Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. I really hope I am posting in the right location. I also hope that this post is appropriate. I am a car nut, but have never had the means to afford anything nicer than my camry or accord. Finally after years of hard work, I can finally get a car that will actually keep a smile on my face. We need a family mobile and have decided on the cayenne GTS. Here is the build that I am considering:

Carmine Red
21" turbo IIs
Black 14 way seats
Panoramic roof
Auto dimming mirrors
Privacy glass
Entry & Drive
Reversing camer and sensors
rear sunshades
4 zone climate control
ventilated seats
heated front and rear
LCA
LED lighting with extended
Carbon fiber MF wheel
Carbon fiber interior with selector
Carbon fiber illuminated kickplates
Burmester
PCM


Any thoughts on the build? I live in a climate where the winters are about 3-4 months long, but can be associated with snow. I will likely buy a separate set of winter wheels/tires (not sure about 18 or 19"). I would appreciate any comments on the build or any recommendations with the wheels.

Although I want PDCC and PVT, I just dont know if on a daily basis it will make a difference. This vehicle will primarily be my wife's, but I will be driving it for long trips, etc.

I am going to place the order in a few weeks, so appreciate any help!

 

Also, any thoughts on getting the extended warranty or prepaid maintenace? I am definitely leaning towards prepaid maintenance because I typically will keep my cars for 10+ years.

 

Welcome. You are in the right place. Your selections sound wonderful. There are much more knowledgeable people out here who can help you. You can also search many older postings that cover a lot of issues and questions also.
Enjoy! Rob

 

Also you can put in Snow + Tires in the search box and there is lots of good info out there as well as any other questions that will pop up.

 

I think since you have kids, active cruise control might be something you should consider.

This option has dual features. It has a passive safety where if you leave it on (even without setting a speed), it detects how far or close you are from the car ahead of you. For some reason, you are not paying attention for the split second ahead of you and the car ahead does a sudden stop... an alert will go off and the the brakes will have much more grab preparing for the abrupt stop.

Just food for thought. I wouldn't of picked this option myself if I had spec'd it out but since I bought my Cayenne of the lot and it had it, I'm sure glad it has it.

 

One idea: For roughly the cost of the Turbo II's you could get one of the standard wheel sets for winter wheels and then purchase an aftermarket set of forged wheels for summer. I purchased Vorsteiner VS110s, but you could also get HREs or various other high quality forged wheel sets with summer performance tires. There are many options for the 958, e.g. Pepper has posted many pics of his CT with a beautiful set of 22" forged wheels.

I live in the north Chicago burbs and see several Cayennes with Turbo IIs every day. However I've yet to see any with a nice set of HREs, Vorsteiner, etc.

Just thought I would throw that out there as you're considering options. I do love the Turbo IIs.

 

I would recommend staying with the Bose. I've had both and the Bose is terrific.

The Illuminated door sills are quite expensive and don't get you much in return.

4 Zone climate control is also extra that is not really needed unless you have alot of rear passengers in hot weather.

Privacy glass makes it impossible to use a radar detector mounted on the windshield. Again, alot of money for little gain.

I love the ACC, there's some money for a very worthwhile addition.

Cheers, JohnnyB

 

PDCC and PTV are not really necessary... if you only drive on flat and straight roads

 

I have to agree with the PDCC and PTV. They come in handy all the time. I have had it on both my CTTs and have driven loaners without. Difference was immediately noticeable.

I agree about dropping the extended LED lighting, CF illuminated kickplates (go for standard CF kick plates), and possibly 4zone (depending on kids age) or rear shades (you are, after all, getting privacy glass).

I disagree with the recommendation for not getting the Burmester. The Burmester is, hands down, the finest sound system I have ever experienced in a motor vehicle. I have not heard the new 29 speaker Meridian system in the new Range Rover, but I have several vehicles that have had Bang & Olufsen radios, including my wife's new Q7, and I think that the Burmester bests them all.

Congrats, please let us know when she is ordered and planned pick up would be. I am getting ready to get rid of my 2013 Panamera GTS as my wife decided she wanted a third kid. So, back to a '13 CTT.

J

 

4-zone climate control also gets you extra air outlets on the B-pillars and extra air cond unit for the back seats, even if you do not normally carry back seat passengers, it will still cool the car much faster. I live in Torono, the Great White North and I have 4-zone on both my Panamera and Cayenne.

 

Lots of great responses. I will try to address some of them below:

In regards to items such as CF illuminated kick plates and burmester. For me, these are purely an emotional addition. I just really love the dual illuminated look of the CF kickplates and I have never seen them on many (or really any) build. Also, I am a bit of an audiophile and although the difference in the burmester and bose are likely minimal, I can't bring myself to pay any additional cost for bose. I can however justify burmester in my mind . I also believe they have a bit more options to calibrate the system.

The ACC is intriguing. I don't really ever use cruise control, but the safety feature is worth looking into.

I am definitely going to look at other wheel options. Would be nice to try another wheel if there is one of good quality.

The PDCC/PVT debate still goes on in my mind. I just haven't had a chance to drive a cayenne with those options... and the regular GTS rode just soo well. I just thought the GTS was tuned to be a bit more sportier and may not need them as much. I suppose I should really try them before saying they aren't needed. I hate body roll as much as the next guy.

4 zone climate, insulated glass, etc. This has always been my difficulty. Will definitely take all the comments into consideration.

Appreciate all the thoughts!

 

I think the illuminated plates will look AWESOME!

I think you will find PDCC/PTV to be absolutely amazing. I think you will be surprised how much difference there is between equipped and non-equipped models.

ACC is cool, and with my last two CTTs that had it, it did save the bacon a few times. However, it is very finicky and the distance adjustment is difficult. It would stop me sometimes a little sooner than I would have thought.

 

I keep getting more questions. Any thoughts on 18 vs 14 way seats. Some people say the 18's are too tight, but others say they are supportive for long drives. I suppose I just have to sit in the seats and try them out.

 

18s are great. Very snug. But I prefer the comfort of the 14s better.

The other issue I had with the 18s was that I believe the side bolsters will get a lot of wear and tear getting in and out. The 14s are a lot better than that. I have seriously thought about getting 18s in the new one, but won't. I will stick with what has worked so well for me.

 

All sounds great. Sticker keeps going up with the options. Appreciate all the thoughts. I will definitely have to start peeling things away.