The 2022 Cayenne Turbo GT is Porsche’s top-dog SUV with 631 horsepower and acceleration to 96 kilometres per hour in 2.8 seconds.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Being a shopper in the 21st century is exhausting, so we take little shortcuts. If you’re looking for a new television, there are more than 60,000 search results on Amazon to wade through. There are 10,000 results for hair dryers, more than 100,000 results for smart watches and 20,000 for miniature electric water fountains made specifically for cats.
If you’re shopping for a Porsche SUV, things aren’t quite so overwhelming, but buyers are nevertheless faced with 23 models to choose from, 19 of which are some variation on the mid-sized Cayenne. Whether it’s a Porsche, a new TV or a cat fountain, you can hardly blame some people for taking a short cut by buying the most expensive model they can afford – perhaps assuming “most expensive” means “best,” or at least that it confers the most status. I’m here to warn you, dear SUV shopper, do not take that shortcut. (The fact that interest rates are rising should also be an added deterrent.)
The most expensive Porsche SUV on offer at the moment is the Cayenne Turbo GT, but it’s not the brand’s best. It’s shaped like an egg, takes off like a bottle-rocket and costs as much as two regular Cayenne SUVs. This particular 2022 Turbo GT is loaded with extras, including soft close doors ($800), advanced driver-assist functions ($3,760), under-door puddle-light projectors ($370) and a $13,000 paint job, which brings the total to $227,160 before taxes and fees. And yes, it’s subject to the new federal luxury-vehicle tax.
Porsche’s top sport-utility vehicle reigns supreme in the nonsensical world of racetrack-ready SUVs. If you need proof, consider the fact that when Aston Martin’s team of chassis engineers and handling gurus needed a benchmark to measure against their speedy new DBX707 SUV, they chose the Turbo GT, rather than the Bentley Bentayga and the more expensive, more powerful Lamborghini Urus, both of which share a platform with the Porsche.
Everything you’d expect of Porsche’s top-dog SUV is absolutely true. It’s the quickest SUV Car and Driver magazine has ever tested, bolting to 96 kilometres an hour (60 miles per hour) in 2.8 seconds. Every technology in the known automotive universe is packed into this thing to make it handle like something other than a gigantic SUV. Active anti-roll bars and a liquid-cooled all-wheel-drive system help this 2,220-kilogram behemoth corner with hardly any body roll and ensure it always feels totally poised and planted.
Gold wheels help put the Cayenne Turbo GT over the top in the looks department.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
What’s most remarkable, though, and what sets it apart from the Lamborghini and Bentley, is the way the steering offers real feedback to the driver. The GT doesn’t feel inert; the steering wheel is always moving in your hands, sniffing out imperfections in the road. In that respect, it’s genuinely reminiscent of one of Porsche’s sports cars. There’s some finesse and nuance here.
The handling and performance is all very impressive, no doubt, but that doesn’t make this the best exotic SUV for most people.
Stiff suspension and barely there Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires ensure the GT jostles passengers around too much when driving normally in a city. It becomes grating. The GT clips everyday comfort for virtuoso handling chops that most people will never even get close to exploiting. The GT just seems a bit … pointless.
For roughly the same price, a driver could have a Porsche 718 Spyder and also a Cayenne S or E-Hybrid. Or, a driver could buy a cushy Range Rover and learn to relax. Nobody’s getting anywhere fast in traffic these days anyway. If you must have only one superfast family car, the all-electric Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo is, in my experience, better than the Cayenne GT in every respect and produces exactly 100 per cent less emissions.
And look, I know, if your weekend whip is a 911 Turbo S, buying anything other than the top-of-the-line SUV for weekday commutes may seem like a downgrade. So what? Are the members of your golf club really so judgmental they’d heckle you for driving a more plebeian Porsche SUV? More expensive isn’t always better. Your passengers will thank you.
The Turbo GT takes off like a bottle-rocket and costs more than $200,000.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Tech specs
2022 Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
- Base price/as tested: $200,700/$227,160
- Engine: Four-litre twin-turbo V8
- Transmission/drive: Eight-speed automatic/all-wheel drive
- Fuel consumption (litres/100 kilometres): 16.8 city, 12.4 highway
- Alternatives: Aston Martin DBX707, Range Rover SV, Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo, or a regular Cayenne SUV plus a 718 Spyder.
The Turbo GT's interior features piano-black trim.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Looks
It’s over the top, especially with gold wheels and that wacky carbon-fibre wing.
Interior
Screen-filled and infinitely customizable. Feels more mass-market than Aston’s DBX707, and less spacious than a Range Rover, but the Porsche’s build-quality is unimpeachable. Piano-black trim is a magnet for dirt and smudges, though.
Performance
Incredible, and better than an Urus, but will you use that much performance? Can you? Certainly not unless you’re taking this SUV to track days. The motor makes 631 horsepower and 626 lb-ft of torque. Total overkill.
The touchscreen with drive mode options on the Turbo GT.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Technology
It’s got it all: adaptive air suspension, carbon-ceramic brakes, active aerodynamics, four-wheel steering and more. Porsche’s infotainment is light years ahead of the system in Aston’s DBX707.
The fastback roofline means that accommodating four people and their luggage for a weekend is more cramped.Matt Bubbers/The Globe and Mail
Cargo
There are only four seats. The fastback roofline means that accommodating four people and their luggage for a weekend away was much more cramped than it should have been in a vehicle this large.
Verdict
The most expensive, but not the best, Porsche SUV for most people.
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