2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel - Green With Envy

Porsche did it right with the Cayenne diesel.

This is an outstanding SUV to drive, worth every penny of its $56,725 base price. Any throttle application conjures all 240 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque from the Audi-sourced engine, and the eight-speed automatic simply selects the highest gear that can take advantage of it. Given the diesel’s low-rpm nature, a hard launch means you go from first through fifth and just rocket down the street. It’s Hellaciously fun while returning good fuel mileage.

2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel

Porsche faithful should by now have generally accepted the Cayenne. However, they might wonder whether a diesel fits in. Our answer: yes. It’s quick off the line and, except for torque and low rev limit, You’d never know you were in an oil-burning ride. The engine is much too refined and quite to tell unless you either have canine hearing or you hold an ear up to the hood, especially since our test vehicle featured “additional thermal and sound-deadening insulation” as a $1,120 option.

Any throttle application conjures all 240 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque from the Audi-sourced engine, and the eight-speed automatic simply selects the highest gear that can take advantage of it

Similar to Jeep’s new Grand Cherokee diesel, whether-the diesel Cayenne is worth the price differential is another matter. There is a $3,000 markup vs. the V6 Cayenne, which is rated at 16/23 mpg, the diesel at 20/29. Towing capacities with the eight-speed Tiptronic are the exact same across the Cayenne range: 7,716 pounds.

2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel back

Regardless, we enjoyed every minute behind its wheel and were pleased to find the engine does not rob it of character or useable performance. Yes, it is a different type of performance and feel when you throttle up, but there’s enough torque to push you back in your seat and make you smile.

Porche’s diesel-powered sport Ute accomplishes its mission without sacrificing the attributes that put the Cayenne in general at the top of its relevant food chain.

This certainly does not feel like “the poor man’s” Cayenne that you might have imagined it as. Porche’s diesel-powered sport Ute accomplishes its mission without sacrificing the attributes that put the Cayenne in general at the top of its relevant food chain.