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Porsches are many, many wonderful things, but a bargain is almost never one of them. The carmaker’s vehicles not only start at fairly high price points, but the company has made a science out of offering long lists of tempting options that jack up the MSRP even further; it’s easy to inflate the cost of, say, a 911 or Panamera to half again as much as the base price.
The new 2021 Porsche Cayenne GTS, however, might be the closest thing to an exception to that rule.
The GTS models, in case you’ve forgotten, are the nearest thing Porsche offers to a value package, in which the carmaker bundles together many of the popular (and usually sporty) options found on lesser versions with a more powerful engine, then sells it for less than those options would cost individually. In the case of the new Cayenne GTS, that engine is the same as the one in the Panamera GTS: a detuned version of the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 seen in the Cayenne and Panamera Turbo models, here making 453 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque. That’s enough to launch it from 0 to 60 in a claimed 4.2 seconds when launch control is used.
Buyers can opt for two different flavors of Cayenne GTS: the traditional Cayenne body style, or the new “coupe” version that forgoes the squared-off tail for a slippery-looking hatch resembling that of the Macan or Panamera Sport Turismo. Either way, a sportier version of the Porsche Active Suspension Management adaptive suspension comes standard, as does a Sport Design package and 21-inch RS Spyder Design wheels that add a bit of pizzazz to the exterior, while swiveling LED headlights help driver see further down the road. Also included: Sport Exhaust, though those who want even more V8 roar can opt for an even sportier center-mounted exhaust that comes with the optional Lightweight Sport Package.
Inside, eight-way sport seats are standard up front, while Alcantara is drenched over many surfaces that would be covered in leather or leatherette in other Cayennes. (You can still option it with leather if you really want, obviously.) Black aluminum trim inside matches up nicely with the blacked-out tailpipes, window surrounds and air intakes on the exterior.
So what makes this a particular bargain? Well, you may not have realized it, the Cayenne is already something of a deal in the Porsche family. While its powertrains are largely identical to those of the Panamera (it uses a conventional automatic instead of a PDK dual-clutch, but the engines are the same in both models, and nearly all Panameras have all-wheel-drive like the Cayenne) and it comes in a more practical body style, every Cayenne variant is several thousand cheaper than its Panamera cousin; the Cayenne S, for example, starts at $85,100, compared with the Panamera 4S’s $105,000 base price.
