in comparison to the Q7.

Bought a 2006 Porsche Cayenne 3.2 a few weeks back from our in-laws which joined our 2007 Audi Q7 4.2. I've also had a 2005 Volkswagen Touareg 3.2 but not sure I want to compare all three at once.

Experience: Driven the Q7 about 108,000 miles in the last 3.5 years... so lots of time behind the wheel. The Q7 is my primary vehicle and the Cayenne will be my wife's primary vehicle. In the few weeks we have had the Cayenne I have used it for errands around town and one road trip that was about 800 miles round trip.

To summarize in a statement: If I want to have fun, I drive the Cayenne... If I want to be comfortable, I drive the Q7.

This comparison isn't entirely fair because the Cayenne is a 3.2 and the Q7 a 4.2 but it's what I have to work with...

Power: Obviously the Q7. The 3.2 in the Cayenne *can* be a dog. I say that because there are specific times where it just feels WAY underpowered. Those times I can thing of are overtaking people on the highway on any sort of incline, mountain passes, pulling out into traffic and needing to do it quickly. The rest of the time such as around town from 30-50 or freeway on ramps it feels good and pulls decently considering it's a V6. It's better than the 3.2 that was in the Toaureg in this respect (oops, I said I wasn't going to compare it). The exhaust note is pleasing to me considering the engine.

Ride: This is really what separates the two more than anything. The Cayenne feels like a car to me on the road. It handles turns brilliantly considering its size. Twisty freeway onramps, mountain passes, general curves are much better in the Cayenne... much more confident. You don't feel as if the body is leaning where you do in the Q7. The downside? It's rough as hell over any sort of bad pavement. I mean rough. Pot hole will make you think you broke the wheel off, rail road tracks have you looking in the backseat to see if the baby is still okay, speed bumps require a near stop. To its defense, most of the time you don't notice it.. but when you do.. OH BOY. Both the Q7 and Cayenne have steel suspension and 18" wheels with the same 255/55/18 size tires. The Q7 on the other hand is brilliant at a nice comfortable highway and around town ride. Not a lot of fussiness from it. Sure, it's still a little stiff compared to a Lexus but what isn't. Turns aren't as fun and neither are mountain passes... you find yourself holding on a little tighter and noticing how big the vehicle really is. Overall, if I just want to go somewhere comfortably.. the Q7 gets the nod.

Comfort/Space: Q7 being longer and bigger is obviously able to eat up people and luggage better. The backset of the Q7 is very comfy... lots of leg room. The same applies to the cargo space. While the Cayenne has a lower deck height if feels about half the size of the Q7 in ability to gooble up stuff during trips to Home Depot. In terms of shoulder width I don't perceive much of a difference there... the compromise really comes behind the front seats.

Creature Comforts: This is where these two not being equipped equally make it tough to compare. I can say this, the Q7 with the MMI system gets a nod to the Porsche PCM in terms of ease of use. I feel as if the MMI is more integrated whereas the PCM is just a fancy aftermarket deal contained in the dash... everything is done from buttons on the actual unit versus the MMI interface (or any other type of interface). That's the real glaring difference to me... the rest of the stuff is pretty much similar.

Offroad: Who are we kidding... neither of these are going offroad but the Cayenne does have the low range feature (as did the Touareg) that the Q7 does not. Didn't use it in the Touareg, don't plan on using it in the Cayenne.

I hope someone found some use to this... only took me about 20 minutes to type.

 

Thanks for the review.

Wonder how driving a Turbo with its luxury items, air suspension and power would compare ;-)

 

I know.. not fair to the upper end features but I am just reviewing what I have access to.

 

Totally understand and appreciate the post. Did you cross post this to any of the Audi forums?


Been a long time Audi guy, had some VW and older Porsches. Every "comparison" I have ever read on the Audi forums is full of comments about the Cayenne like "your just paying for the name plate, they are just like the Q7/Touareg"' or "the Porsche is really just a VW not designed by Porsche"' etc.

Seems that very few have driven and fairly comapared all three, know much about the development, and/or just trying to justify "their" purchase of one over the other.

Based on what you have to compare, it sounds like a fair assessment of the differences.

 

It is my belief that it is the latter.

Before I bought my CTT, I cross-shopped with a Q7. I did think that the Q7 would serve as a better family car and more suited to my wife. I also thought that I would be driving it as well, so the CTT it is!

 

Great write up.

 

Yes, I posted over at Quattroworld. I have a lot of respect for the Cayenne/Q7/Touareg platform. I find them pleasing to drive much more so than anything domestic or asian. I have thought about an X5 but the cargo area just seems too small for my needs as well as the backseat. I think Land Rovers/Range Rovers are pretty, but the maintenance reputation has never made me pull the trigger on one. Merecedes doesn't do much for me... probably because that's what my dad drives and has for a long time.

What I think is interesting is how overbuilt these things are. I can say that the Q7 is the best Audi I have owned in terms of reliability... it has had very few things go wrong with while logging the 108k it has on it now. I suspect the Cayenne will be the same. Having owned quite a few VW/Audi/and now Porsche products myself I am very aware of the "patience" you need to have with them in respect to quirkiness but they are worth it.

 

I would love a CTT... but with a 5 month old son, 2 golden retreivers, and lots of grandparents in other cities that just love to see us we needed a couple of family haulers.. and quite honestly to watch what we are spending. I know, ironic considering what we are talking about but I am just happy to have a Cayenne... even if it's the lowly base model.

 

Totally understand your situation. I have 2 kids & a wife, 1 or 2 friends that tag along, plus relatives that fly over to visit. Reasons why I'm selling my (close to useless & 4-seater only) Jeep Wrangler and got a CTT to replace it, which is to supplement the 7-seater LR3 that I already have. With our situation, we need not one but two SUVs. About the Land Rovers, so far the newer ones are pretty reliable, at least as far as my LR3 is concerned. Had a 1st-gen X5 as well. The X5 may not have a huge cargo area and rear seating, but the Cayenne is pretty similar, though just a tad bigger in those areas.