in the Cayenne "off-road capability and build" for those who do not go off road? Or is the added weight just a burden to performance?

My opinion: Yes, there is great value at least for me. Toughness and durability.

I recently (to avoid a serious accident) hit and jumped over a high curb at well over 25mph and at an angle I felt for sure damaged my vehicles front end and perhaps the rear which also hit and jumped over this curb. I drove away and the vehicle felt just fine. Not believing this good fortune, I went to the dealer the next day and had the alignment checked on the equipment, ALL (front and rear) was "Spot ON" not only within tolerance but right on the line so to speak! Just cosmetic tire damage was it, after all!

I don't believe a "pretend" off-road SUV would have had this outcome....let alone a car. I love the "performance and toughness paradigm" as I live in the North East and have sustained tire, wheel, and suspension damage more than once on our awful roads.
If I lived in Germany with those meticulous roads, perhaps I would feel differently......but I don't live there.

WHAT DO THE REST OF YOU THINK? Does that make it worth it to you?

Weigh in on this please. I have read in Automobile Magazine that Porsche is considering de-contenting the Cayenne and "admitting" they over did it on off-road. The comment is in this month's issue (just out) and buried in the Cayenne V6 article where they say that Cayenne benefited from that decontenting vis a vis price.

 

For a Porsche, I think they did bake in more off-road toughness than the Cayenne needs. There are people on this very forum though that have already had their Cayennes off-road. That, and your expereience tell me that it wasn't a total waste of effort.

I may be a little biased though, I have two MB G-class trucks and a Unimog that I use for serious off-roading. I do appreciate what Porsche has done, and that is part of the reason I ordered one. I know that if we have company and want to go on a trail ride that the Porsche CAN participate even if it isn't the norm.

It would also be neat to see a Cayenne without the two speed t-case, lighter suspesnsion parts and a track tuned suspension.

 

I think Cayenne is a well thought and well done truck. Porsche did a really good job design it. This is the difference of Porsche. The number one philosophy of Porsche is to engineer a good car for its purpose. For example: 996 sports, daily drive, and track car. Cayenne, on-road, off-road, family, and + performance car. Then the next for consideration is cost. Other car makers put the cost in the first position when they build their car. For example, a single engine design can be used from sport car to SUV! I can not think of using a sport car engine on a SUV and do a lot of off-road. A proper oil supply may be a big problem for extreme off-road on a sport car engine.
Then there are people, for example us, agree on Porsche's philosophy. For us a Porsche is a almost perfect car. For most of people, a Porsche is a very expensive and over priced car.
These are my thought.

 

I think the PAG marketing guys felt that an SUV was a hugh risk. they had to overcome a high price and were not sure of acceptance. So they mitigated their risk to have the vehicle appeal to the entire SUV market spectrum.

Now with the Peppers track record they can decontent the carriage and prepare for a all wheel four door sedan. That carriage then can be used for an sAv.

It would be lighter and probably use the viscous technology used in the C4s. I don't think they will "decontent" the Cayenne V6; it would spoil the label and confuse S & TT buyers. My guess is they would discontinue and come up with a new model name.

 

IMHO, it would be great to have a lighter (-500 lbs), less expensive option for the Pepper, across the lineup. Imagine what a TT would do with 500 lbs less weight to haul. Boggles the mind. I appreciate (very) occasional use of the transfer case during extreme winter weather but I'll fess up that I'm no off roader--as I suspect 80%+ of Pepper buyers also are not. I've owned SUV after SUV and this has been the pattern with all of them.

Porsche clearly tried to do it all with this vehicle, and god bless 'em for the exceptional result. But pulling together such disparate requirements also results in an endless series of compromises and complexities--most noticeably reflected in the pudgy curb weight. My dealer service manager also explains that some of the issues with DME remaps, tip in, lurching, etc., are directly linked to requirements to keep vehicle in stable spec across conditions ranging from 130+ mph on highway to 10 mph at extreme angles of attack climbing rocks. Something has to give, and it does.

Right now, many of us are buying capability that will never be used. I'd love to have the choice of having an S stripped of the heavy duty off road stuff, while another configuration could meet needs of those like Toby, GM Austin, Torags and Jeff who use their vehicles differently.

 

I happen to think the extra heavy duty construction will serve to keep the vehicle solid in the years to come. Kind of reminds me of Mercedes cars of the past. THey were heavy and really tough. I am not an off roader but I would consider a little off road fun if I had the opportunity. One thing lighter weight would help is the gas mileage. Gosh is it bad (not that I expected better).

 

What kind of mileage are you seeing, David, and how would you describe your driving style (not that I really need to ask)?

 

Jeff,

With frequent engine starts and local trips i get about 8-10 mpg.

Highway cruise gets about 16-18.