MTSduke

Hi Cayenne owners.

I've been in the market for a ~2006 Range Rover Vogue with the supercharged 4.2.
However what looks to be a decent 2004 955 Cayenne twin turbo V8 with 180,000km has caught my eye.
Good history with the known issues like steel coolant pipe and drive shaft upgrades carried out.
Upgraded stereo with bluetooth etc, and compatible with the steering wheel controls.
A tidy vehicle currently owned by a fussy owner.
And a good 25-30% cheaper than the super charged RR Vogues on the market.

What makes you happy with these cars? What are the negative points in running one as a daily? (not worried about excess fuel consumption, repair/maintenance costs).
Most of my driving is open road, so I do appreciate something that can eat the miles, has a decent ride quality and has enough go.
I also want something that can tow up to 3000kg, and something with low range.
This narrows my options down to the Range Rover Vogue, Mercedes GL500, or one of these Cayennes (RR Sport, Toureg or Q7 doesn't appeal).

Any real world experiences good/bad are welcome but I'd like to be convinced to ditch the Range Rover option and go for the Porsche.

TIA.

slavie

Welcome to the forum! Why don't you go and test drive each of the vehicles you're interested in? As for the "convincing you" part, that's the job of the salesperson selling the vehicle, not the other owners on the forum. We're happy to answer any questions you have any give you our experience, but convincing you to buy one vehicle or the other would be wrong.

The Cayenne is great, comfortable cruiser with plenty of power and towing capability. The seats are superb, suspension is tight and Cayenne's can handle a corner. Porsche as a brand is also excellent when it comes to customer experience, vehicle quality and reliability (relative to direct competition), and brand recognition. These cars were a technological marvel when they came out and have aged well.

Do you have any specific questions?

nodoors

I am better at talking people out of these cars than talking them into them. Generally what happens is that people drive them and abso****inlutely love it. Then the harsh reality of maintaining a $120,000 and 10+ year old foreign car has to be explained to them.

TiptonInAustin

The driving experience is great for what it is. I personally dislike SUVs and would rather have a wagon, but my wife loves the look of the car. So we have it as our cold/rainy/dogs/beach trip car.

We did daily it for a few years and while you say you don't care.... $2k every 10k miles in tires plus 11mpg of premium make it an expensive car when things go well. And the car spent, on average, about a month a year in the shop when it was daily driven, and it had less than 50k miles and was about six years old at the time. It has held up much better just sitting in the driveway than it did being a daily. However, I took it on a 3,000 mile road trip last year and it only had one check engine light (thermostat) and needed tires halfway through the trip. I considered that a huge success.

NelaK

I would pick the Cayenne over the others because I like the styling, and it would be the funnest to drive out of the 3. Beyond that, I adore the brand.

The GL500 and the Range Rover Vogue are just luxury SUVs. They don't really have interesting character in my mind and they don't have any emotional appeal. Considering the running costs involved with any of them - emotion is really the only way to justify them.

As far as SUVs go, I think the Cayenne Turbo S, Mercedes G-Wagen, and Landrover Defender are the only ones that really stand out as being interesting. I think any one of those will be a special experience every time you drive them or see them. Any other SUV? Meh. Just faces in the crowd. Of the three - the Cayenne is the only affordable option. The other two sell for absurd prices and they're not worth that much (to me).

ScootCherHienie

If you want ride quality in a Cayenne that's comparable to a RR, the Cayenne would have to have air suspension which is not standard on all models and may vary by model year. Not sure if air suspension was standard on 04 Turbos or not. Someone else will know.

My "tire consumption" is nowhere near 10,000 miles. The tires on my Cayenne were lightly used when I got it. I've put 18,000 miles on the tires and probably have another 5,000-10,000 miles of tread left if they keep wearing at this rate (Continental ExtremeContact DWS all season tire, 20-inch size in my case). They cost more like $1100 to replace all four including mounting, balancing, and tax. I can certainly find tires that would cost $2000 to replace, but I wouldn't get my money's worth out of them unless I take the pig to track days, which I don't.

