Longtime Porsche enthusiasts may have had the most difficult adjustment. For five decades before the Cayenne, their favorite car company carved its niche among automotive giants with quick, agile sports cars built on values diametrically opposed to those represented by big, strapping SUVs. It speaks to our changing automotive tastes, if not the changing car business, that Porsche was compelled to invest in an SUV and a new factory to build it.

With time and exposure, most fans of Porsche sports cars have come to appreciate the Cayenne as a true Porsche. The company's SUV is technically slick and remarkably fast, as Porsches are supposed to be, with on-road handling that belies (though does not defy) its mass. The Cayenne also delivers what most SUV buyers demand, starting with more cargo space than the typical sedan, more than enough capability for light off-highway use and impressive towing capacity. For style, pure performance and a balance of sport-utility virtues, the Porsche Cayenne is tough to beat.