Porsche Cayenne Coupe 2023 Review

As alluded to in the intro, the 2023 Porsche Cayenne Coupe’s $146,700 (plus on-road costs) sticker price is the very tip of the iceberg. That in itself is $8000 more than the equivalent Cayenne wagon, but our test car wears more than $40,000 worth of extras to come in at $187,410 (+ORCs) as-tested.

We’ll run through those extras in a moment, but if you’re after a swoopier alternative to the traditional German SUV then you have plenty of choice.

Obvious rivals include the Audi Q8 (from $132,269 +ORCs), BMW X6 (from $140,900 +ORCs) and Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe (from $159,900 +ORCs) – all freshly facelifted – but if you’re shopping in this segment you no doubt have the Range Rover Sport (from $143,600 +ORCs) in your sights, too.

We’ll cover that extensive options spend in a moment, but the 2023 Porsche Cayenne Coupe is by no means a barren and desolate environment in standard trim. Externally you score 20-inch rims, LED lighting at both ends, an active rear spoiler, electric tailgate and ‘welcome home’ lighting.

Step inside via keyless entry and there’s dual-zone climate control, eight-way power adjustable front seats with heating, a fixed panoramic glass roof, head-up display and 360-degree surround-view camera.

Now, those extras. The biggest ticket items are the 22-inch Exclusive Design Sport wheels painted in Vesuvius Grey with wheel surrounds in matching body colour for a cool $10,510. You can stick with the standard 20s, but deviating from them will set you back at least $5000 and goes up from there.

Speaking of colours, the (rather beautiful) Montego Blue costs $2420 along with other metallic colours, but the sky is the limit if you dip into Porsche’s extensive Paint to Sample catalogue.

Sticking on the outside there’s silver exhaust outlets ($1720), Matrix LED headlights ($4740) and Porsche logo courtesy lights ($600), while inside you have the two-tone, smooth-finish leather interior ($8170), heated GT sport steering wheel ($1140), four-zone climate control ($1720), Bose stereo ($2840), 18-way adjustable sports seats ($800), air quality system ($890), seat belts in Crayon (the colour, $1020), Porsche crests on the head restraints ($950) and ambient lighting ($850).

Under ‘miscellaneous’ you can file Active Lane Keep Assist ($1560) and key in body colour ($780). You could easily go without some – even most – of this, though equally there’s an argument that some of it (quad-zone climate and ambient lighting, for instance) could be made standard at this price point.

Porsche is one of the few manufacturers still sticking with a three-year warranty and service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km.

Service pricing for the current car isn’t yet available but based on its (mechanically very similar) predecessor it won’t be cheap, Porsche requires an $895 service annually and a $1500 inspection bi-annually. Add in spark plugs, gear oil and brake fluid and you’re looking at around $7000 for the first five years.

There’s no official safety rating for the latest Porsche Cayenne yet, however, its predecessor’s five-star Euro NCAP rating suggests there’s little cause for concern.

For a long time Porsche has eschewed active safety systems but there’s now autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control as standard, though active lane keeping with intersection assist is on the options menu.

Directly ahead of the driver, the new 2023 Porsche Cayenne Coupe has grabbed some inspiration from its Taycan electric sibling with the large 12.65-inch curved instrument display that is one of the best examples of the breed you’ll find. Super clear, easily navigated and adjusted via the steering wheel buttons.

It does also mark a change in starting procedure for the Cayenne. Traditionally, even with keyless entry and start you twist the ‘key’ in the dashboard but now there’s a start-stop button on the right-hand side that requires you hold it for a moment motorsport-style to fire the engine.

The gear lever has also relocated from the centre console to the dash – a toggle on the left of the steering wheel. It’s part of an extensive interior makeover that will be covered in more detail later.

The 12.3-inch infotainment touch-screen also works very well. It’s quick and responsive and has smartphone-style functionality like being able to pinch the navigation screen to zoom in and out.

Wireless smartphone mirroring supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – full screen with large icons – and there’s digital radio. Charging is taken care of by a wireless pad and two USB-C ports up front and another pair in the rear.

Porsche Connect provides smartphone connectivity for remote control and monitoring of various vehicle functions, real-time traffic and parking information and built-in Apple Music and video streaming (as long as you have the appropriate accounts).

Under the bonnet you’ll find the 3.0-litre turbo-petrol V6 that’s familiar from various Porsche and Audi products. It produces 260kW/500Nm through an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive, powering the Cayenne Coupe to 100km/h in a claimed 5.7sec, while claimed combined fuel consumption is 9.4L/100km.

