SkipSauls

I still haven't seen anything that states how many cubic feet of cargo room the Cayenne has, but this picture is promising:



It looks like it has more room than my X5, which I sold because it was so cramped in the cargo area.

I like the Cayenne, and will consider one. I've owned three SUVs in the past 10 years, and appreciate what they're good for. As long as the Cayenne provides the U in SUV, it should be a nice vehicle. If not, then Porsche should have just built a sedan or wagon.

<img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" />

mpm '95 C4

Betch'a it won't pass the 3 dog test. The X5 doesn't even pass the 1 dog test - unless I put one in sideways

ked

as has been pointed out ad infinitum, it depends...
it depends on how each prospective buyer defines utility, and what size & number of dogs they transport.

mpm '95 C4

Agreed...

For me it's obviously the dog test (and I bet there are a lot of other Porsche dog owners out there).

I'm not so much against utility vehicles, it's just that it is unacceptable to me when an estate is more utilitarian then these rigs. The X5 for example is a joke. A Jetta has more space.

Makes me question the whole segment. What are these mini-utes anyway? Seems like they are just cars with high ground clearances, that can go off road (but rarely do), that get stuffed with big engines - so they can compete with cars on the road


Only in America...

Christian S.

Mpm, what are we talking here?? Chihuahua or Great Dane.....???

Looks like the load space is going to be taller than standard estate, possibly similar width and probably slightly less in the depth stakes. With the air suspension load height will probably be similar too......

Who knows, I might be able to get my Holland & Holland's underneath a custom load box with the Spaniels on top...

mpm '95 C4

Christian - three 45-60lb pit mixes...

The problem is typically the roof line is so raked that there is no room for them to stand and move around (you know how dogs like to circle and re-position). The X5 is unbelievably short (from backseat to rear hatch), and it looks like the pepper-fish will be so as well.

BTW what are Holland & Holland's?

Christian S.

Mpm - Know all about the dog dilema - temporarily houndless at the moment, but had the unusual combo of an Alsatian and Springer Spaniel last.

They found my Discovery ok - but there wasn't as much depth as you might expect - great height though. My Grand Cherokee was better for depth but the spare wheel intruded on the width front. The best has to be the Toyota Landcruiser, but we're into tank territory there.

As for the Cayenne, difficult to tell from the photos - the rear window rake doesn't seem too bad. But you never can tell from photo's - especially perception of depth - I'm about to order an A4 Avant Quattro and some of the pictures in the brochures make it look like the Titanic....

Holland and Holland's are very expensive double barrelled side by side shotguns - only affordable by people who can afford to shell out $100,000 on a four wheel drive vehicle...... needless to say I can afford neither!

mpm '95 C4

Right H&H shotguns, I knew that - an old boss used to talk about them (for duck hunting I believe?) Good luck with your A4 Avant. Is it an '02? I think it is the best looking Avant on the planet - and was almost big enough for the mutts

Quick story that made me once again think about this luxo-uteless segment...

As I was tooling around Boston yesterday in the C4 (went to see the '97 993 TT silver/silver listed in the classifieds - which is nothing short of immaculate BTW), I noticed this ML430 coming up quick and blasting by on my left. Typical profile, decked out working woman on cell phone - which made me think maybe the Pepper-fish will sell. Here in one-up-the-Jones land the "my ute is faster then your ute" sentiment may be the only utility this buyer segment is looking for...these are the same people who will buy the new 7 because its a Bimmer.

Christian S.

Yep the A4 Avant is an '02 - maybe an '03 build depending when they start - quoting a 10/12 week delivery time so I won't get my sticky paws on it until late September. Going for the V6 2.5 TDi Quattro with Tiptronic - smooth despite being a diesel and huge torque. Loading it full of all the gizmos - so it's going to stretch the budget, but I do a high mileage between businesses and have to keep it for three years (or at least that's how I'm justifying it to myself ).

Came past an immaculate 993 Targa today - for a split second I was sorely tempted to direct my money towards a P-Car, but the practicality issue and high mileage means I've got to go for the Avant.

Agree with you re the "mines smarter than yours" likelyhood of helping the Cayenne sell - not a bad way of getting high income families into a Porsche showroom either.

Don't get me going on the new 7 series - saw one on the motorway the other day and was seriously disappointed. It just doesn't work - at least in light colours. Some cars define new trends and before you know it everyone's copying them and you wonder how you could have ever disliked it ..... not the bimmer in my humble....

mpm '95 C4

Yeah Christian, I guess the thing to do these days is make them ugly and then call it cutting edge design

Later...

