2023 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe

If you ever need proof that an SUV can bend the laws of physics, the 2023 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe is it. It's due for a fairly substantial update next year, but the current model still demands huge respect for its incredible ability to shrug off its weight around corners, while the top-dog GT blitzed the Nurburgring in a scarcely believable 7:38.925 seconds. The Turbo Coupe and Turbo GT share a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged eight-cylinder engine, but while the Turbo Coupe packs 541 horsepower, the GT cranks the V8 up all the way to 631 hp, enabling it to blast to 60 mph in just 3.1 seconds. For reference, the base Cayenne Coupe comes with 335 hp.

While there's hardly anything new about the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe for 2023, its price increases substantially at the base level, so the flagship GT is very expensive at nearly $190k. That's still quite a bit less than the $230k-plus of a 657-hp Lamborghini Urus S, mind you. There's no denying the Porker's fearsome performance and gravity-defying handling - and it does look like better value than the Lambo - but the 591-hp Audi RS Q8 is also there to consider, and it's quite a bit cheaper to boot.

The 2024 range will get quite a substantial update and facelift, so the 2023 Cayenne Turbo continues virtually unchanged, except that Porsche USA is adding a new paint color called Chromite Black Metallic to the local lineup. However, the starting price of a new Porsche Cayenne Turbo does increase - to just under $140k for the base Turbo Coupe and nearly $190k for the Turbo GT.

The MSRP of the Cayenne Turbo Coupe is $139,500, while the Turbo GT will cost you $188,700, so both are up over last year's models. This pricing excludes the $1,450 destination fee.

If you're just after the headline-grabbing Nurburgring lap times and the ultimate performance offered in the Cayenne Coupe form factor, you'll want the Turbo GT - and it's certainly an immensely impressive piece of machinery. It has the torque-vectoring and rear-wheel steering tech thrown at it, too, so even a Urus can no more than match it on a twisty road. It commands nearly $50k over a regular Turbo Coupe, though, and we don't think anyone except the most hardcore Porsche aficionado can justify that kind of price premium, so we'd be happy with the normal Turbo Coupe, which looks like quite stellar value by comparison. It rides more comfortably, still gets to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, and leaves a bit of space to spec it up with the driver assists that Porsche cheekily leaves on both cars' options lists. We'd have the Assistance package with its surround-view monitor, adaptive cruise control, night vision, and head-up display, as well as the Premium Package Plus with its LED-Matrix headlights, lane-change assist, and ventilated front seats.

Typical of the automaker, the interior of the Cayenne Turbo is sober and straightlaced, rendered in blacks and grays. Although the cabin is solidly built from top-class materials, it's not as glitzy as Merc's digital MBUX dashboard or as outrageous as a Lamborghini inside. Porsche fans will enjoy the understated elegance and undeniable baked-in quality, and they can always spec it in a flamboyant color and with any of a laundry list of finishes, but it will cost them extra to do so.

The front seats are Porsche's supremely comfortable and supportive 18-way powered adaptive sports seats (the GT gets simpler 8-way seats), while the rear quarters gets its own two separate seats, although they can be swopped out for a three-seater bench at no cost in the Turbo Coupe, but not in the GT. Both front and rear seats are heated. Access is easy enough thanks to the crossover's ground clearance, and once ensconced, the low-set second row offers acceptable room, even for adults. The sloping rear isn't the easiest to see out of, but at least you get a backup camera and all-round parking sensors. A surround-view monitor costs extra.

There is enough interior space, but it's decidedly snug compared to boxier SUVs, especially in the second row. Even the tallest adults will fit up front, but the rear is best reserved for medium-sized adults or children, with enough room for two, and quite decent headroom, thanks to a low seating position. Kneeroom is good due to that 114-inch wheelbase.

The two individual rear seats can be exchanged for a three-seater bench at no cost in the Turbo Coupe only, but the center position is neither spacious nor comfortable, so we wouldn't compromise the comfort of the two outer positions to this extent unless we absolutely needed the center position for occasional use, such as on the school run.

Trunk space with all the seats in use is acceptable but not generous, with the RS Q8 offering quite a bit more. The Cayenne Coupe's 21.1 cu-ft behind the second row is on par with what the Urus S offers, but it's a useful enough space. It has side netting for smaller items. With the rear seats folded down, a maximum of 53.4 cu-ft of luggage space is available.

Cabin storage is acceptable, and although the glovebox isn't very big, the front door pockets are. There is a decent lidded console bin, too, two front cupholders, a small but quite deep uncovered storage area ahead of them, a rear center console containing uncovered storage, two rear cupholders in the fold-down center armrest, and small rear door pockets.

