Hello,
First post here... My wife and I are looking at a GTS. We are still looking over colors but wondering options. We come from mostly Mercedes where there are very few options/packages available. Porsche has many options and its confusing to know what options are really worth it and what options are just fluff and extra cost - or not needed.

We want GPS/Nav, rear USB/power and we are thinking onboard wifi.

We have a Suburban as our major kid hauler and boat/tow vehicle. This will be used as a normal day to day vehicle (we both work from home). Driven in New England, year round - snow (probably need snow tires??), two kids (10 & 11) so it will get normal family/kid use.

What packages do we want vs. not want? Also we will probably put 20-25k miles per year on the vehicle; any recommendations on tires & wheel sizes or seats that will be comfortable for longer rides or higher miles? (looks to be three seat options online)

Thanks for the feedback and thoughts.

 

Welcome to the forum. I suggest taking your time and read a lot of the posts and discussions on the different options. Before ordering my Cayenne Turbo and I got very deep in to what each option is and had to draw the line somewhere or the price just keeps climbing.
I think the GTS comes with the NAV and BOSE system standard but I am not sure.
As far as seats, the 14 ways get good reviews from people but I love the 18 ways since they hold you in place like a racing seat. But I am think and bigger guys find them restricting and a challenge to get over the higher side bolsters when getting in and out of the car.
again there is a lot to learn about with the options. Good luck. !

 

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering about the seats.

Also about the platinum editions and the diesel vs the GTS. It seems the GTS is on a whole different level than the S or diesel models. I like the styling of the GTS and all I really care about is NAV, wifi hotspot and rear seat USB or 12V charging spot.

Other than that it'll be a kid hauler and family car for the most part so I question the need for the GTS power. I'm coming out of a BMW M5 as a daily driver and that's not too crazy.

 

If you are going to use it year round, yes it would probably be worth having a dedicated set of snow wheels and tires. I would suggest a good aftermarket wheel though as OEM wheels are $$$$$$$. I think 19" rims are the smallest that will fit over the GTS brakes, but it's the tire side wall height that is important for protecting the rims.

What's your Suburban tow? Any of the Cayennes are rated at 7500 (or is it 7700?) so it might be able to replace that duty for you. Even if you aren't planning to tow right now, get the tow hitch from the factory as it is far cheaper than doing it after the fact. Just parts alone is $2k if I remember correctly and then there is still the labor which includes removing the bumper skin.

I also always recommend the roof rails, again, regardless if you intend to use them or not. Porsche has made them a build only option so if you find down the road you want them, you can't add them then.

With kids in back you might want to consider the 3 (or is it 4?) zone climate control as it adds additional rear vents in the B pillars as well as zone controls on the rear of the center console (not available on diesels). They might also appreciate the rear seat heaters if we have another winter like this one...

Speaking of cold mornings, the heated steering wheel is nice (not something I would have ordered as a separate option, but I found myself missing it terribly while I was without my Cayenne most of the winter).

I don't know what performance options that the GTS comes with standard, but here are my thoughts:

Air suspension: Really nice for towing with it's load leveling. Can lower the car, but overall seems to make the car feel a bit more floaty. The PASM and PDCC options help with this though.

PDCC & PASM: Two separate options, but they both work to stiffening up the ride and giving it a more sporty or floaty feel depending on the settings. One (PASM?) requires the air suspension while the other can be optioned with either suspension configuration.

PTV+: Improves power distribution based on how you are driving and the direction of travel.

PCCB: Big, expensive, and clean, but not worth it IMO. Ask your dealer how much a rotor costs if one gets damaged and you have to pay for it The big selling points are the lack of dust, life of the rotor, and lack of brake fade. You can put carbon pads on steel rotors and reduce the dust almost as substantially at a fraction of the cost. The rotors are indeed supposed to last a long time, but if you are the unlucky one that has to replace one (or god forbid all 4) due to wear or damage you'll quickly find you could have bought a lot of steel rotors for the same money. The lack of fade is indeed true, but unless you are really out there going nuts you shouldn't be getting fade anyway (my steel rotors had no significant fade during an AutoX day) and there are many reports of 911 drivers swapping out their PCCBs for steel systems for track use as a couple days at the track will eat them up (and again we are back to the replacement cost).

On my CD I have the basic steel suspension with none of the goodies. I have no doubt that all the goodies would have made it that much better (though PDCC isn't available on the diesel), but after a day of throwing it around an AutoX I can't say I'm anything but impressed with how this thing handles. My general recommendation is that unless you are towing or carrying heavy loads regularly (load leveling of the Air) and/or will be seriously flogging it (e.g. AutoX or DE on a regular basis), then those items are more flash than function for the normal driving. Of course they all make a difference, but you have to ask yourself if you think you are going to play with them enough to justify the cost.

