My car was in yesterday to have the nano treatment - looks amazing!

My dealer gave me a 17' base Cayenne Platinum Edition loaner with a sticker of $77.5. The interior was cohiba over black leather with deviated stitching. Gorgeous! Incredible interior. The rest of the car...not so much.

I honestly don't believe I have driven a car with a more lifeless and characterless needless to say powerless engine. Its perfect for non-car people. Same with the suspension - its fine 75% of the time if you're driving slow/moderate. But try a quick lane change on the highway and the body roll is really pronounced.

Moral of the story: if you need an SUV that actually thrills and you want a Cayenne, don't get the V6 gas engine and check a few boxes for suspension options (I'm sure the torque vectoring and PASM are worth the money - the PDDC may be an indulgence). All this talk about turbo lag with the new 911s and then you drive the cayenne 3.0 and realize razor sharp throttle response is meaningless when theres no power to "respond" with. Food for thought.

BTW, I looked at my dealers online inventory (the wife wants a new SUV, is leaning toward Range Sport) and they have 1 Cayenne S and the rest are 3.0 gas base models. Kinda of sad to think the greatest sports car company in the world is dependent on such an uninspired - albeit beautifully made - offering.

My 2 cents
DRP

 

We had a V6, older model that I could not resistant buying as a demo car. It was clearly underpowered.

When trading the GL I didn't bother to check the base model. Tried a hybrid which in real life must be aggravating.

The S model has a nice low rev torque to keep things interesting. The GTS has the issue with summer tires which are a no-no in the Chicagoland area and the wife didn't want to be bothered with winter tires. Besides the difference in price for 20hp and some make up didn't justify.

You may be having issues finding a S model due to the new Cayenne coming in a couple of months. I don't know if they are still making the 958.2. Then it might be a good time to find a low mileage 16-17 from people that just can't resist trading cars, like a lot of us here...

 

I had a Cayenne S loaner a few weeks back, a 2017 I think. That thing was a beast compared to my former 2004 Cayenne S. TONS of power in that thing.


A GTS not only gets a 20 hp bump, it gets a torque bump too, from 406 to 442 lb-ft. That's about 9% - and the suspension is lowered and I think the shifting is made to be more aggressive.


I know this isn't a Cayenne forum but a GTS Cayenne I think is a discernable difference over an S.

 

I agree it's discernible, particularly the height, but the price difference was about 25k and I had to deal with finding snow tires in 21" or buy another set of wheels for the winter. Besides, the suspension is not entirely ideal for long trips in the crappy Midwest roads.

 

So what color are you getting

 

I got a Cayenne S eHybrid for my wife and I recently had an opportunity to compare it against a regular Cayenne S when I had the latter as a loaner whilst my GTS was in for service. I found the handling aspects to be similar, although the power was instantaneous off the line in the S. Obviously, one cannot compare the Cayenne to the 911, but having owned a P4S, 981 Boxster S, and a 991 C4 before the eHybrid and the GTS, I don't feel short-changed by Porsche at all with the Cayenne S eHybrid. Because this SUV can be driven in Sport, electric, and hybrid modes, I think, makes it a wonderful urban vehicle. Frankly, I am one who is not a big believer in high-performance SUVs...a lot of this philosophy has to do with the laws of physics.

 

Regardless of base, gts, turbo or turbo S..cayennes are so common in the Bay Area that they're as abundant as Camry...when we shopped around we drove a turbo and hybrid cayenne.. my wife hated the dashboard with button soup and biggest turnoff is abundance...after we drove supercharged Range Rover autobiography, we were sold. It's super quick sleeper with the luxury and ride like nothing else in the market..Cayennes are revenue makers to fund r&d at Porsche..that's all

 

Drive a Macan before looking at any other SUV . I know the car extensively and am on my third Macan . The first two were Turbo and this current one is a GTS . hands down it is the best SUV on the market . It is more nimble and agile than a cayenne will ever dream of . In fact I had a 12 Cayenne before getting my first Macan Turbo .

Beyond the Cayenne feeling like a boat in need of a huge redesign the Macan not only has PDK which shift the thing in sports sedan fashion , it also has a solid suspension and power .

The sweet spot in the line up is the GTS and there are certain "must have " options on any of them .

We love the car and it's my wife's primary vehicle but I use it enough that we rack up over 15K miles a year .

A few pics . The white Turbo was a 15 , Silver Turbo was a 16 , the GTS is a 17.

