The abominable snowman is a pain. Ice, cold, frostbite, snow: these are not appropriate for North Carolina.

However, they are appropriate for your Porsche.

“No!” you exclaim. “What about salt destroying the undercarriage? And crawling over ice on rear-wheel drive?”

To that, we would say, watch this:

Now that your fear of breaking your Porsche has been dispelled, let’s talk specifics. As the video says at the end, book your winter driving experience with Porsche now. Last year we had some events up in Vermont; who knows where we’ll be this year.

What we do know is that your Porsche is capable of handling winter environments with a properly trained driver. Learning to drive in the winter is also a lot of fun, owing to the exhilaration of mastering a new skill.

The second thing we know is that a trained driver will always want his or her car to be properly equipped for the season. Winter tires excel at keeping grip on snow or ice, and also what you’ll experience most of the time during the winter: cold asphalt. Summer tires are not optimized for these conditions, so protect yourself, your vehicle, and other motorists by putting the right tires on your Porsche.

Lastly, for those of you who elect to store your Porsche during the winter, we have tips for that, too. Check out this article about winterizing your Porsche from our Porsche Club friends up in New Jersey. They have an exhaustive list of steps to protecting your vehicle from all manner of winter challenges.

Call or stop by our service center to figure out how to get your Porsche ready for winter. We can even show you what winter tires you should have. We are your center for Porsche in North Carolina.

The post Porsche Says Book Your Winter Driving Experience Now appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

Much has been made about the Macan. From our launch party this past May, to the scads of reviews that auto journalists have published since then, this small SUV has undergone a lot of scrutiny: Is it fast enough? Is it light enough? Is it Porsche enough? The consensus among reviewers has been as united as they get: the Macan is a Porsche through and through.

In fact, the Macan has done so well that they’ve been sold out continuously here at Leith Porsche. Macans have been claimed before they even show up at our doorstep, so when a white, nicely-optioned Porsche Macan Turbo in Raleigh happened to arrive without a buyer, we seized the day like it was made out of chocolate, grabbed the key, and headed out for a brief spin in the hottest Porsche of 2014.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Porsche

This being December, red ribbon and green garlands are everywhere you look. Many people have their decorations up, the air is colder, and the scarves and wreaths about town make it feel like the holidays. We want to test the Macan’s performance, but we also want to test it in everyday driving. As we admire the deeply cut LED taillights and open the door with keyless entry, we have an epiphany about where to take it.

Every year one of the songs on the radio lists a bunch of things: three French hens, two turtle doves, a partridge in a pear tree—you might know it. It’s an old song, and no one buys those sorts of things anymore, at least not for their special someone. It is, however, a large amount of stuff to haul, and the Macan is designed to haul a lot of stuff. You can probably see where this is going.

We’re dreaming of a white Macan, plus some hot cocoa

Salem Street in downtown Apex is quaint, charming, and has a number of shops. In those shops, we want to see if we can find all items from our song, which are:

1 Partridge in a Pear Tree

2 Turtle Doves

3 French Hens

4 Calling Birds

5 Gold Rings

6 Geese-a-Laying

7 Swans-a-Swimming

8 Maids-a-Milking

9 Ladies Dancing

10 Lords-a-Leaping

11 Pipers Piping

12 Drummers Drumming

Piece of cake, right? Well, let’s look at what we have to haul it in. Our Macan Turbo has an air suspension for an incredibly comfortable ride; it has an off-road button to raise it up; it has a lowering button for fast highway driving; it has a twin-turbo V6 engine; dynamic lighting, carbon fiber inlays, 3-zone climate control, BOSE sound, privacy glass, and rows upon rows of other options that you don’t have time to read. Yes, we’re pretty well equipped.

Our list of holiday items, however, is going to require some modern interpretation. Even if we drive out to a farm, we’re probably not going to find a milk maid, let alone eight of them. Lords went out of style, oh, around the time America was invented, and pipers might be legal in Colorado and Washington, but this is North Carolina. We regretfully leave our heated steering wheel and seats parked off Saunders Street to see what we can find.

