dddd

I had the opportunity of testing a several Cayenne S' over the last week. One had 20" wheels all season tires with no suspension options, the next one had the 20" wheels all season tires with PASM only (steel springs), the next one had 19" wheels all season with PASM/Air Suspension, and the last one had 21" wheels performance tires PASM/Air Suspension/PTV+.

My conclusions are
1- PASM makes a difference and wouldn't get a Cayenne without it, IMO it is a big part of what makes driving a Cayenne a Cayenne
2- Unless you are towing, off roading, putting toys in/out of the water, want the PDCC feature, and/or just want to lower the Cayenne by .87" the air suspension doesn't make a noticeable difference with pasm vs steel springs with pasm. (if you plan on ordering the camera, lca, seat vent then ordering the prem plus package gets you air suspension for "free").
3- PTV+ does make a difference, especially at high speed corning. I couldn't feel it at normal driving, which is probably due to how the in general the Cayenne handles. I believe all cars will eventually have this feature, as an example torque vectoring is available on a ford focus.
4- My Cayenne suspension option priorities are 1) PASM 2) 20" wheels 3) PTV+ 4) Air Sus and PDCC

bgsntth

Another advantage of PDCC is that it decouples the swaybars in offroad mode. This makes a huge difference with wheel articulation and my stress levels regarding worrying about broken end links and such. PDCC also makes a huge difference in cornering on the road.

dddd

Thanks bgsntth, haven't been able to try/find to the pdcc.

Mike in CA

I agree with bgsntth about PDCC. I know it's easy to spend other people's money but the combo of PASM, PTV, and PDCC (and associated AS) is pretty amazing. Even now after 9 months of ownership, I turn into a fast corner and my brain still expects lean and some front end push (it's an SUV after all) but it doesn't; immediate turn in right where I pointed the wheel with virtually no lean. It sounds like hyperbole to say it handles like a sports car, but it's quite impressive.

Cowboys5

Thx for the great report. This is very helpful to those of us trying to decide how to option up our new rides. BTW, you are extremely fortunate to be able to test drive all of those variants. All my dealer had was a stripped down V6 with no options, so i'm relying on advice from this forum and reports like yours to decide. I pretty sure I'm going with PASM only, as I do no towing or offraoding. Cheers.

dddd

Mike, unfortunately I couldn’t find a vehicle with PDCC on it to check it out. I agree that all of them are the ultimate set up, my order is based on value. I am leaning towards PDCC on my 12 S order (have about a week to make changes). My concern is not so much about the money, but more about will I see it/feel it/notice it/enjoy it without being on a track? Thoughts?

dddd

Cowboys5, your welcome. It is a very different dealership seen these days. When I bought my 05 S I had 10+ to choose from on the lot. I did have to go to 2 dealerships with one being a quite a distance, but I had the time and wanted test them before they were sold. Enjoy your Cayenne with PASM, your going to luv it!