EARLY examples of the second generation Porsche Cayenne built until 2018 are down to very affordable prices.

But make sure you get one with full Porsche or specialist service history. As long as all the proper work has been carried out, they have a very good reputation for reliability even with high mileage.

A 2010 3.6 petrol in standard trim can be had for about £7,000 privately, or £9,500 from a dealer, and with 110,000 miles or less on the clock.

The Cayenne was a model that had many purist, Porsche afficianado detractors and it's never going to win any beauty contests.

But it has become the company's best selling car ever by a long, long way and the vast majority of those sold in this country have been diesels - something that was a dirty word for the sportscar maker for many years.

Those diesels are a 3.0-litre V6 borrowed from VW and suitably modified in the Porsche tradition, and a 4.2 V8 borrowed from Audi. Both of these units are also used in the VW Touareg and other group cars and the Touareg is built on the same production line and shares many parts with the Cayenne.

The V6 produces between 236 and 258bhp and sprints to 60 miles an hour in 7.4 or 7.1 seconds while averaging about 32 miles per gallon.

The 4.2 boasts a stump-pulling 379bhp and vast amounts of torque, sufficient to propel it to 60mph in 5.2 seconds at an average economy of 26mpg.

Petrol engines start with a 295bhp 3.6-litre V6 that takes 7.3 seconds to get to 60 and should do 22mpg, and there's also a twin turbo of this unit that makes 433bhp and brings up the sprint in 5 seconds.

A 3.0-litre V6 petrol/electric hybrid - plug-in after 2014 - pushes out 374bhp and can do 26 miles per gallon. It covers the sprint in 6.3 seconds.

Then come three versions of the mighty 4.8-litre V8, with 414, 512 and 562bhp respectively.

Fastest is the Turbo S. This storms to 60mph in just four seconds but will be unlikely to better the economy of a ten tonne wagon. All later cars come with Porsche's excellent tiptronic automatic gearbox.

So, performance is excellent, but the handling is also phenomenal, making the Cayenne the best in class.

It hardly rolls at all, the amount of grip is hard to believe and the steering feedback is top notch. It feels safe and well planted in every situation and the only slight downside is a knobbly ride over some country road surfaces at speed.

There are three settings for the adjustable suspension: normal, sport and comfort. There's little to choose between comfort and normal but sport firms up the settings to make the car even less comfortable, if marginally quicker through the corners.

Inside, the dash looks like an aircraft cockpit and can be pretty confusing. But the sat nav and audio controls are easy to use.

The seats are among the best I have ever sat in and electric adjustment allows anyone to find a decent driving position within seconds.

Passengers are very well insulated from wind and road noise and equipment is excellent across the range, with all having leather, climate, alarm, cruise, parking sensors and traction control on top of those items already mentioned.

Pay about £18,650 for a '14 14-reg 3.0D in standard trim, or £33,200 for a '14 14-reg petrol 3.6 S.