Shopping isn’t a chore if you have the right sleigh

With the rear seats folded, we have 53 cubic feet of cargo space. Maximum cargo weight is about 1,400 pounds. Six of the twelve items are birds: hens, swans, partridge, etc. Thankfully, there are a number of gift shops on Salem Street with a number of decorative birds. They might be bookmarks, paper weights and tree ornaments, but we’re going to say that they still count. Plus, we don’t want to chance swan feathers or other leavings on the interior of our Macan. Let’s say that all of these will take up about 20 cu. ft. and 300 lbs.

The five gold rings are probably our easiest purchase. Sophie and Mollie’s Boutique, Virtuoso Jewels, or any of the other shops would do nicely. Seven maids-a-milking is a harder find, but between the Ice Cream Shop and Buttercream’s Bakery, we think we have dairy covered.

Nine ladies dancing sounds difficult, but a short drive away is the Infinity Ballet Conservatory and Theatre: dancing ladies found. Ten lords-a-leaping is a stretch but what is a dancing lord besides a happily-monied man? Edward Jones Financial Advisors and Woomer Financial Services are probably full of people going about their financial business.

With 10 out of 12 items found on or nearby Salem Street, we were surprised at how easy the Macan made finding them. With a massive panoramic roof and easy navigation system, zipping around town would be a snap. At the same time, the super-wide rear tires and massive air intakes up front were put there by Porsche for a reason: when it’s time to move, the Macan Turbo can go from 0 to 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.

Water-cooled Porsches don’t jingle sleigh bells so much as crush them

Pipers piping were found at Peak City Bar & Grill via a poster advertising jazz flutists on Tuesday nights. Drummers drumming were on the other side of the street at the Rock Harbor Grill. To make sure we weren’t leaving anything out, we kept walking north until only houses lined the sidewalks. Wreaths, twinkling lights, and signs for a holiday walking tour dotted the picket fences on either side.

We circled back and came to our Macan on the side of the road, brushed with the last of the fall leaves, silver letters catching the light in a faint echo of sleigh bells. Could it fit everything from our list? Maybe. What really matters is your list, and what you plan to put it in. In that case, we bet that this 2015 Porsche Macan at Christmas won’t go unsold for long.

The post We Fit Everything From the 12 Days of Christmas Into the Macan appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

So you’re on the way out to your car, dressed for work, briefcase in one hand, coffee in the other. It’s been a rough morning and you’re leaving five minutes late, so you’re thinking about possible shortcuts you could take. It’s also been getting progressively colder, and today you can see your breath as you get in the car and turn it on. Then you’re greeted with the last thing you want to see: the low tire pressure indicator.

Around this time of year as the temperature is dropping, you won’t be alone. Why does your tire pressure drop when it gets cold, and why is that a cause for concern? We have some answers.

Checking your tire pressure is already something you ought to do on a regular basis. For every month that passes, your tires lose about 1 psi through natural air seepage. Beyond that, they will also lose or gain another 1 psi for every 10°F change in temperature. Simple physics explain this phenomenon. The compressed air in your tires is a gas which expands when heated and condenses when cooled. That’s why tire pressure goes down when the weather gets colder.

It’s important for you to stay on top of this because underinflated tires will:

• Decrease your vehicle’s fuel economy
• Cause imprecise handling
• Wear unevenly along the edges of the tread
• In the worst case, overheat and fail at highway speeds

According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, some 600 fatalities and 33,000 injuries a year are the result of under-inflated tires. At the same time, the US Department of Energy claims Americans waste more than a billion gallons of gasoline while driving on under-inflated tires.

Some people are lucky because their cars will now automatically monitor tire pressure and tell them when it’s getting low, but if your car doesn’t have this feature, you’ll want to check about once a month, or at least before you go on a long trip. The best time to check is first thing in the morning when your tires are still cold (both from ambient temperature and from not being driven on in the past several hours). That will give you the most accurate reading. You can consult your car’s manual for the recommended tire pressure for that make and model.

For more information on tire pressure, you can visit the following links:

“Tire Safety and Maintenance” – AAA Exchange

“Air Pressure, Temperature Fluctuations” – TireRack.com

Now is a great time to check, well in advance of any holiday traveling you might have planned. If you do find that your tire pressure is too low, we encourage you to visit us at Leith Porsche where our tire experts can remedy your low pressure woes and get you back on the road again.

