Porsche Cayenne Euro NCAP crash test

5 stars. Overall excellent performance in crash protection and well equipped with comprehensive and robust crash avoidance technology

The passenger compartment of the Cayenne remained stable in the frontal offset test.  Dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of the driver and passenger.  Porsche showed that a similar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sat in different positions.  In the full-width rigid barrier test, protection was good or adequate for all critical body regions of both dummies except the chest of the rear passenger, protection of which was rated as marginal based on readings of chest compression.  In the side barrier test, protection of all critical body areas was good and the Cayenne scored maximum points.  Even in the more severe side pole test, protection of the chest was adequate and that of other critical body areas was good.  Tests on the front seats and head restraints demonstrated good protection against whiplash injury in the event of a rear-end collision.  A geometric assessment of the rear seats also indicated good whiplash protection. The Cayenne has a standard-fit autonomous emergency braking system.  Tests of its performance at the low speeds, typical of city driving, at which many whiplash injuries are caused revealed good performance, with impacts avoided at all test speeds.

In the frontal offset test, protection of the neck of the 10 year dummy was rated as poor, based on dummy readings of tensile forces.  In the 6 year dummy, readings of decelerations in the chest of the 6 year dummy led to protection of that body region being rated as marginal.  The front passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward-facing child restraint to be used in that seating position.  Clear information is provided to the driver regarding the status of the airbag and the system was rewarded.  All of the restraint types for which the Cayenne is designed could be properly installed and accommodated in the car.

The Cayenne has a deployable, 'active' bonnet.  Sensors detect when a pedestrian has been struck and actuators lift the bonnet to provide greater clearance to the hard structures in the engine bay.  Porsche demonstrated that the system worked robustly for different pedestrian statures and over a wide range of speeds.  Accordingly, the system was tested in the deployed position and good or adequate results were recorded over almost the entire bonnet surface.  The protection provided by the bumper to pedestrians' legs was good at all test locations and maximum points were scored.  However, protection of the pelvis was poor at all test points.  The autonomous emergency braking system performed well in tests of its pedestrian detection, with impacts mostly avoided or mitigated.

The Cayenne has, as standard, a seatbelt reminder system for the front and rear seats.  The speed assistance system recognises local speed limits and informs the driver, who can then set the limiter appropriately.  Tests of the autonomous emergency braking system at highway speeds demonstrated good performance with most collisions avoided or mitigated.  A lane assistance system is available as an option but is not included in this assessment.