Porsche Cayenne GTS test

Intro: Even more sporty!

Facing strong competition that keeps getting tougher, Porsche had to take steps and add some new touches to the Cayenne to remain the reference in the luxury SUV sector. It isn’t about improving its off-road qualities, it’s more about making it sportier and that’s what the new Cayenne GTS is.

Esthetique: Aggressive

Porsche took inspiration from its turbo version with this large air intake on the front spoiler and they enlarged both the front and back wheel wells by 14mms, which gives the Cayenne a far more intense look. From the side, the lower body panels and even more so the 21-inch alloy wheels add to the Cayenne’s aggressive temperament. The low profile tyres are more suited to asphalt, which does diminish the Cayenne’s versatility for going off road. There isn’t much that stands out at the back beyond the roof spoiler and the chrome muffler pipes.

Motorization: 408 brake horsepower

The engine is the same direct injection 4.8 litre V8 equipped with the Vario Cam Plus system that powers the Cayenne S. The Porsche engineers worked extensively on the air admission system and managed to squeeze an extra 20 brake horsepower out of the V8, which now produces 408bhp.

On the road: Efficient

On the Ceram off-road circuit, we preferred to play it safe and stay on the least taxing tracks, for sure the GTS is more than capable of a tougher test but why would you want to? You could damage a wheel or really make a mess of the interior, this is a Porsche don’t forget and not an all out off road machine like a Jeep or Range Rover, which were built to get dirty. We certainly didn’t want to end our fun here and we can say that this Cayenne is typically Porsche, that is to say rigorous with an irreproachable finish. Because this car received a treatment worthy of being called a GT, which we took full advantage of once back on the tarmac. We engaged the road mode and the GTS, which sits 24mm closer to the ground than the Cayenne S is ready to go. We’re still at the Ceram facility but this time on a 5 kilometre long circuit to see what, if any, are the handling downsides of the Cayenne GTS. The active suspension and anti-roll systems, the oversized brakes as well as permanent all-wheel drive are revolutionary compared to the other Cayennes and luxury SUVs. In the end, there isn’t much the driver can do because the electronics do all the work. And the result is a top speed in excess of 250km/h and naught to 100km/h is done in just over 6 seconds. These are performance numbers worthy of a top line GT even though the GTS lacks dramatically in terms of being fun to drive.