The post How Cold Weather Affects Tire Pressure and Performance appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

Reliability is not something that people associate with German cars. We can attest that when people learn that we drive a Porsche, after the initial register of surprise and admiration fades, they crack slow, strangely-pleased smiles and utter the inevitable question, which usually goes something like, “Sure it’s fun, but I’ll bet maintenance costs kill you though. That’s how they get you, right? It’s never cheap owning a Porsche!”

Actually, no.

The 2014 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study was released this week with intriguing results. When new vehicle owners measured whether they experienced any problems in the first 90 days of ownership, Porsche had the lowest score among any brand across all sizes, segments, prizes and classes.

It’s the honeymoon! No one wants to buy a brand-new car and bring it back with the new car smell to the dealership after hearing the engine make a funny noise. Nearly every new car comes with a warranty to cover that sort of thing, but it’s the principle that matters.  No one wants to have second thoughts or buyers’ remorse, and certainly not if you bought a Porsche.

Photo: J.D. Power

As the chart shows, with Fiat having the worst score of 206 problems for every 100 new cars sold, and 116 as the industry average, Porsche clocked in below all competitors with a whisper-quiet 74. Jaguar took second place with 87 and Lexus was tagged for third with 92.

The study noted that the most problematic area for new cars was not engines or braking but new-fangled technologies like voice-recognition. Despite running more code than most computer operating systems, automakers continue to be stymied when trying to do simple tasks that most smartphone and consumer electronics makers specialize in.

The report named the Porsche Panamera as the most problem-free model for 2014.

The post Porsche Aces Reliability Study from J.D. Power for Two Years appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

“Wait, so they’re both turbos?”

The question came from a sandy-haired man standing under the alcove of the architecture building. The building is that funny-looking place covered in bright natural wood that looks faintly European on the corner of Peace Street and Wilmington. His friend, an energetic fellow who had been ferrying Porsches over the meticulously sculpted lawns to take up display positions around the structure, wasn’t sure about the turbo situation either.

Turbos are hard to situate. Though they sound like rocket fuel, they’ve become the de facto way for modern cars to wrest crags of horsepower out of shot-glass portions of gasoline or diesel. A quick consultation of smart phones—thank you, cellular network—confirmed that both the vehicles in question had turbocharged engines even though one has “turbo” in its name and the other does not. In this case, the vehicles in question were a brand-new model type from Porsche, the first new model since the Cayenne in 2002 and the Panamera in 2009.

The Porsche in question is the new crossover SUV: the Macan. The occasion is its launch party, its official debut to North American markets, one of which is Raleigh, N.C.

The building is the NC Center for Architecture and Design. You might have noticed it for being roughly as wide as a car itself, a rail-thin building on a vegan diet with outcroppings of rock here, a pane of glass there, and lots of contrasting angles that make typical buildings look like they went out of their way to be boring.

Given that it’s supposed to celebrate the principles and ideals of architecture and design, it makes sense that it would be a striking building itself, full of impressive uses of materials, mathematics and physics. Its use of these elements goes beyond what most people would think a building can accomplish.

If most of us were told to sketch a house or building on paper, we would come up with something pretty basic: four walls, a roof, maybe some windows, and a door. Pretty textbook. This building and its artistically manicured grounds stand in stark contrast to the traditional downtown to the south, stately Peace University to the north, and historic Oakwood houses to the east. But this is precisely the theme of the Macan.

The vitriol and ire over Porsche creating an SUV is largely over, thanks to the Cayenne. The Macan is a step closer to the traditional sports car body, and few automakers in the world have as much cachet to call themselves a sports car company as Porsche. Pre-release reviews have been ecstatic over how incredibly similar it drives to the 911, Porsche’s flagship model. Is an SUV impossibly unlike a sports car? Porsche took a lethal first swing at this stereotype with the Cayenne in 2002; the Macan is here to finish the job.

As guests arrive for the unveiling, a light rain begins to fall. Cool air under gray skies create a magazine-ready backdrop. Raindrops bead perfectly on immaculate Porsches outside: a black Cayenne diesel at the intersection, exactly where a car of range and fuel economy should be; a stately blue Panamera as flat as the Archdale building behind it is tall; a bright blue 911 just outside watches over the shrouded Macan within—the Macan might be the one everyone is here to see, but the 911 is the one everybody loves; a white Boxster S and black Cayman flank a second covered Macan, which we can tell is white, as well. This second Macan’s sheer top is soaked by the rain and clings to the body. Through the heavy synthetic canvas—so typical of Porsche to use man-made, incredibly well-engineered fabric instead of something rustic and natural—we can make out the word “turbo” on its rear hatch.