The cabin of the Turbo Coupe gets leather on the seats, upper and lower dashboard, glovebox lid, center console, and door panels in black. The other available interior colors are Slate Grey, black with Silver Houndstooth cloth, and black/Bordeaux Red leather, all at no extra cost. Leather in black/Mojave Beige, Slate Grey/Mojave Beige, or Graphite Blue/Chalk, but cost a few hundred dollars more. A higher grade of Club Leather is available in Truffle Brown or Truffle Brown/Cohiba Brown, but expect to pay anywhere from $1,400 to almost $2k for the upgrade.

The Turbo GT Coupe comes with a leather/Race-Tex (Alcantara faux suede) interior in black with deviated stitching in Arctic Grey, but Neodyme deviated stitching costs nothing extra. The "turbo GT" script is embroidered on all four headrests. Full leather in black is a no-cost option, too, but black/Bordeaux Red costs extra. A whole menu of Deviated Seat Centers and Stitching options are available for both trims in many color variations for between $1,800 and $5,850.

More surfaces in the interior can be covered in leather for extra money. The Turbo Coupe's steering wheel is also leather-trimmed (the airbag cover included), but the rim can be finished in the Turbo GT Coupe's Race-Tex faux suede for $200. The black seatbelts can be exchanged for other colors, too, with options ranging from Graphite Blue, Cohiba Brown, and Bordeaux Red to Truffle Brown, Mojave Beige, Chalk, and Slate Grey.

Porsche has been a bit stingy with the standard features, but the basics are there. You get leather upholstery in the Turbo Coupe (leather/Race-Tex Alcantara in the GT), a fixed panoramic glass roof in the Turbo Coupe (the GT has a carbon-fiber roof), dual-zone climate control, two digital displays on either side of an analog rev counter, power front seats, and a heated steering wheel. Among the extra-cost options are ambient interior lighting, ventilated front seats, and four-zone climate control.

The gauge cluster is partially digital, and in the center, you'll find a 12.3-inch touchscreen. The cloud-connected infotainment system incorporates Android Auto, wireless Apple CarPlay, online navigation, an auxiliary input, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi capability, Porsche Car Connect services, SiriusXM with a three-month Platinum Trial subscription, HD Radio, and a 14-speaker Bose audio system. The Turbo GT gets a simpler 10-speaker audio system, but the Turbo Coupe's 14-speaker Bose setup can be opted in at no cost. Both trims have access to a wireless charging pad, a 21-speaker Burmester 3D surround-sound system, and a rear-seat entertainment system with dual displays and two sets of Bluetooth headphones.

The Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe's engine is a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 541 hp and 567 lb-ft of torque,. Power is sent through an eight-speed automatic transmission to the road via an all-wheel-drive system. Additional hardware includes Integrated Porsche 4D-Chassis Control, adaptive air suspension with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), and Porsche Surface Coated Brakes (PSCB). The 'base' Turbo Coupe can dispatch the 0-60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds before roaring on to hit a top speed of 177 mph.

Thanks to an increase in outputs - to 631 hp and 626 lb-ft - the 0-60 mph time of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe in GT format is a blistering 3.1 seconds, and it can reach 186 mph. Its AWD drivetrain gains Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV+), its air suspension is firmer and 0.68 in. lower, and the car gains rear-axle steering and carbon-ceramic brakes. If trailering ability is important, your only option is the regular Turbo Coupe, which has a towing capacity of 7,700 pounds. The Turbo GT is not rated to tow, and its dual center-exit exhausts preclude the fitment of a tow hitch.

Much has been said about the Cayenne's handling - and it's been turned up to the max in the Turbo trims. The Turbo Coupe's steering is unexpectedly communicative for an SUV. It responds with vigor when pitched into a corner with PASM keeping body roll to a minimum and the AWD system apportioning power to the wheels that can make best use of it, slingshotting you out of corners at eye-widening speed. There is a lot of computer processing going on under the skin to achieve this, but kudos to Porsche for managing to make it all feel natural; the Cayenne Turbo never feels like it's being piloted by computers and that you're just a spectator.

The Turbo GT Coupe uses its bigger wheels, bespoke tires, lower suspension, torque vectoring, and rear-axle steering to spectacular effect to render an outsized go-kart on wheels, and its track ability will give actual sports cars a fright. The carbon-ceramic brakes tirelessly slow it from ridiculous speeds, and the eight-speed auto intuitively fires through the ratios. It remains unsurpassed for all-around ability among rapid SUVs. The ride is rather firm, though, and can be a bit too staccato on broken tar, although still more compliant than you'd expect from what is a hardcore setup with iron-fisted body control.

