Cayenne's balance of style, performance, and sport-utility virtues were compelling, and it quickly became a success story for the small manufacturer of legendary sports cars. When Porsche launched Cayenne as a 2003 model, executives said they hoped to sell 20,000 of the SUVs a year. Clearly, these projections were conservative. In some years Porsche sold more than 50,000 Cayennes. More than 150,000 have been sold in the past four years. Following a redesign for 2008, sales have again increased, making the Cayenne a boon for Porsche's financial planning. Cayenne's ongoing success smoothes over wildly fluctuating sports car sales, which tend to follow the consumer confidence index. Cayenne's success is helping Porsche do what enthusiasts want: develop and build great sports cars and a new four-door sport sedan. Enough hand-wringing already.

For 2009, Porsche has returned the Turbo S version and announced the 2010 Transsyberia Cayenne that goes on sale in Spring of 2009; the Cayenne GTS formally debuted late in 2008. With major advancements made for the 2008 model year, the 2009 primarily adds more extreme examples.

Grabbing headlines is the 2009 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, boasting 550 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque from its twin-turbocharged 4.8-liter V8 and capable of propelling this SUV from 0-60 mph in just 4.7 seconds. It's the fastest Cayenne and most expensive, almost 2.8 times the price of a base Cayenne.

Although it isn't as fast as a Cayenne Turbo, the GTS is the most agile and lithe, with all the suspension tricks of the Turbos, huge tires and wheels, big brakes, and 300 pounds less weight to haul around. The GTS is the only Cayenne V8 offering a choice of manual or automatic transmissions.

We find any Porsche Cayenne enjoyable to drive, smooth, stable, and responsive. It inspires confidence and we felt comfortable driving it right to and beyond grip levels on a gravel road. It's easy to control and predictable and always behaves as expected.