hipostang

Just sold my X5 and am looking for a cayenne to replace it. Can anyone tell me if they of a dealer giving 5-6% off MSRP in the LA/OC area?

Based on the comments it seems possible. Maybe you can get a referral bonus too.

mooty

i didn't look at prices. but have u driven the three german suv back to back? the other two are simply not in the same league, not even close.

btw i hate suv's. however, given the dynamics of pepper, it's not an SUV. i am not sure an E90M3 will outdrive it on track! and i am talking about the turns, not the straight.

TexasRider

In my case Moot it is not for me, it is 99.5% for my wife. As you can expect, for just her normal daily driver she does not want too sporting.

multi21

John, I drove all 4 back to back. The Q7 was taken out of the equation after driving the Cayenne. Funny, because they have the same engine from VAG, but it really is night and day between the two.

Without getting into too many details, the Cayenne felt the tightest in terms of steering feel, fit and finish, BUT, it was definitely the smallest inside, especially behind the rear seats.

To me, I'm not buying an SUV to use as a sports car, I've got a GT3 and race car for that. I need space, utility, comfort and safety. Wife will drive this 80% of the time, I'll tow the trailer with it.

Finally price was a big consideration. Similarly spec Cayenne was $14,000 more than the Mercedes and $15,000 more than the X5 and that is after all the discounts taken into account! 5 digit difference is significant.

gnat

That's interesting as the X5d was the only other option I was seriously considering and it seems to me that there is more usable space behind the rear seats in the Pig than the X5. I'm still afraid, however, that it's not going to be enough space for the 3 50lb dogs and kid for a road trip to grand parents...

The price was a big thing for me too, but in the end our good history with the 996 C4 for the last 11 years and driving the V6 version decided it for me. It's hard to choke down the price difference when you look at the base options, but a SUV that handles like Porsche is priceless (also love the new interior where the X5's is long in the tooth and typical BMW boring).

multi21

Agreed the x5 is dated and uninspiring but it did have the 2nd largest cargo capacity.

endless_corners

I keep wondering why nobody is benchmarking diesel touaregs... They really seem to be up to near luxury level of refinement and are ultimately THE next most similar vehicle to the cayenne. AND they have a GOOD use of space...

TexasRider

For me , as I posted elsewhere, the VW dealer here is the lowest tier and bottom of the barrel that I have ever seen anywhere. I would walk to the Hyundai dealer long before I went there.

The Porsche dealer knows me and our sales man is a good enough guy. I believe the service department there is tops and that is the part we will need later. Other than the Cayenne diesel test drive which they did hustle right up for us, they dont even respond when I have asked for some other information. Even after 3 trips over there 80 miles roundtrip, and 3 requests plus 2 phone calls the Finance guys have never called me. Not the biggest thing but irritating enough. They are "busy" trying to sell Panameras. Yeah ok.

At the " other " German dealer they really rolled the Red Carpet treatment for us. Test drive, no problem. Keep it for a few hours drive, no problem. Options on finance , no problem. Tour service dept and ask questions and look up under car, no problem. Come to your house and change oil, no problem. Delivery in Germany, whooops, cant do LOL.

So a little of that, and a big price difference, and I am still on the fence .

endless_corners

No I get that the stealership network for vw usa sux. I've had several modern vw's and know how dealers can be. But I think the actual vehicle is GOOD. Its very close to a cayenne and WELL engineered. But yes, having experienced the mb,bmw & Porsche dealer experiences.. I can see how that would weigh in for some people. The vw dealer experience is low rent.

For that matter... I think the current generation jeep grand cherokee is a good choice in this mix too... If one is to just look at attributes of the engineered product. I fault NO ONE for choosing any of these modern suv's because I think there are a lot of very good choices. We are spoiled in 2012 IMO.

But If I were at the cross roads of deciding whether to spring for a diesel cayenne the way i wanted it VS saving some money... the next closest thing to a cayenne that offers considerable savings is a diesel Touareg.

GDF

I have gotten the test drive the Cayenne Diesel twice now and it was very impressive. Handled very smoothly and had plenty of pickup. This Cayenne had the Premium Plus package and I enjoyed all of those features, especially the blind spot assist (LCA).

We currently drive a Mercedes GL350, which is a great, large, cruising SUV, but can not compare to the driving excitement of the Cayenne Diesel.

I am also looking at the BMW X5 diesel, but do not think that drives as well as the Cayenne either. It does seem larger in the inside the Cayenne though. Only downside of the Cayenne is that it costs about $10k to $12k more than the X5, since they are selling at MSRP.

I still may end up purchasing the Cayenne on Monday, if it is still available. I would hope that the reliability would be similar to our Mercedes (which has been really good), as we do a lot of long distance driving.

Cowboys5

Good point, but if I'm being completely honest, the VW simply doesn't represent luxury in the same way as the other German brands. I also very much believe that most people buy vehicles for equal parts function and prestige. Just my 2 cents.

TexasRider

I agree. 2012 and now the 2013's being second year prodcution for these third series new models have really raised the SUV bar .

Land Rover improved a lot and even showed that on JD Powers if you put stock in that. The new ML 350 is so improved, and the Cayenne and I would guess its sisters too. Having the diesels in both is great for choices , now to see how they do in the longer term. Heck that new Ford Explorer Sport is no sneeze with the twin turbo under its hood, and the electronics, but the interior and ride cant compare with the others.

We had never driven more than 1, maybe 2 cars to get to a decision. I am glad I did look around and see what it is out there this time. Now to get one of the two ordered up.