Bulldog_Ingles

Hello everyone, I am a noob in this forum, so please don't be harsh on me

So I am shopping for a used Cayenne (possibly S) for around 25-30k. According to my research, I could get something like 2005-06 with 4-60k miles which I think is not too bad. However, I found I should be able to get VW Touareg 2007-8 with arourd 30-40k miles for the same money. What are your stand point on Cayenne vs Touareg based on the fact that they are supposed be brothers? Have any of you driven both cars? Do you get the same feel out of them? My boss let me drive his Cayenne a few years ago for errand and I couldn't get away with that feeling as to how much I want it ever since. This is probably the biggest reason I want to own Cayenne until these days. Anyway, please share your opinions on this.

By the way, I also found an 04 Cayenne S that has 94k miles for under 20k. I check the Carfax and the only service records I saw were routine stuff such as tires, brakes, oil, streeing/suspension and etc. Should I take this as the car never had a trouble yet and it would come pretty soon?

I really appreciate your answers. Thank you.

mudman2

drive both and make a decision

Not sure how objective you can expect us to be

Marc Gelefsky

Different engines, different suspension and rides... drive em both.

dochusar

You will really need to drive both and see. I have owned a 2005 VW Touareg V8 that was 300 horsepower. The car had a green exterior and had all of the bells and whistles including locking front and rear differential and air suspension. I have driven a 2009 Porsche Cayenne and currently own a 2011 Cayenne. I can tell you without reservation, the Cayenne's ride is much more luxurious than the VW. Secondly, I really do not think that the VW dealers and repair shops know how to repair the vehicle. I had a four year lease and the car had about 18,000 miles on it. It was in the repair shop quite extensively usually three to four weeks at a time. The dealers had only two technicians in the shop able to work on the cars.

IMHO, go with the Porsche; the service and the ride are unmatched, but I am biased having owned both.

Bulldog_Ingles

It's a hard decision because if you can get the one that's newer and has less mileage most people would say go with that even if the other one is more expensive/respected car/brand, wouldn't they? My wife is one of them as well actually. It's good to hear from someone who has owned both. Thank you very much.

Van1

Have you visited ClubTouareg.com to get Touareg owners perspective?

Cole

I looked at both extensively before buying my CTT. Really thought I wanted the V10 TDI VW.

The big difference is the way they are set up. The VW is more of an "s-U-v" in the standard sense. The Cayenne is more of an "S-U-v". While the basic chassis is the same, the Cayenne gets different sway bars, springs and most importantly a different front to rear bias in the transfer case.

The VW is a 50/50 split in the AWD, the Cayenne is 66/34(ish) to give it a much more sports-car-like driving experience. This is also combined with the Porsche Stability Control that is a bit more "on edge" for sporty driving than the system used in the VW. (more conservative for the average daily SUV driver). And of course the Cayenne gets more power at all trim levels.

Tow rating is the same, cargo space slightly better on the VW for stacking things in the rear.

The rest is more of a taste thing in the way they look and feel from inside and outside the vehicle. The Cayenne is more sporty, Porsche looking, simple interior where the VW is more.....well...VW.

Dennis C

My sister has a Touareg that I have driven numerous times. There is no comparison. They drive totally differently. Don't get me wrong - the Touareg is nice, it's just a very different car than the Cayenne.

Canyon56

fwiw, I just drove both current versions of the Treg and the Cayenne back to back.

The Treg is fine but it felt springy and bouncy compared to the Porsche. The Cayenne felt more planted and the steering response is a lot better. It's certainly the most sporty of the two. But it's nice to have a choice of diesel motor in the VW. The Cayenne also comes with an oil burner, but not the right kind, LOL.

The older Touaregs with the real 4WD locking diff and V10 TDI would make for a great off-roader, imho.

Both cars have great style and nice interiors with one being less flashy.

