Test drove a Cayenne today....

[Joe Bob]

Contrary to the sold out rumors, the local dealer has them....drove it today. Sticker at 65K....wood trim was already falling off the demo model. Accelerated well, was quiet, not much of an exhaust rumble.

OK...shifted it in tip mode, ran up against the rev limit fast, is it worth it??? Dunno, the fully optioned model @ 75K, turbo when it arrives, 95k+......

Was looking at Suburbans to replace the 94 the wife has....tested the Cayenne for kicks....too small for the wife and can't really justify the extra 25K.....dang Chevy and GNC dealers aren't discounting them at all.....full boat 42K.....

[APKhaos]

The local Porsche dealer bought one out to the Potomac DE at Summit Point on Sunday. It looked much better in the flesh.
- Massive front rotors and six piston calipers
- Very plush interior, but a little on the plastic side
- Handled well for a 5000lb beast that it is
- Too small to compete as a serious hauler - more like the Beamer
- Nobody could imagine throwing a couple sets of track wheels and tools into the back and using it as a tow vehicle!!

It ran some laps of SP - handled better than expected.

The balance of opinion was that 5000lbs of steel could not co-exist on the track with any of the Pcars we track today. Not going to happen!!

[JeremyD]

I saw one in the flesh - better looking than in the pictures - but I would still rather have my wife's MDX.

BTW who is going to through some greasy tools and tires with brake dust in the back of one of those?

[SweetE]

I also drove the Cayenne (both the S & Turbo)
this weekend.

Very smooth.

All the bells & whistles.

Very comfortable.

Turbo quite fast - up to 110mph easily for a 5100 lb vehicle.

I understand no luxury tax and qualifys for a $30,000 write off the 1st year business purposes.

Expensive & feels heavy.

Easy to drive.

Wheelbase may be too short to pull a 20ft enclosed trailer/race car.

Looks much better in the flesh than all the ads

[jhugh]

POS

[old_skul]

I love how some people just blast out opinions based on emotional responses rather than informed facts.

[SweetE]

So Mark , what are the facts???

[pbs911]

Now I know why Porsche released all that info way ahead of the Pepper Wagan's release. It gave time for the 911 enthusists to get over the shock of a Porsche SUV and get them to spend their money on an SUV later down the road after they start thinking "it ain't so bad."

[ZAMIRZ]

Originally posted by old_skul
I love how some people just blast out opinions based on emotional responses rather than informed facts.

Agreed. I sat in one at the L.A. Auto Show and am going to go down to Auto Gallery and test drive one this week sometime. I can't imagine it being bad at all compared to the other SUVs on the road, and since the sister car (VW Touareg) recently beat out every other SUV in a shootout in Car&Driver magazine I wouldn't be surprised if the Cayenne absolutely owns.

It really is quite annoying to read complete crap from people who pretend to know what they're talking about when in fact all they've seen is a press photo or two. If they took a step back and looked at the car for what it is, I really think that it's possible to appreciate/enjoy the Cayenne.

later,

amir

[jazzbass]

My $0.02... I'm not particularly fond of the Cayenne and wouldn't buy one if I could afford the $75k price, which I can't. I say this because I'm not a big SUV guy - I don't tow stuff, and my minivan will beat out almost any SUV in cargo space and get better gas mileage doing it.

But lets face it - they're really not for us. Hell, if a lot of guys on this board had their was at Porsche, they'd still be making SCs . They're for the yuppie, appearance-is-everything crowd (kinda like Boxters). That's fine, too. The more money they spend on these, the more revenue Porsche gets to plow back into R&D and racing. And who doesn't want to see a 8 cylinder 911? (And don't give me that purist 911 crap - if Porsche thought that way, they never would have built a 6 cylinder car in 1964).

[adamred]

My wife has the new Expedition, not a very PC car these days but all the bells and whistles (including the rear seat DVD for the kids), can tow quite a load, and really comfortable with the new fully independent rear suspension, and priced better then GM equivalents....Just my .02

Adam

[masraum]

I think the Cayenne is cool for what it is.

There's a reason Ford is cheaper than a Chevy/GMC.

[yelcab1]

I never did like any SUV, Honda SUV to Porsche SUV. So, I will not need a test drive to decide for myself whether I want to buy one. There is no such word in my dictionary. If I want to haul stuff, I'll get a pick up truck. If I want to haul people, I'll get a minivan. If i want to haul a combined stuff and people, I'll get a BMW 540i station wagon. No need for any SuV, and SaV, any Cayenne, any x5, any expedition, any such vehicles.

In addition, for $75K, I will buy three 911 RS clones before I spend that kind of money on a SuV.

[jmz]

Ford Truck
Chevy Truck

...Porsche Truck.....doesn't roll off the tongue too well does it?

I don't know maybe it is a nicely engineered vehicle but I like my old 911 for what it is, an unrefined pure sports car. To me that is what Porsche is about and always will be. I have no desire to drive a Porsche truck and don't think I ever will.



add to my signiature if you like, Ford Expedition that gets treated like a truck!

[Neilk]

My neighbor borrowed an S for an extended test drive. The car looks much better in person and doesn't seem that much different from an X5 in terms of size and performance. The paint job on the car though was pretty poor, bad orange peel finish.

[Emission]

For all those who bag on European SAV's (Toureg, X5, XC90, Cayenne), test drive one first.

Yesterday, while behind the wheel of the wife's X5, an animal ran across the road while I was doing about 50 mph. Without hesistation, I yanked hard on the wheel and swerved out of the lane, then back again (and missed the critter). The car handled perfectly well. No drama. My wife and son (front and back seats) had "deer-in-the-headlights" looks from the maneuver! I'm no SUV fan... but they have come a LONG way in the past few years.

I swear my wife's X5 will outhandle my daily-driver Passat!

[Joe Bob]

Dude....ya need to get rid of that twitch....better to smack the critter than to die and take the family along with ya....

Just my two cents.....as a Daddy with three kids....

[ejm914]

I'm not much of a SUV fan but:

I took the "S" version for a test drive this morning and was somewhat impressed. Accelerates well, close to neutral steering and little body roll. Smooth tiptronic operation in both modes. Very quiet at 80 mph, even with the factory roof racks. My passenger said the grab handles work well. The high seating position is the only real clue that your driving a SUV. The radio/navigation panel is cool on start up, displays the P crest above the Porsche name.

Couple of things on the downside...as big as the brakes are, they seemed a bit anemic, but 2 1/2 tons is a lot to slow quickly. The belly pan is plastic, first high curb or *gasp* off road adventure and it's history. Most annoying was throttle lag, the "fly by wire" go pedal coupled with tip creates a noticeable and varying response time, the systems adaptive learning ability might compensate for this eventually.

Gotta get keys to a turbo version...

[rcwaldo]

For those of you that are thinking of buying a Cayenne, drive the Volvo XC90. Especially the six cylinder. It will blow you away how it drives like a car (sedan). Truly impressive!

Chris

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by ZAMIRZ
Agreed. I sat in one at the L.A. Auto Show and am going to go down to Auto Gallery and test drive one this week sometime. I can't imagine it being bad at all compared to the other SUVs on the road,
later,

amir

Amir, I agree with you completely..