Which Engine Powered The Porsche Cayenne Diesel, And Why Was It Discontinued?

The Porsche Cayenne Diesel has become highly sought after in recent times. There are very few diesel SUVs for sale in the United States anyway, as diesels are usually reserved for big trucks, but Porsche offered two diesel engines in the Cayenne from 2009 to 2017. These engines were fairly reliable, and also offered efficiency, while having oodles of torque that we've come to expect from diesels. The Cayenne itself is one of the most popular models in the lineup lineup, and it saved Porsche from its struggles at one point.

In 2009, Porsche offered a diesel engine for the first time on the Cayenne. It was a 3.0-liter diesel V6 which produced around 240 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque, and could achieve a more than 600 miles of range on one tank of fuel. This engine was borrowed from Audi, and it was also available in the Audi Q7 and the Volkswagen Touareg.

In 2012, Porsche came out with the Cayenne S Diesel which featured a more powerful 4.2-litre twin-turbo V8 diesel. It produced 385 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque, all while retaining respectable fuel efficiency, a 0-60 mph time of 5.7 seconds, and a massive range on one tank. This engine, however, was never offered in the USA, and was only for the European market.

Porsche discontinued all diesel Cayenne variants in 2017. This was due to customer demand, according to Porsche, and its customers being more interested in hybrids. Sales had declined to just 12% for the diesels, and while Porsche denies it, the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal was also somewhat of a reason to discontinue diesels. Porsche has now gone big on its hybrid cars and there are a couple of options of hybrid powertrains if you go to spec up a new Cayenne.

Not all hope is lost, though, because there are a lot of Cayenne diesels for sale still in the used market. The U.S. only got the V6 models, and being a diesel, some of these cars do have very high mileage. According to Classic, higher mileage examples are priced around $20,000, with some even dipping under the $15,000 mark. The low mileage ones do carry a pretty hefty premium, however. The price also depends on the amount of options these cars have. We know how Porsche is with options, after all.

A lot of enthusiasts are starting to pick up the early diesel Cayenne models, and there are companies building performance parts for these cars to make them better off-road, which has increased demand significantly in the used market. After all, there are only a few cars which can handle like the Cayenne in the SUV space. We might not see another diesel Cayenne ever, with the electric Cayenne coming soon, but we can definitely enjoy the older ones.