Coolest New Features on the 2019 Porsche Cayenne

Just as in the latest 911 GT3, the Cayenne boasts a rear-wheel-steering system. For $1620 (plus the air suspension and variable-ratio steering options), this setup adds actuators to the rear axle that can steer the rear wheels against the fronts—with the steering wheel turned to the right, the rears turn to the left—at speeds up to 50 mph for sharper turn-in and easier parking-lot maneuvering. Above 50 mph, the rear wheels turn with the fronts for greater stability.

Where once the Cayenne had a single air chamber in each of its air springs, it now has three air chambers per spring. This allows for multiple effective spring rates and a wider range of ride heights. There are five driver-selectable clearances, ranging from an ultra-low 6.4 inches in the high-speed setting to a tall 10.4-inch height for off-road driving. There also is a super-low loading mode for easier access to the cargo space.

Unlike every other Porsche model, the Cayenne until this point has worn only square-fitment front and rear tires—meaning the width of the tires in front is the same as the tires in back. For 2019, the Cayenne finally gets a staggered fitment on every variant from the base Cayenne up to the Turbo. The entry-level 19-inch-wheel package is wrapped in 255/55 front and 275/50 rear tires, with the uplevel 20-inch wheels boosting those widths to 275s in front and 305s in back. The Cayenne’s 21-inch fitment (a 22-inch size is coming later) boasts 9.5-inch-wide wheels in front with 285s stretched over them and massive 11-inch-wide rims in back cloaked in 315-series rubber.

Developed by Audi, matrix LED headlights are a cutting-edge lighting technology involving a vast array of individually controlled, fixed-position LEDs per headlight with plenty of tricks up their sleeves. For example, using the car’s forward camera and light sensors, the lights’ brains can selectively shut off certain LED bulbs to “shadow” oncoming cars from the headlights’ dazzle. Alternatively, the computers can light specific bulbs to highlight potential dangers, including roadside pedestrians or animals.

Cool stuff, right? Except it isn’t legal yet here in the United States, where outdated headlight regulations can’t make heads or tails of the bleeding-edge stuff. Just ask Audi, which has been lobbying to allow the headlights in the U.S. for a few years. Porsche, it seems, is thinking longer term and went ahead and added matrix LED headlights to the Cayenne’s options sheet—but minus the fancy capabilities they get in Europe. The lights’ 84-LED array instead can only perform automatic high-beam control and selectively light certain bulbs to perform basic adaptive-headlight functionality where the beam “steers” with the front wheels. So why buy these peepers now? According to Porsche, because they look cool. Not according to Porsche, but deduced by us, is that the company could theoretically beam the matrix LEDs’ neater tricks to each Cayenne via an over-the-air update down the road, should their legality change.

Every 2019 Cayenne has electrically adjustable grille shutters that can open or close to minimize drag when possible or enhance engine cooling when needed. The old Cayenne had these shutters, too, but only on one grille opening. This time around, all four of the openings in the front fascia have active shutters. Due to the differences in airflow over the front end at speed, the outboard intakes, which feed air to the Cayenne’s intercoolers, have vertical slats, while the two central intakes use horizontal slats. The slats stay closed for the most part at lower speeds, opening as cooling needs dictate when speeds and engine loads increase.

Cayenne Turbo models build on the active front-end aero pieces with an active rear spoiler, which deploys in speed- and driving-mode-dependent stages. Below 99 mph, the spoiler stays retracted in its low-drag Eco mode. At higher speeds, it raises 0.8 inch to its Performance mode; select the hardest-core Sport Plus driving mode, and the wing springs up another 0.8 inch, for a total height of 1.6 inches. In this position, at top speed, the wing produces 220 pounds of downforce. Exceed 124 mph, and the wing retracts again because, per Porsche, the computer assumes you’re on a straightaway and want maximum speed; drop below 112 mph, and it pops up again. Slam hard on the brakes in any driving mode at or above 106 mph, and the spoiler shoots up a full 3.2 inches to act as an air brake. Porsche claims that when stopping from 155 mph, the air brake shortens the braking distance by seven feet. More fun facts: With the panoramic sunroof open (the glass sits atop the roof when raised), the spoiler skips past its Sport Plus height to a 2.4-inch air-brake-like setting to account for the different aerodynamic profile. We’re told that the drag created with the sunroof open lowers the Cayenne Turbo’s top speed by 5 mph.

Sharing its underlying MLB architecture with Audi’s latest Q7, the new Cayenne sheds some weight relative to its predecessor thanks to expanded use of aluminum in its body shell. Before, the Cayenne’s body was composed mostly of steel, with only the hood and tailgate rendered from aluminum. Now, the entire tail of the body structure is aluminum, as is the entire “hang-on” skin, including the doors, roof, hood, tailgate, and fenders. As a result, the body in white (not including the hang-on parts) weighs 49 pounds less than before, and the aluminum hang-on parts drop another 30 pounds; other weight-saving measures bring the claimed total weight savings to 143 pounds.