Jim Lamb

And they have 48 911s and 54 Boxsters, so what's your point?

RobertG

the point is, they have a HUGE inventory....must be a volume dealer?

NMoore

What is the point of the thing (at the price) without the air suspension, which has not as yet been available on the S?

IndyTim

Nick, the PASM is available on the S, there just aren't very many of them. Porsche Exchange in Chicago has sold a couple of them, so far. In fact, I missed my test drive of one today by a matter of hours; it sold just before I got there.

Jim Lamb

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Originally posted by IndyTim:
<strong>Nick, the PASM is available on the S, there just aren't very many of them. Porsche Exchange in Chicago has sold a couple of them, so far. In fact, I missed my test drive of one today by a matter of hours; it sold just before I got there.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">What's the point of a 996 without ceramic brakes? What's the point of a C2 with a 3.4L F-6?

Bins

Expect to pay a premium in UK if you want it now.

George from MD

Jim I'm not sure what you mean about the 3.4 but I don't think the ceramic brakes are as essential to the driving experience in the 996 as the air suspension apparently is to the Cayenne. While I can't speak from experience a number of drivers, owners and auto mags have described the car as very lacking without it. If I were to get a Cayenne I would probably insist on it or buy something else.

Jim Lamb

George, I have driven both setups and own an S with steel springs. Personally, I didn't think the air suspension is worth the cost. My dealer had an S with air suspension on the lot that I passed on. For NMoore to make a comment that the vehicle is somehow irrelevant without the air suspension is ridiculous on its face. My comment about 996s with the pre-2002 3.4L engine being correspondingly irrelevant is similarly ridiculous. I was just making a point.

Many are saying that the PCCB brakes are essential to the GT3 driving experience, but I certainly wouldn't turn down a GT3 with iron rotors. Would you?

I guess the hit-and-run attitude of some non-Cayenne owning board participants can be a little irksome to those of us who have taken the plunge. Lurking is one thing, but posting uninformed remarks like the one I originally replied to lowers the quality of discourse.

By the way, I've read several reviews that question the ROI of the air suspension on the Cayenne - probably as many as those who feel it's a must have option. Like many things, this is a subjective issue. Until someone posts some definitive skid-pad comparisons or other objective data, I would reserve judgment.

George from MD

I haven't driven one with or without hence must qualify my remarks- but just how much is the air suspension?

And yes I'd take a GT3 with steel brakes any time!

IndyTim

The PASM option is US$3200.

For that you get control over both the ride height and the firmness of the ride, although the two settings are not totally independent.

And you also get a center console that no longer looks like it's missing a control.

NMoore

The point of course actually being that for the car to succeed at a relatively very high price (the REAL base is what, $61,000?), in a segment even further crowded by the entry of Porsche and VW, it probably needs the differentiation of the more sophisticated suspension. That, and I have owned air suspensions and I like them.

VW launched the peculiarly-named Phaeton without availability of the 8-cylinder gas engine or big diesel, and wonder-of-wonders sales numbers were way below plan. Obviously that model has other issues besides that, but it has not been entirely tested in the market on that basis.