95_993

Devouring miles on the highway is a good way to describe the Cayenne. Likes 80-90mph all day long. Outstanding seats. If I did it over again, I would go for air suspension for more comfort.

I have none of the excessive tire wear described earlier.

Petza914

Absolutely love my 957 Cayenne Turbo S. Ridiculously fast with the mods, and with PDCC handles all that power beautifully. Drives very well, and as someone else mentioned, will just eat miles. You could honestly drive it at 100 MPH for hours on end if there weren't traffic and jail time to worry about.

The tire cost issue is no longer a factor since we've discovered the Atturo AZ850 tires which are under $1,000 for a set of 4 and unbelievably good, and not just for the price, good anyway.

To own one of these, you really need to be able to do your own wrenching, but the DIYs and YouTube videos to help you are out there.

RazMan

Another devoted convert here - although my Landrovers were Freelanders so nowhere near the comfort level of the RR. Having had a 955 V8 and a 957 V6 I would say you definitely need to look for one with air supension. You can simply dial in the comfort levels according to your needs and even lower it further (with lowering links) in under an hour! Personally I would not have another 955 - maybe mine was just bad luck but I was constantly fixing something electrical and it was becoming a money pit so I decided to trade it in. The best thing about it was the LPG conversion which made it astonishingly economical for a 4.5 litre beast.
My 957 however (touch wood) is a dream to drive and all the bugs of the older 955 seem to have been solved. The comfort is superb and you can have a load of fun on twisty roads, outperforming many smaller sports cars. Motorway driving is very smooth and quiet - a real mile eater .

GTorTT

I can say that my 2013 Cayenne GTS is probably the best all-around vehicle I've ever owned. Now has 91K miles, and other than a transfer case 10K miles ago, Its only been oil, tires and recently front brake pads and rotors. So I'd say the car has been quite reliable. I have a buddy who has had several Range Rovers, and his experience with reliability is different. Parts are expensive. A front windshield is prohibitive due to tiny filaments in the glass which I guess are for deicing or something.

Wife has a GL450, which is great on the highway, but its just a vehicle. A tool to get from point A to point B. Spongy suspension and no sporty feel. I don't feel that way about the Cayenne. I actually enjoy driving it.

Libast

Do you want to-

Have a burbling sweet sounding V8 in a vehicle that can go 0-60 in ~5ish seconds and take corners at speeds that other SUVs wouldn't dare.. tow up to 7700#, and be able to go "jeepin" on the off chance...and do all of this generally for less than $20,000......

all the while seating 4 comfortably and 5 in a pinch?

As Porsche itself markets it.. "Sportscar Together"

Pillow

The RR is lovely in and out. The leather seats are top class.

But the RR drives like a Jeep IMO. It is meant for the more frequent cruise through the ranch and likes to get dirty. If you really go off-road the RR would be the choice.

For on road daily duties and having a true sport SUV the Cayenne has no rivals! (until recently) It can tow, handle, and is comfortable with decent options (957).

That being said, I would expect that a 2004 CTT would be cheap AF... So maybe hold a little $ in a repair kitty just in case.

MTSduke

Thanks for the replies, it is always good to read owners opinions and personal accounts.
The one I'm looking at has air suspension, so I guess that covers decent ride quality, amongst other benefits (ground clearance, trailer hitching etc).
It was my suspicion owners would tout these as the ultimate all rounder and the best car they've owned. I can see why.
I'm a heavy diesel mechanic so will DIY as much as possible. I will likely buy a Cayenne/Porsche specific diag tool/laptop.
I've mostly owned Euro cars and currently have a 560SEL and CL600 Benz amongst others, so I'm not adverse to expensive parts, financially crippling repair bills or full weekends working under the hood.
As far as parts go, what is the best source for the Cayenne? I use pelican parts for my Mercedes', I'm guessing they are the go to for Porsche as well?

Petza914

I buy from Suncoast, ECS Tuning, FCP Euro, and sometimes Pelican. Usually I use Suncoast though

Dilberto

Cayenne Turbo.... no contest. It's a wolf of a beast, all disguised as My Little Pony.