There are two Macan models, the Macan S and the Macan Turbo. The Turbo has more power, of course, and is—according to a salesman whom Porsche flew to Spain for training—almost deified into 911 status for its handling and power. Road & Track says that the Macan shares only 30 percent of its parts with Audi. Both Macan S and Macan Turbo use twin-turbocharged V6 engines, so no boxer-style engines, nor flat-fours.

The parking lot is curated by a team of valets, and the results are what you would expect: Caymans, Boxsters, Cayennes, 911s. No Panameras, but perhaps they’re all out on road trips to Charleston. The crowd inside thickens to the point where it’s difficult to pick out individuals from the throng, but we spot a couple: a couple who has brought their kid; a sharply-suited man who’s all business, and asks when the unveiling will happen; a dad and his teenage son; an easy-going guy in track pants with his girlfriend; a trio of adventurous high school kids who say little and stick together; another father/son pair, this one a bit older; a very serious photographer working hard to get his shots.

These people are happy. It’s a fancy event in an unusual building with catered refreshments. A video from Germany talks about the values behind the new vehicle, and an executive makes a speech to thank everyone for coming out. When the moment finally comes, and the black harbinger of new status is revealed, people crowd about and take turns sitting inside. Pictures are snapped, and there’s a sense of awe when little details are revealed—the quad-point head lamps, rear LEDs, and an ignition note that sounds almost omnipotent in the enclosed space.

A final raffle is held so that a lucky few can leave with some Porsche gear, and a server asks if we would like a refill of wine. Why not? The evening is winding down. Through the clear windows we can see people begin to make their way out to cars and the valet stand. We can hear the crystalline note of engines from Stuttgart catching life from the Raleigh air and rolling toward their owners. The Macan will add a lot more of these notes to the Triangle in the next 12 months.

The post Macan Launch Party Wows Crowd at NC Architecture and Design Center appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

Photo: AutoCar

Ah, Goldilocks, you have so much to teach us. On the eve of the Macan’s arrival in the U.S., and 12 years after the debut of the Cayenne, a scantily-sourced article from the United Kingdom’s AutoCar magazine claims that Porsche is considering a sportier version of the Cayenne. The article offers one quote from an anonymous Porsche official:

“We have been considering launching a more sporting derivative of the Cayenne for some time now. The problem has been the production capacity at our Leipzig factory and the strong sales of the regular Cayenne.”

We know how it is, AutoCar. Buzzfeed gets all the good traffic, and the rest of us are out here fighting the bottom 1 percent of web clicks. We would hope that real news, if there is any in this article, would be sourced by actual officials who go on the record. Instead, we see a number of faceless verbs: “proposals are described as,” “Porsche insiders have confirmed,” “it is also understood that,” etc.

One aspect of AutoCar’s article makes especially less sense. The magazine says that the new Cayenne Coupe would cost 15-20 percent more than the current Cayenne. Given that the new Macan S—which is also basically a sportier version of the Cayenne—will start for about the same price as the Cayenne, why would a Cayenne Coupe get a special markup?

Presumably we’re talking about price points. A $60,000 Cayenne Coupe would fit between a $50k Macan S and $70k Macan S Turbo. But what of the Cayenne/Macan $50k matchup? It could be that a Cayenne Coupe could be a way to ease the Cayenne proper out to pasture.

Removing the Cayenne would help keep the market from being saturated, and free up production capacity, which is a concern, if the above quote can be relied upon. Still, it seems a rather haphazard way to determine a line-up. Time will tell.

The post Rumors of a Cayenne Coupe in 2018 Abound, But We’re Not So Sure appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

Rumors of the 4-Cylinder began in 2011 for a 2014 release date

And what do we say about a day like today? It’s April 1, April Fools’ Day, and we want to believe that this is a practical joke. We want to think Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller is just indulging in some classic humor, using his office as chief of the one of the world’s most respected automotive brands to have a little fun and introduce some levity in today’s beleaguered world. We’d rather not think that he used the unthinkable four-letter word that starts with “f.”

