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I was never impressed with the last-generation Porsche Cayenne so I hoped for better with the new 2012 model. Unfortunately, this S Hybrid suffers from the same leaden feeling that plagued the previous car. I know that hybrids generally weigh more than their non-hybrid counterparts due to heavy batteries, etc., but there is more than just this vehicle's actual physical weight -- which is an obscene 4938 pounds -- at work here. Each of the driving controls -- steering, brake, and throttle -- are oppressively heavy. At low to moderate speeds, the steering wheel requires too much effort to turn and the pedals are absurdly stiff. To make matters worse, both pedals also have very little feel and seem to have a delay of a second or two before they respond to inputs. All of these factors add up to a driving experience that is very un-Porsche-like.

Isn't it amazing how we all remember exactly where we were when John Lennon got shot? When the whole east coast got shaken with an earthquake and then stirred with a hurricane? And when Volkswagen replaced the EA113 with the EA888?