You can't have it both ways and an uber-powerful gas-powered SUV will never deliver stellar gas mileage. So it is with the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe's mpg figures, which are predictably poor. The Turbo Coupe returns city/highway/combined EPA estimates of 15/20/17 mpg, with the Turbo GT Coupe 1 mpg worse in each of the three cycles. To be fair, the Urus S gets the same gas mileage figures and the RS Q8 is also in that same vicinity.

At least a sizeable 23.7-gallon fuel capacity means that the Turbo Coupe will be able to achieve a range of around 400 miles on the combined cycle, with the Turbo GT getting to about 379 miles.

There's no NHTSA or IIHS safety review of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe, but the 2023 Audi Q8 with which it shares its platform and design hard points received a full five stars at the former and a Top Safety Pick+ award at the latter, so there's no reason to believe the Cayenne Coupe won't be similarly safe.

However, besides airbags and the usual ABS, stability control, tire-pressure monitoring, and a backup camera, standard driver assists are thin on the ground. The standard ones are automatic LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, front and rear parking sensors, forward-collision alert, and automatic emergency braking. A surround-view monitor, a head-up display, adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, and night vision form part of the $6,250 Assistance package, while the $3,750 Premium Package Plus contains LED-Matrix headlights with dynamic lighting and lane-change assist, in combination with a few luxury features. You can order some driver assists separately, such as a head-up display ($1,720), a surround-view monitor ($1,200), night vision ($2,420), lane-change assist ($950), lane-keep assist with traffic-sign recognition ($1,300), adaptive cruise control with ($3,300) or without ($2,000) lane-keep assist, and remote-controlled automatic parking ($1,610).

As a whole, JD Power gives the 2023 Porsche Cayenne, including the Turbo Coupe, a Quality & Reliability rating of 79 out of 100, which is an average result, but significantly better than the Q8's 71. The Turbo Coupe has also been recall-free so far for 2022 and 2023, but the 2021 Turbo Coupe was recalled for a misaligned rear axle, a detaching steering column, failing rear-axle lock nuts, and a missing seat heater that may prevent airbag deployment.

The 2023 Porsche Cayenne Turbo Coupe's limited warranty is valid for four years/50,000 miles, the same parameters as the powertrain warranty. Complimentary servicing is included for the first year of ownership/10,000 miles.

The frontal aspect of the Cayenne Turbo Coupe isn't the most exciting, being virtually the same as that of the Cayenne SUV, so fans are no doubt looking forward to the redesigned nose of next year's Cayenne. For the time being, the current car is far from ugly and looks purposeful and aggressive with its huge front air intakes. The rear is a lot more dramatic, of course, with its sloped arc sweeping down in a coupe-like shape, as is currently the fashion among sporty SUVs.

The Turbo Coupe runs on 21-inch two-color alloys, has four squared-off exhausts mounted in pairs on either side of the rear diffuser panel, a body-color roof spoiler, a fixed panoramic glass roof, and a black decklid spoiler. The Turbo GT gets 22-inch Satin Neodyme (bronze, to you and me) GT Design alloys, and a black finish for the wheel-arch moldings, side sills, mirrors, the rear roof spoiler, and rear apron, as well as a titanium exhaust with dual oval center outlets. It's noticeably squatter thanks to the huge wheels and a ride height that's been lowered by 0,68 inches. Because of the GT's carbon-fiber roof, it doesn't have a sunroof of any type, nor is one available.

As little sense as ballistically rapid SUVs make, they're popular enough to have spawned an entire subsegment, and the Cayenne Turbo Coupe sits right at the top. Notwithstanding heavy hitters in this class, such as the Lamborghini Urus S and high-value Audi RS Q8, the Cayenne Turbo Coupe offers the best blend of value and outright ability, masterfully treading the middle ground between the more mainstream Audi and expensive Lambo. It's second to no SUV out there in terms of performance and handling, especially in GT trim, but we'd be perfectly happy with the normal Turbo Coupe at a substantial saving. Whichever way you go, you'll be getting a superbly resolved performance SUV that does a hilariously convincing imitation of an outsized 911 Turbo. The only problem is the facelift arriving next year, and with refreshed looks, a huge new curved digital gauge cluster, and the GT boosted to 650 hp, we'd rather wait for that.