The Cayenne is the car that proved a heavy SUV could be genuinely good to drive, and three generations later it is still the benchmark. The steering has actual weight to it, the body stays flat through a fast sweeper on Mulholland, and the brakes have the same unhurried confidence as the sports cars in the showroom. It is quick without being highly strung: the twin-turbo V6 pulls hard from low revs and stays quiet at freeway speed.
What makes it work as a rental is that it is a proper SUV underneath the handling. Five adults fit without negotiation, the boot swallows a week of luggage for two or a weekend for four, and it sits high enough to see over traffic on the 10 without being awkward in a parking structure. It is the car to take if the trip involves both a canyon road and a hotel loading dock.
Honest hook: it is the mid-range Cayenne, not a Turbo. It is fast enough to be enjoyable and not fast enough to be an event — if the point is straight-line drama, ask about the Lamborghini Urus instead.
- The SUV that handles — flat, precise, genuinely good on a canyon road
- Five adults and a week of luggage, comfortably
- Twin-turbo V6: strong low down, quiet on the freeway
- Carmine red — the rarest colour on a Cayenne in Los Angeles · $249