Porsche Cayenne GTS

Is there room for another Cayenne model? We have the underpowered entry-level V6, the mad as a hatter Turbo and, the pick of the bunch, Cayenne S. So why have Porsche launched the GTS? Simple; it fills a real gap.

I have to hold my hands up and confess I use a Cayenne S every day, and a very good car it is. Not the prettiest car ever made (but nowhere near as bad as Clarkson pretends) but as an all-rounder there is nothing that comes close. But as a keen driver I do find it can be irritating at times. The modern desire for ‘clever’ auto boxes and trick electronics does mean that carbon emissions can be kept in check and fuel economy figures can shine, but the truth is they do dull the driving experience. In my Cayenne I tend to use the tiptronic quite a lot, because if I don’t the car just doesn’t respond after a period of ambling. There’s nothing worse than cruising to a junction, looking to make a quick exit and finding the car doesn’t respond! But using the Tiptronic solves that. And if I really want to play I turn off the PSM and then the car comes alive - and it’s much more fun!

The new Cayenne GTS comes with a very useful extra 20bhp and a standard manual box. That could well make it a lot of fun! Whether it becomes tiresome on a day to day level I’ll leave until we’ve done a road test, but on the face of it this is a good move. Add to that the big 21in wheels, PASM (although I’d probably go for the PSM and full air suspension instead), a shorter final drive giving a 0-60 of around 6 seconds and you have a very interesting addition to the Cayenne range!