And yet the news is that the Boxster and Cayman will see four-cylinder boxer engines in the next generation of the vehicles. Four-cylinders, y’all: four. Boxer engines mean that the cylinders are horizontally-opposed and pound together like a boxer’s gloves before a fight. It also characteristically means a smooth rev range and better handling for the car. Four, of course, means four.

What does a world with four-cylinder Porsches look like? Well, we have seen it before. The 356, 912, and 914 all had four-cylinder engines, as recently as the 1990s. Porsche is doing what it can to alleviate concerns by stating that as much as 395 horsepower will be produced from these engines. It’s a gutsy move to set expectations high, but it’s a gamble the company has to take. We had heard that a four-cylinder was in the works for the Macan to meet Chinese regulations, and it’s likely that this will be the reason for the new Boxster and Cayman Lite. Today, however, was the first time we heard that the changes might not be contained to the Chinese market.

And certainly the automaker has proven itself to be immune to reactionary forces who think that change equals bad. Plenty of people thought an SUV—the Cayenne—was anathema to Porsche. Then came the Panamera, and the chorus sounded once again. And most recently the Macan itself is being held up to the strictest of scrutinies. And yet the reviews for all of these vehicles have been stellar, many of which argue that they are the best vehicles in their class, hands-down.

Porsche’s Mueller said that, “we will not separate ourselves from efforts to reduce CO2,” an acknowledgement that there are bigger concerns in this world than ensuring that every man, woman and child has at least six cylinders to bang on. For the sake of our planet and shared ecosystem, it behooves a company to think of the greater good. And yet we wonder: what will it sound like? What will it feel like? Just as the fundamental experience of music changed from vinyl records to digital ones and zeroes, how will the experience of driving a Porsche change in 20 years?

Volvo is the chief example of a company betting its future on a base of four-cylinder engines. The company is in the process of scrapping its five- and six-cylinder engines for a modular four-chamber base that can be adapted for many different vehicles types. Volvo was also recently acquired by Geely, a Chinese automotive group. To what extent will four-cylinder engines surface in Porsche? We’re unsure, but Porsche also recently announced that the next generation of the Panamera will receive a new platform and pair of engines: a V6 and a V8.

The post Four-Cylinder Boxster, Cayman and Macan On the Way appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

Well, goodbye to all that. There’s a certain world-weariness that emerges in the cavernous reaches of winter in Raleigh. We like sweet tea. We like humidity. We like mint. Snow falls, and ice drops. Sleet rains and rain stings. These are alien notions to Southern democracy—neither what we stand for, nor what we’ll stand for—if we had our druthers. Be that as it may, winter appears every single year, and demands that we have vehicles equipped for it.

We’ve been banging the freezing drum for winter tires for several months now, hoping that as people in front-wheel drive vehicles derisively pass the luxury brands with rear-wheel drive, our hallowed badge will not be numbered among them. The Porsche that reclines in a ditch is a Porsche neither properly driven, nor properly outfitted, and if we have one goal today it is to present videographic evidence that not a single Porsche model should be found in the doubter’s camp, not even the newest and most recently presented, the Macan.

Fortunately, the company Youtube account has released a video attesting to the wintry conditions that the Macan has been proven under. It is our hope that when subjected to the most strenuous of conditions at temperatures consistently below 30 degree Celsius, not that we would find a vehicle with no flaws. But rather that we would find those flaws burst open in all their hitherto concealed abandonment, and thereby ready a vehicle that can handle such things as Banff, Detroit, Vostok, International Falls, Fraser, Barrow or even Raleigh.

And truly, as you see the beautiful basalt black metallic exteriors of the Macan held under the steel-tearing grip of the polar circle, you’ll wonder what in the blazes these engineers are doing. Can any good come out of the winter? You’ll see.

The post Macan Undergoes Polar Circle Stress Tests appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

Ah, Volkswagen, and your love of diesels, we see you there! You might not have been literally sitting on the shoulder of Porsche Chairman Matthias Müller as he unveiled the company’s plans the other week inside the Leipzig factory, but we detected your presence nonetheless.

We are speaking, of course, about the official press introduction event for the Macan, and Volkswagen’s love of bringing diesel cars to the U.S. The introduction of the Macan. And Volkswagens’s love of diesel. Macan. Diesel. Yes.

