Cayenne transports five adults in reasonable comfort. The rear seat is well countered, with excellent headroom and decent legroom, even when the front seats are well back in their travel range. Seating for five is something we haven't seen previously in a Porsche. But don't expect the interior volume of a Lincoln Navigator, and don't look for a third-row seat.
A few other things we've never seen in Porsche until now: The rear seatback folds forward in a 60/40 split, and it also includes a pass-though slot with a ski sack, allowing Cayenne to haul longer, narrow items inside without flattening the rear seat. There's a standard cargo net to keep grocery bags and other items from sliding around during travel and a retractable shade-type cover that opens and closes over the cargo hold.
The Cayenne boasts 19 cubic feet of stowage space with the rear seat in place and 62.5 cubic feet with the seat folded. That gives the Porsche more cargo space than the BMW X5, slightly less than the Mercedes M-Class. The tailgate is two-stage, the glass opens up, as does the entire gate. The dimensions of the tailgate opening and load floor allow Cayenne to haul small appliances such as a bar-size refrigerator or a large TV set. Moreover, with an impressive payload of 1600 pounds, a Cayenne owner should be able to haul just about anything that can be crammed inside without worrying about exceeding recommended weights.
Cayenne has maximum ground clearance of 10.75 inches and a fording depth 21.9 inches, and when it comes to towing capacity, this hot-rod SUV is no pretender. Both the Cayenne S and Turbo can pull 7700 pounds; you can't get a similar tow rating short of a heavy-duty pickup or pickup-based SUV. This Porsche should easily tow a horse trailer, or just about any tow boat on the market. Next Page