Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 17 classes based on size, price, and market position. Premium Midsize SUVs are similar in size and construction to Midsize SUVs. Most, in fact, are gilded versions of Midsize SUVs; though a few are exclusive upscale designs.

Our Best Buys include the Acura MDX, Cadillac SRX, and Lexus RX. Our Recommended pick is the Volvo XC90.

Britain's CAR magazine says Cayenne is in for a facelift and larger, more powerful engines. Timing is unclear, but we see the revised models reaching U.S. Porsche dealers by mid-2006. According to CAR, the base Volkswagen-sourced V6 grows to 3.6 liters and about 275 hp, while the Porsche V8 expands to 5.0 liters for some 375 hp in S-model trim and around 550 for the Cayenne Turbo. Also on deck is a lightened, 375-hp V8 Clubsport model with quicker steering, revised suspension, 20-inch front wheels and 21-inch rears, and Porsche's composite ceramic brakes. The Clubsport is by no means assured for the U.S., but could come here by 2008 if Porsche feels the need. CAR also reports that Porsche is mulling several Cayenne spinoffs, including a long-wheelbase wagon, a short-chassis 2-dr wagon, and even a 4-dr crew cab pickup.

And that's not all. Porsche says it will offer a hybrid-power Cayenne, though not before the SUV's scheduled redesign in the 2008-2009 timeframe. A German newspaper reports that Porsche is in talks with Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler and Toyota about joint development of a gas/electric powertrain, which would be a very costly solo project for a small automaker like Porsche.

Meantime, various sources say Porsche is readying a sleek 4-dr sedan to take on the BMW 6-Series, Mercedes CLS, and other high-style high-bling 4-seaters. It's rumored for the Panamera name as a 2008 model on a new front-engine platform mounting Cayenne V8s. Porsche's first sedan will be built alongside Cayennes at the company's Leipzig factory in the former East Germany. Production will be limited to about 20,000 per year for worldwide sale. Still, that will help Porsche recoup its up-front investment in the SUV. So will sharing the new platform with sometime-collaborator Volkswagen, who may do its own version as a replacement for the slow-selling Phaeton.