 

Why would you downgrade from '16 Turbo to 17' GTS? Curious why changing every year?

 

My first 2015 car was ordered pre launch . As an oversight I forgot to add 3 zone AC . In 2016 it came standard . The rear seats in the 15 car had NO AC vent and in Florida it was awful . At the time the cars were still in limited production and resale was holding very well (times have changed) so I ordered a 2016 car . Six months into the 2016 car I was rear ended in the rain . It aws the other person's fault but I didnt want to keep a car with a bad carfax . In fact I didnt even want the headache of dealing with the repair . I wanted an immediate replacement car . The entire story can be found here BTW . Below is the cliff notes . http://www.macanforum.com/forum/pors...tory-pics.html

So I walked into the dealership the day after my accident with a sore neck and a smashed car and looked at cars on the lot . They did not have one Turbo with air suspension ( a must have for me) so I test drove a GTS .

The GTS drove BETTER than the Turbo !!! The suspension was better tuned , throttle was mapped better , the car was a little slower but not anything to be an issue . I was SHOCKED !! In fact the debates still rage on the Macan Forum and Porsche answered the call by making a Turbo Performance Package which basically is a Turbo , with a powerkit , and the GTS suspension.

I can detail the differences between the Turbo and GTS further but the truth is the Turbo was a great car too but it was not better . As for the Turbo PP -- I will wait for the refresh but sincerely the GTS might be the one again . I just feel that even a great SUV is still an SUV.

 

100% agree.

I got a 2016 base Cayenne as a loaner last year and have never been so underwhelmed. My wife and I took it out to a vineyard in the hills west of here, and it was just a heavy, wallowing SUV - better than our XC90, sure, but a still just a big, heavy SUV. I was so glad to get back in my 2013 Carrera at the end of the day.

I got a 2017 base Macan loaner this January, and I was really impressed. I mean really impressed. Great road feel, you could put it exactly where you want it, nice cornering. I could definitely see us with one of those at some point. Yes, still an SUV, but one of the better driving vehicles I've taken for a spin. Engine sound was weak, but welcome to the turbo world.

I was still glad to get back in my 911, but at least didn't feel abused by the notion of a Porsche SUV like with the Cayenne.

 

The base Macan is an Audi derived 4 cyl engine . It's strong feature is fuel economy and its weakest is the horrible lack of exhaust note and staggering options pricing . The S , GTS , Turbo and Turbo PP are all 6 cyl engines and the exhaust note is beautiful . The GTS comes standard with sport exhaust and IMO makes a fantastic sound .

All of them handle well and those which have the air suspension (standard in the GTS and a must have for me on a Turbo) get an added perk of changing the settings . One can drive in a comfort setting or dial it in low for a more spirited drive setting .

Overall the Macan is a home run !!

 

Picked up a 2017 Cayenne S and while it isn't anywhere near my 991 S Cab it is a reasonable SUV. Could not do the Hybrid since it is not rated for towing. Could not do a Macan (although I think they are pretty sweet) due to the amount of "stuff" I need to carry - it just fits in the Cayenne and there is no way it would have fit in the Macan.

Sometimes it is about more than just the driving and handling and it is a blend of all the features that matter.....

 

Having owned a couple of these vehicles (and driven many of them) I can tell you that it really REALLY matters what options it has with respect to "handling". PASM and air suspension should be standard on all of the Cayennes - and to have it behave nicely at all they need PTV and PDCC. In fact dynamic chassis control (PDCC) was developed for the Cayenne - to help control the physics-induced body roll. (PDCC has been available for a decade on the Cayenne).

With all these options it will handle respectably - considering the mass and height of the vehicle. Its not just a small difference from the standard suspension: it is a night and day difference.

Add the V8 twin turbo and a set of good summer tires and you can actually have some fun.

Full disclosure: I do own a well loaded 2013 Cayenne Turbo with all of the suspension options and shall we say some "enhanced breathing" equipment. It is surprisingly fun to drive and given that I am 6'6" it is the most comfortable vehicle I have ever owned.

I also own a Carrera (997C2) that I have had for over ten years and still love to drive as well. They are quite the opposite experience - and having the choice of which one to get into when leaving the house (often a season/weather based decision) makes me feel quite spoiled.

At the end of the day it is still an over 5000 lb SUV with an automatic transmission. Its not going to behave like a 911. I'm just saying that not all Cayennes are created equal - some are kind of fun in their own way.

Cheers,
John