Fifth Gear: Porsche Cayenne GTS vs. BMW X5 4.8i

I like my old FX45 (not even the new one) better any either one of these two. They are too big.
I would have loved if they had the FX in there.

I nearly bought an FX but in the end the incredibly cheap interior and disappointingly cramped rear seats put me off. I'm happier in my new X5, but still admire the looks of the FX.

I'll take the X5

i would highly recommend to my future wife to buy the Porsche over the BMW as the family car while i buy the GT-R ;)

The X5 is much bigger than the Cayenne and they don't have a "performance" version like the GTS. Better comparison would be X6 xDrive 50i to Cayenne GTS. The Cayenne is likely to be the most cross shopped vehicles with the X6 anyway.

they are both quick for their size. The BMW is alot larger. The cayenne GTS is geared for performance. When the X6 5.0 arrives, then I think it would be a more fair comparison to the Porsche.

It is amazing how those 2 big trucks move around the track

What do you mean alot bigger? The BMW is 2inches longer and 2.5 inches higher. Otherwise they have the same basic width and the same basic weight. Although the BMW does have more interior space but thats got nothing to do with the dynamics of the performance comparison.

You are right it is 2.3 inches longer, the X5 4.8L weighs 5,335 lbs vs the Cayenne GTS 5,115 lbs, is wider by 1.8 inches, the X5 is 350 hp vs the Cayenne GTS at 405hp and the X5 is taller by 3 inches. You are right, aside from that they are very much alike. So does the fact the X5 is heavier, larger, taller & with less horsepower still have nothing to do with dynamics? you crack me up golfer

"a lot bigger" = "can carry seven people". Even if the rear seats in an X5 are for kids only the Cayenne can't carry seven people ever, it's cramped with five people.

The Cayenne GTS is designed to be a sports car in an SUV shell. Great, good for Porsche for filling that niche, because that's its sole purpose for existing. That isn't the case with the X5, it isn't ONLY supposed to be sporty. It also bases for $12k less than the Cayenne GTS. Fully loaded it runs what a base GTS starts at.

You want a BMW SUV that sacrifices convenience for sport? That's an X6, not an X5. And considering how close the performance is between the "sport above all else" Cayenne GTS and the people-hauler X5, my guess is the twin turbo V8 X6 xDrive 50i will walk all over the GTS, for about the same money. In the U.S. the GTS bases for $69k. The X6 xDrive 50i bases for $63k. It'll be easy to tack on $6k worth of options but it's just as easy, if not easier, to do the same in the Porsche.

That's a comparison test I'd like to see.

In the video Vicky Butler-Henderson says that the BMW is lighter.

And UK-price wise, adding the electronic dampers, sports suspension and 19" alloys to the X5 means £4000 is added to the price, so it is very close to the GTS. If we added to optional M-package to the BMW (a body kit) so that it was the same deal as the GTS (which has a turbo-look front and rear), the BMW would be more expensive.

well here in the U.S. the X5 4.8i starts at $54.5k, which is $14.5k less than the GTS at $69k base.

Want to know how nice of an X5 you can build with that $14.5k? Here is everything you could get on your X5 4.8i for $14500 exactly:

Sport Package w/ 20" wheels ($4550, drop $950 if you're ok with "only" 19" wheels), Tech Package (nav, backup camera, etc., $2600), Premium Package ($2650), Cold Weather Package ($900), Rear Climate ($700), Premium Sound ($1800), Comfort Access ($1000), and running boards ($300). Or you could drop Comfort Access, Rear Climate, and running boards and get ventilated seats with driver massage ($2100). Or maybe you want a HUD, or 3rd row. You can't even get those in the Cayenne.

You can get a heck of an X5 in the U.S. for what a Cayenne GTS starts at. Hell, you'll be able to get a nice twin turbo V8 X6 for what the Cayenne GTS starts at.

bmw4u4ever, I'm glad I can amuse you, but you stated "alot", which 2 inches is not. Some people may debate that which is fine, but as Rupert already pointed out, Vicki states that the Porsche is heavier. Don't be so pissy when your beloved loses a comparison test, its still a great car, but in this case the porsche is the ultimate driving machine.

golfer, we'll see how well Porsche's 7-passenger SUV fares against the X5. Oh wait, there isn't one.

