Colly

Ok this is going to sound like a very stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway. I just bought a 2008 Cayenne S and I want to know what is the best style of driving to be most effective and get the most out of the car - performance wise yet whilst still thinking about Fuel economy. Now this is a VERY different car to what I am used to. My last car for 6 years was an Audi TT 1.8L Turbo - Manual. In fact this is the first Auto car I have ever owned, and by far the biggest engine. I'm having to get used to a totally different way of driving. Now I know you can't compare as it weighs almost half as much - but I find the Cayenne sluggish at low revs and it takes quite a while to really get going. With manual I can quickly change up and accelerate in the right torque range. With auto I find it extremely slow to respond and even when I use tiptronic - as its not a double clutch gearbox. Just wondering how you guys drive exactly? Do you try to anticipate the need and change down early, or do you simply put your foot to the floor? And if so does that not use a lot more fuel? What's the best way to effectively drive this monster?

ScootCherHienie

In normal mode, the trans starts in 2nd gear for smoother takeoff and less wasted fuel. The stick will override the second gear start. Sport mode starts in 1st gear by default and holds higher rpms before upshifting. It is a blast to drive in sport mode, but fuel economy can be horrific, like 2.7 miles per liter, even less on a race track or drag racing. The Tiptronic auto is one of the slowest-to-shift auto transmissions ever built in recent decades, If you accelerate from a stop in 2nd gear and decide you need quite a bit more acceleration, you step on the accelerator pedal quickly, there is a surprisingly long pause before the shift actually happens, then the acceleration gets violent very quickly for a 2.6 (non-metric) ton pig. These vehicles are so heavy there's not a lot you can do about improving fuel economy. Maximizing fuel economy is the same thing for all vehicles... accelerate as slowly as possible, keep engine rpm as low as possible, and travel at the speed that is most efficient for the vehicle and that is usually 25-35 mph depending on the vehicle and how high of a gear it will operate in without downshifting. you probably would see around 5.3 miles per liter at 70 mph on a relatively flat road without a strong headwind.

So.... least possible use of the accelerator pedal, lowest possible rpms, and avoid using the brakes as much as possible by coasting when you know a stop is coming = least use of fuel. The factory tunes for economy for government testing, but gives you sport mode so you can blow 100 pounds on fuel in an hour or so of spirited driving well above the speed limit on twisty roads or running around a race track on a track day. Starting in 2nd gear improves fuel economy and smoothness at the cost of sluggish acceleration and slow downshifting to get into first where acceleration is quite adequate at the cost of higher fuel use.

kadn33

Being an NA engine implies it will be lazy on acceleration at low rpm, specially noticeable if you come from a turbo engine although I must say this is a better responding NA compared to others I've driven mainly due to the higher displacement.
Personally I use the sport mode most of the time and change gears at around 2500-3000 rpm giving me a pace a feel comfortable with plus better reactions and still being fuel-economic compared to the auto mode. I use it as well for downshifting when stopping and use engine braking.
I would suggest that you either use the auto mode because it is clearly focused on fuel saving or use the sport mode for some time and reach higher rpm until you feel comfortable with a sporty vs economy driving that suits you. Just take some time until you get used to the engine behavior and you'll be able to adapt your driving to your goals eventually.

v10rick

My wife previously owned Audi TT 1.8L Turbo convertibles, both the manual and auto version. Compared to both my 04 CS was a slug off the line.

Cayenne CS mpg was a consistent 16...its a 5K lb. truck what did you expect?

Mash it to the floor when you need power to pass.

Petza914

I don't care about fuel economy. I start my car, press the Sport button to enable the 1st gear start, then press the normal suspension mode button for a slightly smoother ride and I drive in that mode 99% of the time, as the 2nd gear start drives me nuts.

Even in sport mode, the transmission shifts to the next higher gear way too soon unless really accelerating, so you end up driving along at like 1,200-1,500 RPM. If I could program my car to never upshift where the RPMs would drop below 2,000 RPM after the change, if do it in a heartbeat.

So, I end up driving the car in manual mode most of the time where I can keep the RPMs where I want them. I'm actually going to be installing some Mercedes paddle shifters on the back of my steering wheel to make manual mode easier, faster, and more accurate to use.

Petrolhead_007

I believe the owners manual says to accelerate briskly to get up to speed and maintain it.
Like others said, use the sport mode. Also, anticipate things a bit early.

As for fuel cost, in my area (Maryland) the premium gas costs anywhere between 20-40% more than the regular ($2.30/gal for 87 vs $2.75-3.20 /gal for 93).
To test it out, I filled up with 87 I noticed slight loss in performance and 5% difference in MPG. So in my case, it's more cost effective to use regular. I have a 09 Base V6 with a manual. YMMV.

Hizus

Chile_Pepper

That's about the same mileage I get out out of my '04 S (15/16 mpg in US gallons) if I can keep my foot out of it and avoid shifting manually.

Hizus

Libast

You can see the torque curve of your 2008 S model V8. Combined with the weight of the vehicle, and the gearing/transmission, it is sluggish just in normal driving.


The petrol Cayennes are not known for fuel economy, and in 2008 there were just as thirsty as ever.

Hizus

RSbob

Colly

Thanks all, what I did as a test was track my mpg's first with a few tanks in normal mode and driving smoothly etc, but then i filled up again, used sport and shifted manual a lot of the time and fast off the lights etc - it actually didnt use that much more fuel, maybe 10-15% more - so that's what I'll be doing from now on!

Colly

Now this I would LOVE to do. What's involved? Can anyone point me to links or videos or how I can add paddle shifts to my Cayenne please?

Petza914

Haven't done it yet so can't speak first hand, but it should be just a matter of removing the light switch buttons from the back of the wheel and tying those together so they come on whenever the lights are on, then cutting the wheel for the mounting base of the paddles and securing those, then tapping left paddle wired into the wires for the downshift button and the right paddle wired into the upshift button wires.