Test drive Porsche Cayenne GTS 957 2008 - 2009 SUV

Peacemaker

As if apologizing to the orthodox adherents of the brand for its own religious exploration, which gave rise to the souvenir market demand superkhitis called Cayenne, Porsche tirelessly seeks to give this tool status movement more and more sports in nature. Another step in this direction was the appearance of the Cayenne GTS version.
 
According to the official classification, the three -letter GTS index traditionally indicates the versions of Porsche cars, which are distinguished by a balanced combination of suitability for traveling long distances and sports. In fact, the GTS version is the result of the factory and therefore extremely solid and intelligent sports tuning of the source model. And, although in the case of GTS the original model was not the basic Cayenne, but its already contested version S, the tuning undertaken, rather from the same area that this letter indicates, and not added to it, the abbreviation GT in its classical sense. That is, the car has become even more sports, and not more tourist, and Porsche marketers insist that now it is the most sports version in the Cayenne line.
This is called not only to confirm the new exclusive colors of the red GTS Red body and the golden Nordic Gold Metallic, but also its sports body kit, the corresponding changes in the interior, modernized under a more sports style of driving, and, of course, increased from 385 to 405 liters of 405 liters . With. Atmospheric engine power V8. And here, of course, a logical question arises: what then is the 500-horsepower version of Turbo, which develops the maximum speed at tangible 25 km/h more and accelerating to a hundred for a whole second faster? Well, as is often the case in the automotive industry, the concepts are the most powerful and the fastest not always identical to the concept of the most sports. And proof of this, for example, the possibility of acquiring Cayenne Turbo exclusively with automatic transmission, while the GTS version is equipped with classical mechanics. Porsche representatives themselves explain that when working on GTS, they were not aimed at achieving the highest power and speed, but to give a car a more driver and sports spirit as a whole. That is, was made of its rod Kileranes towards adherents of the classical values \u200b\u200bthat pure -breeding Porsche are famous for. So, following the update of the entire Cayenne line, which was undertaken one and a half years ago, designed to ennoble the rather absurd appearance of these cars and emphasize their sports component, such a step a couple of years before the emergence of a fundamentally new generation of this SUV looks completely logical and justified. Well, what Cayenne GTS is not in words, but in the case, I happened to find out in the open spaces of Stavropol, where Porsche Russland, following the opening of its next dealership, organized a test drive of a new model.
If it were not for the color in new bright colors in comparison with traditional black or silver, the car is noticeably reviving in appearance, the GTS can initially be taken for the top version of the Turbo. The front is the same much wider than that of the Donor Cayenne S, the mouth of the radiator air intake, the same horizontal integrated into its side sections Fly spaces, and behind the same dual chrome -based nozzles of graduation pipes. But the hood is flat, without distinguishing Turbo, a pair of knife protrusions on the hood. Instead, about 1.5 cm protruding on each side, the extensors of the wheel arches, which, along with the 21-inch Cayenne Sport discs, put up with a dimension of 295/35 mm, give the car additional muscles. The sports appearance of the luxury SUV is supplemented by branded red brake calipers and a 24 mm road clearance.
In the decoration of the salon, as it is appropriate, no excesses, but Spartan can not be called a combination of genuine leather and alcantara in combination with decorative inserts from satin aluminum. The main feature of the GTS interior, not counting the steel linings with the designation of the model on the thresholds, the special sports seats of the driver and the front passenger with enhanced lateral support and adjustment of 12 positions. The rear passengers are not forgotten either: the second row of seats is obscured for two people (also providing more developed side support), although with a great desire the third will be able to sit there.
All this by and large, of course, is only scenery, but in constructive terms, GTS is fraught with something much more interesting: for the first time for Cayenne, the active suspension Porsche Active Suspension Management (Pasm) is combined with steel springs, as in purebred sportsmen Porsche! (Pneumatic suspension is also possible as an option, and in this case, the road clearance will be smaller than the Cayenne S, 20 mm.) At the same time, the springs and the front stabilizer are tougher than that of Cayenne S, and the rear suspension stabilizers are more elastic, that In combination with a reduced road clearance, it is designed to ensure a greater composure of the chassis, a decrease in the center of gravity and, as a result, more acute controllability and better stability in corners. In addition, an increase in the negative angle of the collapse of the front and rear wheels allows Cayenne in the GTS version to withstand higher transverse accelerations. I must say that the Porsche SUV in relation to cars of this class and previously extremely confidently stormed the turns, and several days spent at the beginning of last year at the wheel of all three updated versions of Cayenne convinced me that it was not for nothing that they were positioned as a sports. And not having the opportunity to compare cars directly, transplanting directly from one to another, it is difficult to fully feel the difference between the previous and new versions. So I, to be honest, I can’t put my sensations into a certain accurate measure.
But the fact that GTS gives the impression of a very collected, dynamic and sporting responsive car for such a fraud is undoubted. Let's just say: a hurricane, almost unbridled, often just excess power that distinguishes the Turbo version, gave way to a more rational (in a sports, again, meaning) and the refined use of the serious potential of the machine. The basis of this potential, of course, is an excellent atmospheric V8 with a direct injection system of Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) from Cayenne S, a genuine middle ground between a much less powerful V6 and its own turbocharged version. Therefore, probably, the GTS exhaust system does not sound so frightening as the Turbo version, but convincing enough to cause respect for the car and the desire to give gas. The Bisystem Variocam Plus, which is equipped with the engine, regulates not only the opening phases, but also the course of inlet valves. As a result, the maximum power is provided, if necessary, it is also necessary to use the sparing regime in the absence of such a need in combination with the highest elasticity of the motor (acceleration from 80 to 120 km/h, on the penultimate transmission, takes only 6.6 seconds) and the smoothness of its operation. Figuratively speaking, such a motor is like a thoughtful to living organism, which faces every second, taking the optimal form in accordance with the living conditions. But what did the motor added by the motor by modernizing the intake system of 20 horsepower, if the maximum speed remains the same as Cayenne S?
The clue lies in the same revision of the transmission. An increase in the number of main gear from 3.55 to 4.1 made it possible to shorten it significantly and due to this reduce the acceleration time from 0 to 100 km/h per half second. However, as you know, improving in this way of accelerated dynamics inevitably entails a decrease in maximum speed, and an increase of 20 horses as a result became compensatory. And this is right, because, again, as you know, for a sports car, its relative dynamic characteristics are much more important than absolute speed. Therefore, it must be assumed that the main transfer of the Tiptronic S. optional automatic transmission was also shortened and taking into account the fact that it is very difficult to imagine an average (even sporty oriented) owner of Cayenne, who prefer to fool around with mechanics, and not to rely on The machine, this is all the more sound solution.
Although, on the other hand, an automatic transmission, even with a promising Litera S, even with the gear mode with steering buttons, is still pretty devalued by the GTS application for special sports. And no matter how you shorten the program, and the main advantage of the Tiptronic S still remains smooth work, and not the speed. And driving Cayenne S with a mechanical gearbox at one time seemed more exciting than with an automatic machine: gear shifting lives on the car noticeably more acute and interactive. Also, presumably, the situation is in the case of GTS. But it is already important that the possibility of choosing still exists, even if one person out of a hundred people prefer mechanics.
 
