Only recently Porsche unveiled its newer, sleeker, lighter Cayenne SUV – including a new Hybrid S variant which promises the best fuel economy yet for the luxury sport utility.
Now, according to the Times Colonist, Laurance Yap – manager of public relations for Porsche in Canada – the American division of Porsche is currently in the midst of seriously considering the addition of a diesel powerplant for the new Cayenne. The option has been considered before, but Americans’ general dislike of diesel engines swayed the automaker from giving such an offering.
However, as fuel economy standards continue to become stringent, and more and more consumers are putting fuel economy on the top of their priority list, Porsche is considering bringing the diesel-powered variant of the Cayenne already on-sale in Europe to the U.S. and Canada. Given Audi ’s recent push for the “clean diesel” technology found on vehicles across their lineup – including in their SUVs – Porsche may have a new reason to join the push for diesels in the U.S.
Yap also pointed out that Canadians in particular show a strong attraction to diesel engines in luxury SUVs, with Mercedes-Benz selling 70-80 percent of their SUVs with diesel powerplants. Likewise, Volkswagen reports a 90 percent diesel take rate on its Touareg.
References
1.’Porsche considering diesel Cayenne…’ view
2.’Report: Porsche reconsidering diesel…’ view