But what would probably keep me out of the Treg more than anything would be having to deal with VWoA and the US dealerships, and the iffy reliability, etc..

quattrotman

Interior fit and finish is much better in the cayenne and so is the handling. I drove both before buying and it was an easy decision for me...I paid more for the cayenne because it just felt 'nicer'. Plus, it's a Porsche!

whistle34

hmmmm VW or Porsche i think their is more than a ride difference......after owning Fords my whole life, people treat you differently when you get a Porsche

REGURU

I've owned both. Bought a loaded 2004 V8 Treg when it first camse out, thinking I was going to save some money over the CS and had nothing but problems. I actually liked the car, but being a first year it had a bunch of small problems that the dealer could not stay on top of. After a lemon law claim, I traded it in on my wife's Landcruiser. At the time I bought my Treg, my best friend and his dad bought loaded CSs and had great luck. My friends dad never drove his, so when he was getting rid of it 3 years ago I bought it with 30k miles.

All I can say is it night and day difference between the two trucks and their dealers. Where the VW techs were clueless the Porsche techs are almost geek like in their knowledge of the car and what is wrong so they can fix it the first time. Also, the P dealers give you loaners. Just a total different experience.

My advice is to Get the Porsche if you can afford it, if not the VW is not a bad second choice.

libtech75

I've also owned both. Had a fully loaded 2004 V8 Touareg with Adjustable Suspension. That car was totalled and after looking to replace with the same car, ended up buying a 2005 Cayenne V8.

Personally I loved the Touareg. The Audi A8 sourced V8 is a beautiful engine, very quiet and with very powerful and smooth power delivery. The Adjustable Suspension to me really made the car. Made braking and handling excellent for a car of that size and weight. Interior was very classy as well - classier in my opinion that the Cayenne. I heard the horror stories of the Touareg and in fact the first two I purchased, I couldn't complete the deal because a major issue surfaced right before or in one case AS I picked up the car! I ended up getting lucky with a guy moving in two weeks who sold me the 04 Touareg with 40K miles for about 5K cheaper than anything else I had seen. The car was also in amazing condition. When I looked at service records, looked like every problem the Touareg was known to have had already occurred and been resolved by prior owners.

I never had any issues with the Touareg. Only changed the coils (free by dealer) and all four brakes. Car was overall very smooth, quiet and luxurious.

The Cayenne I purchased a few months ago has already had the coolant pipes fail and the cardan shaft needed to be replaced. Car was babied previously and seems like it did not take well to my subjecting it to daily driver status on horrible NYC roads. Car rebelled. After replacing those two issues no other problems thus far and Cayenne drives like new. The Touareg was a really expensive car to fix so the Cayenne is no different in that arena.

All this being said, these two cars couldn't be any more different. I know people like to go on about how these are the same car, platform built together, etc. etc. All I know is that the Touareg drove more like a true luxury SUV, quiet, comfortable and with severe understeer. The Cayenne drives more like a very sporty sedan and carves up corners like no other SUV out there. Cayenne is loud, aggressive, and will get your lots of attention.

After literally going back to back on these vehicles, I cannot say one is "better" than the other. The Cayenne S is clearly a much pricier, better overall engineered car than the Touareg. Both have their pros and cons. I think it all comes down to what do you want?

At first after getting the Cayenne I noticed the beautiful exhaust note, the brisk acceleration and most of all the tight sports car like steering and much improved handling over the Touareg. But then as my daily driver, being stuck in traffic and rarely going over 40mph, I noticed how rough the car was over the crappy roads, the less comfortable (IMO) interior.

Overall though if I had to choose between the two, I would choose the Cayenne. The Touareg is like alot of nice luxury SUVs. On the other hand nothing is really like the Cayenne. Even though this is the first generation model, I still get people staring and making comments every day about what a beautiful car this is. I still get excited getting into the driver's seat and looking back at the car as I park and walk away. Best of all, those rare occasions where the traffic opens up and I can gun it - make it a no brainer to me.

Good luck.

Cole

You can also find a Cayenne S with air suspension. Changes the ride pretty dramatically.