Porsche claims the new car loses next to nothing on the rough stuff compared with is predecessor but is more capable on-road. It is also around 200kg lighter model-for-model along with 25% more frugal - thanks to the weight saving

Octane has ridden in the new Porsche Cayenne, and it’s clear there were three main objectives for the project. Firstly, improving fuel consumption; secondly, to increase the social acceptance of the vehicle and lastly, to boost on-road performance.

All three of these objectives are in fact closely linked: as more ‘road vehicle’ and less ‘mud-plugger’ the new Cayenne can be lighter, more aerodynamic and more efficient; leaner and less of a two-fingered salute to other road users, and drive even more like a…well, like a car.

It’s longer and wider than the car it replaces, but it is also lower, which combined with the raked snout and 911-esque curves – again the template for the styling direction – give it a completely different feel. Compared with the barn door frontal aspect of the old car, and its almost wilfully ugly styling, this one is almost discreet.

The hardware has changed too. There’s no longer the centre differential of the old car, instead the four wheel drive system works off a Borg Warner electronic clutch ‘hanging off’ the rear diff, and able to split the torque anything from 0-100% front/rear.

There’s no low range gear set either, but in it’s place a new 8-speed conventional automatic gearbox, with first gear said to be so low that it’s practically a low range gear, and seventh and eighth gears purely for economy cruising. Porsche claims the new car loses next to nothing on the rough stuff compared with is predecessor but is more capable on-road. It is also around 200kg lighter model-for-model along with 25% more frugal - thanks to the weight saving, and other high tech developments such as start-stop and on-demand coolant pumps.

The range is roughly as before with Turbo V8 and V8 models joined by a diesel and later by a V6 petrol. However, from launch there will also be a hybrid model – the complexity of which would take up the whole of this piece and many times over. Let’s just say it offers fuel consumption between the V6 and the diesel, with the performance of the V8 S.

Expect massive performance from the 500bhp Turbo, and be prepared for a fabulous V8 soundtrack too. But one area where the new Cayenne really impresses is its interior: this is a world away from the old car and uses much from the recently introduced Panamera: with a strong range of quality interior finishes and materials it has a real wow factor.

The Cayenne makes its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March