2022 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT | PH Review
Not the most powerful Cayenne, but it is the fastest and most focused. So is it the best fast SUV on sale?
I was driving along in the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT the other day, listening to a radio programme where the discussion was on curious collective nouns. I like that sort of thing. It’s not an exact science, of course – there are always differing interpretations for each – but the ones that tickled me included a flamboyance of flamingos, a tower of giraffes, a horde of gerbils and an exaltation of larks. An exaltation; come on, how marvellous is that? And because this feels like the umpteenth hyper SUV I’ve driven recently, I found myself wondering what a collection of these would be called. If you think they’re a bit pointless, a silliness, senseless or stupidity, perhaps?
Anyway, they’re popular with punters, which is why they keep on coming. Last month I drove the Aston Martin DBX707 in Sardinia, last week the BMW XM prototype in Salzburg and now this Turbo GT. There’s nothing so far flung about this drive, though. I am with it in the UK, in a right-hand-drive car for the first time. How does it compare? Well, for a start the intake of breath and whistling teeth is arguably as loud for this GT-badged SUV as it was for the full-blown M SUV. Like the XM, the work to deliver not just straight-line performance but also the degree of handling finesse fit for the brand is fulsome. These are heavy machines, after all – the Turbo GT weighs 2,220kg (DIN).
That’s actually 20kg more than the Turbo on which it’s based, but a lot, lot less than the more powerful (but ultimately slower) Turbo S E-Hybrid. And the Turbo GT’s weight would’ve have been even greater were it not for its carbon roof, which must’ve saved, oh, a kilogram or two at least, and its standard-fit Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes. Some 40kg has been added, but in the welcome area of peak downforce. That’s from the combination of its revised front apron, those aero ears by the C-pillars, the rear diffuser and taller, extendable rear spoiler.
That extra squish is at the Turbo GT’s 186mph v-max, which is 8mph higher than the Turbo’s. And its 3.3-second 0-62mph time drops the Turbo's by six-tenths; that’s all down to the extra 90hp and 59lb ft delivered by the numerous revisions to the 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. For example, the crankshaft, connecting rods, pistons and timing chain have been beefed up to cope with the higher peak loads. There’s also a new exhaust, which dumps the Turbo’s central muffler, and, from the mid-section to its centre-exiting twin tailpipes, is made of lightweight titanium.
A good deal of work has gone into the suspension as well. The Turbo GT sits 17mm lower to the ground than the Turbo and it has 0.45-degrees more negative camber applied to the front wheels. These are an inch wider, too, and 22-inches across, just like the rear wheels, all shod with bespoke Pirelli P-Zero Corsas. Finished in gold, they’re also rather handsome don’t you think? The changes to the front axle are intended to sharpen up the turn in, and that’s complimented by tweaks to the torque vectoring and rear-wheel steering. To complete the package, the triple-chamber air springs are 15 per cent stiffer, and the PASM damping and PDCC active-roll systems have been beefed up as well.
The first thing that struck me was the rear-wheel steering, which is on high alert at slower speeds. There’s a positive side to this: it makes the turning circle relatively tiny, so squeezing this five-metre-long colossus around the constricted confines of a car park isn’t an issue. The problem is, it’s still overeager when you’re rolling at 30mph. I didn’t gel with this particular trait. I found myself making a concerted effort to under do the lock around roundabouts and other more acute turns.
At higher speeds, this hyper-sensitivity bleeds away. By the time I was carving through fast sweepers and the like, I felt quite at ease. Its reactions are far more natural and there’s that typical Porsche weighting to enjoy. Unlike the pre-prod XM I tried - which to be fair wasn’t finished - there’s more heft to key you in right from the off, and it builds more progressively from that point onwards. There’s some welcome texture coming through as well. All those lovey little details that boost confidence: the changes in the surface coarseness, the lightest of kicks over bumps and the fractional drop off in weight as the front end starts to push.
Not that it’s unduly biased towards understeer, mind. The front is very direct and the rear follows dutifully. Through the entry and mid-corner phases of a bend, both ends remain nicely balanced. When you see the exit opening up and get on the power, there’s a shift in its attitude but this is subtle. The drivetrain winds itself up like a coiled spring from the rear. There’s nothing upsetting about this. You just sense it as a small moment, the car pivoting around the centre of its wheelbase, keeping the front tyres locked in a metaphorical groove and following their intended path. Mind you, you can have more than a subtle moment if you want. You can have a bloody big one. It’ll happily go sideways if you switch off the stability control, but not in an eyes-on-stalks way. You can play with it. Enjoy it. Even though it’s the most potent cayenne pepper in a Porsche packet, the burn is never more than an enlivening, exciting tingle.
