Porsche Utility Vehicle Cars

With the pandemic still looming over our heads, 2021 was a pretty action-packed year for the auto industry. Sure, you had challenges, with automakers having to contend with issues like chip shortages, causing delays to consumers. But regardless, the show had to go on and we got some pretty cool cars making their debut, predominantly towards the latter half of 2021.

Let’s get one thing out of the way, 2021 really was also the year, when the market as a whole began to embrace EV’s and you could see several automakers both the legacy as well as EV startups bring several new models to market. Having said that, we did see some pretty cool ICE cars, also make their debut. Now there were several cars that made headlines this year, it was very difficult to pick out the best ones, but the cars on this list definitely stood out. Here’s our list of some of the most highly anticipated and important cars that were unveiled in 2021.

Porsche just unveiled the latest iteration of its popular Cayenne performance SUV, and this time around, it’s got extra electric oomph to back it. Once again taking inspiration from the Earth-shattering 918 Spyder, the new Cayenne mounts a plug-in hybrid powertrain under the hood, with a 3.0-liter V-6 making 340 horsepower and an electric motor making 136 horsepower. Together they produce upwards of 462 horsepower and 700 Nm of torque (516 pound-feet of torque). A run from 0 to 62 mph is done in 5 seconds flat, while the 0-to-60 mph run is done in 4.7 seconds. Top speed is rated at 253 km/h (157 mph).

Meanwhile, the Cayenne PHEV will travel 44 km (27 miles) and achieve a top speed of 135 km/h (84 mph) using the electric motor only. To help it get there, the battery capacity was increased to 14.1 kWh, as compared to the 10.8 kWh of the previous model, a 30-percent increase overall. Plug it into a 230-volt connection, and it’ll charge in a little under eight hours, while a 7.3-kW charger reduces that time to 2.3 hours.

Active hang-on AWD helps it grip, as does the standard Porsche Active Suspension Management system. Options include the Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control roll stabilization system, as well as a trailer hitch that lets you to tow up to 3.5 metric tons (7,716 pounds).

Inside, you’ll find a heads-up display, adaptive cruise control, and massaging seats, while the exterior is blinged out with 22-inch alloy wheels.

Sales kick off next year starting at just under $80,000.

Porsche updated the Cayenne late in its second-gen life cycle, so come 2018 the brand ushered in a new-gen model that changed very little on the outside. But, in this case, that was okay because the Cayenne’s appearance was still relatively fresh. And, what happened beneath the skin was much more important. Updates included rear axle steering as standard equipment, a three-chamber suspension system, two new engines with more power, and a 48-volt suspension system. Even with nothing more than minor updates outside, the Cayenne is still a pleasure to look at and more than worthy of a tiny place in your life. So, we’ve picked a wallpaper that we think you’ll like. If you don’t like that one, you can pick one from the extensive gallery below too.

The Porsche Macan GTS may be slotted between the Macan S and Macan Turbo in terms of pricing, and power, but its track-focused looks, impressive performance characteristics, and all-around hyped-up looks will likely make the GTS the most desirable of the Macan trim levels. And, now, you can have it on your desktop.

Porsche introduced the third-gen Cayenne in August of 2017 with a mildly revised exterior, new technology, and a revised engine lineup that’s good for 340 ponies in base form or 440 ponies in S form. At the time I reviewed the new Cayenne, I speculated that Porsche would have to come up with a solution for the Turbo model as it needed to squeeze a considerable amount of extra power from that 2.9-liter V-6 or would have to go with a V-8 as it has in the past. Just a couple of weeks after the third-gen Cayenne debuted, Porsche showed up to the Frankfurt Auto Show with the new Cayenne Turbo, and as it turns out, I’m better than Miss Cleo, as the new Turbo sure does make use of a V-8 that’s good for 550 ponies – an improvement of 30 ponies and there’s some extra torque on tap too. More importantly, however, is the fact that this V-8 is new, and displaces 4.0-liters – about 800cc less than the V-8 in the last-gen model.

