Power Play With Cayenne GTS

This is not the quickest, most powerful Cayenne ever. Don’t let that fool you because in GTS guise, it is the best

We could see it coming from a mile away. The Porsche Dynamic Light System-equipped LED headlamps on the GTS pierced the breaking dawn as it reached us. Sure, it was very early in the morning and the winter sun was yet to break out of its slumber, but I think we would have noticed the Cayenne GTS from a distance even if it were broad daylight. It may not be a handsome-looking SUV, but on our roads it exudes power.

The GTS makes its sporty intentions clear with air dams

When Porsche revealed the Cayenne SUV more than a decade ago many cried foul. It looked awful, but that was the least of the purist's problems. The bigger grouse was what would happen to a company which, so far, was synonymous with the most iconic sports cars of all time – the 911? A sports utility vehicle is anything but a sports car, because it is a big ponderous machine, designed to strike a balance between driving pleasure and off-road ability. A compromise. And compromising on driving pleasure is not what Porsche is known for.

Well, that’s what the purists think and to hell with that. Welcome to the real world, where an SUV was the need of the hour. It was an essential tool that Porsche thought would give it a fighting chance, not just to survive but to live in style in the fiercely competitive world of luxury cars, charting newer territory because the fight was no longer confined in Europe. It had gone beyond.

There have been a slew of Cayenne launches since 2002, when it first broke cover in the US of A. Each one more powerful and more enchanting than the other, You can read about the hierarchy elsewhere on these pages, but what you can read here is that the GTS slots somewhere between the Cayenne S and the Cayenne Turbo, which in absolute terms comes to around $82,050.

Typically, as with Porsche's sports cars, all Cayennes have a familiar face. Now in its second generation, Porsche has made the Cayenne smaller and less weird looking than the first one. Maybe we have gotten used to the idea of a 911 on stilts. Interestingly, the GTS has smaller stilts and sits much squatter than a regular Cayenne. As the name suggests – Grand Touring Sports – the GTS is clearly focused on offering a sportier element to the SUV.

The front has a more prominent air dam and there are ones in the lower chin too. The GTS comes with a load of add-on kit as standard from the side skirts to the rear wing that actually helps down force. And it's better considering the car can hit a max speed of 261kph. Yes, that’s a lot, but having driven this car at full whack, we can tell you that you don’t need a decent straight stretch to hit that mark. This car is quick and that’s an understatement.

Layout quite like any other Cayenne’s. Devil is in the detail

The GTS’s USP is its PASM and PDCC. If that hasn’t confused you enough, nothing else will. So, as complex as the acronyms sound what they mean are Porsche Active Suspension Management and Dynamic Chassis Control, both of which work in tandem to make sure you are low on body roll. PASM is standard. PDCC is not.

The engine is a 4.8-liter V8. Obviously, you will love the fact that there is 420bhp at 6500rpm and a whopping 515Nm or torque at almost half of peak torque rpm. But what you may like more is the way the engine comes to life. The key is in the shape of a Panamera for some reason, but the ignition is still a knobby switch, which you turn to wake the giant. While the engine noise is a menacing growl, the coming-to-life sees the rpm build to a figure far greater than required, to announce all around you that the beast has awoken. It settles into a fairly audible murmur before the foot touches the throttle.

The eight-speed tiptronic gearbox is up early in the rev range and before you know it, the car is hurtling ahead. Keep the throttle southbound and the all-wheel drive digs in firmly. You hardly feel the weight. You sit much closer to the road than you do in the average Cayenne, and in your hand is a steering that could well be from a sports car. And the only controls on the suede leather-wrapped steering wheel are the paddle shifters. This is hardcore.

Equally hardcore is the ‘Sport’ button. Active suspension means you can choose what height you want the suspension raised to – all this controlled by a simple push/pull switch. Of course, it can happen automatically too – say, when you go off-road, the car will rise automatically. Then there are three modes to drive in – Comfort, Normal and Sport. The last one, Sport, is what you need to focus on because there is where you realize why you signed a Cheque with nine digits on it. A firm press and as soon as the red below the switch glows, the GTS responds by upping engine revs, adding a bit of weight to the steering, making the car sit lower and giving the driver a jab of adrenaline.

Going fast comes easily to this Cayenne. What it also does better is corner really hard. It’s almost unbelievable that you can do this in what is essentially an SUV. Never let go of the steering and the car will never let go of the line. It obeys in a fashion that would make the Carrera S proud. But let me warn you here – do not be as adventurous in Normal or Comfort modes. In Normal, the GTS gets on with life without a lot of drama. Of course, you need this mode when the Cayenne is put to more conventional use like going to the office or for taking friends or family out to a party. The ride is firm but not intrusive and you are not left cursing those who make our roads as much as you do otherwise. At least, not for the surface. But you will surely curse those who design our roads, which hardly give us a chance to stretch the legs of this car. But show the GTS an empty stretch of highway and it gobbles it up faster than our politicians pocket public money.

As much as it is in the thick of things when it comes to sports cars, there is little doubt that the same applies to Porsche when it comes to sports utility vehicles. Porsche may have originally designed the vehicle along with VW and Audi, but with the GTS, it has set the benchmark for showing the true intent of the word ‘sports’ in SUV.

Plenty of buttons to choose from. Keep kids away

What makes the GTS all the more likeable is that it can play a dual life, and it has the wherewithal and the hardware to play it well. It’s almost like two luxury SUVs for the price of one which makes the price tag sound a bit saner than it looks. The GTS is not the most powerful or the fastest Cayenne out there. But then, it’s not about how much power you have. It’s about how you play with it.

Know your Cayenne

They might all look alike but there is a cleat hierarchy down the Cayenne range. Here’s how the family tree works:

Model: Cayenne

·         Engine: 3.0V6

·         Power: 300bhp

·         0-100kph: 7.5s

Model: Cayenne Diesel

·         Engine: 3.0V6

·         Power: 245bhp

·         0-100kph: 7.6s

Model: Cayenne S

·         Engine: 4.8.0V8

·         Power: 400bhp

·         0-100kph: 5.9s

Model: Cayenne S Diesel

·         Engine: 4.2V8

·         Power: 382bhp

·         0-100kph: 5.7s

Model: Cayenne S Hybrid

·         Engine: 3.0V6

·         Power: 380bhp

·         0-100kph: 6.5s

Model: Cayenne GTS

·         Engine: 4.8V8

·         Power: 420bhp

·         0-100kph: 5.7s

Model: Cayenne Turbo

·         Engine: 4.8V8

·         Power: 500bhp

·         0-100kph: 4.7s

Model: Cayenne

·         Engine: 4.8V8

·         Power: 550bhp

·         0-100kph: 4.3s