0700700

well first let me say: the car was auto, equipped with air suspension and pasm, all the goodies.

It felt solid when cornering below 80km/h... anything above that and you got a very nasty feeling that the car would topple over at any time... Strangely enough some Turbo owners have stated that they have not experienced this (and i must say this is partly true,as i tried following a Turbo model at about 240km/h on the way to the seaside). What is strange is why would there be any difference between the two.. besides the engine? the cayenne s was fully equipped, and it even has the same braking system as a Turbo.

I chose the x5, becase 1) it was cheaper 2) it was more sensible 3) because it can take corners with almost the same speed as a cayenne s (well not quite), but hey if i wanted to take corners fast, i would have kept my m3

Heiss5

What kind of corners? 90 degree corners, or just through some good twisties?

Also, I'm kind of confused, you didn't like it because you thought it couldn't corner at above 50mph, yet you picked the X5 which you just admitted couldn't even corner as well as the Cayenne S? How does that make sense?

As for price, it depends on which one you're buying. The straight Cayenne, with the 3.2 liter 6 cylinder is almost identical in price to the X5 with the 3.0 liter 6 cylinder. The Cayenne S with the 4.5 liter V8 is only $3000 more than an X5 with the 4.4 liter V8. So it's only the Cayenne Turbo and Turbo S that are significantly more than the X5 with the 4.8 liter V8 but the performance is far superior with over 100 more horsepower so I would say the extra $19,000 is worth it.

I don't really know what you mean by sensible, when has a Porsche even been sensible? I thought that was the idea behind Porsche, to go above and beyond what others are doing. People say that the Cayenne doesn't hold up to the Porsche name but I think it does exactly that, it out performs every other SUV there is flat out, and it does it without costing that much more. I just don't understand I guess.

m630

my personal problem with the Cayenne is that it IS completely pointless, imho

there is no reason that an SUV should have all of that power, all the Cayenne Turbo S is, is a show off car to say you can throw away money on a useless car, its completely status and ugly status at that...Does anyone in the world need to have an SUV so powerful and yet functional to take the family, in-laws, and all the luggage???? Absolutely not. Does anyone need to have an all wheel drive vehicle that can go 180mph on ice and snow??? Absolutely not. I just see no reason at all for this thing to have ever been built, other than to jump on the SUV bandwagon that the US market loves...fast cars are not supposed to be functional, other than for speed and performance, they are not supposed to consider interior space and luggage areas...you can hardly get in and out of a Lambo, if you know what i mean

as for outperforming other SUVs, so what? that doesnt make it a Porsche, it just makes it a name that people can say they have a Porsche......who the hell thinks about or considers high speed cornering abilities in an SUV? why would an SUV need to corner like a sports car?or drag race? and no matter what you think, make one mistake in ANY SUV in a cornering situation at high speeds and the SUV is on its side or flipping, Porsche or not, they still cant engineer past the limits of physics, and the size, shape and top heaviness of any SUV percludes any such cornering abilities...again , imho , completely useless


...having a Porsche, like having a Ferrari or Lambo, is about sacrificing alot of functionality for the sports car aspects, thats what its about

but, it is a (sort of) free country, buy as many as you want, i know i always laugh though when i see one pass by, i dont think its status, just conceit

and Cayenne owners, please dont take any personal offence to my comments, these are MHO, and not pointed at any member, just ranting at Porsche for this debacle :thumbsdown:

swajames

If we stop and think about it, many of the arguments above could apply equally to your 645, but you consider that to be OK, right? Once you get much above the basic entry level in any make and model, your arguments against the Cayenne could extend to almost any car in almost any class. Do you need a 325 HP coupe that barely seats four and gets only limited MPG? Do I need my 550 when 9 times out of 10 it's just me in the car on a busy freeway? But it's OK for us to have these cars, but not OK for someone else to drive an SUV which you consider to be pointless? Much as I love my 550 and would love to be able to have a 645 too, aren't we throwing stones in glass houses here?

m630

not at all, its a coupe thats physically designed to use the power that its given, it completely supports my arguement in that its main function has nothing to do with space for 12 or good MPG, its a sports coupe that has good power, but not over powered for what it is meant to be...an SUV on the other hand is about space for the soccer team, drivin off roads or in deep snow or ice, none of the things my E63 was meant to do

Heiss5

m630,

I suppose there will never be anyway for anyone to convince you that the Cayenne is not completely pointless, just like there is probably no way anyone will ever convince me that it is pointless, but I will try just for the sake of trying.

1.) You said the Cayenne is a show off car. This is 100% true, but isn't every Porsche? I mean, isn't that kind of why you get a Porsche, to show off that your car can outperform anyone else?s? To say, even though I could have gotten the same car you have, I decided to spend a little extra to get something a little bit more individual and unique?

2.) You asked if anyone needs a car so powerful and yet so functional? I'm lost on this one, who doesn't want that? I know I want that. A car that seats 5, averages 17mpg (at least my turbo does), can hold all of my crap in the trunk without sacrificing anyone else?s space, and yet still be faster than 90% of the cars that you commonly see on the road. I think that is amazing, and I love that. That is engineering at its finest if you ask me.

