The Hindu : Metro Plus Chennai / Wheels : The Big Daddy of SUVs

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Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008

Metro Plus Chennai

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The Big Daddy of SUVs

TestDRIVE The new Porsche Cayenne takes driving experience to a different level. Shapur Kotwal does not want to step out of it

STRONG AND STYLISH This new GTS has the most responsive, most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever screwed down and hooked up under the bonnet of a Cayenne

According to Porsche, the roads around Faro, in Southern Spain are ideal for sporty driving and so, that’s exactly where I drove the new Porsche Cayenne GTS. The roads along Faro did turn out to be best for such driving and despite all the twis ts and turns, there was no sloppy SUV looseness and no indication of 2.2 tonnes being flung around. Porsche had claimed that their new Cayenne GTS SUV was designed specifically to give the purest driving experience and their claims are true as this car remained as unruffled as something that’s light and low-slung, something it certainly isn’t. Yes, we have been in modern SUVs that drive as well as cars but the GTS SUV is really taking things to the next level.

Powerful V8

This new GTS has the most responsive, most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever screwed down and hooked up under the bonnet of a Cayenne. And, with shorter overall gearing and additional power, this 405bhp powerhouse packs muscle like little else. Okay, the Turbo, with its 500bhp twin-turbocharged V8, produces much more power, but for instant access to this power, this version of the V8 is it. Still, 2.2 tonnes is 2.2 tonnes. Try lifting 0.2 tonnes, 200kg, to get the right perspective. An enormous lump of mass that, when multiplied by such massive acceleration, attains ominous levels of momentum. Momentum that you keep adding to or attempting to reverse as you pile on the throttle or chomp on the brakes, or fight against every time you need to steer into a corner.

The original Cayenne was a pioneer in terms of taking SUV agility to new standards. And now, to give more agility, the GTS has been lowered by an inch, the steel springs are stiffer than on the Cayenne S and the front anti-roll bar is stiffer as well. The wheels and tyres are a dream — 21-inch rims are standard, which in itself must be some sort of record for sure. These wheels are housed in chunky wheel-arches that further enhance the aggressiveness of the new Porsche. The tyres used are super-sticky Michelin Latitude 295/35 rubber.

Once I got more into the flow of things, I continued to increase pace and as most of the world outside the Cayenne starts to fade turning into a blur, the Porsche feels like it is nowhere near being fully extended. There may be 405bhp on tap, but that’s only half the story. Chop that up between 2.2 tonnes and there’s only around half to go around; approximately 184bhp per tonne. In spite of this, the GTS driven with your foot to the floor has the ability to hit a hundred from rest in 6.5 seconds and top off at 251kph. Even at speeds as high as 160kph plus, straight-line stability is good, in addition while in other SUVs, you check your speed every time you approach a tight corner, you needn’t do that while you’re in the Cayenne GTS.

This new SUV from Porsche has awesome grip and pitches forward so little as you hit the brakes and rolls so minutely as you turn into the corner, that you soon start to disregard all that weight that is being flung around from back to front and side to side.

Adjustable dampers

The drive feel of this car is so incredible that you transcend into a higher zone while behind the wheel. You start to rely on instinct, perception and feel rather than calculated, deliberate inputs. It’s at this point that you are fooled into thinking that you are driving a well-sorted, V8-powered GT car with a stiff suspension and strong brakes – not an SUV!

So for Porsche this is the ultimate triumph as that’s exactly what it set out to do with the Cayenne GTS. Porsche has also provided its adjustable dampers on the coil-sprung GTS and not just the air suspension-equipped car, so ride in ‘Comfort’ mode is acceptable rather than pile-threatening.

The 35-section tyres, however, aren’t the most ride-friendly and there is some ‘thump-thump’. The low profile also means you will have to be a little careful on most Indian roads, which actually defeats the purpose of having an SUV in certain circumstances. In addition, the V8 uses direct injection and a very high compression ratio of 12.5:1, meaning even our ‘premium’ 97-octane petrol will only just be good enough; anything near 91 is less than ideal. Also, it is needless to say that this SUV is seriously thirsty for fuel.

The interiors of the Cayenne GTS are much like the existing SUV with minor cosmetic changes. Comfort at the rear is good though it would have been better to have more space. The only thing that put me off is the wart-hog-like nose, which I guess is something you learn to like over time – I need more time. However, this is in no way serious enough to not buy the car. So if you can afford the hefty price tag of Rs 82.4 lakh, you can get a car that has such a strong appeal that you won’t want to stop driving it. It is, after all, a Porsche.

Technical data

Porsche Cayenne GTS

Price Rs 82.4 lakh (estimate)

Length 4795m

Width 1957mm

Height 1675mm

Wheelbase 2855mm

Turn circle diaNA

Kerb weight 2225kg

Engine 8-cyls in vee, 4806cc

Installation Front, longitudinal, all-wheel drive

Power 405bhp