Entry Level Porsche Cayenne Lives On
Quietly tucked in the corner of the Porsche booth at the 2014 LA Auto Show is the Cayenne.
Not the Cayenne S, the Cayenne GTS, the Cayenne E-Hybrid or the Cayenne Turbo. No, this is just the regular, naturally aspirated V6 Cayenne the world assumed had been put out to pasture in North America. Well, not so fast. Porsche claims it was never discontinued; it just hadn’t yet been released yet with the new 2015 redesign.
Now on sale, the Cayenne comes standard with 18-inch wheels and a 3.6-liter naturally aspirated V6 engine making 300 HP and 295 lb-ft of torque. Available exclusively with all-wheel drive, the Cayenne is equipped with Porsche’s eight-speed tiptronic automatic that is good enough to propel the 4,488 lbs. SUV from 0 to 60 MPH in 7.7 seconds or 7.6 seconds with the sport chrono package. Sadly, it appears the six-speed manual transmission has not made a return for 2015.
Complete 2014 LA Auto Show Coverage
Pricing for the new entry-level 2015 Cayenne begins at $59,275 after destination charges that is almost $9,000 more than the 2014 Cayenne V6. But, the Cayenne does comes better equipped for 2015, a move surely made to better differentiate the base Cayenne from the smaller Macan crossover.
Although official fuel economy ratings have not been released, with the drivetrain and curb weights of the 2015 model being very similar to the 2014, we expect it should return roughly 17 MPG in the city and 23 MPG on the highway.
According to Porsche’s USA retail site, the Cayenne V6 is on sale as of now – or at least can be built virtually.
GALLERY: 2015 Porsche Cayenne V6
A 20+ year industry veteran, Mike rejoins the AutoGuide team as the Managing Editor. He started his career at a young age working at dealerships, car rentals, and used car advertisers. He then found his true passion, automotive writing. After contributing to multiple websites for several years, he spent the next six years working at the head office of an automotive OEM, before returning back to the field he loves. He is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), and Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA). He's the recipient of a feature writing of the year award and multiple video of the year awards.
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