Of course, there’s not a lot of difference between the base, S, and Turbo models, but there are a few differences to point out. It does get the same headlights and the same general fascia, however, those side intakes are much larger on the Turbo model, and the grill traverses the full width between the side intakes instead of being split by the fascia on the ends. There are no fog lights to speak of up front, and the radiator grille itself is much more open in comparison. In the rear, the only real differences include the rear diffuser, which is now more defined and the square exhaust outlets. 21-inch wheels that are exclusive to the Turbo model can be found in each corner and match the wide wheel arches quite nicely, I might add. But, there’s more than exterior looks to talk about here, including some nice extras inside and that new V-8 under to hood, so let’s talk more about that.

Some people see the infiltration of compact SUVs into the luxury realm as a bit of a waste. They are only marginally larger than hatchbacks, get worse fuel economy than most hatchbacks and simply aren’t as composed as most hot hatchbacks. But most people haven’t driven the BMW X4 and the all-new Porsche Macan; specifically, the Macan S Diesel and the X4 xDrive30d.

Steve Sutcliffe had the opportunity to not only test out both SUVs, but he also got a chance to test them out back-to-back. What’s more, Steve refrained from doing the typical "how fast does it go" test. Though he did get into straight-line speed, he also tested out their light off-road capabilities, roominess and handling.

The BMW X4 xDrive30d carries with it 258 horses, 560 Nm (413 pound-feet) of torque, a 0-to-62-mph time of 5.8 seconds and a 234-km/h (145-mph) top speed. The Porsche Macan S Diesel carries 258 horsepower, 580 Nm (428 pound-feet) of torque, a 0-to-62-mph sprint of 6.3 seconds and a 230-km/h (142-mph) top speed. On paper, it appears as if the X4 will trot to an easy victory, but Sutcliffe goes beyond paper to see if the X4 can hold up in real life too.

Check out the video to see the results of the test.

It looks like Anderson Germany is getting ready for the start of winter in Europe, as today the tuner unveiled a very cool kit based on the Porsche Cayenne, called "White Dream Edition." As the name suggests, the kit is all about showing how cool the Cayenne looks in nearly all white inside and out.

Before turning the car completely white, Anderson Germany did some a\little bit of playing under the hood by adding a new middle three-pipe valve exhaust system and remapping the ECU. With these upgrades completed, the Cayenne now delivers a total of 600 horsepower — a 100-horsepower boost over stock. With this output, the Cayenne White Dream Edition is 50 horsepower more powerful than the mighty Cayenne Turbo S.

Along with the under-hood changes, the Cayenne White Dream Edition also received an aggressive wide-body kit made from carbon fiber, new wheels and some nice improvements on the interior.

Click past the jump to read more about the Porsche Cayenne White Dream Edition by Anderson Germany.

We are still awaiting our first "official" peek at the Porsche Macan, but all of the spy shots have pretty much given all of its details away. For 2015, it looks as if Porsche is preparing to debut another SUV in the form of a revised Cayenne. We don’t expect this to be a complete overhaul, but we do expect it to receive a healthy and much needed facelift.

The 2015 Cayenne, which we expect to see hit the show circuit sometime in 2014, will carry a nearly identical design as the Macan. The most notable of similarities, at least according to the spy shots, are the taillights. Much like its little brother — the Macan — the Cayenne has some stickers shaped just like the current Cayenne’s taillight covering up the revised taillights. What is it with VW products and wearing pasties over the goodies?

We anticipate the 2015 Cayenne to carry the current engine lineup into the 2013 model year, but we do expect a slight power increase across the board.

Click past the jump to see more spy shots up close

Okay LiLo, we gave you two chances with driving Porsches. First you smashed one into a semi-truck, claiming its brakes failed, but Porsche decided to a little investigation of its own only to find out that the brakes were in top order. Next you nipped a Ford Mustang with a Panamera, leaving a scratch on the man’s car, which he is claiming he will leave as a souvenir. Hmm, we wonder if he got it autographed too.

Now somehow LiLo managed to get her incompetent driving behind into the driver’s seat of yet another Porsche, which she is not allowed to drive regardless, and decided to play bumper cars with a pedestrian. This time her weapon of choice was a Porsche Cayenne and her victim was a young man standing outside of the Dream Hotel in New York.

