When BMW introduced the concept of the Crossover Coupe with the 2008 X6, the automotive press questioned why anyone wants the weight, high center of gravity, and general truckiness of an SUV without the inherent utility. But while journalists scratched their heads, customers wrote checks.
Those questions did make short work of the Acura ZDX, the genre’s brief second entry, but before long, Mercedes had its own entry, as did Audi and so on. At least for now, the segment seems to be an exclusive province of European luxury brands, and with the great success of its Cayenne model, it is surprising that Porsche took as long as they did to jump into the fray.
But they jumped into it in a big way. Launched as a 2020 model, Porsche offers no less than six levels of the Cayenne Coupé, each with its own power output. There are three engines; a 3.0L turbo V6, 2.9L twin-turbo V6, and 4.0L twin-turbo V8; the latter offering two levels of power output. Add to that, a plug-in hybrid variant for 3.0L and 4.0 engines, and you have six. Interestingly, the V6 plug-in hybrid is based on the less powerful V-6, while the V8 plug-in hybrid is the most powerful model in the line-up.
It seems like a lot of versions for such a niche vehicle. But Porsche keeps It simple: For every version of the conventional Cayenne, there is a Coupé version. Not surprisingly, the differences between the two are few. With the same 78.1” width, 114” wheelbase, and overall exterior and interior design, the biggest difference is obviously the Coupé’s sloping rear roofline, even though the normal Cayenne isn’t exactly squared-off in the rear either. Nonetheless; the swooping rear knocks out about 10 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seat-backs up (22 cu.ft.) or down (54.3 cu.ft.). The windshield is also angled back a bit more, helping reduce the over height by 0.5 to 1.5 inches depending on the trim level. At 194.2”, its length is just a tad longer, and counterintuitively, the Coupé weighs about a 100 pounds more than its wagonish counterpart. The Coupé’s price is also about $3,000 - $9,000 more with the difference reducing as the trim levels get higher.
A Vast Model Line-Up Covers A lot Of Competitive Ground
As with the conventional Cayenne, the price range is vast with the Base 3.0L V6 Cayenne Coupé’s MSRP of $76,500 more than doubled by the time you get to the Turbo S E-Hybrid. As such, the Cayenne Coupé’s competitors tend to change as you climb the model hierarchy.
The most natural competitive set for the Cayenne Coupé at the lower levels are the BMW X6, Mercedes Benz GLE Coupe, and the Audi Q8. Aside from the Cayenne’s approximately 3-inch shorter wheelbase, they all share roughly similar dimensions and have 3.0L turbocharged engines. The Jaguar E-PACE looks the part at first glance but is actually a step down in size, power, and price.
Cayenne Coupé, BMW X6, and Audi Q8’s base engines all rate at 335 peak horsepower. The X6 nearly matches the Coupé’s 332 lb-ft peak torque as well, though the Q8 has claims 37 lb-ft. more. They both start about $8,000 and $9,000 less than the Porsche. By contrast, Mercedes Benz’s GLE Coupé exactly matches the Porsche’s $76,500 starting MSRP, but its turbo straight-6 generates a whopping 429 hp and 384 peak ft-lb of torque.
At the high end of the range, neither the Benz AMG GLE 63 nor BMW X6 M can reach the Turbo S E-Hybrid’s 670 hp, 663 lb-ft of twist, or its $166,200 price tag. Here, the Porsche is rubbing elbows with the more expensive but less powerful Aston Martin DBX and the way more expensive but still less powerful Lamborghini Urus.
A High Base Feature Set With Some Notable Exceptions
So, until you get into exotic brand territory, the Cayenne Coupé seems comparatively pricey. What do you get for your money? Regardless of the drivetrain, all models use an 8-speed tiptronic transmission and Porsche Traction Management AWD along with Auto Start-Stop. The body is largely aluminum including the hood, doors, tailgate, fenders, and what’s left of the roof around the standard panoramic sunroof. Porsche’s signature LED headlights are also standard.
Inside you will find the usual luxury expectations including 2-zone climate, 10-speaker sound system, navigation, wireless Apple® CarPlay, and connected car services including Carfinder, Remote Vehicle Status, and Remote Services.
You notice we didn’t mention the seats. This is where the famous German-brand nickel and diming comes in. On the base model, you get “Partial” leather 8-way power seats, and if you want beige instead of black, that’s $390. If you want memory, you can have it with either 14-way or 18-way adjustability for $1,680 or $2,180 respectively. Full leather, such as found on almost every other $76K car, costs $3,760, unless you want something other than black or gray; then it's $4,180. Then there is the really nice “Club Leather” which will run you $5,170 to $5,740 depending on color.
