First Drive Porsche Cayenne GTS

If you thought the already hard-charging Cayenne was soft around the edges and not as scalpel-sharp as a Porsche should be, the new GTS is for you. A real driver’s SUV, sporting essence distilled to near-perfection.

The road twists, turns and loops like spaghetti. We wait. And then wait some more. And a little more. Still nothing, no sloppy SUV looseness, no indication of 2.2 tonnes being flung around these Portuguese roads, not even a hint. Porsche says the roads around Faro, in southern Portugal, are some of the best if sporty driving is what you are looking for. And that’s exactly what we’re getting here — heaps and heaps of corners, some bunched together, some spread out, some tight and turning in on themselves, with others that are longer and more open. Tarmac Nirvana, in short, and the nonchalant manner in which the GTS is handling these twisters is deeply impressive. Even my otherwise-silent passenger pipes up. “It’s just unreal how well this car is handling all that weight,” he says. More revs on the V8.

Any drive of a new car starts at a measured pace. You need to feel how the car responds to your input, it’s easier to pick off areas of strength or weakness one at a time, rather than all together, and getting to understand the overall balance is essential; vital if you want to wring the most out of any car. Porsche’s new Cayenne GTS SUV has been specifically tuned to deliver the purest driving experience, but this is now bordering on the ludicrous. The GTS feels as composed and as unruffled as something that’s light and low-slung, something it certainly isn’t. Yes, yes, we know you’ve read all about these new-fangled SUVs that drive as well as cars, but this is beyond that, some way beyond. And, believe me, we are already shuffling along at an express rate, the direct-injection V8 bellowing blue murder.

And it’s not just any 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. Ok, 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.