The news is that Porsche is updating its Cayenne range. I know, I know - the Cayenne is the big fat one that we only accept because its profit margins pay for new 911s and Caymans, right?
Well, perhaps not so much these days. Am I alone in thinking that the Cayenne is now accepted as a pukka Porsche? Perhaps - but the new GTS might convince the doubters. Ditching the old GTS's V8 engine, the new model gets a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 petrol unit with 440hp and 600Nm of torque. Good enough to spring to 100km/h in just 5.1 seconds (if you've got the optional Sport Chrono pack fitted) while the lower suspension (by 24mm, or 20mm if you tick the box for air suspension) should give a sharper drive even than that of the standard Cayenne. Big bold GTS lettering and a chunky airdam donated by the Cayenne Turbo complete the beefy look, and you can even have a black one with black lettering if you really think a massive, fast, Porsche SUV can actually be stealthy.
The cabin is pretty striking too - everything is draped in Alcantara and there are big bucket seats that electrically adjust in eight ways, with GTS stitched into the headrests. It won't be cheap - Porsche Centre in Dublin has confirmed the price at €132,514.
Anything else?
Well, if you want to save money on your Cayenne purchase, you could go for the newly-introduced base conventional petrol model (from Feb of next year) that uses a non-turbo 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine. The 0-100km/h sprint takes 7.7 seconds and standard equipment includes an eight-speed automatic gearbox with stop-start and coasting functions, bi-Xenon main headlights with four-point LED daytime driving lights, a multi-function sports steering wheel with gearchange paddle and an automatic boot lid. It's priced at €87,227 so the Cayenne S-E Hybrid (€81,042) is still the cheapest model in the line-up.