Fortunately, she hit the guy at a low speed according to the report and the guy is recovering in a hospital. Lindsay did pull off a big no-no following the accident, as after someone checked out the damage on the car, she simply pulled away, getting herself a misdemeanor leaving-the-scene ticket. From the updated report, the surveillance camera at the hotel shows that the "victim" of the accident really seemed to embellish it, so chances were she may not have even hit him. There is an investigation underway.

Regardless of if she hit him or not, how many Porsches is she going to go through before she finally learns that No. 1 she can’t drive, No. 2 she’s rich enough not to need to drive, and No. 3 she needs to hire a freaking driver!

Fortunately in the latter two accidents neither any people nor any Porsche’s were seriously injured.

For those that think Volkswagen was kidding when it said it was time to start expanding Porsche’s lineup, this may come as a surprise to you, but Porsche is again expanding the Cayenne lineup. For those of us that anticipated the changes, this new addition might come as a surprise – particularly to U.S. buyers that see diesel-powered vehicles as sloth-like utility buggies.

Porsche has just released that it is ready to unveil the all new Porsche Cayenne S Diesel. Yes, that’s right, a diesel-powered Cayenne S. This isn’t your relatively slow Cayenne Diesel with its 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 diesel powerplant. Rather this is a true performance model in every sense of the word.

We expect to see this model show its face in public at the 2012 Paris Motor show, which kicks off later on this month. We also expect this to be a huge deal in Porsche’s lineup, given it can perform as an S-badged Porsche should, yet still provide the fuel economy and emissions benefits afforded by switching to this gasoline-refinement byproduct as its fuel.

Click past the jump to read our full review and find out if this is just another rapitty-tapitty diesel or if this is truly a performance vehicle worthy of the S designation.

In the past few weeks, Porsche has been busy developing both the 918 Spyder and the upcoming Cayenne Junior - aka Macan. Today, our spy photographers have caught the car testing one more time, and luckily, they have also managed to take the first shots of the interior.

The interior images aren’t as clear as all of us would like them to be, but they are still enough to see that the next Macan will be stuffed with all of the latest technology. Some of these elements may even be borrowed from the new Boxster’s interior, including the information on the on-board computer, communication, audio settings, and the navigation system being displayed on a high-resolution TFT color screen. Other elements include a 3-spoke sports steering wheel and all kinds of leather goodness.

As for the engines to be used in the next Macan, Porsche has already confirmed that the SUV will get a 370 HP 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged V6 engine for the Turbo version, as well as a new four-cylinder engine with an output of about 220 HP. There will also be a diesel version for markets like Europe, and a hybrid version that could combine a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder engine with an electric motor.

The new Porsche Macan will go into production in 2013, so we should get tons more information before that time comes. Stay tuned!

When you pay a lot of money for a brand new car, you don’t expect to have any problems with it at all. In the real world, however, bad things can happen, even for high performance vehicles from Porsche. The Stuttgart based company has announced a pretty serious recall for their Panamera and Cayenne Turbo models (all 2012 Cayenne models and Panamera Turbo and Turbo S models from 2011 and 2012), to the tune of 270 US units.

The recall was issued because the turbine wheels from the turbocharging system may fracture under certain conditions. Such a fracture can cause a chain reaction in which the turbine shaft cracks, oil is sucked into the exhaust system causing smoke, and possibly a fire.

The problem was detected when a series of fires started in Syria in October and later on a racetrack. During some X-ray inspection, Porsche discovered a series of 37 worldwide failures of the turbine wheels, including three in the U.S.

Porsche is advising the clients with the affected vehicles to take them to the nearest dealership where they will have the turbine replaced, at what we are assuming is free of charge.

Despite recently pulling out of the illustrious Iranian car market a few months ago, Porsche managed to achieve some incredible sales results for the first quarter of the year. That impressive sales trend has continued with the German company posting more great revenue figures for the first six months of the year.

Delivering 30,231 vehicles for the first quarter, the latest results show that sales continued to rise throughout the preceding months with an additional 38,940 units being sold, bringing the total six month tally up to 69,171. In comparison to last year, that’s an impressive increase of 14%.

Furthermore, Porsche managed to sell 12,699 cars in the month of June, an 18.9% increase over June last year. With the recent launch of the new Porsche 911/991, no less than 14,338 911’s were sold over this time period representing an increase of 27.4% from last year.

