New Porsche Cayenne Diesel

[anonymous-user]

melv said:

At last got to drive one around Guildford and Farnham, including the snow....coped admirably in that, no prob, plenty of grunt, quiet; sport suspension jiggly but boy it goes around corners, comfort nice for the dual carriageways, but.........switches not easy to use, guess that would come with time -Mrs Melv managed to knock the cruise when indicating more than a few times, fiddly rear wash/wipe button, high central console made it seem smaller, seemed cold in the back -is there a sep heater control? Feels a lot smaller on the inside, more car like than 4x4's we are used to........

Unfortunatley rather underwhelmed, and, dissapointed I guess!! Brand loyalty and all that..........and she prefers the Range Rover.........

It's interesting. For me, I love the sure footed way the Cayenne drives and the high console makes the cabin feel more cozy and sporty so that the whole experience was much more car like - apart from the lovely high driving position.

I guess we all require different things from these vehicles.

[cayman-black]

Having had a RR for the last seven year i really wanted to love the new Cayenne and change to one. But in the end have gone back to another RR. Dont care if the cayenne is faster or corners better, i love the feeling that the rr gives (limmo feel)and that it does not encourage you to drive it fast. If i want to go round corners or any where else at speed i will use the RS!

[clorenzen]

cayman-black said:

Having had a RR for the last seven year i really wanted to love the new Cayenne and change to one. But in the end have gone back to another RR. Dont care if the cayenne is faster or corners better, i love the feeling that the rr gives (limmo feel)and that it does not encourage you to drive it fast. If i want to go round corners or any where else at speed i will use the RS!

Same here. On my 4th RR and would love to like the Cayenne but it simply does not match up. It is tiny inside. The switchgear is flimsy, For such a big car the boot is a joke. The seats are not that comfortable and for what it does better on road it is useless off road. The RR is still the king.

[Webber3]

clorenzen said:

Same here. On my 4th RR and would love to like the Cayenne but it simply does not match up. It is tiny inside. The switchgear is flimsy, For such a big car the boot is a joke.

Are you talking about the new model? If so, tiny boot was my first impression. I didn't realise that the rear seat was slid back to its max. The rear seat on the new model can be moved by up to 16cm.

clorenzen said:

The seats are not that comfortable and for what it does better on road it is useless off road. The RR is still the king.

I wouldn't say it was useless off road, far from it. On air suspension it could probably do 90% of what the RR could do on similar tyres.

[Guyr]

Webber3 said:

I wouldn't say it was useless off road, far from it. On air suspension it could probably do 90% of what the RR could do on similar tyres.

But the Cayenne doesn't have a low-ratio gearbox anymore, so true off-roading will always be limited.......

[burwoodman]

I think Porsche have it right. You'll never get RR fans buying Cayennes. I do find it amusing that there are so many detractors about teh offroad ability of the Cayenne. Id imagine < 1% of RR buyers test the RR to its ability.

Id love a RR but i cant stand the fact it rolls like a boat.

[Webber3]

Guyr said:

Webber3 said:

I wouldn't say it was useless off road, far from it. On air suspension it could probably do 90% of what the RR could do on similar tyres.

But the Cayenne doesn't have a low-ratio gearbox anymore, so true off-roading will always be limited.......

I asked the guys at Silverstone about the lack of low-ratio reduction, they said the new 8 speed box compensated for this. Not sure if I buy this, but not knowing the gear ratios I can't say for sure.

[Geneve]

Which luxury SUV people prefer is a personal choice - we all have different tastes and priorities.

But, IMO, the new Cayenne is a class act, and the Diesel is sure to be the most popular model. A lot does depend on the specification, and that inevitably pushes up the price. With pasm and air and servotronic you probably have the best balanced chassis of any SUV - sporting handing and luxurious ride.

Seat comfort will depend on the spec although the 'comfort' or 'sport' seats are worthwhile options. The driving position is superb.

The design execution and build quality really are top notch. The engine is very smooth with the optimum performance/economy delivery.

It's a spacious 4/5 seater with a big boot, but won't appeal to those who need a bigger 6/7 seater.

The old Cayenne was an accomplished all rounder (I did several driving days on-road, off-road, and on-track in them) but it sufferred from its image and was heavy, thirsty and could be costly to run.

Porsche have moved the game on with the new model.

[anonymous-user]

Spot on Geneve!

[Trommel]

Webber3 said:

I asked the guys at Silverstone about the lack of low-ratio reduction, they said the new 8 speed box compensated for this. Not sure if I buy this, but not knowing the gear ratios I can't say for sure.

It's a pragmatic decision by Porsche, but it confirms that it's now even more just a compromised estate car. How much better would it be without the height and weight?

[red_slr]

Come to this thread a bit late! I tested a Cayenne Dieseil a few months back and came very, very close to ordering one for March delivery.

We really liked the car, A LOT. It is very nice, and a class act does describe it well.