I think Porsche can stick 2 stools in their cargo area and call themselves a 7 seater as well, after all, that's pretty much what the X5 offers. Again, I'm not referring to occupant capacity. All I'm suggesting is that size difference is not an exuse for BMW to lose this comparison. Porsche's GTS is simply much faster on the track because its got better driving dynamics and more horsepower.

those are valid reasons, sure. I'd imagine another even more valid reason is that BMW had to come up with a compromise between sport and utility in their larger, people hauling SUV than Porsche did with their sport-only GTS. It's not the biggest seven passenger SUV, it's not the most aggressively sporty, it's a compromise between the two and frankly the best SUV out there at making that compromise. I don't think most buyers of seven passenger X5's are going to miss the 2 seconds around the track the GTS won by. Again, if a smaller, less utilitarian SUV that maxes out the driving dynamics is what a buyer wants, that's what BMW is making the X6 for.

I would like to see an off road test conducted :-/

Why would they do this?

The Cayenne S is the only competitor to the X5 4.8i. The GTS is much more performance-oriented, and adds another 20hp to the Cayenne's already-30hp advantage.

On the other hand, the X5 offers a much better balance of performance and luxury, and their M-style range-topper is coming soon.

I chose the X5, and I would do it again.

I think they were just demonstrating the prowess of the GTS against its only (current) significant opposition. That and the fact that the GTS is a new model, therefore people want to know about it and where it fits in the line-up.

Why don't they put up the Cherokee SRT-8 against both of them?

OK, I just got a new car. The Cherokee SRT-8. After months of trying to decide what to get I chose the Jeep. The X5 and Porsche have better interiors, more prestige, etc. But I have an extra $30K in my pocket and can smoke both the Porsche and X5.

I still have my E46 M3 convertible but I must say, the SRT-8 Jeep makes it feel slow!

Not hating on the Cherokee, I think it looks pretty sinister and performs well (in a straight line) for its price, but...

On a track, it would get WHIPPED. There is no way the dynamically inferior SRT-8 would be able to keep up with the incredible Cayenne.

Plus the GC SRT-8 is smaller.

I'll take neither. Making SUVs into sports cars is just stupid. For $75k give a Boxster S and slightly used Honda Pilot.

touche!

The X5 in this comparison isn't exactly trying to "make SUVs into sports cars." It's just an SUV that happens to have great handling and a V8.

Actually you'd be surprised how nimble the SRT-8 is...In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it out-handles the Cayenne through corners, after-all it is much lighter.

I'm really considering trading in my 04 Jeep for the SRT-8 for the exact reasons "vman1013" mentioned.

MunichRob,

I still can't get my head around a Jeep being able to handle better than a Porsche.

There is something wrong there. I wouldn't bring vehicle weight into this, the Cayenne is so incredibly engineered that it's weight becomes irrelevant. To prove this, EVO magazine managed to get a (2004) Porsche Cayenne Turbo around a track in almost the same time as a Mitsubishi EVO 7.

With that in mind, how would a Jeep Cherokee with a bigger engine and mildly revised suspension cope?

To put this in perspective, I have a quote from EVO magazine on the SRT-8:

"Lot's of grunt, decent value, but it's no Cayenne"

I like the SRT-8, I really do, but it is not in the same league as the Cayenne in ability.

I've been driving the SRT-8 Cherokee for almost a week now and must say that if it isn't nimble then I don't know what is. Note that my other car is an E46 M3 convertible. Andmaybe the Cayenne outperforms it at the limit but as far as acceleration and playful (yet careful) highway speeding goes the SRT-8 Cherokee is like Roy Jones in his prime!

BMW is stating the X6 5.0 will perform in about 5.3 seconds to 60mph ... That is in line with the Cayenne Turbo ..