So the native off -road, most of the Russian owners of Cayenne clearly attract no more than the Vietnamese clothing market on the city outskirts, a couple of tens of kilometers from an expensive central boutique. However, the rare, bewitching beauty of the tract of the wolf gate near the Stavropol, from where the main route of the test drive started, and the purity of the experiment led us away from the asphalt to the hills surrounding the huge reservoir, covered with alluring fresh green grass, but with very steep slopes and in a spring fussy (in a spring. Until the formation of large viscous puddles) soil paths between them. Not everyone, distant not every car indicated by the abbreviation SUV allows you to ride so carefree and confidently along the picturesque expanses outside the highway without fear of getting into a serious off -road! The ability to block the central differential and include the reduced row of gears, the electronic imitation system of inter-cross blocking ABD, ASR anti-wings system, aid system for touching the mountain (Porsche Drive-off Assistant in the basic configuration from the ICD and Hill-Holder with automatic transmission with automatic transmission) all this in the aggregate all this in the aggregate He practices his purpose and gives Cayenne GTS very serious off -road properties. If you want to arrange the attraction of Russian slides, without leaving the cozy and comfortable salon of your car, please!
And at the same time, you in the cabin is not at all captivating about everything that is possible, and does not throw away the fantastic smoothness of the move from the chair! Special thanks for this must be said just an active Pasm suspension! Continuous automatic adjustment of the rigidity of shock absorbers depending on the conditions of movement and three forced mode KomFort, Normal and Sport allowed the designers not to look for compromises in the settings. Regardless of the fact that under the wheels of GTS a flat road or bumps, you feel like in an airplane chair in a first -class salon. But still, the true element of Cayenne GTS, with all its eclecticism with an obvious slope towards the SUV family, is an asphalt highway. Finally, you can press the cherished button Sport (clamping suspension, aggravating the accelerator reaction and changing the sound of the exhaust to even lower and juicy), drown the gas pedal to the floor and, as they say, full forward!
The steering wheel is very sharp only 2.65 turns from the stop to the stop, but not the nervous provides accurate and at the same time comfortable control, although, perhaps, it would not have prevented it from more severity. Help, again, really necessary for such a car and a very correctly triggered course of course stability and all -wheel drive with the PTM traction force regulation system. The latter in the standard mode directs 62% of the torque to the rear wheels and 38% to the front ones, but at any moment it redistributes the thrust in this case to ensure confident passage of the turns. The braking pedal, alas, is traditionally frightening for Cayenne with an habit, but the brakes (the front wheels 350x34 mm complete with 6-piston calipers and the rear 330x28 mm with 4-piston) are absolutely adequate motor power and provide the necessary slowdown of such a severe car, including emergency.
The tested GTS was also equipped with an Optional suppression system of PDCC rolls. It is based on the split active stabilizers of the anti -resistance stability with a hydraulic motor integrated in them. The latter, at the signal of the sensors registering rolls, instantly changes the rigidity of its stabilizer, which, along with an active suspension, provides as a result of not even a compromise, but a 100%combination of smoothness, honed controllability, stability and off -road patency. You are preparing at the entrance to a quick turn or hairpin to the fact that you will be sharply filled in the opposite direction, but it was not there. And, no matter how hard you try to get ahead of the system as a sharp movement of the steering wheel as possible, it still turns out to be faster and minimizes the roll. So for the PDC System of GTS, the PDC system would also be included in the standard equipment, although this would increase the cost of the car. But when did the Cayenne buyers looked into the wallet and trifled when choosing their high -speed carriage?
One way or another, Porsche, through GTS, tried to kill two virtual hares with one aimed shot: to revive evenly, even in anticipation of the new generation of Cayenne, the demand for its SUV and at the same time at least somehow reconcile with the fact of the existence of such car of adherents of classic sportsmen of this brand. And peacekeepers, to complete the tasks, are known to sometimes demonstrate and use force. What Cayenne GTS does.
Boris Muradov
 

Source: Motor magazine [June 2008]