It's like a Hans Christian Andersen tale, this story of the Porsche Cayenne. You have your pudgy E1 first-gen duckling that, despite how out of place it looked like in that year's catalogue, eventually grew into the golden goose that pulled the company out of the swamps of financial hell.

Subsequent E2 and E3 generations were monumental in their own rights; hitting the million-units sold mark within a short period of time to keep the lights on at Stuttgart, and most importantly enabled the GT3s and GT2s we adored flowing. Ferry Porsche will no doubt be smiling from up above.

And today, we welcome its third-generation midlife facelift, the Cayenne E3 II. Locally-assembled in Kulim, Kedah, the Cayenne sold here boasts specifications to our region, but prices have crept up too – now starting at RM 599k, should it still garner your attention?

Overview and exterior: Simple, could add more flair though

The fundamentals are the same: it remains as a large five-seat family SUV with standard all-wheel drive. You can have a V6 or a V8, but as before, our CKD ones only come with the former so we'll focus on that.

Porsche's range rejuvenation adds sharper aesthetics and a redone cabin, and Malaysian customers now get an bigger goodie bag thanks to local assembly. Ours comes with the monochrome black package, clever adaptive Matrix LED headlights, along with roof rails, as are things like the 20-inch wheels and a three-colour palette.

Also read: From RM 599k, new 2023 Porsche Cayenne facelift CKD launched in Malaysia: 3.0 V6, Sport Chrono pack, ACC

As a matter of fact that's probably the only point of contention we have with the CKD Cayenne's aesthetics. Granted some of you will like the reserved exterior colour plus wheel combination – OK, if comes down to it there's a few optional choices – however if you want more bling and glam the CBU variants offer a lot more customisation.

Interior: Thoroughly reworked, more modern

The Taycan's bits finally flow into the Cayenne's cabin, resulting in a thorough, more digitised rework. Predictably there's more screens, including a super HD 12.6-inch binnacle-free curved panel that houses all the instruments within, just like its superstar EV sibling does.

Nonetheless it's big improvements aplenty, helped along by the crystal clear instrumentation that's also pretty customisable. You can have it in classic five-dial style, or just one with a whole map, but note this doesn't play well with Android Auto – it will show you where you are, but not turn-by-turn navigation.

Also read: Review: Porsche Taycan 4S - an electrifying, synapse-frying performance car

One awesome addition: Sport Chrono is standard on all Malaysia-built Cayennes. We don't know about you but to us having that analogue dial crowning the dash is as instrumental (sorry, had to) to the brand as flat-sixes. In the Cayenne, it provides a clear character, one that reminds drivers that they're in a Porsche formost.

Along with that there's the 14-way powered seats with memory function up front, embossed with the Porsche crest on the headrest. These are super plush units, combine it with a steering wheel that's also extensively electronically adjustable, it's a cockpit that moulds alongside you, offering a bolstered yet fantastic driving position.

Also read: Want to improve your driving? Start with your eyes

Just note that it's relatively low-slung, so you don't sit quite as high as say, in a Volvo XC90.

Materials and quality are definitely the Cayenne's strong suit, save for the fact this black-on-black combo makes it all look very austere, slightly a bit too 'base model'. We're bigger fans of the red/black mix that buyers will be able to spec for no extra cost anyway.

Space and practicality: Superior legroom

Head- and legroom are superior, almost deceivingly large. There's three full tennis ball worth of legroom and one tennis ball for the headroom, and the rear seats are wide enough for three-abreast seating.

It manages all that with a cavernous bootspace too: 695 litres of space, increasing to 1,708 litres with the seats folded down.

Any downsides?

Most of it is down to ergonomic choices, really. We love the steering wheel a lot (for reasons you'll read below), but the lack of easy functions get in its own way sometimes. No way to restart a song or pause it, and no easy way to turn off the ovebearingly sensitive Lane Departure Warning that stays on by default are our biggest gripes.

Plus points for sensibly retaining physical air-cond controls though. Except its in piano black, so it will look ace for a whole five minutes before dust and fingerprints plaster themselves all over it. Wiping it willy-nilly brings about scratches, so pay attention to that.

Also read: Porsche Malaysia has built its 1,000th CKD Porsche Cayenne in just slightly more than a year

Worse still however is that it's weirdly susceptible to dazzling glare, and no, our car doesn't come with a sunroof. You won't be able to read what's it saying on the otherwise really clear screen then, and its doubly annoying when you're just driving peacefully, so keep those sunnies handy...

The drive: Porsche proves its performance potency

Ah yes, the Cayenne V6, or to some, the 'base car'. Is it just here to fill a gap, or does it earn every enamel of the Porsche badge? We'll tell you this – if this is your first sampling of a performance SUV, the pedigree is very hard to look past.

Drivers will tell you about the 'Porsche effect', one where Stuttgart's adroit hand in chassis tuning a homegenous experience across the model range. No different in the Cayenne; it straddles the line between being bolstered and boisterous equally well.

Having the lighter V6 – one so pure in 2023 without battery this, electric motor that – sees the Cayenne round a corner deftly unlike most other SUVs, performance or not. A steering wheel that's exemplary in diameter and communication (the fact that it's the same one you'll find in this and all the way up to the 911 GT3 says a lot) makes for an impressive car along backroads, and a friendly one inside basement parking lots.

Also read: Review: Porsche 911 GT3 - Bought a turbocharged supercar? Such a shame

Oh, the V6. 353 PS and 500 Nm (it's up 13 PS and 50 Nm from the pre-update) are hardly class-leading figures these days, but its the power delivery that earns it a seat amongst the veritable. It's lively, yet never too rowdy, and if you want it to just quietly potter about on the highways, it'll do just that.

But if you fancy a spot of tomfoolery and see if the needle reach all the way to the reds, slap it into Sport Plus. The rising burbles of the exhaust is a hint of what's to come; this is the Cayenne at its 'comfort be damned' setting, accelerating and shifting with veracity not unlike some of its two-door counterparts.

Porsche's also blessed the Malaysian-made variant with the clever Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) and Power Steering Plus, so apart from being a bit overpowered in the road-holding department, it's also good value.

Throw it whatever and it remains taut and impressively sporting, while the fast-reacting adaptive dampers soaks up bumps with aplomb. All in all it makes for a very calm cruise. Combine that with a super insulated cabin, it all feels like a bank vault, as my colleague Shaun puts it.

Verdict: The Cayenne continues to rise

The original sports car for five, as Porsche puts it, has majorly benefitted from this elaborate refresh. It looks sharper now, and the fettling underneath – especially with all the fancy acronyms bundled along with our CKD version – keeps it fresh in an increasingly tight segment.

Sure some cheaper rivals (and let's be real, plenty of the Cayenne's rivals undercut it) will afford more space or more ADAS doodads, but a Porsche remains an emotional purchase at the forefront. It's what defines the brand's sports cars, and to an extent, the Cayenne. To have that in a deeply practical, potent, and clever package is a fine bonus.

Also read: CKD 2022 Porsche Cayenne - Inside the first plant outside of Europe to build a Porsche