Bring the cash and these cars will bring the speed.
Bring the cash and these cars will bring the speed. Nothing gets you faster to your destination – and in more comfort – than these three sporty SUVs.
JAGUAR F- PACE R-SPORT 3.0
GRACE, pace, space. That’s what our contenders in this roundup have to offer in spades, should you have the cash to spare.
Even if you’re just gawking and not shopping, the sheer visual spectacle of the trio here shows just how accomplished modern sporty SUVs have become.
The Maserati Levante S is easily the most stylish of the lot. The brand with a trident certainly knows how to dress sharply, and the Levante S in black is as rakish and menacing as a mafia don with a fedora. With its barking exhaust the loudest in the trio, it certainly knows how to make an entrance too.
No one knows speed like the autobahn-pounding Germans, and the new third-generation Porsche Cayenne delivers that with single-minded precision. The original performance SUV, Porsche has sharpened its Cayenne recipe with the spicier S version – a comfortable, lightning-quick speed demon which eats up the miles, and the yardstick by which other SUVs are measured against.
Elegant brutishness is what you get should you cast your eyes over the Jaguar F-Pace, livened up here in R-Sport trim. It’s Jaguar’s first SUV but it has lost none of the sporting abilities that Jags are known for. It’s quiet, comfortable and with the lowest asking price of the three, a bit of a bargain.
PORSCHE CAYENNE S vs MASERATI LEVANTE S vs JAGUAR F-PACE R-SPORT
PORSCHE CAYENNE S vs MASERATI LEVANTE S vs JAGUAR F-PACE R-SPORT
F-Pace’s rear bench is very comfortable, and offers good thigh support and headroom. Just like the Levante S, the F-Pace also offers gadget users two USB ports and a 12-volt socket for charging their devices.
PORSCHE CAYENNE S vs MASERATI LEVANTE S vs JAGUAR F-PACE R-SPORT
LAST WORD
You buy a premium sporty SUV for three reasons: the ability to carry passengers (and their luggage), comfort for all no matter where you go, and the blazing speed at which you can transport said passengers.
Our three contenders deliver grace, pace and space in large doses. Even though the cars are volume sellers for their respective brands, the vehicles themselves are well sorted and great fun to drive.
The Levante S is the most rakish and raucous of the lot. Maserati, keen to sell its sporting prowess in a more practical package, is taking the first steps to build a name synonymous with other sporting luxury stalwarts, and it seems to be working.
However, some questionable interior choices and an astronomical price tag make it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend to buyers looking for a do-it-all car. But if looks are your thing, the Levante S is your Armani suit of choice.
The refinement of the Jaguar F Pace R-Sport is hard to ignore. Its punchy engine and refined cabin makes its asking price even easier to swallow. It’s a great car at a great price, but others might look at its Land Rover stablemate and ask whether its worth paying more for the leaping cat.
The Cayenne S isn’t the most perfect car here either, mostly due to its pricing. At an eye-watering $560,800 as tested, it’s either this – or a five-room HDB flat.
But disregard the Porsche at your peril. Strip away the options on our test car and the price comes down to a more agreeable $433,988.
Even though you lose some niceties like the shiny tungsten-carbide Porsche Surface Coated Brakes and Burmester sound system, you’re still left with one of the best handling and capacious SUVs on the road today, bar none. And that is why it wins this test.
PORSCHE CAYENNE S 2.9 (A)
DRIVETRAIN
TYPE V6, 24-valves, turbocharged
CAPACITY 2894cc
BORE X STROKE 84mm x 86mm
COMPRESSION RATIO 10.5:1
MAX POWER 440hp at 5700rpm
MAX TORQUE 550Nm at 1800-5500rpm
POWER TO WEIGHT 217.8hp per tonne
GEARBOX 8-speed automatic with manual select
DRIVEN WHEELS All
PERFORMANCE
0-100KM/H 5.2 seconds
TOP SPEED 265km/h
CONSUMPTION 10.6km/L (combined)
CO2 EMISSION 213g/km
SUSPENSION FRONT Multi-link, coil springs
REAR Multi-link, coil springs
BRAKES
FRONT / REAR Ventilated discs
TYRES
TYPE Pirelli P Zero
SIZE 255/55 R19 (front), 275/50 R19 (rear)
SAFETY
AIRBAGS 6
TRACTION AIDS ABS, PSM
MEASUREMENTS
LENGTH 4918mm
WIDTH 2194mm
HEIGHT 1696mm
WHEELBASE 2895mm
KERB WEIGHT 2020kg
TURNING CIRCLE 12.1m
BUYING IT
PRICE INCL. COE $466,188 (after $20k VES surcharge)
MASERATI LEVANTE S GRANSPORT 3.0 (A)
DRIVETRAIN
TYPE V6, 24-valves, twin-turbocharged
CAPACITY 2979cc
BORE X STROKE 86.5mm x 84.5mm
COMPRESSION RATIO 9.7:1
MAX POWER 430hp at 5750rpm
MAX TORQUE 580Nm at 4500-5000rpm
POWER TO WEIGHT 203.9hp per tonne
GEARBOX 8-speed automatic with manual select
DRIVEN WHEELS All
PERFORMANCE
0-100KM/H 5.2 seconds
TOP SPEED 264km/h
CONSUMPTION 9.2km/L (combined)
CO2 EMISSION 253g/km
SUSPENSION FRONT Double wishbones
REAR Multi-link, coil springs
BRAKES
FRONT / REAR Ventilated discs / Discs
TYRES
TYPE Continental ContiSportContact 5
SIZE 365/45 R20
SAFETY
AIRBAGS 6
TRACTION AIDS ABS, ESC
MEASUREMENTS
LENGTH 5003mm
WIDTH 2158mm
HEIGHT 1679mm
WHEELBASE 3004mm
KERB WEIGHT 2109kg
TURNING CIRCLE 11.7m
BUYING IT
PRICE INCL. COE $521,000 (after $20k VES surcharge)
JAGUAR F-PACE R-SPORT 35T 3.0 (A)
DRIVETRAIN
TYPE V6, 24-valves, supercharged
CAPACITY 2995cc
BORE X STROKE 85.5mm x 89mm
COMPRESSION RATIO 10.5
MAX POWER 335hp at 6500rpm
MAX TORQUE 450Nm at 4500rpm
POWER TO WEIGHT 184.1hp per tonne
GEARBOX 8-speed automatic with paddleshift)
DRIVEN WHEELS All
PERFORMANCE
0-100KM/H 5.8 seconds
TOP SPEED 250km/h
CONSUMPTION 11.2km/L (combined)
CO2 EMISSION 209g/km
SUSPENSION FRONT Double wishbones
REAR Integral link
BRAKES
FRONT / REAR Ventilated discs
TYRES
TYPE Pirelli P Zero
SIZE 255/55 R19
SAFETY
AIRBAGS 6
TRACTION AIDS ABS, ESC
MEASUREMENTS
LENGTH 4731mm
WIDTH 2175mm
HEIGHT 1693mm
WHEELBASE 2874mm
KERB WEIGHT 1820kg
TURNING CIRCLE 11.6m
BUYING IT
PRICE INCL. COE $291,999 (after $20k VES surcharge)