One of Porsche’s most remarkable achievements is that it imbues its cars with a certain consistency of feel, whether it be a base-level Porsche Macan or a GT-series 911.

Obviously there’s huge differences in ride quality, engine response and such, but it’s little things like the diameter of the steering wheel and its on-centre weight, and the pressure required by the accelerator and brake pedals that clearly identify a car as a Porsche.

There’s a feeling of heft and substance to the Cayenne Coupe in the way it deals with lumps and bumps in the road, but even on 22-inch rims it has an uncanny ability to cushion occupants, though I suspect on 21s or 20s it would be even better again.

It’s a beautiful car to drive thanks to the weighting and accuracy of the steering, that compliant ride and the refinement, but that feeling of heft gives a sense that it might not be too crash hot when you want to drive the Cayenne Coupe, well, like a Porsche.

Somehow, it completely shrugs off its weight and claws into the tarmac with remarkable tenacity, thanks partly to those 22-inch rims wearing tyres measuring 285mm-wide at the front and 315mm at the rear.

Nevertheless, even on smaller tyres there’s a handling dexterity to the Cayenne Coupe that few owners of this ‘base’ version will ever truly exploit, though will probably enjoy knowing is there.

This is, however, all leading up to a ‘but’. This chassis and this price tag deserves a better engine. In a much lighter Audi S4 it provides stirring performance and in the much cheaper (previous generation) Macan S it was fine, but perhaps the fact six-cylinder Macans have moved exclusively to the Porsche-designed 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 (shared with the RS 4 and previous-gen Cayenne S) is a sign the 3.0-litre VW engine is underwhelming.

It has enough power and torque to get the Cayenne moving in a relatively spirited fashion, but it feels lazy, like the gearing is too long, and makes an uninspiring noise. It’s not a Porsche engine.

There is an off-road mode in the 2023 Porsche Cayenne Coupe and with appropriate all-terrain rubber fitted to the standard 20-inch wheels it’s no doubt exceptionally capable, especially with the optional air suspension able to provide up to 237mm of ground clearance.

However, it’s difficult to see many, if any, Cayennes being subjected to anything more than the occasional unsealed surface.

I haven’t really mentioned it yet, but the new Porsche Cayenne sits somewhere between an all-new model and a heavy facelift. The underpinnings are revised but everything above that is essentially fresh and that includes the cabin.

It is a truly lovely place to sit, with any hard, scratchy plastics completely absent. Even lower surfaces have a degree of suppleness to them and the dash and many other surfaces are clad in soft, squishy leather.

Moving the gear lever to the dash has provided space for a control centre on the console and it’s a textbook example of keeping physical controls in a digital age.

There are plenty of features buried in the screen but adjusting fan speed, temperature, seat heating or audio volume – things that are done constantly throughout most drives – are just a click away. It’s a physical click, too, which is nice, the whole panel moving as one.

The more rakish Coupe roofline doesn’t impinge on rear accommodation, with plenty of room in every dimension and a comfy bench, though as mentioned earlier the dual-zone climate control is an optional extra.

That more hatch-like body does reduce maximum boot capacity from the wagon’s 772 litres to 592L, but given most of that reduction is up high the actual space that most people will use is largely unchanged. Certainly, you can fit a heap of stuff in the back of the Coupe if required.

If you’re in the market for a large premium SUV, the 2023 Porsche Cayenne Coupe makes a very good case for itself with a wonderful interior that’s big on space and a driving experience that’s capable of relaxation and enjoyment depending on what mood you’re in.

Blowing the purchase cost out with Porsche’s extensive options list is a real threat, but the standard equipment level is such that any extra boxes really come down to personalisation rather than any real need.

However, if we were to buy a Cayenne Coupe it wouldn’t be this one. The $160,300 (+ORCs) Cayenne E-Hybrid Coupe adds both a welcome hit of extra performance and everyday EV capability to the mix, while the $188,500 (+ORCs) Cayenne S Coupe now features the beautiful 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, an engine that sonically and experientially better matches the Cayenne Coupe’s other talents.

It’s always easy to spend other people’s money, but it seems fair to assume that those spending $150,000-plus on an SUV would prefer something truly special.

2023 Porsche Cayenne Coupe at a glance:
Price: $146,700 (plus on-road costs), $187,410 plus ORCs as-tested
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo-petrol
Output: 260kW/500Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Fuel: 9.4L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 214g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Unrated