Indian Cars, Bikes

The Porsche Cayenne is one of the best sports SUVs. Its fast and has quite alot of technology. It is quite good off-road too. The only chink in the Cayenne’s armour was the high running costs but Porsche seems to have resolved that by plonking Audi’s 3.0 liter V6 Turbo Diesel engine in the Cayenne.

The turbocharged diesel engine that is hooked up to a standard Tiptronic-S automatic gearbox develops an output of 240HP and a maximum torque of 550NM. The Cayenne Diesel returns an average consumption of 9.3 liters per 100km with CO2 at 244 grams per kilometer.

Porsche said that the decision to introduce a diesel variant of the Cayenne “was taken in response to changed legal regulations especially in European markets, resulting in tax incentives for vehicles with diesel engines.”

The firm also noted that “Porsche’s stake in the Volkswagen Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of modern diesel engines for passenger cars, has opened up new opportunities to utilize diesel technology.”

The new Cayenne Diesel will initially be offered only in Europe but Porsche officials said that preparations for market introduction in other countries are underway. In Europe, the new Cayenne with diesel drive will be available from February 2009 with a base price of around $60,000.