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The very idea: Porsche, one of the world’s premium builders of high-performance sports cars, marketing its own sport utility vehicle.

Yet here it is, the long-anticipated Cayenne, named for a red-hot chili pepper. It’s a big, brawny SUV that tries to maintain the German brand’s heritage of high-performance sports cars while tapping into the hottest part of the automotive market.

BMW did it, with its highly successful SUV, the X5. So did Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, with their upscale takes on the high-profile vehicles.

As did Cadillac, with its hip-hop urban warrior, the Escalade.

Now Porsche. Will wonders never cease?

Renowned for its line of rear-engine, two-seater automobiles that are quick, agile and stylish, Porsche brings forth an appropriately sporting SUV. Though it weighs about 5,000 pounds and extends nearly 16 feet in length, Cayenne manages to display remarkable poise and ability and actually conveys much of the magical aura of Porsche.

Cayenne in its S version is powered by a 340-horse V-8 manufactured by Porsche, while the top-drawer Cayenne Turbo has a twin-turbocharged V-8 producing a booming 450 horsepower. The Cayenne S, such as the one tested here, will be the choice of about 80 percent of buyers, Porsche predicts.

Porsche shares the chassis and some parts with Volkswagen, which calls its model Touareg (also known as the name most likely to be misspelled). Cayenne is a premium SUV, with prices starting at $55,900 for the S, and $88,900 for the Turbo, while a V-6-powered Touareg starts in the high $30s.

So as with any Porsche, entry to the club remains exclusive.

What it is:

One of the latest and most incongruous entries into the sport utility realm, Cayenne is also the first production Porsche with four doors and a roomy back seat. Loaded with advanced technology, Cayenne manages to tread an unlikely line between sport sedan and heavy-duty SUV.

Engine and transmission:

Three-hundred and forty horsepower is nothing to sneeze at, even if the non-turbo V-8 in the Cayenne S is dragging around a 2 1/2-ton SUV. This is a strong and flexible 4.5-liter engine, and one of the most powerful engines in this class.

For a really fast SUV, shell out the extra $33,000 for Cayenne Turbo, reputed to move from zero to 60 in 5.6 seconds.

Either V-8 engine is enhanced with Porsche’s Variocam technology that adjusts valve timing and lift to optimize performance while reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The engine is notably smooth and well-mannered, while providing plenty of torque at all rpm.

Off-the-line acceleration is lacking, obviously due to Cayenne’s heft, but the engine quickly picks up power and roars into life. Cayenne S hits 60 in 7.2 seconds, which is not too shabby.

Fuel mileage is abysmal.

Another deviation from the usual Porsche offerings is the lack of a manual transmission. Cayenne comes equipped with a six-speed automatic with the same excellent Tiptronic self-shifting feature of the sports cars, including shift buttons on the steering wheel.

Or just leave it in Drive. The automatic varies its shifts according to driving input. It works very well.

Handling and drivability:

Incredible. Porsche’s fine chassis engineering and advanced electronic features create a new bench mark for SUV handling performance. Again, despite its size and weight, Cayenne is wonderfully nimble, making it all too easy to drive too fast.

In an enjoyable dirt-road trip, Cayenne showed off its actual stability and its electronic stability management. Try as I might (within reason), I could not provoke the Cayenne into a slide without the computer stepping in and keeping the SUV from stepping out.

The system is seamless, gently applying the brake on individual wheels or adjusting the throttle or ignition. This is t new technology, but on the Cayenne, it’s very effective without being intrusive.

All-wheel drive is standard on Cayenne, with a host of electronic features that Porsche calls “intelligent four-wheel drive.” The effect is to make Cayenne stable on the highway and tractable off the pavement.

The test Cayenne S included optional air suspension (standard on the Turbo) that reduces body sway, dive and squat while allowing six-way driver adjustment of the body height in a 4.56-inch range.

Styling: Cayenne is big and broad-shouldered, though bulky from some angles. Up front, it tries too hard to look like a Porsche, and its rear is boxy and plain. What’s missing is the lithe, streamlined look of Porsche’s classic styling.

Still, it was a consistent head-turner.

Interior:

No complaints here. From the roomy and supportive seating, front and rear, to the solid, businesslike look of the dashboard, the Cayenne’s interior is everything you expect from Porsche.

Pricing:

Porsches are expensive, and here Cayenne falls right in line. Base price is $55,900, with lots of options pushing up the total to $68,280.

They included $3,200 for the air-suspension system; video-display navigation, on-board computer and Bose sound system, $2,730; moonroof, $1,100; wood interior trim, $990; front and rear radar park assist, $990; tire pressure monitoring system, $590; trailer package, $590; Lapis blue paint, $495; seat and steering-wheel heating, $480; roof rack, $450; and shipping, $765.

Bottom line:

Forget questions about whether it’s a real Porsche. Whatever Cayenne may be, it’s as good as it gets.

Porsche Cayenne S

Vehicle type: Five-passenger, four-door sport utility, all-wheel drive.

Base price: $55,900.

Price as tested: $68,280.

Engine: 4.5-liter V-8, 340 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, 310 pound-feet of torque at 2,500 rpm.

Transmission: Six-speed automatic.

Wheelbase: 112.4 inches.

Curb weight: 4,949 pounds.

Towing capacity: 7,716 pounds.

EPA mileage: 14 city, 18 highway.

Highs:

Handling, drivability.

Engine power.

Handsome interior.

Lows:

Bulky styling.

No stickshift.

Identity crisis.