seating for all 5 occupants whether seated in the front-passenger or the rear seats.
The bonus is that Porsche South Africa also includes a 3 Year/100 000km Driveplan on some of their models(only available from accredited Porsche Approved Dealer) to ensure that consumers have a worry-free drive when they leave the dealer floor.
Priced from R 1 745 000 through Porsche SA’s pre-owned.