Look, we adore the brand with a purity so intense that when we first saw Lord of the Rings in 2001 and Sauron’s mad quest for the one ring, we turned off the DVD player and said, “Sauron, you don’t know a thing about love.”

So we know that we will get through this. We’ll shut our eyes to the questions and doubts and concerns because you know what? When the Macan was first announced we heard plenty (and still hear quite a lot, we might add) of hand-wringing about how this is the end times, and the Seth Rogen movie was right, and how it’s not a true Porsche, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Now, of course, the articles are flooding in about how the Macan is a phenomenal car, and what’s more, something even greater than that: a true Porsche. The engineers at Stuttgart have an ability to create vehicles that abide in the Porsche DNA, and only create those vehicles, which is why the company only makes six outstanding models.

Yes some market-broadening changes are coming to the Macan. There will be a diesel and plug-in hybrid version in the U.S. and even possibly a four-cylinder version—hands away from your noses, gentlemen! There’s no need for that!—for compliance reasons in China.

However, even Rolls-Royce is looking into PHEV technology these days and has promised to announce a plug-in model within two years. As the insanely impressive 918 Hybrid Spyder has proven—remember that video?—environmentalism need not be the enemy of performance, as paradoxical as that sounds.

So wait, and see, and prepare yourselves mentally. And read the write-ups about the Macan S and Turbo. You’ll be fine.

The post Macan Diesel and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Coming appeared first on Leith Porsche Blog.

Standing outside Leith Porsche, it was hard to believe that just a week before everything within sight was covered in snow. Instead, we were being treated to a gorgeous day and an opportunity to test-drive the 2014 Porsche Cayenne GTS.

As Porsche’s first SUV, people weren’t sure what to think of the original Cayenne when it debuted in 2002. This is the premier German sports car manufacturer, so why would they feel the need to design a midsize crossover? No one was asking this question for very long after they actually got to drive one, yet we still had the same doubts going through our heads beforehand. Perhaps it’s just the way the dealership is arranged, but when you pull up, the 911s, the Boxsters, and the Caymans are all in a row, right out front. The Cayennes are more out of sight, sort of like a well-kept secret.

Our sales representative that day was Robert Brooks who has been a part of the Leith family for five and a half years. He brought our featured ride around, a Cayenne GTS in Classic Metallic Silver with bright red calipers. Even as a crossover, it still looks like a sports car. It has the curvaceous Porsche hood and large, rounded headlamps. LED daytime running lights are integrated into the air intakes that flank the wide grille. The car has a wide-bodied stance that narrows on its way up to the roof, and an integrated spoiler juts out over the rear window.

Robert opened the trunk to show us the available cargo space. Porsche does not make compromises, so there is no option for a third row in the Cayenne. There’s a retractable cover to shield luggage or groceries from direct sunlight, as well as folding chrome clamps to secure anything you don’t want sliding around – a serious risk if you don’t have a full trunk, as you’ll find out. The second row will fold down for extra space, and a storage compartment underneath conceals a spare tire. The Cayenne is the only Porsche that comes with a spare. While other models include a repair kit and air compressor, the spare’s presence in this one represents a tacit acknowledgement that people who take their Cayenne off-roading could actually do some damage to a tire.

Under the hood, this GTS had a 4.8-liter V-8 engine with direct fuel injection and VarioCam Plus technology. It makes 420 horsepower and 380 pound feet of torque, which is power enough to go 0 to 60 in 5.4 seconds and pull a best-in-class towing capacity of 7700 pounds. Standard to the GTS is Porsche’s Tiptronic S transmission, an 8-speed automatic capable of detecting various styles of driving and responding for maximum fuel efficiency and driver comfort. As in any Porsche, the multifunction steering wheel can control gears manually, up with the push of a thumb or down with the pull of an index finger – an ambidextrous system to boot. Fuel efficiency is at a premium as well, thanks to an Auto Start Stop function.

