Some facelifts consist of nothing more than a pointless visual re-jig, while other refreshed cars, like the 2024 Porsche Cayenne really are more than a prettier face.
To be honest, we can only presume that it’s now prettier. Porsche hasn’t formally revealed the 2024 Cayenne, but it let some members of the media drive disguised cars in California. And while they weren’t able to see or photograph the cars without their camouflage to show us the front and rear light and bumper revisions, they were given a comprehensive rundown of some more important hardware upgrades heading the SUV’s way for the coming season.
And perhaps the weirdest of those is that the mid-range Cayenne has actually upsized from a V6 to a V8, while most automakers’ cars are going the other way. The S used to have a V8, but Porsche ditched it five years ago for a 2.9-liter V6 that offered all of the eight’s performance but none of the charm.
That V6 has gone, replaced by what seems to be a low-tune version of the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 already used in the GTS, Turbo, Turbo S E-Hybrid, and Turbo GT models. Where the old V6 S made 434 hp (440 PS) and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) the new V8 S is claimed to produce 469 hp (476 PS) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm), numbers that would make it even more powerful than the current 454 hp (460 PS) GTS, so expect that to get a boost, too. Car & Driver reports that it answers all of the criticisms of the old S thanks to its V8 soundtrack.
Related: 2024 Porsche Cayenne Coupe Spied, Will Debut Later This Year
More Muscle For Every Model
In fact, there are power upgrades across the board, according to the same report. The entry-level Cayenne’s 3.0-liter V6 is boosted from 335 hp (340 PS) to 349 hp (355 PS), and gains 11 percent more torque in the process, while the Turbo GT range-topper receives an extra 20 hp (20 PS), lifting total output to 651 hp (660 PS). Autocar’s Grek Kable has some bad news for power-hungry Europeans though. He reports that the Turbo GT will no longer be offered for sale there because it doesn’t comply with Euro 6 emissions regulations.
But if there was one model that really needed help, it was the E-Hybrid. A tiny 17-mile electric range and embarrassingly slow on-board charger left it looking seriously uncompetitive, and while enlarging the battery from 17.9 kWh to 25.9 kWh is unlikely to deliver class-leading EV range, it should add at least 10 miles. And despite the extra capacity it can be refilled more quickly thanks to a 11 kW on-board charger.
Bigger Wheels, But Allegedly Better Ride Comfort
Chassis upgrades reportedly include standard PASM dampers across the range, larger wheels for base cars (20s instead of 19s), and new dual-chamber springs for cars with air-suspension hardware. There’s also additional steering angle for the rear-axle steering system and tweaks to the torque vectoring feature.
But Porsche hasn’t spent all its time improving the stuff beneath the skin. The interior also gets a welcome update thanks to a curved digital gauge cluster, infotainment screen, passenger-side display, and dash-mounted gearshift toggle lifted from the all-electric Taycan. What it definitely doesn’t get is that car’s all-electric drivetrain. Porsche’s Macan EV has been delayed until 2024 and we probably won’t see a Cayenne EV for a couple of years after that.
We’ll get more comprehensive technical details when Porsche drops full undisguised pictures of the 2024 Cayenne and Cayenne Coupe sometime in the next few weeks, but on this evidence, it looks like Porsche will deliver some meaningful improvements to an SUV that was already its best selling vehicle in 2022.
