Vintage

Hey, all
I'm considering a Cayenne Diesel versus an S. I have a 21' ski boat (3500lbs.) which I would need to tow. I tow it now with a Yukon XL Denali which tows great up my hill in the mountains. Test drove the Diesel and it was surprisingly strong, quiet, and didn't stink. Does anyone have experience towing with either of these vehicles? I'm really in a quandary and would really appreciate hearing from you. Thanks in advance

mudman2

Either will work well

NC 997

I'm towing a 12 X 6.5 Featherlite enclosed trailer with two m/c's and gear. I'd say our two rigs are pretty close in overall weight.

The 406 lb ft of torque that the diesel puts out is more than enough to comfortably tow my rig. It's not as efficient as my previous 2500HD Duramax/Allison Crew Cab 4X4 Silverado, but it has pleny of power for what I need in a tow vehicle. And it passes a helluva lot more fuel points than the Chevy did.

I'd recommend a Cayenne diesel as a 3,500 lb boat/trailer tow rig any day (I'm sure you know the max towing limit for most Cayennes is 7,700+ lbs).

Vintage

Thanks for your replies. That helps. NC 997-- few vehicles tow as well as your Duramax Chevy does but if you are satisfied with the Cayenne Diesel after having that beastly powerful rig that helps me.

f4 plt

I currently tow my enclosed Trailex trailer with a 2011 Cayenne S and I am completely satisfied with it's performance in all aspects of towing. I have recently driven a Cayenne Diesel and in the next year or two I will probably trade the "S" for a diesel. I was impressed at how quiet the diesel was and its acceleration from a stop and at highway speeds. By the way PORSCHE is releasing a Diesel "S" in Europe this year with a 4.6 liter V8 (377 hp and 700ft lbs of torque) WOW.

The only negative, if there is one, is that the V6 diesel is slightly heavier than the Cayenne S but still lighter than the Hybred

grohgreg

Both are rated to tow 3.5 tonnes (7700 pounds), but the diesel will return significantly better economy. Just be careful with the tongue weight. Whereas it's physically rated for 616 pounds, that much can induce significant sag. I have a 16' tandem flatbed on which I carry a 6000 pound tractor. Combined weight of tractor and trailer push the Cayenne towing limit, but - except for reduced fuel economy - the car hardly knows it's back there. However, I have to carefully situate the tractor on the trailer bed - as not to lower the Cayenne rear end too much. I do that by positioning the tractor so that I'm only applying a few hundred pounds tongue weight. The empty trailer alone drops the hitch an inch, I then position the tractor so it drops no more than a second inch. On the stretch of two and four lane roads between me and the tractor dealer, I get up to 33 mpg car only - and 19 mpg towing the tractor.

//greg//

leek

I would consider getting the air suspension as well. I tow 22' Grady White and 24' Cobalt no problem with Turbo. Less than 10 mpg though. You know it is back there coming down the far side of the Cascades even with the larger red brakes.

Vintage

Very helpful info--thanks all. f4 plt--I read about that European Diesel S with 700 ft-lbs. That would be awesome! Alas, according to car mags it probably won't make it to our shores because Porsche can't justify the expense of making it US legal because of anticipated small sales volume. Maybe we should all write Porsche!