First Drive Review
With the addition of the 2013 GTS to the Cayenne lineup, there are now six flavors of the Porsche SUV—the Cayenne V-6, the Cayenne S, the Cayenne S hybrid, the Cayenne diesel, the Cayenne GTS, and the Cayenne Turbo. Six variations of the same crossover make perfect sense from a company that offers 18 variations of the 911. Each Cayennee has its own personality, so choosing one is like trying to pick the right ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, except you don’t get a tiny plastic spoon. (Porsche dealers can offer you test drives but no minuscule flatware.) And there are more versions coming. Next up will be the Turbo S. After that, we’re hoping the Cayenne Bumpy Cake Swirl S gets the green light.
Cayenne Spotter’s Guide
Here’s a simple way to mentally categorize the new Cayenne GTS. It’s basically a Turbo without the turbochargers. If it were a 911, the Porsche guys would call it a Turbo-Look and the factory would call it the 958-X52 Natur, or something inscrutable like that.
The GTS comes with the Turbo’s front fascia, LED-accented active headlights, body-color fender extensions and side skirts, red brake calipers, black window frames, and darkened LED taillights. It’s not quite identical, though. For the Porsche Club judges who will be scrutinizing this SUV in 2063, we should mention that the biplane rear spoiler design differs from the Turbo’s, the four exhaust tips are matte black instead of stainless steel, and the badge on the hatch says GTS. Aside from the engine, perhaps the major difference between the Turbo and its stunt double is the latter’s $83,025 base price, $26,700 less than the Turbo’s. Start with a $66,825 Cayenne S and try to re-create a GTS. You’ll spend considerably more than $83,025, and you still won’t have the Turbo’s front end.
Lift the Turbo-style domed hood, and you’ll see a warmed-over version of the Cayenne S’s 4.8-liter V-8. A more aggressive intake cam and modified engine management are good for 420 hp, 20 more than in the Cayenne S, 80 fewer than in the Turbo. The torque gets a small bump to 380 lb-ft, up 11 over the S’s but well short of the Turbo’s 516.
The extra power isn’t particularly noticeable. What is noticeable is that the GTS feels more willing, more frisky, and more awake than the S. Shorter final-drive ratios in the front and rear differentials help the GTS move from a stoplight with more conviction. Quicker shifts from the eight-speed automatic transmission also help—Porsche claims a 0.2-second improvement in 0-to-60 times compared with the Cayenne S (we got a 5.5-second run out of the last S we tested). The six-speed manual from the previous Cayenne GTS is no longer offered, as, sadly, less than three percent of buyers opted for it. (Those folks deserve to be inducted into the “Save the Manuals!” hall of fame, if such a thing were to exist.) The 2013 GTS does have standard paddle shifters behind the steering wheel as well as the manual Tiptronic gate for the shifter.
