I have had my cayenne s for almost a month now and have racked up 2000 miles. It’s been difficult to remain within the break-in rules, but I am now almost there. I have been taking frequent joyrides into the winding mountain roads and have had a blast. Although I have experienced only part of the power the engine has to offer, its been really great so far. The throttle response is excellent. After 2800 or so on the tach the cayenne is very responsive and powerful (even this non-turbo version). It turns in so crisply and once you push it into the corner it just sticks. Its really kind of a strange feeling to be flinging such a large and heavy vehicle around, but once you realize how calmly the pepper handles the curves you just forget what car you are in and just drive. The rear bias for the all-wheel drive is very noticeable and makes the car feel like rear wheel drive. When you get on the gas in the corner you can feel that you can almost get the tail out in a power slide (although I have not tried this). And when the nose starts to push wide it responds calmly and predictably to less throttle and tucks the nose in nicely. I love the manual shifting mode. It holds the gear all the way up to redline and all the way down to almost idle speed. Although this is fairly normal for manumatics these days, the responsiveness and smoothness of the gearbox is really exceptional. I have had many passengers notice that the tach needle jumps, but they feel no jerk associated with the movement. The automatic mode is the best ive experienced, although manual mode is necessary for optimal enjoyment. Automatic holds gears when you corner or let off the gas after sudden bursts of acceleration. It also downshifts quite aggressively depending on the aggressiveness of the break pedal use. You can really recognize how it learns your driving style and how it adapts. I do find that unless you really drive aggressively that it tends to prefer gears too high for fun, like when you come out of a turn and want to really get on the gas to power out it tends to be in a gear or two to high. The steering feel is really great. You can feel what is happening at the front wheels all the time. I prefer the feel of the cayenne over my last car (BMW M). I think a big part of what makes the steering so nice is the quick ratio. In the x5 you can really feel how much more sluggish it is (even though its not too much more). The breaks are phenomenal. They are initially very touchy and distant (city driving), but I was pleasantly surprised to find when you start pressing them hard they are very linear and have excellent feel. The a pillars and large mirrors do obstruct views of corners, but nothing more than I have experienced in other cars. After I am finished eating up some twistys (chasing surprised motorcycles) the ride home through the city is very luxurious and calming. I love the stereo system. It has to be the best system I have ever experienced. Very crisp highs, smooth mids, and strong, tight, not boomy, bass. The suspension (steel) is firm yet forgiving, much more comfortable than an x5 sport. Its strange because the handling is better than the x5 sport. I believe this has to do with the stiffness of the body. It just feels very very tight. I don’t hear any creaking going over large bumps or when off road (haven’t done much off-roading yet). I love the entry and drive function. It’s a very cool “show-off” feature, but is also extremely useful when you have things in your hands. Another feature that I really like but is not often mentioned it the soft close tailgate. I love how it just sucks the door down when you close it (no more slamming). I found it very useful when I was hauling some large metal pieces and had to carefully close the tailgate. The interior is very well put together. In pictures it looks cheaper, but in person (where you can see the textures) the materials are very high quality. There are some fairly cheap plastic parts, but the overall quality is very high. I also like the titanium look interior (maybe because I am young). It seems to match well with the stone/steel interior. I also feel it matches well with the outside brushed aluminum trim. I must admit that I like the aluminum trim. I have black exterior and find the trim pieces provide a nice contrast. The black is also nice because it integrates with the black lower panels (it seems to make the wheels larger too). I have had nothing but compliments from people while driving the cayenne. Ive had many thumbs up at lights and many conversations about the car when parked. It really is a classy and sleek looking vehicle.
There are a few things that are not perfect though. I have had problems with my nav system, the cover to the air con controls sticks to the temp control, my headlights fog every once in a while, and the breaks sometimes squeal. These problems, although annoying, are not major and really do not make much of a difference in my enjoyment of the vehicle. The rear seat fold down procedure is not very well executed, but I rarely fold them down and after doing it twice I am very comfortable and quick with it. My service department has been great in making sure all of my problems are fixed.
This vehicle does everything I ask of it and more. Like the old saying goes, I am always finding excuses to drive it. It isn’t a perfect vehicle (no car ever will be). however, it does seem to be perfect for me. It has utility and versatility yet I have so much fun driving it. Every time I drive I enjoy it more. The fun factor is whats important to me. It may not outperform a pure sports car on-road (in raw numbers), but if the driving experience is just as rewarding everyday then it is a great vehicle.

 

Just makes me look forward to the test drive even more

Great post Delesh, hope the next 20,000 miles are as satisfying.

 

Very interesting review, Delesh, thank you! Great to hear that you enjoy your Pepper. Can hardly wait to get mine...

 

Nice post Delesh, enjoy the Pepper.

 

Thanks for the post Delesh.
Nice to hear that others are enjoying their Pepper as much as I do.

Is the soft close tailgate part of an option (and if so which)? I haven't noticed this.

 

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by Matt C:
<strong>Is the soft close tailgate part of an option (and if so which)? I haven't noticed this.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Matt, it is part of the Electric Comfort Package.

 

Wonderful review, Delesh. I feel pretty much the same as you do in regards to the driving experience. I find that I am constantly looking to go places for the sheer resason of driving the car.

 

EuroCarNut,

how do you like the Havanna interior ??
I haven't seen a car with this colour, as all my dealer has is cars with black or grey interiors.

One of the pre-ordered cars he has is Lapis blue with Havanna, but since I've only seen the pics of this colour in the brochure, I didn't want to take the risk and he can't change the order at this late stage.

How does the colour of the trim compare to that used in a 996 say, which I find to be too yellow for my tastes.
I know yours is with silver outside, but if you could post pics I'd love to see them.

Cheers, <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />
John.

 

John,

I don't have pictures yet, but I'l try to get some taken soon. I actually like the color a lot. It's probably a little less yellow than the 996, but it is still more of a yellow tan instead of a creamy ivory tan. My original choice was stone, since that's the color I have in my 993, but all they had was havanna. I'll have to say, now that I have had the havanna, I don't think I would be willing to switch back to stone. The stone seems so bland or boring compared to the havanna (just my personal opinion, no flames please). The havanna seems to lighten up the interior and it seems more spacious in the lighter color. It probably won't wear as well as the stone or black, as it gets dirtier a little easier, but when it's clean, it looks great.

Karl

 

John,

This may help: <a href="http://cayenne.rennlist.com/gallery.htm" target="_blank">Cayenne picture gallery</a>

 

superb, thanks for that.

Just been on the phone to the dealers _again_, and finally got him to agree to try to add the extra spec I want, but without removing the things I didn't really want.

If I can get the wife to agree to the havanna I may just have myself a cayenne S

I'll point her at those various pics later, see what she says.

Cheers, <img border="0" alt="[cheers]" title="" src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" />
John.

 

Had a good look at the pics, and it is not as yellow as I had expected.

The wife is still reserving judgement until she has seen it 'in the flesh' though.
That could be tricky as I can't find a demonstrator with this colour interior

Thanks anyway, although it could be a bit accademic if they won't add the other options I want to the car.

Cheers,
John.