These the inside there are special GTS seats with memory; Alcantara trims the seat inserts, console, and door panels; and a standard Alcantara headliner (a $1990 option on lesser Cayennes). Those opting for the bright Peridot green or Carmine Red paint ($3450 extra) will get coordinating stitching, embroidery, and seat belts. The Sportdesign steering wheel with paddle shifters and audio controls is also standard (a $290 value). If you're keeping track, optioning an S as close as possible to the equipment level of a GTS would run up a $91,415 sticker -- $8390 more than the GTS -- without any of the performance upgrades or Turbo-look styling. Out on the open, twisty roads, the engine and transmission impress the most. The V-8's baritone roar stimulates the enthusiast glands like few other sounds, especially when slowing and downshifting in Sport mode, when the engine computer cuts ignition to a few cylinders for one or two cycles, sending a bit of raw fuel into the exhaust manifold, where it burns with a delightful bark. It sounds a lot like the good old days of carbureted overrun, except more orderly. You always get a discrete staccato brrrap of three or four distinct pops. Oh, and none of this sound seems to be emanating from the A-pillars. When exercising the accelerator and brake pedals hard, the computer commands the transmission to hold gears, grab downshifts as soon as possible, and execute upshifts double-quick. One observation the deluge afforded us: The low, sleek, pointy nose allows much of the water from big puddles to splash forward, up over the hood, and onto the windshield, temporarily blinding the driver.
