Porsche Cayenne

[Dippy]

I've seen a few of these around so I decided to find out how much they cost.

The 'S' is a 4.5 litre V8 and is £45K base.

The 'turbo' is a 4.5 V8 twin turbo and is £70K base.

Now I know that the turbo must have more than just the two turbos added, but £25K more???

[TimJMS]

I hear you Dippy, but its almost the same difference the punter is having to fork out between the Carrera 4S and the turbo. Dont forget Porsche currently makes more lovely filthy lucre on each unit it sells than any other manufacturer.

I was behind a KN "S" today for a few miles, and it occurred to me that from behind (I was looking down on it from the pilots seat of the Rangey) it looks like a jacked up RS6, or almost an Allroad, so not a proper off roader at all. That was instructive for me because it helped to solve the mystery of its great handling... IE its centre of gravity cannot be that high.

Fine motor, though.

[Carps]

Did you see the testing of these in the US - I forget where itwas, but they had about 12 of the things going up and down hills on serious off-road terrain. It is a very well used prooving ground, and the Porsche was strolling up the toughest climbs where other manufacturers had failed and even custom builds don't always make it.
I also recall reading somewhere that it was managing seriously fast times around the Nurburgring...
For practicality and VFM though, you'd have to go with the V10 diesel VW Tourag.

[JohnW]

You guys really need to drive one to see what it is like.

we test drove the 3.2 Touareg and it was nice for the price.
Handled well, good economy, and more roomy than the X5 etc.

Then we tried the Cayenne S and it was trully superb. Does not handle like a big 4x4 at all. Fit & finish are good, but the basic plastic dash is a bit nasty, so well worth going for the full leather option. Also the standard audio is a bit ugly, so worth considering the PCM.
If you can live with an average of 18/19mpg then it is well worth considering (which is no worse than the other similar choices).
We drove a 4.2 Touareg straight afterwards and to be honest it handled almost identically (no surprise since it is the same suspension etc). The quality of finish is IMO not as good though, for a car that is not significantly cheaper.

As for the Turbo, well, we didn't drive it as it averages around 13mpg (!) which is not acceptible for us. Oh, and the wife won't let me spend that much either [img]images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]
You need to check delivery times for the turbo too. When I asked a few months back now it was looking to be a good 9 months.

If you want ot read some inmfo from current owners try www.rennlist.com and go to the discussion forums. There are a few known teething problems, but all seem to agree that handling & performance are outstanding.

Cheers,
John.

[Gareth]

Finally saw a Cayenne that actually looked ok yesterday. It was a deep metallic black and had the 22'' Kahn alloys fitted.

Ok was a "gangsta stlye" car but it actually made a very ugly look respectable [img]images/graemlins/033102scull_1_prv.gif[/img]

[jeffw]

What next....a Ferrari MPV !


Very sad.....the Range Rover is probable a better Off Roader

[Mog]

Saw an " S " today in silver, looked ok until I saw the front which has the sort of open mouthed look...a bit gawky

Mog [img]images/graemlins/s4anogaro.gif[/img]

[Taipan]

There's a post on rennlist with several pictures of Cayenne Turbo in black (seems it has special wheels too): click here

Here's one which shows an impressive mouth indeed (even more as it lacks a license plate) :


I must admit that if I see that coming up my mirror on an highway, full speed and lights on, respect...


Eric

[Riz_RS4]

OMG! That is one ugly mother! [img]images/graemlins/suicide.gif[/img]

[JohnH]

Sorry but anything that is not a 911 is not a Porsche to me and Cayenne just dilutes the brand and brings them in line with BMW and Mercedes [img]images/graemlins/033102bad_1_prv.gif[/img]

[jeffw]

I've seen one of the Turbos on the road and the S in the local Porsche dealership....On the road it looks OKish because you don't realise it's a Porsche but in the dealership next to the Boxsters & GT3s it looks very strange.

[JohnW]

Sorry but anything that is not a 911 is not a Porsche to me and Cayenne just dilutes the brand and brings them in line with BMW and Mercedes [img]images/graemlins/033102bad_1_prv.gif[/img]

lol

John this is one of the longest running Porsche discussions ever. Even outdoes the air vs water cooled cars argument [img]images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

IMO any car that allows Porsche to remain independent so they can continue to build the likes of the GT3 etc, and is significantly special to still be desirable is fine by me.

They are targeting a specific part of the market, which is addressed by the question what do you buy when you have a couple of kids and they can't fit in the back of your 996 any more ?

Agreed the front takes a bit of getting used to, but if the wife would have let me spend that much we'd have an S on order by now.

Best discussed over a few beers, so the slamming of fists on the table give better impact [img]images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]

[kante3]

I've been working in Munich recently and seen quite a few. I must admit that the looks (especially in black) are beginning to grow on me (a little) BUT its still one hell of a big car DOUBLE BUT if you are going to have a 4x4 you might as well go completely potty.

Personally, I would buy an RS4 for when I want to go a little nutty (and take the family) and an A3 Tdi quattro for when the wife needs a runaround with the security of four wheel drive............ooops sorry I already did! [img]images/graemlins/roundeyes.gif[/img]

[Gareth]

Sorry but anything that is not a 911 is not a Porsche to me and Cayenne just dilutes the brand and brings them in line with BMW and Mercedes [img]images/graemlins/033102bad_1_prv.gif[/img]

100% agree John. Just doesn't seem right or, of course, look right...

Unless you're a German bean counter of course.. [img]images/graemlins/rocketwhore.gif[/img]

[Alan]

Guys I was of exactly the same opinion until this morning [img]images/graemlins/033102bad_1_prv.gif[/img]

However, I took my porker in for an oil change this morning (they had agreed to do it whilst I waited) and whilst there blagged a drive of a Turbo and I was stunned.

It was a joy to drive, certainly felt bloody quick (which is all the more apparent because you are aware you're in a large-ish 4x4) and handled like a dream.

Add to this it's well-known off-road abilities (it's proven it's superb on the roughest of tests, as good if not better than Range Rovers etc) and it starts to become something special [img]images/graemlins/nodder.gif[/img] IMHO

It really does have to be driven, trust me.

If I were in the market for this type of vehicle I'd buy one over a Range Rover (and yes I have driven one [img]images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]) everytime.

My only problem with it is that there's not actually *that* much room in the back [img]images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img], considering it's size.
Oh and as with anything Porsche...there's...ahem...the cost [img]images/graemlins/crucified.gif[/img]