Range Rover Sport vs Porsche Cayenne: Comparison

Posted by Ayush Khanna on January 7th, 2020

What are luxury full-size SUVs for? Well, barring the fact that these are certain to pry a lot of eyeballs, these boxy crossovers are also well known for their performance and comfort quotient. In all honesty, in this particular segment, the mighty Germans reign supreme. The Audi Q7 has been the segment leader for a while now with the Mercedes-Benz GLS not too far behind. The BMW X7, on the other hand, is fairly new.

But let’s look beyond that, for what lies beneath. The Porsche Cayenne is a well-sorted SUV with immaculate driving dynamics. Then there’s the Range Rover Sport that just passed a heart surgery with a smaller engine – as we tested in our Range Rover Sport Petrol review. So, we lined up the 2.0 Range Rover Sport against the base-spec Porsche Cayenne V6 for a brief comparison. Read on.

Since both these cars are essentially the base-spec trims, one might not expect a breath-taking number of features or equipment. But, as soon as you set your eye on either of these, the perception is just taken away.

Let’s start with the Porsche. The Cayenne just received a nip-and-tuck a few months back. In that sense, the design sure looks a bit dated now. Sure, the wide haunches and the full-LED Porsche signature headlamps add a bit of flair to the design, but it seems a bit long in the tooth as of now. But then again, I just can’t get over the new single-piece taillamp structure, which looks absolutely phenomenal. On the interior front, the fit-and-finish and the quality of materials are just impeccable. The humongous touchscreen takes the centre place, while the instrument cluster comprises an analogue tachometer flanked by two digital displays. Since it is a very large SUV, seating four passengers will never be a problem, although a fifth might be a squeeze – thanks to the transmission tunnel.

The Range Rover Sport, just like the Porsche, feels familiar and a bit dated. But I must say this one is certainly more imposing and in-the-face. Well, that’s all generosity to the flat bonnet, square LED lamps, and a raked windscreen. So, if it’s a conventional SUV appeal you’re after, the Sport works well in that department. The Porsche, I must add, is snazzy and curvy in its own right. On the interior side of things, the Sport is loaded with screens. There’s a screen for infotainment, HVAC controls, and the instrument cluster. While it may look modern and chic, tactile buttons for the HVAC controls would have made things easier. The space is almost identical to the Porsche, and so is the quality and fit-and-finish.

But enough with the touchscreens and clusters, what’s under the hood? The Sport is powered by JLR’s 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol that’s good for 296bhp and 400Nm of torque. The Porsche, in this base-spec, is powered by a 3.0-litre V6 that’s capable of 456bhp and 700Nm of torque. As concluded from the on-paper figures, since we don’t have these cars back to back for comparison, the V6 in the Porsche easily trumps the measly 2.0 Petrol in the Range Rover. The latter takes 7.3s to breach the 100km mark from a standstill, while the former is good for 5.9s.

So, the Porsche easily trumps the Sport when it comes to the performance and driving dynamics – I am not even going to emphasize the latter, of course. So, now, let’s talk about the price. The Range Rover Sport is priced at Rs. 94.49 lakh for the HSE trim you see here, while the Porsche Cayenne V6 retails at Rs 1.19 crore (both prices, ex-showroom). The Sport, of course, plays the pricing card very well.

So, to conclude, the Sport feels like a better package when it comes to the price. It has an imposing look and a considerably better street presence. On top of that, the four-cylinder petrol is also a judicious sipper in comparison to Porsche’s V6. But the Porsche really out-shadows the Range Rover when it comes to performance and dynamics. And that’s what it is for. It’s for the purist who doesn’t mind shelling some extra currency for the driving dynamics. Just like us. But if you are not, well the Range Rover Sport might be the one for you. To read the full Porsche Cayenne or Range Rover Sport Petrol review, be sure to tune in to autoX.