If you find large, aggressive 4x4s offensive, you had best look away now. Porsche isn’t making any apologies for the way its new, second-generation Cayenne looks, or, for that matter, how much it costs. It’s an £81,589 investment in its Turbo form, and that’s before you’ve opened the glossy options brochure and added a tally of luxurious extras.

The original Cayenne looked like the unfortunate result of a collision between a Porsche 911 and a Volkswagen Touareg — the face of the former grafted on to the body of the latter. This one has a style that’s a lot more cohesive.

What the Cayenne always did well was go like the clappers, and once again it delivers performance that’s positively indecent for a car of such scale. With a new direct-injection V8 petrol engine under its bonnet, and 494 horsepower to hand, the Cayenne Turbo dashes to 62mph in 4.7 seconds, matching a 911 Carrera off the line.

Even that isn’t as impressive as the way it goes round corners. The first Cayenne was no slouch on a bend; with 110kg chopped out of the body weight, it feels even more nimble. Porsche has overcome the effect of the top-heavy body with a mind-boggling array of technology. For instance, standard on the Turbo (and a £2,330 option elsewhere) is air suspension with PASM (Porsche active stability management, if you were wondering). That’s just one of many add-ons, each with an alphabet soup abbreviation and a sobering price.

Understanding exactly how they all work and interact with one another is for serious tech-heads only and you’ll never get near the grip threshold. In slippery conditions, however, you get an inkling of some very clever stuff happening as the computers apportion power to where it’s needed to help the car keep its composure. The ride quality on the air suspension is impressive: the Cayenne is flat and poised like a sports car in corners, but swallows up lumps, bumps and potholes as though they were not there.

The weight loss has helped Porsche to tackle some of the Cayenne’s more excessive drinking habits and boosted efficiency so much that the new Turbo emits less CO2 than the outgoing entry-level V6.

Substantial improvements have been made to the interior, too, with chunky metal vents and a prominent central console inspired by the Carrera GT supercar and Panamera four-seater. If you’re weighing up the extra cost of a smaller-engined Cayenne over a Touareg, you need look no further: the Cayenne’s cabin is way more stylish than that of the rather conservative VW, even if space and practicality are about the same.

Ultimately, though, the Cayenne scores where it counts — posing value.

Click the title for the source