WITH Chinese communities considering the number eight as the most fortuitous number in the world, the new Porsche Cayenne S ought to be on to a winner in the Far East.

With eight cylinders, eight gears and what looks like 888 buttons gushing over the dashboard and centre console, it could be the luckiest car in the world.

But you need to be fairly fortunate, or at least well-heeled, to experience the delights of this premium sports utility vehicle in the first place.

For with prices ranging from just over £40,000 to more than £80,000, the Cayenne cruises comfortably into Range Rover territory.

The revised Cayenne might look as externally meaty as ever, but engineers have put the 4x4 on a serious slimming course, slicing 180kg off the test model Cayenne S. The use of lighter materials, including a new extra-light all-wheel drive transmission, has delivered better performance, agility, and handling, while improving fuel consumption and cutting CO2 emissions.

Mind you, the Cayenne needed to lose a bit of weight, for the 400 horsepower, 4.8-litre V8 petrol engine still likes fuel. With 15 horsepower more than the previous model, combined with greater economy, the new engine offers better performance overall and a whopping 23 per cent cut in fuel consumption.

The model also came with a new eight-speed Tiptronic S automatic transmission, which has a wider spread of gear ratios, and a Start-Stop function that cuts the engine while stationary in traffic.

Overall, the new Cayenne is 48mm longer than its predecessor. But despite its larger exterior dimensions, it actually looks more compact and dynamic. The fresh design, which mirrors the rest of the 2010 Porsche range, emphasises the sporting character of the Cayenne. That is clear from the second you climb, and I mean climb, into the driver’s seat. This is a full-on, robustly bolstered, sports seat of the kind you might expect to find in a ground-hugging 911.

That sporty feel is further supported by the rising centre console that extends to surround the gearshift selector and gives the interior a typical Porsche ‘cockpit’ character.

An increase of 40mm in the wheelbase gives extra space inside and makes the Cayenne a more practical day-to-day car. In the rear, the seat bench can move forwards and back by 160mm and the backrest angle has three different position settings.

Standard equipment on every Cayenne includes leather interior, dual-zone automatic climate control, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, audio system with seven-inch touch-screen, eight-way powered front seat adjustment, 18-inch alloy wheels, front and rear electric windows, and a 100-litre fuel tank.

Alongside the existing high-performance petrol and diesel models is a new 3.0-litre supercharged V6 hybrid model, which combines the sporting performance of an eight-cylinder with the economy of a six cylinder.

And should you fear being unlucky enough to have your car stolen, fear not, as every Cayenne S, S Hybrid and Turbo has a Porsche vehicle tracking system fitted as standard.

Price: £53,692 Insurance group: 20 Fuel consumption (Combined): 26.9mpg Top speed: 160mph Length: 484.6cm/190.7in Width: 193.9cm/76.3in Luggage capacity: 20.4 cu ft Fuel tank capacity: 22 gallons/100 litres CO2 emissions: 245g/km Warranty: 2 years/unlimited mileage