I see tons of these around my area here in San Mateo CA. On the ride to lunch today 3 miles from my office today and we counted 5 on the ride. One was that Transsyberia (I had to look it up). It was black with orange accents and sounded like a Corvette when it took off. Why do people buy these? They are a tiny SUV, so not much space. They aren't cheap, so you're not going 4 wheeling in them. They have racing rims & tires, so they aren't useful like a traditional truck. I'm really just curious. I'm not judging as I'm sure they handle well and they are Porsches. I will need to buy a vehicle of this type soon (in addition to my car) for the winter, so this question is practical as well. I always considered larger, more muscular trucks (e.g., Tahoe). Probably the wrong crowd to ask, but this is the only forum section I frequent.

 

I have no idea, but I guess that if you really needed something that could take the tougher weather, and the C4s would not be able to do it, the cayenne makes sense. It seems like the sportiest SUV out there right now and can seat 4 people. I have a honda pilot and can stick a load of home depot stuff in there and not care if my dogs chew on the seats.

For the other 90% of owners, it is a convenient and accessible way to say you drive a porsche........

 

Michael, if I had seen your post 5 months ago my response would be "Why would someone spend a fortune or a sports car territory money for a family hauler". Fast forward to Sept 2010. After having acquired two 911s in the last year I still saw myself driving a fair amount on our family hauler the Sienna minivan which really did not make sense. We went for an oil change, my dealer threw the keys to the Cayenne. As much as a SUV hater I was, I reluctantly agreed. Rest is history. My kids loved the interior, my wife the Burmester and the exterior styling (ya the back looks Koreanish but the front ... no other SUV comes close) and I was blown away by how sports car'ish the drive was. Please go and test drive a Cayenne S or turbo equipped with all the performance upgrades (PASm, air-suspension, PTV and PDCC in that order of important must haves) and then post your impressions.

In terms of quality of fit and finish, safety, reliability, comfort, luxury you are get a very superior product (I would say unparalleled by any other SUV) be it C, CS or CTT. P

The base Cayenne's V-6 is an updated version of the engine introduced at the 2007 midlife makeover of the first-generation Cayenne. It's a member of the Volkswagen Group's engine family and some reviews suggest that it is slightly underpowered and others say that the power and torque is fine but the refinement is a little lacking to be worthy of a Porsche badge. But everyone who has gotten one seem to like it in this and other Porsche forums and that tells you something coming from auto-enthusiasts.

BTW for those who are thinking that these SUV's come cheap. Please go to the Porsche configurator and build a CS. Trust me you can easily burn 911 C2S or C4S type money (or even more in the case of a CTT) on one. In my test drive, the Cayenne S was almost as satisfying as my 911 with a suspension that was quite buttoned down and I was carving corners smoothly and easily which is pretty fun, to do in such a large vehicle. I am going to pick up my fully optioned CS (which I ordered 3 months ago.... Oh BTW, the sell like hot cakes and there are very few build slots available) later this week and will be happy to answer any additional questions you may have on the "pepper".

 

i just bought one because i needed something with more room, for people and luggage because the rest of my fleet are sports cars...... the cayenne will be a fun and sporty "SUV" versus the rest that are bland and boring.

 

Cayenne has enough passenger room and luggage space for our family of 5, and yes, it performs really well.

Bigger size SUV can carry more people and luggage, but they cannot go into some tight underground parkades that I sometimes go to. They are more comfortable, but don't handle as well.

 

I have the Poor Man's Cayenne, the VW Touareg. It is nice to drive, handles like a sports car, hauls the family, hockey gear, gets through the ugly winter days, and can tow 7700lbs (my 997 and a trailer is 5000lbs) with ease.

A Cayenne is a little faster, handles a little better, and is a little more money.

 

Most who buy the Cayenne use it as a family car . It has space to seat 5 . Those with small children the height allows the parent to place the child in a car seat without bending down (like in a sedan) . Some like the high visibility . If it's parked outdoors it's anonymous enough where it doesn't attract much negative attention.

Even though I prefer the drive of the Panmera cars the cayenne is more practical for those who need it.

It's a great driving SUV too . I think the only area where it is lacking is with pricing . I feel it's rather expensive and compared to the lease deals and free maintenace of BMW it widens the choices a bit to the consumer. The BMW is not as nice .. but in many ways very rational. Unless one loves the Cayenne and there are those who do .

 

they are baller and fun as all get out.

 

Drive one back to back with a ML, X5, Q7 and Lexus whatever and you will understand immediately. If you still don't get it then perhaps you just don't understand the appeal of SUVs generally.

 

WOW...

For a 911 crowd I am really happy to see how much they are liked. I thought about getting one before I decided I didnt need the extra space and went for the C2S instead.

 

Too funny. I went in the dealer looking to buy a Cayenne GTS and was completely underwhelmed. I then drove a Carrera on a whim and I WAS HOOKED!

 

There isn't a comparison between the SUV and a Sports Car, but comparing it to another SUV, there isn't much that will compete on performance of the Cayenne. As another post suggests, go drive on back to back with a competitor and you will see the difference.

 

I got one because it is my ticket to a 911 Turbo. My wife drove one for 1.5 year and now I have a TT on order for April delivery since she's now a true believer of Porsche. You should have seen her test drove the TT.

Seriously. If you are looking for a luxury brand SUV for a family of four. I don't know of any better choice. I owned a MB and it was a complete junk in terms of reliability and also test drove the Audi Q7 and BMW X5. Both were good but uncomparable to the Cayenne in terms of performance and handling. It is admittedly smaller than the Q7/X5 but for a 10 years old and 3.5 years old, the back room is more than enough. (But heck, I even consider it plenty of room in the back of the TT to be a perfect family car for my 10 and 3. )

BTW, I also own a Honda minvan for the Home Depot/extended family outing/sports event occasions which I can just park anywhere and next to any soccer mom with no fear.

 

Please drive a 2011 Cayenne V8 or turbo with all the performance upgrades and I guarantee you that you will be impressed. As nice the GTS was supposed to be I know of quite a few GTS owners who are taking a hit on the trade in just to get the 2011s.

I only wish that the Cayenne was only just a "little" more money than a Toureg . Porsche kills you with the pricing on all the options. Most Cayenne S vehicles on the lot are not optioned with the performance upgrades (PDCC, Air suspension, PTV, PASM) and only have all the frills (Bose, XM, pana roof, back up camera, lane change assist). Once you add both to the mix when you build it ... you are talking about some serious money. So the 75K price tag is an illusion. The problem is as a 911 owner I got spoilt and anothing less than a sports car drive was not cutting it for me. Hence had to go with the CS with all the performance package.

 

The Cayenne is an amazing car....its one of the best road trip cars for 2. Mountains, dirt, snow.....it does great. Throw the skis/snowboards on the roof and you can get sideways on the drive up the mountain without worry.