Speaking of colors, if you don’t want black or white, then reach in your pocket again. Metallics cost $800 and “Special Colors” which include anything bright like Carmine Red or Lava Orange, are $3,150.
The Base model comes with perfectly fine 10-spoke 20” wheels, but you want to bump up to 21” or 22” wheels, you can, with an overall choice of no less than 17 designs to choose from. Prices vary.
Then there are the packages. On the base model there are no less than ten of them and they range from the $2,000 Off-Road Package (skid and other underbody plates, dash displays for tilt, gradient and steering angle and a second towing eye), to VW Passat sized $25,070 for the “Premium Package Plus and Lightweight Sport Package in Carbon Fiber”, which is a collection of other packages with plenty of carbon fiber trim inside and out including the entire roof. It also includes 22” wheels, BOSE® Surround Sound System, 4-zone climate, Lane changing Assist, as well as a few things you’d think the car would already have, such as heated front and rear seats and auto-dimming mirrors. The packages, colors, seating, and wheel options either get less expensive or drop out entirely as you move up the model hierarchy, and more items become standard.
Model Line Climb Is Multi-Stepped And Steep
As for model hierarchy itself, it starts with the simply-named Cayenne Coupé, where $76,500 gets you the standard items listed above with the 3.0L turbo V-6 producing 335 hp @ 5,300 horsepower, and 332 lb-ft @ 1340. Porsche’s own specs state a 0-60 time of 5.1 seconds and a top speed of 150. Porsche never skimps on brakes, so you’ll find 6-piston caliper, 390 mm disc brakes up front with 4-piston calipers with 330 mm discs in the rear.
One step up is the $87,600 Cayenne Coupé Hybrid, which adds a 100 kW/136 hp motor and 17.9kWh lithium-ion Traction Battery to produce a combined 455 hp @ 5300 and 516 lb-ft @ 1340. 0-60 drops to 4.8 seconds and top speed increases to 157. Brake discs are a little smaller in the front but larger in the rear. Also included is a portable charger with 14.8-foot cable and a variety of plugs, plus a wall-mount charger for the home.
Next up, it is back to gas-only with the $89,900 Cayenne Coupé S. Its 2.9L twin-turbo V6 produces 434 hp @ 5700 and 405 lb-ft @ 1800. 0-60 is 4.7 seconds and top speed is 163. Brakes are the same as on the base model.
Now we get serious with the $110,500 Cayenne Coupé GTS, with its 4.0L twin-turbo V8 producing 453 hp @ 6000. That may be just 9 more than the S, but it is now backed up with a significant 457 lb-ft @ 1800 of grunt. 0-60 is down to 4.2 seconds and top speed rises to 167. Plus, there is that great V8 sound.
Satin black 21” RS Spyder Design wheels hide larger brake rear discs. Inside, there are 8-way GTS sport seats with Race-Tex centers. From here up, all models have either "GTS" or “Turbo” embossed on the front and rear headrests to ensure your passengers know you paid the big bucks even if they enter the car at night.
Getting close to the top, and ignoring that every other model in the line-up is also turbocharged, we have the $131,900 Cayenne Coupé Turbo. The twin turbos push this 4.0L V8 to 541 hp @ 5750 with 567 lb-ft@ 1960 of torque. With a standard Sport Chrono Package, 0-60 is now 3.7 seconds and if you can find enough road, it will take you to 177 mph. If you run out of road, the Turbo also slows you down with 10-piston 415 mm front discs.
At this point, you now get the 18-way full-leather seats, the 710 watt 14-speaker Bose® Surround Sound system, bespoke steering wheel design, and 21-inch “Turbo” wheels. Out of the blue, you also get three 12V sockets.
The alpha dog is the $166,200 Cayenne Coupé Turbo S E-Hybrid. Pairing the fore-mentioned hybrid set up with the top-level 4.0L Twin-turbo V8 amounts to 670 hp @ 5750 and 663 lb-ft @ 2100, leading to a 3.6 second 0-60 and a top speed of 183. More important is that the electric motor's torque is there to tap at any speed. Chassis enhancements include an adaptive air suspension Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control and Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus and its own 21” wheel design. Of course, you also get all the goodies from the Turbo model, and the charging equipment listed on the other hybrid model. On the other hand, this is the only model where the towing capacity drops to 6,600 pounds.
How long the Porsche maintains such a broad Cayenne Coupé model line is a worthy question. While it is apparently rather simple for Porsche to exchange one body for another and double the number of models named Cayenne, it is another thing for dealers to have all those models on hand or within reach. Add to that, that the Coupé will also soon face increased competition just within the Porsche showroom with the emergence of the long-roof Panamera Sport Turismo and Taycan Cross Turismo models that also meet the sleek, useful, and fast design brief.
Source: Porsche, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi websites, Edmund's.com