SUPO

A salesman at Porsche of San Diego told me today via phone that the 2008 V6 is "just as good" as previous V8 - stating that the V6 prior to 2008 was weak, but not anymore. True or false? I'm not trying to make the Cayenne a Ferrari, I just don't want to an unresponsive car when I need the power or pick-up. I've driven the 05-06 CS in my search, but, not a V6 or a 08.

Marc Gelefsky

Lets see, 2008 V6 has 290 horsepower and 283 pound-feet of torque and an 2003-2006 CS has has 340 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque, I cant see how it's the same.
Cayenne's are heavy, my V8 leaves me wanting more!
I have never driven a V6 but I cant see it having the V8 grunt.

and yes the older V6 had 247HP/Torque: 228 ft-lbs.

yeldogt

The only V6's I have driven were service loaners.

My first impressions were always favorable ----- You get into a strange car and you tend to drive it conservatively for a while -- then you get used to it. I had one for a week and it was perfectly nice. I did notice the power difference immediately with any additional people or cargo or hilly terrain.

Once back in my CS the experience was always the same -- I would never buy a V6.

jittsl

I agree as above. Having recently had a v6 as a loner I also did not think it nearly as smooth a motor as the v8. Don't get me wrong still a fine car but not the same.

Dennis C

I've driven the new and the old V6. The newer V6 is an improvement over the original, there's no doubt about that. However, I agree with the other comments - I think you'll be happier with the V8.

jumper5836

I have a 04 CS and have driven the new and old v6's.
The old v6 was terrible. It truely didn't feel sporty at all. Felt like my old Land Rover Discovery. Lots of sound on full throttle coming from the engine but went no where fast.
The new v6 really feels good. Not quite as powerful as my older CS but you can't really feel a huge difference.
I'd say for a non towing, grocery getter the new v6 is fine.

Today I would go with a older CS over the v6 though but only if the coolant pipes have been switched to aluminum.

ljugete

+1 Ditto! I recently was driving a 2010 Cayenne (V6) and felt the power drain (compared with my 2006 CS). It is still a great SUV, but the CS would be my preference (GTS, CT, CTS would be awesome).

Andy E.

Isn't there some sort of training that Porsche salespeople are supposed to take so as to avoid uttering sheer ignorance such as this? This is definitely not true. I have nothing against the V-6 powered Cayennes however they have very little to share with the V-8.

As the other members have said, drive it yourself and see for yourself the difference between the two. Then, post the salesman's name so we can flog him online!!

George Boss

So is it safe to say that most members here would go for the GTS over the Turbo? (and the Turbo over the S?) I can't make up my mind and I will need to shortly.

My needs will be mostly hauling the family around, with the occasional towing of my 951. Are the GTS and Turbo overkill? In terms of power, I can understand not needing the extra ponies, but what about overall cost of ownership and reliability?

Cole

I certainly prefer my turbo to a GTS. But then I'm a boost addict.

If you own a 951 and like your boost, you will like the Cayenne Turbo.

At this point I'm not totally sure which is faster, my tow rig or my race car

jittsl

Not sure how you arrived at your conclusions about order of preference. I have a GTS but only because I could not afford the Turbo. My guess is the order goes Turbo S, Turbo, GTS, S and finally V6. That may vary slightly given some people's particular needs but for most Porsche drivers I would have thought -- the harder they go the more desirable they are.

Andy E.

Take no offence to what I'm about to say to you but with a statement like that, you bought your GTS for all the wrong reasons.

The GTS is not 2nd-in-line down from the Turbo simply because of price and horsepower. It's a different truck altogether. It's a bad-boy vehicle and it's made to sound like one. The blacked-out look, 21" rims, lowered suspension, throaty exhaust note.....it's a muscle-truck pure and simple. The Turbo has more luxurious appointments, is more refined and made to play the part of it.

Two completely different trucks for different buyers.

George Boss

That being said, what is the reliability of the 2? I know from experience that maintenance on my 951 costs more than if it were a NA, and I would imagine it would be the same for the Peppers.

Andy E.

My understanding is that post-2008 peppers have substantially improved over pre-2008 models in overall reliability (based on customer satisfaction polls and dealer feedback).

Turbo technology has come a long way since the '80's when your 951 was engineered. I doubt that turbo replacement frequency would be as high as that of the 951. On my 931, it all depended on how long you allowed it to idle after a long highway drive.

As far as all the other modules, sensors, servos, actuators, etc... no worse off than an X5 or an ML. Core suppliers to all three big German automakers are the same (Bosch, Siemens, Valmet, etc...).

Drive both and choose for yourself. If towing your 951 and hauling around the kids is all you need it for, it could very well be that a Cayenne 'S' is all you really need.

BSL

This is only true until you have driven one--then you do need the extra ponies!

To the original poster, as has been stated the new v6 is much better than the old, but no, not as good as the old v8. That said, I prefer the updates to the '08 over the '06. If having to choose between an '06 S and '08 V6, it would probably be a tough one for me. Price difference between the '08 S and v6 shouldn't be too large at this point.