The weirdest thing is being perched on top of this lofty machine. The Cayenne’s driving position is excellent in many ways, but it does feel particularly high relative to its width – you're expecting it to wave around like a willow in the wind, but it doesn’t. It’s surreal. As the cornering forces build and build and build – to the extent that you’re extremely thankful for the excellent bracing the seat bolsters offer – visually the thing’s not leaning at all. Even in the softest drive mode, the effectiveness of those rejigged active roll bars and stiffer springs is very apparent. It’s not too stiff, either. At least not when it comes to dealing with mid-corner bumps when it’s heavily loaded laterally. It soaks those up without any instability.
The problem I have is with the other lateral disturbances – I’m talking about the ones when you’re just cruising in a straight line. These aren’t extreme, but, still, once you’re aware of them happening, you can’t make yourself unaware, if you catch my drift. Over the course of a three-hour drive down the M4 this started to grate. So I tried winding up the drive modes to see if that would help. As always in a Porsche this is dead easy to do – with a quick twist of the steering wheel mode button – and Sport+ did indeed deal with the sway. But it’s the stiffest mode and made the ride too harsh, so mid-way Sport mode seemed to be the best compromise. That’s not perfect, though: you still get some side-to-side shimmy with added firmness. This is where I feel the DBX707 is better. Its blend of comfort and control is, from what I recall, simply better.
The Turbo GT has the better drivetrain, though. Okay, it doesn’t match the out-and-out drama of Aston’s (i.e. AMG's) V8 at full chat, but that doesn’t matter. I mean, there’s anything wrong with the Porsche’s note. It rams enough rudeness down your lugholes when you’re inside the car and throttling hard and sounds fantastic from the outside, too. The trick is it never gets on your nerves (like the ride does) when you’re not hooning it. When you just want to chill it’s muted and woofly. The performance is a match for the DBX707’s, which means, Lordy, this thing is fast. Just an immense reserve of torque that it keeps hurling at you right through to the upper-mid range. When that’s dying back don’t think the roller-coaster ride’s over. Then you get nuclear-grade explosiveness of its top-end power.
Where it betters the DBX707 – by which I mean trounces it – is the gearbox. The eight-speed Tiptronic in the Cayenne produces faster and smooth changes. It reacts better, whether it’s in auto or manual mode, and you don’t get caught by an annoying soft limiter, like you do in the DBX. That’s because the Cayenne doesn’t have a soft limiter. If you do happen to push too deep into the 6,800rpm peak of the red zone then you’ll feel the ignition cut momentarily, but pull the right-hand paddle and: bam. Immediately you’re on your way again, rather than hanging around, waiting, like you will be in the Aston.
The brakes are also superb. Better than the XM’s corruptible regen set-up. Like the DBX, the Turbo GT’s carbon ceramics stoppers are gratifyingly powerful yet subtle, too. You feel every bit of bite they offer and can modulate the amount required accordingly. The difference here is the pedal travel. It’s solid from right from the initial press, whereas the DBX’s pedal sinks a bit before it starts to work.
So this is all overwhelmingly positive, then – well, annoying ride issues aside. And, if you read my review of the XM last week, you’re probably thinking “He’s clearly biased.” The XM was, in the main, similarly impressive at defying the laws of physics, but I was a bit scathing about it at the end. I am not being Porsche-centric, though. For all the Turbo GT’s amazing qualities, for all its surprising abilities to entertain and excite, I never once found myself thinking “It’s my birthday next week (and it is, by the way); I know what I’ll be asking for.”
If you want a fast Cayenne, then buy the GTS. It’s fast enough and two-thirds the price. Simple. Even then, I’d still rather an SUV that’s comfortable and better off road than it is at tearing up the asphalt. I’ll stick to performance and sports cars for kicks and giggles, thank you. That’s why, going back to the start, the whole collection of hyper SUVs I’ve driven recently could be termed a silliness. But if you are going to be silly, then I'm sticking to my guns and recommending the DBX707 to you. It is the most comfortable and, gearbox aside, just as sweet as this Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT to drive. Well, that’s how I recall it, but it was a month ago and abroad. And I’m getting older and my memory is poorer. So maybe a twin test is needed to check I'm right.
Specification | 2022 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
Engine: 3,996cc, V8, twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 640@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 627@2,300-4,500rpm
0-62mph: 3.3
Top speed: 186
Weight: 2,220kg (DIN)
MPG: 20.0
CO2: 319g/km
Price: £147,510
I think I agree with the writer John though, and leave the speed to the performance and sports cars, rather than these big and heavy SUVs.
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