Hello all,

How good is the cayenne GTS as a daily "sports car". I drive a 991 manual w/sport exhaust. Its been a fantastic car overall. I love going to the track with the PCA and I'm going to get a dedicated track car. I'm not going to have 2 911s. So I'm thinking about getting out of the 991 and my 13' GL 450 and getting a Cayenne GTS to replace them both.

I've driven a GTS cayenne on track at the corporate roadshow.

So for someone who goes through rear rubber in a base 991 in 8-9000 mi. and brakes (thats the real litmus test) in 22,000 mi, on the street, can the gts scratch that itch? Or is it just a very sporty truck?

Thanks for any feedback.
DRP

 

You might get better results posting over here:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/cayenne-148/

Other wise 911 all day long.

 

Having had a 957 (2010) and 958 (2013) they are amazing SUV's and by far the best sports orientated ones out there. The adjustable air suspension and PSE are awesome. I'd look for a 958 V8 NA engine, before they switched over to the 958.2 V6 Turbos over the past year or two.

Very fast, and sporty with the 21" set up w/ summer tires. If driving in winter, you'll need a second winter wheel/tire set up. This way you can enjoy it to its fullest potential all seasons.

I went the opposite direction, they couldn't be daily drivers for me as they were too nice for work, and bought a 991S as the fun car. Although, I've been looking at the prices and would like another one a 2013/14 once the prices get a bit lower. Not too bad now.

 

It may suffice as a "sports" SUV, but I honestly don't think anyone can advise you to ditch the 991 and get the same feeling. It's sport-oriented, has a great engine and drivetrain, a proper suspension setup, and can definitely accelerate faster than a good amount daily driven cars on the road.

But I wouldn't go as far to call it a "sports car." It's still an SUV that weighs almost 5,000lbs.

 

Suggest you try a Macan Turbo. It's got the Sport part of Sporty. Handles and performs close to a base 991 but a great crossover. I have a 991S and 996 TT (both cabs) for when I get the 911 itch. I found the Cayenne too big.

 

Agreed. Macan is supposed to drive great. But I am 6'6" - no go on the Macan. I sat in one and you could fit a cigarette paper between my seat and the rear bench behind my seat back.

Enjoy your Macan. Nice stable.

DRP

 

My brother was overseas on assignment for a year. He allowed me to use his 1st Gen Cayenne S while he was gone so long as I kept up the maintenance cycles.

I occasionally made it my DD during the Summer and Fall here in the Mid-Atl.

Here were my take aways. Bear in mind the only previous frame of reference I had for a sport SUV was as X5 M-Sport and a short day with a TT Cayenne. The drive and feel were commensurate with what one would expect from a Porsche. Solid, bank vault feeling chassis. Good feedback through the steering wheel. Surprisingly agile and spirited. The truck felt more relaxed and even handed than the TT, which too me felt untamed and disarmingly fast when the turbos hit full boost. You had to think ahead of the car because the surge of acceleration you wanted NOW to get through that tight squeeze came 1.5 seconds AFTER you needed it.

That aside, I felt the Big Black Pepper (my joking name for by bro's car) bested it in almost every way except for:

- Fuel efficiency. What? All SUVs are thirsty, but this was exceptionally so and of course only dines on Premium. It wasn't uncommon to blow through $150-200/week filling the tank. Not bad when you're expensing it to your business but can get a little stunning when your CPA calls you up and asks, "Hey, did you buy a tank or something - your gas expenses doubled?!"

- Brakes. Chews through brake pads. I'm not a heavy footed driver, but there really was no way to get around how rapid the pads were wearing. This may not be a problem if you live in the burbs and do mostly highway driving with some light traffic mix. But if you're metropolitan get ready.

- Tires. Low profile (for a truck) x heavy = no beuno. I had two pothole flats / slow leaks.

- Stiff ride. I thought the truck could do with a little better suspension tuning. Even with the ride on Normal it was still somewhat board stiff the way it managed the first 1/3 of suspension travel. Sport was uncomfortable and felt over dampened. Firmed it up too much and made the throttle response tip-in a bit jerky. What's good for a sports car is not always good when you have an extra 1,500lbs to lug around.

- Rear seats. Good for kids and lightweight adults. Men over 200lbs will not be happy if the ride time is >30/40 minutes.

 

I had a Cayenne loaner yesterday. My impressions were:

1) Heavy mass translates into nice ride.
2) Throttle response not great from a stop.

When I got back into my 911 I was happy to have a much better suspension underneath me and the sporty lighter mass feel.

 

I spoke with my service advisor who knows how I drive and has been to the track with me.

No go on the GTS. Thanks for the replies.

DRP

 

Or you could have listened to the esteemed members of this forum

You made the right decision. The Macan is much closer to what you would be looking for.