SkipSauls

Wow, it seems that is impossible for anyone posting to this forum to stay on-topic!

Regarding the cargo room, a recent report (European Car, I think) stated that the max cargo room for the Volkswagen Tour-Egg is 55 cubic feet. That's what the Range Rover and X5 offer, and is 25 cubic feet less than Explorer-class SUVs. Wow, what a waste for Porsche & VW to build such potentially incredible machines with such pitiful utility! <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

CitySnake

[quote]Originally posted by Skip in Boulder:
<strong>Regarding the cargo room, a recent report (European Car, I think) stated that the max cargo room for the Volkswagen Tour-Egg is 55 cubic feet. That's what the Range Rover and X5 offer, and is 25 cubic feet less than Explorer-class SUVs. Wow, what a waste for Porsche & VW to build such potentially incredible machines with such pitiful utility! <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>

Skip:

MB states that my ML 320 has 34.7 cf of cargo space. I have found the ML has been QUITE utilitarian. By comparison, if the Cayenne will have upwards of 35% more space, then I don't understand your point. My ML lease is about to end and I'd be thrilled if the Cayenne would be a viable option (cargo space wise), as opposed to the X series which (as often stated above) offers less cargo room that a mid sized sedan. If anyone is interested, the ML 5.5 is NOT being offered in 2003!?

SkipSauls

Hi CitySnake,

The 34.7 figure is with the 2nd row seats in use. With those seats folded the ML has 81.2 cubic feet, right up there in Explorer territory. The X5, Range Rover, and from the looks of it Cayenne and Tour-Egg all have the same or less room than most small SUVs.

The problem in the X5 is that the roof cuts off sharply in the rear and the spare tire is full-size under the floor. The result is a high load floor and pathetic cargo room. I owned and X5 for a bit over a year but finally traded it in as I couldn't stand it. I have a Land Cruiser that has 90+ cubic feet of room, so I kept it, even though it's not as good in terms of handling as the X5.

I hope that the figures I've seen are wrong and that the 55 cubic foot figure is with the 2nd row seats up, but somehow that doesn't seem likely. My LC has "only" 39 cubic feet behind the 2nd row seats.

Regarding the ML55, perhaps Mercedes is getting ready for something even more powerful?

Armando Ramirez

The example in the pic has (3) of the Porsche cases. I have the full set at home. 1 case is the size of the 996 compartment with very little room to spare on top and none on the sides.

SO an SUV that has (3) times the trunk space of a 996 is NOT a lot of room. I could fit (3) of these in the trunk of my Benz too and I still have room for (3) people in the rear seat.

Porsche was never good at compromise. However, when you do that with a sports car you just end up with a soft race car. They have tried to compromise between a sports car and an SUV which means it not goring to be very good at being either.

They got greedy, they saw a market where they could make more money at the cost of their prestigious Name and many of their loyal customers. They will make more and we will get less for it. That is what companies do....They managed to stay above that while the old man was still alive. But he was barely in the ground when they chose to **** all-over his name for the sake of money.

Say what you will if you like the looks and style of this SUV. It ok to like it or dislike it. However, as a company that wanted to make more money they should have re-branded to make this new line and made a go of it. Porsche should not have diluted the image or the expectations all of those who when they hear the word Porsche they know what you have. In the future that will no longer be the case.

I'm very sad to see it happen.

CitySnake

[quote]Originally posted by Skip in Boulder:
<strong>Hi CitySnake,

The 34.7 figure is with the 2nd row seats in use. With those seats folded the ML has 81.2 cubic feet, right up there in Explorer territory. The X5, Range Rover, and from the looks of it Cayenne and Tour-Egg all have the same or less room than most small SUVs.

I hope that the figures I've seen are wrong and that the 55 cubic foot figure is with the 2nd row seats up, but somehow that doesn't seem likely. My LC has "only" 39 cubic feet behind the 2nd row seats.

</strong><hr></blockquote>

Thanks Skip. I misunderstood, i.e. 81.2 vs. 55 cf. My concern would be the cf with the seats up. The ML served me well. If the Cayenne sports significantly less than 30 cf with the seats up then it would likely NOT work for me (not necessarily a bad thing since I would likely save a good $25,000 in buying any of the existing "alternative" SUVs). Just wish they'd complete the "covert" aspect of their marketing already and make the complete spec's available.