Forza Motorsport 7: SUV with sportscar DNA

As SUVs became the dominant breed of today's motoring era, even some companies wanted to inject some sportscar DNA on their SUVS to make it more enjoyable while carrying the entire family for trips. One such example is this...





The all-new Porsche Cayenne, part of Forza Motorsport 7's Doritos Car Pack.



It's amazing that even though Forza Motorsport 7's been poisoned against us by baby boomers because they keep featuring cars from the baby boomer era rather than focusing on cars focused on millennials (it's a millennial's game, after all), they still feature us some of the latest machines we really like, especially the latest version of Porsche's first SUV. So, what is it then, the new Cayenne?



The new Cayenne is built from the ground up and now utilizes a lightweight chassis construction, meaning the new Cayenne now behaves like what a Porsche should be, combining classic Porsche sportscar handling and SUV ruggedness into one unique package and to supplement the improved dynamics of the new Cayenne are rear-axle steering, Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control, and three-chamber air suspension, most are programmed via 4D Chassis Control.

Under the hood, the new Cayenne is powered by a choice of a 3.0L V6 turbo for the base Cayenne, a 2.9L V6 Twin Turbo for the Cayenne S, and the 4.0L V8 Twin Turbo engine for the Cayenne Turbo which delivers 550HP of power and 770Nm of torque with 286 km/h of top speed, all mated with the more responsive eight-speed Tiptronic S gearbox. The Turbo variant is the first SUV to feature a variable rear spoiler and an air brake.

The new Cayenne continues the tradition of past models, injecting Porsche DNA to its SUV ruggedness for the drivers who have everything or nothing.



Having my first word on the Cayenne, I always believed that it truly an exciting SUV to drive for almost any situations but it can be downright bothersome for Porsche enthusiasts, and here in FM7, it holds my word on it because it can be either exciting and bothersome at the same time not because of how heavy it is to be classified an SUV with sportscar DNA but also the looks of it. Still, this one is an improvement compared to the last Cayenne I drove in past installments. Also, I get to see how the SUV's first variable wing work in high speeds and it will make high-performance SUVs feeling jealous to think they don't have that kind of gimmick this new Cayenne had.

To find out just how good it is, I went to the one state in America that houses the so-called Philosophers' twin lairs, Virginia.



Specifically, the Virginia International Raceway, where on the weekends, you can take any car you want to the max while winding up with some R & R at the same time. The tricky corners, the straights, this place is the perfect opportunity to try out the new Cayenne and despite being lighter than its predecessor, I do get some understeering but the braking is so dramatic because it's got the first ever surface-coated brake which not only makes it last longer than other brakes but also works responsively to deliver the ideal stopping power. The new Cayenne balances the things that are right such as its improved dynamics and braking, with the things that are wrong such as understeering woes, and since Porsche believes that they made their SUV more potent than any other opposition, I've devised a little sparring partner to do the job.





Also in the Doritos Car Pack is this, the all-new Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, an SUV with some of Hellcat DNA on it, making it the most powerful 4WD SUV, pause, in the world. 707HP of power, 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds, and a top speed of 180mph. Enough said.



Here in Virginia International Raceway, the corners should favor the Cayenne nicely because despite being heavy, the Cayenne weighs less than the Trackhawk because of its improved dynamics that are tried and tested by Porsche standards, but on the straights, the Trackhawk has the upper hand because, like I said, this is the fastest SUV, pause, in the world, although someone already stripped the Trackhawk's title for that manner, but anyway, let's put that theory to the test with a lap round VIR. This will be a challenge between an SUV with Porsche DNA and an SUV with some Hellcat DNA on it. Roll the tape, please.



And now, the results...

Trackhawk - 2:21.145
Cayenne - 2:23.083



It was a shocking result but I still believe that the new Cayenne is the winner because even though it was outpaced by the Trackhawk in the straights, the handling is something you should not ignore and besides, the Trackhawk's kinda useless to race because the power output exceeds the class' homologation requirements, making the new Cayenne a clear winner to use in such class like this and that is the bottomline.