3.) The Cayenne can't go 180mph on the snow and ice, no one said it could. I get that you're exaggerating, but it seems kind of pointless. Besides, what's wrong with engineering a vehicle that can handle higher speeds in poor conditions? That just means that when everyone else is pulled off on the side of the freeway putting on their chains during the winter you can keep going without any worries. I like knowing that.

4.) You said that fast cars are not supposed to be functional. Why not? That seems like a total reverse of what every car manufacturer has been working towards for the last 100 years. People want performance with function, they always have. What's wrong with wanting to be comfortable while you're going fast? You say it goes against sports car nature? No it doesn't, every sports car manufacturer has been working for ages on trying to make their cars roomier and more comfortable without sacrificing any performance. You can't tell me that sitting in a new Lambo feels exactly like sitting in an old one. The new one has way more space, with way more features, and is way more comfortable, and yet it's still faster than the old ones.

5.) As for cornering in high speeds, once again, why not? Its fun to corner at high speeds, it's also fun to outperform smaller sports cars in corners. And the nice thing about the Porsche is, is that unless I take a turn at 100+, if I corner too hard I wont flip over, I'll just skid out. The Porsche was engineered to not be top heavy; it has the lowest center of gravity out of any SUV. Combined with its lowest center of gravity, it also has one of the widest wheel bases (2nd to maybe a Hummer), allowing it to maintain traction and stability through corners. It can corner better than once again 90% of the cars you commonly see on the road. What's wrong with that? Safety while cornering and maneuvering in an SUV is a bad thing now?

6.) As for the having a Porsche, Ferrari, or Lambo and having to sacrifice functionality I somewhat disagree. They've all been working towards increasing functionality out of their cars. Lambo is coming out with an SUV and Ferrari has a 4 (or is it 5) seater.

7.) As for your car being physically designed to handle the power it's given, no it's not. Not any moreso than the Porsche. Your car couldn't handle a corner at extremely high speeds any better than the Porsche. And to be honest, I think the fact that the Porsche can take the kids to soccer, go offroading, drive in snow and ice, and then still go to the track and compete with most coupes is fricking amazing. That means I only need one car to do the same thing that you need 2 for. Not too mention the Porsche can do all of those things and still get better gas mileage than your coupe and your SUV.

8.) As for the car not being a sign of status but of conceit, who knows. People use their cars for all sorts of things. I admit that sometimes I like to show off in the Turbo by being able to burn people at lights and what not, but then other times I'm just glad I have a car that can carry all my stuff in it. I wouldn't say I'm conceited or that I use it as a symbol of status, I just use it.

To me, all of these things are excellent examples of top notch engineering and design, which is another thing Porsche has been bragging about since its creation. The Cayenne's ability to do all of these things is exactly what makes it a true Porsche. The Cayenne Turbo can outperform the Boxter and lower end 911's, does that mean that since the Cayenne isn't a true Porsche the Boxter and some 911's aren't true Porsches either?

0700700

hi mate... sorry i didnt make it clear... proper razor sharp corners... 90degrees plus + ... even the salesman was taken by surprise by how much lift off the cayenne s produced.

What im trying to say is this: me and my family were choosing a reliable car to drive around town everyday and also during the winter (quite bad here)... i was personally also looking at cheaper servicing and to get a more frugal car. I decided that fuel economy could be given second priority, if and only if the cayenne s really did handle like a sports car as they promised. And i felt it did not, so i choose a sensible car that X5 3.0d which does 28mpg+ in the city with a VERY heavy right foot.

As for sensible, as i stated i was ready to disregard some of the sensible points if it really did behave great on the road, and i found it sadly lacking

As for the price difference, in my country, between the 4.8is and Cayenne turbo its around 40000$, and between the 4.8is and the Cayenne turbo s its 61500$... and between my car and the cayenne turbo the difference is a fairly ludicrious 71000$... and i have every single extra possible including a panoramic roof etc...

0700700

oh and BTW i have never had the pleasure to properly test out a cayenne turbo, but if owners are even half right, then it would seem to really out-handle even a cayenne s with PASM, air suspension, and as i say again i find this really hard to understand ?

PoleApart

So far instead of pouring it back into 911 R&D they're buying shares of Volkswagen. I think Porsche currently owns around 20% of VW.

Heiss5

I understand why people would choose a different SUV, such as the X5 like yourself, but what I don't understand is why people dislike the Cayenne. You obviously had different priorities in choosing a vehicle so it made sense to get the X5 over the Cayenne, but you did consider the Cayenne which I assume means you don't dislike them. What I don't understand is why people say the Cayenne is a disgrace to Porsche, or it's not a real Porsche, or it's a ridiculous waste, or whatever.

I had a Cayenne S before the Turbo and it definitely didn't feel the same although it didn't have the air suspension so you can't really expect it too. Overall though, I've used the Turbo for everything and I've never been let down. I even pushed it up to 145+ mph down in Oregon while taking moderate turns (45-60 degrees) at around 80mph. I haven't really had any formal training so I know the car can do way more than that, but it was nice to know that I could push the car to my comfort limit and not have to worry about it. I know I couldn't do the same with the 530i. Next spring I will be taking a class with a friend from work, so hopefully I will really be able to see what my cars can do, but until then I'll have to take it easy I guess. As far as the Turbo goes though, I haven't had a single complaint, which is more than I can say for my 530i.