GTS still dynamically superior.

not to the X6 it isn't.

the X6 is a 4 seater with smaller exterior dimensions and probably weighs a lot less than the GTS. IMO the X6 is in the class of its own as of now and other carmakers probably won't bother to create new models to compete in this "segment". It's just too expensive and pointless.

nsun, ever been in the back of a Cayenne? It might as well be a four seater too. We used to have a Touareg, and five people in there wasn't happening for more than a short drive unless three of the occupants were kids.

The Cayenne is the vehicle BMW created the X6 for. Interesting how BMW didn't release the pricing of the X6 twin turbo V8 until Porsche announced the GTS pricing, isn't it? And interesting how they are so similarly priced? With the lower center of gravity, the revised xDrive system with left to right torque split, the 100lb weight savings, and the massive power boost, I'm pretty sure the X6 will make up those 2 seconds the X5 lost by to the GTS. And then some. And more importantly, people buying the X6 will care about that kind of thing a whole lot more than someone buying a seven passenger SUV like the X5 will.

"Matthew1" fair enough, I was basing my comment on Road & Tracks test data in which they got 63.5mph through the slalom for both vehicles. However factor in driver skill & those numbers can change.

I still like the BMW more.

I too like the BMW more..

give the Beamer to the family, ill take the Cayenne or Fx45

I have respect for porsche but the BMW X5 is the better SUV and Looks much better than the porsche,the porsche cayenne is a profit making dissapointment, looks ugly.

Uh Larry,

The Porsche is *cough* dynamically superior, can ACTUALLY go off-road and is avaliable with a manual transmission *cough*

So with styling being subjective (I think the GTS looks like a much more expensive item than the X5) why would you assume the X5 is better?

Matthew, how many people buying that sport suspension, huge sport wheels and huge sport tires equipped Cayenne GTS do you really think plan on taking it off road? How about "almost none", which incidentally is also how many of them will be stickshifts. So big deal.

I think what Larry was saying by "better SUV" is that the X5 does what most actual buyers need an SUV for better than the Cayenne -- i.e. haul people and their stuff on the road. It may sacrifice a slight bit of sport in the process, but not much. Since most people aren't tracking their SUV's anyway, I don't think the 2 seconds around a racecourse the GTS beat the X5 by will matter to anyone who needs more than a cramped five passenger SUV with very little cargo room. Besides, if they're willing to make those utility sacrifices then the X6 will walk all over the Cayenne GTS.

Considering the Cayenne is a mammoth SUV and the X5 a five series with more ground clearance, I'd say the Cayenne was a better 'SUV'.

Now the X5 is a better ownership propostion, I agree, but there's nop doubting what Porsche has achieved with that platform.

I think the real clincher here lies with the letter 'A'.

BMW uses it instead of a 'U'.

how exactly is the Cayenne a "mammoth" SUV and the X5 "a 5-Series with more ground clearance" when the X5 is, in fact, larger and roomier than the Cayenne? Isn't the kind of the exact opposite of what you just said? If it's a "platform sharing" issue, the Cayenne is literally nothing but a sportier, more powerful VW Touareg. As for the SUVs themselves, to most Americans the point of an SUV is to be able to carry people and cargo around. The X5 has more cargo and people space. So I don't see how the Cayenne is a "mammoth" anything compared to the X5, except for the ridiculously high weight of the thing (which is a bad thing, not a good thing).

Cayenne Baby or an FX45

It doesnt take a genious to figure this one out. But the X5 is more practical, looks a million times better, and has a MUCH better interior. When they drop the new 4.4l tt in the X5, you can then say bye bye Cayenne.

+1

How's yours doing?

As good as I 1st bought it. Its problem free till now. I love it. I can never get bored of the styling!

how's yours doing ? :P

One of the Porche Cayenne they are now selling w/ a 6 spd manual, i think it's the GTS. 6.1sec is not fast these days for these manacing looking trucks...and such high monthly $$$...They sound nice, and the transmission and torque make u jerk back and forth forcefully, but not going anywhere fast...sad, like the RR Sport SS = sounds and feels like it's going fast.