Your Old Cayenne Is A Better Off Roader Than You Give It Credit For
Porsche’s Cayenne has always been a decent off-roader, you know, for a car that spends most of its time in the school drop-off line.
The video below has been stuck floating around in my head all weekend, and I decided I finally had to talk about it. Mr. Hoover, a YouTube "personality" and writer recently tested the mettle his four-wheel-drive cadre by driving them up to the top of a ski hill. While his Chrysler Minivan and ancient Jeep Cherokee didn't make it to the top of the hill, he seemed reasonably surprised that his 958-generation Cayenne and old Merc ML55 AMG made it without trouble. Judging by the video, both of his old German SUVs would be capable of so much more than his 'tests' indicate.
First to be addressed is Hoovie's concerns regarding a 'blowout' in the Cayenne's air suspension. While no system is truly faultless, Porsche engineered a really good system with the Cayenne's air. Especially in comparison with air suspension systems from BMW and Audi, the Cayenne is far less likely to experience a failure of any kind. I would feel comfortable taking the Cayenne on much more hardy roads than these here. While they did drive the cars above the snow line on what seems to be a large mountain, the Cayenne never really left the well-beaten path at about 15 miles per hour. If he'd wanted a test, driving up the hill as-the-crow-flies might have been at least a little more exciting.
A Cayenne can handle more than most of us would be willing to throw at it. So go take your Cayenne to a nearby trail and do a little tumbling around in the dirt, ford a river, or play in the mud. With proper off-roading tires, a Cayenne will provide hours of off-roading fun and excitement, crawling over far more than its Porsche sheetmetal might belie.
