How can a horsepower junkie give an accurate review of a vehicle that when you push the pedal to the floor sets you back in the seat and the grin on your face is so big that it uses up all the spare skin on your face so that you can’t blink your eyes? Not only that, you go into such a sensory overload that you are willing to forgive any short comings of the vehicle, if you can remember to look for them. That happens to me just about every time I drive a Porsche.
Porsche Cayennes only comes with four-wheel drive, which isn’t unusual, but this is Porsche’s four-wheel drive system. For a start the system bias is towards the rear at 68/32, just the way high performance drivers prefer. In addition, the system can go to 100% front or rear depending on traction availability.
System limits don’t often go to 100% in either direction because drivers do not react fast enough to extreme changes in traction. My prime example is on ice (or thick gravel) going around a corner. Here the vehicle can go from understeer to oversteer in a fraction of a second. No human can react fast enough to keep from going off the road either nose first or tail first depending on how far behind you get in your steering. This is where the electronics of traction control, stability control and roll mitigation intervene to keep your insurance rates from going up.
The best thing about these systems is that they are nearly transparent. Unless you know what to look for, you will never actually know when and why the electronics are intervening. The bad part of all this is that you no longer have to be a good driver to push a Porsche hard. All you have to do is take advantage of the electronics. At some point in time this type of attitude will come back to bite you.
Inside, the GTS is comfortably ostentatious. The seats are broad, covered in leather and very comfortable for a large range of body sizes. Leg room is very good in the front and rear. Since there is no pretence of a third seat, the luggage space will hold quite a bit with the seat up and Porsche does include a luggage cover.
Instrumentation is uniquely Porsche in design and execution. Round dials house all the gauges and information modules. Tachometer and speedometer are to the left and right of the large central information dial. On the outer limits of the instrument pod are the oil temperature and fuel level gauges.
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| The Porsche Cayenne GTS only comes with four-wheel drive. |
Porsche Cayennes only comes with four-wheel drive, which isn’t unusual, but this is Porsche’s four-wheel drive system. For a start the system bias is towards the rear at 68/32, just the way high performance drivers prefer. In addition, the system can go to 100% front or rear depending on traction availability.
System limits don’t often go to 100% in either direction because drivers do not react fast enough to extreme changes in traction. My prime example is on ice (or thick gravel) going around a corner. Here the vehicle can go from understeer to oversteer in a fraction of a second. No human can react fast enough to keep from going off the road either nose first or tail first depending on how far behind you get in your steering. This is where the electronics of traction control, stability control and roll mitigation intervene to keep your insurance rates from going up.
The best thing about these systems is that they are nearly transparent. Unless you know what to look for, you will never actually know when and why the electronics are intervening. The bad part of all this is that you no longer have to be a good driver to push a Porsche hard. All you have to do is take advantage of the electronics. At some point in time this type of attitude will come back to bite you.
Inside, the GTS is comfortably ostentatious. The seats are broad, covered in leather and very comfortable for a large range of body sizes. Leg room is very good in the front and rear. Since there is no pretence of a third seat, the luggage space will hold quite a bit with the seat up and Porsche does include a luggage cover.
Instrumentation is uniquely Porsche in design and execution. Round dials house all the gauges and information modules. Tachometer and speedometer are to the left and right of the large central information dial. On the outer limits of the instrument pod are the oil temperature and fuel level gauges.
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| Instrumentation is uniquely Porsche in design and execution. |