Unsurprisingly, the Porsche Cayenne was the brand’s best revenue raiser selling 34,727 vehicles, another great increase of 15.5% over the same time last year.

While speaking about the issue, Porsche marketing chief Bernhard Maier stated, “Porsche successfully continued on its growth path in the first half of the year. However, we cannot separate ourselves from the economy as a whole. With regard to the European economy in particular, we will continue to monitor developments closely and respond quickly if necessary. Nevertheless, we are currently planning for double-digit growth in 2012.”

After a relatively busy first few months of 2012, Vorsteiner has been relatively quiet the last couple of weeks. Apparently, that absence from the news only gave them more time to prepare their new tuning programs, like this one for the Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Called the V-CT program, the German tuner has built a new - and pretty extensive - aerodynamic package for the hulking Porsche SUV. If you didn’t notice by now, this program’s pretty stocked with all-new components.

To give an idea of what we’re in store for, the V-CT program is made up of an aero kit that includes a lower front spoiler with integrated brake cooling ducting, new side skirts with carbon fiber blades, and a carbon diffuser section for the rear bumper. From there, the front spoiler can also be specified with either a paintable or visible carbon center section.

For now, that’s all the details Vorsteiner is ready to unveil; more details are expected to be divulged soon. Certainly, it’s something that we’re looking forward to, particularly if Vorsteiner has any performance modifications on tap for a Cayenne Turbo that already produces a stout 500 horsepower and 516 lb/ft of torque.

Just a few weeks ago, we teased you about Porsche bringing its popular-in-Europe clean diesel engine to the U.S., and installing it in the Cayenne. Not only is this engine powerful, boasting 240 horsepower, 406 pound-feet of torque, and towing 7,716 pounds, but it is also economical, getting 28 mpg.

According to our colleagues over at Car and Driver, we are essentially just getting Europe’s hand-me-downs. Much like a big brother does with clothes that are too small for him, European Porsche drivers have grown out of the 3.0-liter V-6 diesel that we are just now getting and are moving into a larger engine, a full two cylinders larger that is.

Yup, Porsche will be adding in a V-8 diesel option to the Cayenne lineup in the “very near future,” according to Car and Driver’s report. It looks like the most likely and cost-effective diesel engine to offer is the Audi 4.2-liter V-8 that cranks out 346 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, given Porsche and Audi are in bed under the VW umbrella. Given how well the smaller 3.0-liter diesel performs now, this engine would make the Cayenne diesel a screamer – as much as a diesel can be a screamer. It would also thrust its towing rating toward a truck-like 10,000-pound mark.

With that said, there are also rumors afloat that another VW affiliate, Bentley, may be working directly with Porsche to develop this new diesel engine.

Now, before you start getting all excited for this large diesel engine, you can forget about it. Porsche does not appear to have any plans on bringing this larger diesel engine to the U.S. This is no surprise, as the European market is easier for Porsche to distribute to, as well as the fact that Euro drivers are accustomed to buying these clean diesels than U.S. buyers are. Maybe one day the European market will outgrow this engine and we will finally get it here, but the chances are slim.

About a week ago, we teased you with a review on the upcoming 2013 Porsche Cayenne Diesel and its incredible 7.2-second 0-to-60 time. That was just the very tip of the iceberg, as now it is time to get into what makes this SUV a Porsche, the GTS model.

The GTS is slated to be the middle ground between the S model and the Turbo model, but remains based on the S model. However, don’t start thinking you are just getting a glorified Cayenne S when you buy the GTS, as it has some significant performance upgrades over the Cayenne S model. These upgrades include minor tweaks to the engine to squeeze out some more power and suspension modifications.

In addition to performance mods, the Cayenne GTS also features some visual and interior upgrades to make it well worth the extra money it will run.

As we said, there is only a little bit of information to release at this time, but we will definitely keep you up to date on any addition information that Porsche releases at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show and in the days leading up to the show, which starts on April 24th.

Updated 04/27/2012: Porsche has unveiled a new promo video for their latest Cayenne GTS presenting the new SUV in action. Enjoy!

Hit the jump to read the full review.