Hi all,

I have to decide on the final list of features for my new Cayenne E-Hybrid (sweet worries ) after I came to realize I can’t have them all. I already got 21 alloy wheels, leather inside, panoramic roof, but also safety features such as Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Change Assist, 360 camera and Matrix Light. For driving and daily use comfort I also took Head-Up display, Comfort Key and thermally and noise insulated laminated glass (I read some reviews it really reduces the heat on summer son which might be worthwhile to me). Of course, I also took Air Suspension and after seeing some reviews I realized that PDCC (Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control) might be also feature I would appreciate. However, I decided to put a hold on the price limit, so in order to have it I should make a trade from sth I already put on the list. So, I am considering letting go of the Head-Up display and Comfort Key, which both have some advantages, first the easier use of navigation, second for daily use, so the question is whether PDCC really makes a difference and is worth trading. I should say that 90% of time I spend either in the city or at motorways, which is why I am posing this question (if I lived at countryside I would figure it is worthwhile taking it). Many thanks to everyone with replies.
Ps I did not take neither Bose nor luxurious Burmester as I understand standard audio package is ok (with my small kids I do not get anyhow much chance to enjoy music as when I was younger)

 

I noticed your question hasn't been answered so I thought I'd give it a go.

I don't have a Cayenne yet so I'm all therory no practical, I have been looking for the right one for some time, I am a suspension guy from rally cars. I've thought about the track times of PDCC V's non PDCC and I think you would be faster without it but on the road in spirited driving mode I think it would feel more confident and have a nicer feel, the software probably softens the suspension and makes up for it in the anti swaybar so even in sport mode it may have a more compliant ride.

Just my guess so take it for what it cost ..... Free

 

I've been looking for some specifics on this without much luck (if anyone has a link to some I'd appreciate it) but thinking about it a bit harder. It depends on how much information it gets from the car and how much thinking/learning/predicting it does and how quickly it can react and then how safe or focussed the software is written. In theory it could be a brilliant system; to fine tune dynamic corner weights to account for changes beyond the hard set up of the car like uphill/downhill, grippy/loose, bumpy/smooth, fast/slow cambered etc. It's not advertised that way but I would be surprised if they ignored that possible benifit entirely. It would be a nice feature if you could edit it as user programmable, but no factory is going to allow that beyond their maps for Comfort, Normal, Sport.

Setting up aftermarket Programmable Diff Controllers for Subaru rally cars was a lot of fun and really rewarding. They weren't overly complicated: you set 4 different driver selectable programs for different conditions, each of the 4 programs allowed you to set up different maps for % of lock for a given speed, wheel slip, % of throttle input (or brake) and handbrake. Because the factory program was very basic you could make big gains and make it much safer and stable while your at it. We made more time with this than the fortunes spent anywhere else in the cars.

So it may be much more than it first appears but it may not, you would have to drive identical cars back to back at 10 /10ths to know how good it was at the limit, I suspect the program on a street car is more about spirited driving on a windy road with greater confidence in a big heavy car.

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So now I own one.

It is a great thing driving at 5,6,7, & maybe 8/10ths it does a pretty good job of hiding that it is over 2 tons of SUV with a fair amount of ground clearance. I saw on another forum where they said you won't be able to feel it working, well that's crap, you can definitely feel it, it doesn't seem to have much or any input when driven sedatly but a small increase and you can clearly tell it is working. Mine has (edit 295/35/21) 195/35/21 tyres all round which are not very grippy, so there is not much in the way of slip angles to warn you before it slides and it does feel like it slides early which I think is partly because the PDCC gives you a false sense of security and partly because the tyres don't give much grip. While I'm at it the steering has poor feedback and your not planted in the seat so it's hard to drive fast.

I haven't driven it on a track which is where you learn a lot about how it handles and the effects of changes but on the road it seems to increase the PDCC input as you push harder up to a point and then if you drive harder again it seems to start to soften, either that or you reach the limit of the swaybar motor travel. My gut says at the top end the software softens before the motor runs out of travel so it is not a hard stop. It doesn't matter which it is a good thing.

Like all road cars it is set up with some understeer and it doesn't seem the PDCC does any calculations based on uphill/downhill to assist with these changes like I hoped. I have lowered the front end with the Durametric to see if I can dial out some understeer but haven't tested it yet.

I did manage to blow a flexible section of the PDCC fluid line on a twisty mountain road. There was no sign of wear or being hit by a stone, it just let go from pressure. Nothing dramatic happened a couple of bleeps from the alarm then a solid alarm with the red chassis warning came up on the dash. I am worried that all the flex lines might be about to fail, they are all 13yo. I'll see if another goes and then have to replace them all.

Overall, for a road car I would without any doubt get PDCC it makes you realise the car is something special for what it is. For a track car, not so much.

 

PDCC is a dynamic sway bar control (AKA Roll control). I have driven one with and without. The PDCC on my GTS contributes to the almost magical handling.
IMHO it is a must have if you are going to drive hard.

 

I absolutely love these threads and grab a bag of popcorn every time. 2-3% of the total vehicle cost is trying to be rationalized when 20% of the vehicle price will be lost in the 1st year after the vehicle is titled regardless of options.