For the seats, start with the 14-way and go up to 18s if you are a good fit with them. We just did two 14-15 hour trips straight through (one down, one back) in my 14s and were perfectly comfortable and mostly rested at the end of each.

If you are having it built to order an option you should seriously consider if at all possible is the European Delivery. I really regret not doing that on mine like I originally wanted to. It's supposed to be an amazing experience according to those that have done it.

As you point out, Porsche drowns you with options. I would suggest that you list the specific options that you have questions about or a full build you are considering. That way others can give you some more specific feedback.

 

If you don't need the power, then the Diesel and S are better options price wise. Between the two, the diesel is the better value though I'm biased.

There is a sport design (can't remember the name) package you can get either as part of the build or as a dealer install which gives much of the GTS styling from what I understand. Suncoast also sells a package for installing the GTS/Turbo bumper on the base/diesel/S, but figure all in it will probably cost about $2500-$3000 for it to be painted and installed.

As mentioned in my other post we just did a DC to central FL trip which was 14-15 hours each way. That equated to one fuel stop each way(Brunswick going down and Fayetteville coming back) with us well exceeding the posted speed limits the whole time (if I remember correctly coming home the MFD said the average speed was 78mph for the whole trip). Can't beat that

 

The Porsche in-car WiFi is garbage and it's best to pick up a portable hot spot instead from your local wireless company. I would go less than 21" wheels in the pothole ridden Northeast. The 18 way seats are the most comfortable vehicle seats I've ever been in.

 

Wow! I knew someone who knows there stuff would come in and gnat knows his stuff
I have the regular red brakes that came with the turbo and switched out the pads to ceramic because the brake dust was out of control. It helped tremendously but I cannot say yet if it has reduced the braking distance. I still have the winter wheels and tires on which make the car feel differently than the wonderful Michelin 21" summer tires.
Yes the styling of the GTS is extraordinary since it comes standard with the "sports design" package which is about a $5000 option on other models.
So much to learn but you will love any version of the Cayenne I'm sure.

 

The biggest difference between the Cayenne and the Suburban are wheelbase for towing. We pull a sailboat that's at the upper limits of the Suburban. It needs the wheelbase and it really hammers on the vehicle (as well as uses electric brakes). I don't know that I want to abuse a Cayman in that way. 40k of towing miles usually equates to about 140k of regular driven miles.

As for the roof rails, we'll need them. We are a big skiing family. As for Auto-x or suspension options; most probably no worry at all. I can't see myself ever Auto-x'ing an SUV when I have a motorcycle and an M5.

I had my heart set on a GTS but now my wife likes a Diesel she found at a local dealer. My biggest concern is the lack of extra power charging (I don't see the 5-charger option listed on the build manifest). Additionally, the 18-way power seats... which I am still undecided on. Build time is a bit longer on these vehicles (I took ED on my M5) and even for inter-dealer swap/trade the time frame seems very long (being told 2-3 weeks to get a vehicle when the Suburban was traded between NY and a dealer in OK and we had it in 5 days).

I think the only questions as of right now are:

Wheels - what size? Not style rims but what size rim and tire package? We'll do a bit of driving and I don't want to get stuck without a spare and have to be hunting all over the country for a tire to overnight into some random service station if we get a flat.


Ceramic Brakes - I was thinking to avoid them. I don't care about the brake dust (that's what carwash is for) and it's just an SUV to haul the kids and get groceries - is that foolish?

Roof Racks - want them, we ski and plan on putting a ski box up top in the winter - smart? (I think I heard yes)

Extra chargers in the rear - want at least one charging station in the rear so four people don't have to fight over one charging station up front. Seems a very hard option to find - do people with it love it and do people without that option regret not having it?

Rear/4-way climate control - seems like there are options you can't get on the CD. Is that something that people regret?... Or for those of you with children does it just turn into a disaster that they will fight over? (one side with heat cranked, one side with AC cranked)

What other options are on the GTS that are NOT AVAILABLE on the CD that I'm missing? I'm not sure that it really matters other than the styling. We are looking at a CD Platinum and a GTS (test drives today) but the dealer does not seem very trustworthy - they already told me once the roof rails are not a big deal, leading me to imply that they could be added later. If I can't trust the dealership what other things should I be looking out for?

Thanks again. I wish I had posted here about a month ago when we started talking about looking vs. a few hours before a final test drive LOL.

 

I certainly hope you wouldn't try to pull a boat with a Cayman!!



The wheelbase does sound like it would be an issue, but there are others that can speak to the towing ability much better than I.

Your dealer either doesn't know what he is talking about or is trying to make a sale regardless of what you are telling him your needs are.

This subject has been talked about extensively as Porsche offers no retrofit for the roof rails. You get them with the build or you don't.

