FI Flyer

My dealer let me have a Cayenne as a loaner while my car was getting its 20K mile service. It was not the current model but, other than that, I can't identify it too well. Obviously, the car (truck?) was very different from what I am used to. But I was struck by the fact that I found the seating very uncomfortable.

The Cayenne is much, much larger than my 997.2 but it had much less leg room than the 911 and the seats were much flatter and less comfortable than my adjustable sport seats. Give the amount of available space, I was shocked. I expected luxurious comfort; but the reality was that the seating was awkward and uncomfortable.

When I returned to the dealer, there was a new hybrid Cayenne on the sales floor and it had more curved seats that were considerably better than the seats in my loaner but the seating was still very far from as comfortable as my C4S or even my old 2006 Cayman S which had normal seats.

Seating is very personal and idiosyncratic. Many people prefer regular seats to the *** in my car. Some people love the inflatable lumbar support; I don't. So I am prepared to hear that I am a minority of one. But I would like to hear how others who have driven Cayennes feel about their seating comfort.

boolala

Aren't the seats multi-way adjustable? When I got my S550 last year the first hundred miles or so were awfully uncomfortable. I couldn't understand it until I found the right seat adjustments. Turns out I needed the seating surfaces to be bascially "flat" in order to fit my body habitus.

jcnesq

We are on our third Cayenne S (wife's DD). I need lots of leg room. The key is properly adjusting the seats, like most cars, requires a lot of trial and error to finally get it right. I don't find the CS seats uncomfortable.

GR997S

I would have to agree with the above post. I have found them to be just as comfortable as the ones in my 997s. I think the key is to play with the adjustments until you get it right....

Mike in CA

I have the 14 way adjustable ventilated seats in my 2011 Cayenne S and sport buckets in the Carrera S. I love the seating in both cars. The Cayenne seats are nicely bolstered and give great support. I especially like the adjustable thigh support and the ventilation feature is awesome. I've done 600+ mile trips in one day and been totally comfortable.

As you say, seating comfort is very personal, but your comment about leg room is puzzling. I'm 6'2" with long legs and from a normal seated position with the seat back I can stretch my legs out straight and not touch the firewall in the Cayenne; there's lots of room.

Palmbeacher

The very notion of a Porsche truck is still so bizarre to me that I can't really get too frothed up about the seats. I'd likely feel the same way were Peterbilt to market a sports car

FI Flyer

I may have been the victim of cheap seats. As I recall, they were square-ish and flat leather without any ventilation holes. The adjustments (I may have missed some) were basically fore and aft, seat back tilt and maybe up and down.

As I said, the seats in the new hybrid at the dealer's were more bucketed and had air holes (as I recall.) The electrical adjustments were turned off so I can't report on them.

Still, how can a car (or truck) with that much size have so little space and comfort. The seats were as big as, say, domestic business ("first') class but far less comfortable.

equ

A year ago or so I had a '10 cayenne loaner and had the same complaint. Drove very well, but my thighs did not seem to fit in/on the cushion. The bolsters seemed to dig in. (And I'm pretty much average sized).

Mike in CA

Subjectivity is obviously part of this, but your opinion comes from an experience with base seats in an older model and inoperative seats that you were unable to adjust in the new model. Compared to some full size SUV's the Cayenne is lighter, smaller, and sportier; those are big reasons why I bought it. Yet it is as comfortable and roomier inside than any sedan (E-class, 5-series, A6) I've owned from other European manufacturers while being able to tow almost 4 tons and with lots of cargo room and versatilty. TEHO, I guess.

ADias

To the OP: What you have to ask yourself is - can I find another SUV that handles as well as a Cayenne and have better seats?

I have asked that question and tried them all and the answer is no.

The Cayenne is an SUV that handles like no other. Its seats ar superb, but obviously they are not 6-point harness buckets.

FI Flyer

As the OP, let me try to answer the points raised by ADias.

I have no idea how well the Cayenne handles. It was a loaner and, compared to my C4S, huge, clumsy and seemingly top heavy. As for the seats, all I can say it that, given the enormous size and apparent amount of interior space of the Cayenne compared to my 911, it was very awkward, tight and uncomfortable compared to my relatively tiny car. The seats were flat and hard even compared to my 2001 Audi Allroad (a splendid car) or my 2006 Audi A6 wagon -- and the legroom inferior was to both.

I am very unfamiliar with trucks. It is likely that I will remain so. If there is a point to SUVs, I don't get it. I rarely see them towing anything. The driver is usually a single tiny woman. (The joke about the inverse relationship between the size of the SUV and that of the driver has more than just a grain of truth, at least here in the NY area.) Other than being high and relatively impervious, the erstwhile attractions of the Cayenne and its confreres are a mystery to me. They are big outside and tight inside -- and not even comfortable.

Mike in CA

FI Flyer, maybe part of the disconnect here is based on the fact that you drove an older Cayenne (which I have virtually no experience with) and I own the latest model. Still, when you say that the Cayenne's handling is "clumsy and heavy" and it's interior is "awkward, tight, and uncomfortable" with legroom "inferior" to an Audi Allroad (I also owned a 2002 Allroad) it seems well over the top. I mean, I own a Carerra S and a Cayenne S, drive them constantly and live with them on a daily basis, so it's hard to know where you're coming from with your descriptions and comparison, unless the difference between Cayenne model years is much greater than I imagined.

Anyway, no matter. Everyone is entitled to their POV. One thing that can't be denied though; even if you don't like the seats you have to admit neither an Allroad or A6 wagon could handle this.......

BLKonBLKC4S

To the OP, I wouldn't complain if I were you. Most of the time at my dealership the loan me a Toyota Camry

steph280

My dealer doesn't even have any loaner!

ADias

Perhaps you should drive it and do it on a tight course and see for yourself.

A couple of years past, I have seen a 'tiny woman' (as you put it) drive a Cayenne S (MY '08 1st gen facelift) on a tight autox course at Laguna Seca, under a PSDS event, and she ran rings around many guys driving Carreras.

It's all a matter of perspective.