But, in the end we took a used Range Rover 4.4 V8 Vogue on a test drive and we both agreed that the RR was 90% of the Porsche, but for about 30K less. Did we want to spend 30k to get a 10% better car???

So, we spent a couple of grand making our drive way wider and went for the RR.

Yes, its not brand new, and yes, it does have the odd issue - but I have found it to be a great car.

Would I have a RR over a Cayenne D if money was no object.... probably not no - I would prefer the Cayenne D. But, given the current economic climate and the fact that we did not _need_ a brand new 50k car, we went with the RR. It now gets parked in the car park without a care, muddy dogs chucked in the boot, it gets bounced up and down the local lanes and it takes it all in its stride. I am sure a new Cayenne would too, but with a grimice on my face as I drove it!

HTH

[Guyr]

Webber3 said:

I asked the guys at Silverstone about the lack of low-ratio reduction, they said the new 8 speed box compensated for this. Not sure if I buy this, but not knowing the gear ratios I can't say for sure.

I've done a bit of 'proper' off-roading and unless the new Cayenne has a first gear that only reaches 3-4mph at maximum revs then it won't be as good and it's just what they're told to say. Most low-ratio boxes drop the gearing by a factor of about ten.

That said I think it's the right decision, as 99.999% of Cayennes (and Touregs which are essentially the same car) are never going to need rock-crawler gearing, so dropping the weight makes sense.

[ted 191]

burwoodman said:

I think Porsche have it right. You'll never get RR fans buying Cayennes. I do find it amusing that there are so many detractors about teh offroad ability of the Cayenne. Id imagine < 1% of RR buyers test the RR to its ability.

Id love a RR but i cant stand the fact it rolls like a boat.

Iv had 3 Range Rovers and my cayenne arrives 15 December.

[ZeroH]

Guyr said:

Webber3 said:

I asked the guys at Silverstone about the lack of low-ratio reduction, they said the new 8 speed box compensated for this. Not sure if I buy this, but not knowing the gear ratios I can't say for sure.

I've done a bit of 'proper' off-roading and unless the new Cayenne has a first gear that only reaches 3-4mph at maximum revs then it won't be as good and it's just what they're told to say. Most low-ratio boxes drop the gearing by a factor of about ten.

That said I think it's the right decision, as 99.999% of Cayennes (and Touregs which are essentially the same car) are never going to need rock-crawler gearing, so dropping the weight makes sense.

Doesn't it depend on what kind of off-roading ? WHen Porsche were testing the new cayenne on the sand dunes of the UAE, they said that the new turbo was far more capable over them than the old car, being able to do 2 or 3 climbs more than the old car would have been able to do... tho not sure if thats just down to better gearbox oil cooling or something more fundamental to the 4wd system....

[Trommel]

Sand dunes are pretty irrelevant in Western Europe.

If you don't need off-road ability a 5 Series or E Class estate is a better car. People buy (well, lease) them for the image, not the ability.

[ZeroH]

Trommel said:

Sand dunes are pretty irrelevant in Western Europe.

If you don't need off-road ability a 5 Series or E Class estate is a better car. People buy (well, lease) them for the image, not the ability.

So is pretty much any off-roading - thats not the point.

ALso, I would suggest that regardless of off-roading ability, an imperious driving position is actually a serious advantage over a regular estate as is the height of the car allowing you easier access when dealing with baby seats/kids. Neither of those is anything to do with image.

[Trommel]

ZeroH said:

ALso, I would suggest that regardless of off-roading ability, an imperious driving position is actually a serious advantage over a regular estate as is the height of the car allowing you easier access when dealing with baby seats/kids. Neither of those is anything to do with image.

So why doesn't everyone buy a Caravelle/Tourneo/whatever instead?

[ZeroH]

Trommel said:

ZeroH said:

ALso, I would suggest that regardless of off-roading ability, an imperious driving position is actually a serious advantage over a regular estate as is the height of the car allowing you easier access when dealing with baby seats/kids. Neither of those is anything to do with image.

So why doesn't everyone buy a Caravelle/Tourneo/whatever instead?

Caravelle.... isn't that basically a german transit with doors ?? Not sure mom and pops wanna be bus driver in general.

Lots of people do choose MPV's instead of SUV's (if thats what you're getting at), but there is generally a price point difference that makes Q7's X5's etc out of reach for many, hence instead they will choose something with similar characteristics for lots less ££, like a Touran.

[Trommel]

Point is there is no point buying a big 4WD if you don't need the off-road ability. Nothing more stupid than a capable off-roader crippled with 21" summer tyres - best of no worlds. Image>ability.

[ZeroH]

Trommel said:

Point is there is no point buying a big 4WD if you don't need the off-road ability. Nothing more stupid than a capable off-roader crippled with 21" summer tyres - best of no worlds. Image>ability.

So I guess you're not a fan then !

Perhaps you missed my comments about height/visibility etc.... put a new X5 next to a Touran (both on standard rubber) and tell me which you would prefer your wife and baby children to travel 200miles up north in the current conditions in. Simple question.