Best of both: The Porsche Cayenne Coupé GTS

I’ve made it no secret that SUVs are my favourite vehicles right now. Yes, I’m not the person that’s going to go off roading nor am I going to use the vehicle to its “full capability”. What I am going to do is enjoy the ride height, the drive comfort and being eye-line with all the taxis. This makes for such a pleasurable and in control driving experience.

Now within the SUV revolution has come the coupé SUV revolution. Coupé SUV you may ask? Yes indeed an SUV coupé. This was brought into the market by BMW introducing the first X6. This was a vehicle that undoubtedly split opinions, you either loved it or hated it. Fast forward a couple of years and now we stand with the indisputably best looking Coupé SUV and that is the Porsche Cayenne Coupé and in this variant, the GTS.

The GTS badge, having made its first introduction a couple of models ago, has fast become the preferred model of the entire range. This is because the GTS offers the perfect blend of comfort, sportiness, looks and of course, attitude. A lot louder, a little more sleek and decidedly the more “stocky looking” of the range, the GTS has always been the family extrovert and what an extrovert this new one is.

Having pulled off a modern day motoring miracle, Porsche have given back to its owners a V8 in the GTS. Punching out 338kW, 620Nm, this “Hot V” (Turbos sitting in between the two banks of cylinders) Will propel this family wagon to the ton in 4,5 seconds. I’m sure most families will never in their wildest dreams think of it, but it also is capable of cruising, on the autobahn of course, at 270km/h. What the numbers don’t tell you, is how cool the overall package makes you feel as a driver.

My short love affair with this vehicle happened in Cape Town. Amidst this pandemic, which has turned all that we know and love in its head, it was surreal to get behind the wheel and attack the near empty roads in and around the Mother City. The noise of the vehicle is what gets to you. That deep, pre-emission noise is what petrol dreams are made of. The steering is light but never to the point where you wonder about your front wheels. The steering is always able to communicate what is going on in the front axle, with the rear maintaining discipline and following suit, not trying to over-take or be left behind by the rear. The cabin is a beautiful place to be in as well. Mixture of modernity and sleekness, the buttons, controls and facia are traditionally Porsche and will be really pressed to find anything wrong with the inside.

Space is not an issue as well. With Coupé SUVs, it tends to be a tighter space to be in compared with its non-sloped roof sibling. At 1,85M, being able to sit behind myself, I didn’t find the space cramped, my feet didn’t find the metal railing of the chair in front and there was no brushing of the hair that is now falling out near the roof.

Now for the “fun” part, the price. With cars costing at least half or more than a modern family home, it was surprising to me and the team that the vehicle starts at a sticker price of R1 839 000. This feels like it’s sticker price should be in the R2M Mark. With most rivals taking the new road to no emissions, Porsche is on the same stretch of road but what sets them apart is a team of engineers that have stuck to their guns and have made it work, in a crazy time for it. Long live the V8 and we will take two please, in Red and one in Black!