As part of his training to be a Porsche Brand Ambassador, Robert visited the Barber Motorsports Park outside Birmingham and enrolled in Porsche’s sport driving school. It made sense for him to take the first turn at the wheel so that he could show us how the Cayenne is supposed to be driven. He put the key in the ignition, found to the left of the steering wheel. As he turned the car on, he explained Dr. Porsche’s thinking in terms of older races, when starting the car and putting it in gear were actually part of the race itself. While drivers of other vehicles had to turn the key and work the shift in sequence with one hand, Porsche drivers were able to start the car with their left hand and put it in gear with their right. The ignition has stayed to the left on every Porsche ever since.

You remember our misgivings about driving the Cayenne? Well, Robert said that what he most often hears from people stepping out of one for the first time is that they forget they’re driving an SUV. It certainly doesn’t sound like one. Robert turned on the Sport exhaust mode immediately and exited the parking lot, heading for a convenient roundabout to show us the Cayenne’s cornering. There are handles all over the inside, and that’s for the best because you can really take someone for a ride in this car.

We got a chance to ride in the front and the back, and we can attest that both are equally comfortable. As we said, Porsche makes no compromises. The GTS trim includes an Alcantera headliner and Alcantera centers on the leather seats. The second row can slide forward and back, and even reclines, while the front seats have the option for heating, ventilation, and eight-way adjustability with memory settings. We also opted to pull back the sunscreen to enjoy the full breadth of the panoramic sunroof.

Our test-drive route is classified, so we can’t tell you where we went, but we can tell you it included highway and neighborhood roads. Robert whipped through his half of the course, putting on a clinic for us. He said that down in Birmingham, they had an off-road motorcycle track that they took the Cayenne on. Before this we wouldn’t have believed him when he said they got air in this thing, but now we have no doubts. Once he could tell we were excited enough, Robert pulled over and switched seats with us.

It’s a basic tenant of Porsche design philosophy that their cars should be as light as physically possible. The engineers prioritize lightweight over power, and it’s amazing that they are able to balance the two so perfectly. The Cayenne feels lighter than some sedans and compacts we’ve driven. Most of the other cars in its own class outweigh it. Robert said that he’ll have customers come in who have tried other midsize crossovers, and they say the Cayenne is like the baby bear’s bed from the story of Goldilocks: It feels just right.

We hit the highway early on our drive, and we were reminded how much we like two-lane entry ramps. Usually on test-drives like this one, we’re driving a car that is powerful enough to pass anyone else before the merge, and the Cayenne is no exception. Robert had to remind us to watch our speed, saying, “The only difference between going 75 and 100 is the road goes by a lot quicker.” It feels the exact same, and speed is not electronically limited like in other cars. The power and responsiveness of the Cayenne is enough to make you lose your inhibitions, so some caution is advised. Some.

Steering on any Porsche is legendary, but the Cayenne’s has been totally revised and updated for flawless precision. One of Robert’s customers actually commented once that he was all over the road going down the highway, to which Robert said, “Well it’s going where you tell it to.” The Cayenne has a low center of gravity that helps it take corners easily, and the turning radius is magnificent for a larger car.

Handling also came up when we asked Robert about safety. Porsches are built with the autobahn in mind, so they’re capable of surviving high speed crashes from any angle. Of his customers that were unfortunate enough to be in an accident, Robert said he had never heard of any that were injured. He also made note that he’s rarely heard of a Porsche instigating a wreck. When you have superior brakes and handling, it’s much easier to avoid accidents than the alternative.

To be frank, we really did forget that we were driving an SUV by the end of the test-drive. All this is to say nothing of the Cayenne’s off-roading abilities. Air suspension and Tiptronic transmission make regular streets feel like coasting on clouds, but they’re also more than a match for tougher terrain. We didn’t get the chance to go mudding ourselves, but we think back to Robert’s story about the off-road test track in Birmingham and don’t have any trouble believing it.

Back at the dealership, we got out and looked around again, admiring the perfect day. It was a much needed taste of spring in February, and yet as nice it was, the Cayenne was more beautiful to us just then. If you want a sports car that can also handle rough roads, a full cargo, or a carpool, we recommend you take this one for a spin.

We also want to thank Robert Brooks for making our test-drive possible. Not only is he one of the nicest people you’ll meet, but he’s also a true ambassador of the Porsche brand. As always, we urge you not to let our words be the final arbiter of your judgment. Feel free to visit Leith Porsche for your own test-drive. There is no other car on the road like a Porsche. You owe yourself the experience.

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