2005 Porsche Cayenne Test Drive

More Spice, Less Sauce

The Porsche Cayenne might be sacrilegious to some, but it's hard to argue with the recipe.

Off Road

We explained earlier that the pneumatic suspension is the one to get for on-road driving, but you'd also want it for off-roading, because it gives the Cayenne nearly 3 more inches of potential ground clearance (8.5 inches versus 10.75 inches for the air-suspension model).

All Cayennes get constant all-wheel drive, with more than 60% of the power normally sent to the rear wheels, which imparts a sports car feel to performance. But off road the system changes character. Here Porsche Traction Management (PTM) kicks in when the driver switches the transmission to low range, changing the split up to 50/50 with the front/rear differential lock activated and allowing all power to be sent to any single wheel as needed.

A truly unique system allows the electronic deactivation of the anti-roll bars so that there's less bounce side to side during driving on exceedingly choppy roads. This was an absolutely necessary system because the Cayenne's suspension was made to handle very much like a sports car and would otherwise be much too rigid to work on pocked or rocky dirt roads. (The anti-roll bars automatically re-engage at speeds over 19 mph.)

We took the Cayenne into some gnarly backwoods circumstances, crawling up mud-encrusted hills that would be difficult to ascend on foot. The Cayenne S's tremendous low-end torque meant gently massaging the throttle was all it took to churn through the muck. And the low-range first gear is so low that descending roller-coaster drops could be achieved by merely laying off the throttle and letting compression braking take hold.

In all, should any drivers actually want to take their Porsche into the mud and grime, they wouldn't have a thing to worry about. However, since we all know that off-roading in even high-end Range Rovers is rare, it's best to think of these capabilities as coming in handy during that next snowstorm in Aspen, when the Cayenne's simple, constant all-wheel drive and directional electronics should keep this Porsche motoring while the 911 stays safe and warm in the garage.