There are 3rd party rail options, but they are only cosmetic (the better sellers actually come out and say it) and putting a load on them would be criminal in my opinion.

Your other option (without rails) is a gutter mount system, but when I talked to a Thule rep a couple years ago while making my decision I was told that they have a 100lb load limit compared to the factory 220lb limit. Most boxes/baskets eat up 40-60lbs by themselves.

Take the PCA class (or go to an event if you already know how to AutoX). Reading about what these things can do and actually experiencing it are two different things. I have no real intent of ever running it again, but the knowledge I gained about how this thing will perform in an emergency situation is invaluable. And drifting a 4700lb AWD SUV was a blast

The ones I'm positive about are two in the back of the center console (don't know if they are still there with the rear climate controls) and one in the armrest pocket of the center console (also your USB port is there too). I also believe I have one in the glove box and another in the pack area, but I haven't used them so I won't swear to it.

Sit in them if you can find a Turbo (I believe they are standard on the GTS too) and you should know pretty quickly if your body type fits or not. Everyone that fits in them loves them and other than the fit issues I haven't heard a single complaint.

That said, I haven't heard a bad word about the 14s either and I've been happy with mine. I do regret not getting the 18s, but that is because I like grippier seats.

As far as fit goes I would liken the 14s to our e90 sport seats in her 328, but the Porsche seats are far more adjustable and comfortable.

I don't know about dealer swapping, but build slots is something Porsche has always been slow on. Ask about a Base with the V6 transmission, that will make your lead time look positively quick

I've been happy with the base 18s, but that choice was more about not wanting to pay Porsche's insane upgrade prices on wheels than anything else. They aren't flashy, but they get the job done. The rubber will of course be cheaper when I need new tires too.

As far as tire availability, this has just been a bad year and I don't think it make a difference what size you need. Winter and AS tires have been in high demand due to all the damn pot holes.

I don't think so (see my earlier statements on it). People love them and I really wanted them, but I'm glad I didn't get them.

Given your stated needs I think this is a must for you.

It's my DD, but I do wish Porsche offered this option on the CD as it's main purpose is hauling the dogs and kid on a road trip. At either end of the thermometer it can take the base system awhile to get the whole car to the right temp and in some cases it gets it there but has to run all the time to keep up.

I wanted the diesel engine more though.

Another option to consider is the read sunshades.

PDCC is also not available on the diesel. I think there was a 3rd thing, but it's been too long since I ordered mine.

The jaded side of me says they are just trying to unload stock, but they could also just be ignorant of the situation.

Do you have other dealers in your area? There is nothing saying you can't order the car through an out of area dealer. I know a couple of the NY dealers have good reps and work quite a bit with non-local people.

Don't rush into it and keep testing and thinking if needed. For those of us that order custom builds it usually takes a long time to come to the final decision and it is always followed by the "wait, one more change" just after your build locks (though I'm glad I got the Blue rather than the Black I tried to switch to)

 

Crazy question:

Can I chip/mod the CD at all? It would be a crazy car/truck/SUV with 300hp and 450lb/tq.

As for Auto-x and open track days I've been there & done that on two and four wheels. Still can't imagine doing it in an SUV ever, though.

 

Yes you can and it's more like 500lb/tq

The Bluespark Pro + Boost Control from Bluespark Automotive (an English company) is the most documented around here between Greg and I. There were issues with the Gen 1 boxes (and I finally got hit with it last week and had to pull mine), but it sounds like the Gen 2 box addresses the issues as it's now tuned specifically to the NA ECU.

I understand. I just did it because I swore after taking the BMW Club AutoX course with her 328xi and 996C4 that I would AutoX any new vehicle I got so I could understand what it is capable of doing. Having that level of understanding makes me a better/more capable driver.

 

Good points. Maybe I should take it to an autox event

500lb/tq???? What HP #'s??

 

They claim 314bhp and 696nm (513lbs). Greg can speak to the Gen 2 better than I can, but with the Gen 1 box you couldn't set it to have both the peak torque and peak HP on the same map. On the Gen 1 the peak torque was on setting 9 (it also a shorter curve than the other maps) which put it around 500lbs and was one hell of a kick in the pants. Maps 7 and 8 seemed to be the best all around settings (8 has a bit more power but 7 felt smoother) and 6 seemed to be the power and eco sweet spot.

I did dyno mine (you can find the stuff if you dig through my thread), but the numbers didn't match what it feels like. We suspect either an operator error or some other issue as maps 6-9 showed no significant deviations.

 

More important question is now much?

Dealer is sending me a build sheet for two diesels and I'm going to put a deposit down on one of them this afternoon (most likely).

 

When I bought mine I think the total on my CC came out to about $350 after VAT was removed and pounds were converted to dollars.